Cisco OnPlus Dies; Meraki Cloud Managed Networking Takes Hold

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) has killed the Cisco OnPlus managed service, and will instead leverage Meraki for an improved cloud-based managed solution, MSPmentor has learned. Deeper details may emerge at Cisco Partner Summit 2013 (June 3-6, Boston).

According to a Cisco support forum, Cisco will stop selling OnPlus ON100 Network Agents on August 5, 2013. The company will shut down the OnPlus service on August 5, 2014.

MSPmentor believes that should be plenty of time for MSPs to move from OnPlus to onto alternative systems — such as traditional RMM (remote monitoring and management) software or Cisco’s Meraki solutions.

According to an official Cisco statement: 

“Cisco will discontinue sales of the OnPlus services effective August 5th, 2013, with the OnPlus Portal remaining fully supported for an additional twelve months. With the acquisition of Meraki in late 2012, the Meraki dashboard became Cisco’s management solution for cloud managed network infrastructure targeting the mid-market. Cisco remains committed to delivering the industry’s broadest portfolio of IT solutions for small business and mid-market customers, and the channel partners that serve them.”

Mixed History

Cisco OnPlus launched in December 2011. For about $5 per network per month, MSPs could remotely monitor customers’ Cisco hardware. The solution sounded promising but it was somewhat unclear where traditional RMM software ended and OnPlus began. 

By March 2012, it was clear to MSPmentor that Cisco’s top channel officials weren’t all that familiar with OnPlus and the potential MSP benefits. By late 2012 and early 2013, Cisco went mostly quiet about OnPlus.

Better Option?

Meanwhile, Cisco’s Meraki acquisition has caught the MSP industry’s attention. During a recent CharTec channel partner conference, multiple MSPs told me they were using Meraki’s cloud-managed solutions within customer environments.

Bottom line: Cisco OnPlus’s death doesn’t surprise me. Nor does Cisco’s growing focus on Meraki — which is catching on with MSPs.