I would highly recommend if you are evaluating new VPN solutions you start by skipping the solution entirely. Over the next several years we will see VPNs dropping off the market entirely and being replaced with one of two alternative solutions. Those two solutions are SASE-based architectures and either as a separate solution and/or as a subset of that are the frameworks around ZTNA (zero trust network access).
Meraki VPN is connectivity between routers, no not a traditional VPN as a client-facing solution but its more of an IPSec between routers, its part of either a site-to-site VPN solution and being progressively added into SD-WAN architecture building and automating application failover between circuits and between routers.
Azure (or AWS) could likely build site-to-site tunnels as well between routers and interconnect all the sites but that might be more complicated, a better solution would be to leverage solutions that actually kind of fit in that framework or integrates with the cloud. Solutions like Zscaler or other SASE-based solutions in the neighborhood of Palo Alto (Prisma Access), and Cisco (Umbrella SASE)... these solutions can bridge the gap between integrating into the cloud natively or using tools they bake in.
The big questions to ask is are you trying to get sites into the cloud (i.e. the edge device at the site, a firewall, or router talking to the cloud), or are you trying to get users to the cloud (which would most likely be a client running on edge users laptop and getting them online). ZTNA and SASE solutions can bridge that gap in either case. There's a lot to go over here, but I wouldn't limit the conversation to simply Azure and Meraki and I would also argue that comparing Meraki and Azure is not comparing apples to apples. It's more about comparing apples to toy trucks.
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What...
Hi Gerry,
I would highly recommend if you are evaluating new VPN solutions you start by skipping the solution entirely. Over the next several years we will see VPNs dropping off the market entirely and being replaced with one of two alternative solutions. Those two solutions are SASE-based architectures and either as a separate solution and/or as a subset of that are the frameworks around ZTNA (zero trust network access).
Meraki VPN is connectivity between routers, no not a traditional VPN as a client-facing solution but its more of an IPSec between routers, its part of either a site-to-site VPN solution and being progressively added into SD-WAN architecture building and automating application failover between circuits and between routers.
Azure (or AWS) could likely build site-to-site tunnels as well between routers and interconnect all the sites but that might be more complicated, a better solution would be to leverage solutions that actually kind of fit in that framework or integrates with the cloud. Solutions like Zscaler or other SASE-based solutions in the neighborhood of Palo Alto (Prisma Access), and Cisco (Umbrella SASE)... these solutions can bridge the gap between integrating into the cloud natively or using tools they bake in.
The big questions to ask is are you trying to get sites into the cloud (i.e. the edge device at the site, a firewall, or router talking to the cloud), or are you trying to get users to the cloud (which would most likely be a client running on edge users laptop and getting them online). ZTNA and SASE solutions can bridge that gap in either case. There's a lot to go over here, but I wouldn't limit the conversation to simply Azure and Meraki and I would also argue that comparing Meraki and Azure is not comparing apples to apples. It's more about comparing apples to toy trucks.