How Cloud4Wi adds value on top of Cisco Meraki

Enterprise Guest WiFi

Client expectation	Cisco Meraki	Cisco Meraki + Cloud4Wi
Choose among multiple authentication methods	Captive portal only	Captive portal Passpoint: Onboarding without app: email, QR code, text message, online banner Onboarding with app: mobile SDK
Design the perfect captive portal in line with your company’s look and feel	Static, not customizable default captive portal Code a custom HTML captive portal	Collection of pre-built templates with an easy-to-use content and style management dashboard Custom HTML templates with support of Cloud4Wi design and professional service team Consulting on industry best practices
Provide guests with multiple login options	Basic and predefined login options with limited configuration capabilities Not possible to combine multiple options together Limited support for third-party identity providers	Variety of login options that can be combined with flexibility Flexible control of login options Integration with enterprise identity platforms, such as loyalty and membership programs
Collect actionable data about guests	No collection of  guests’ data Phone number validation (excludes other methods)	Control of guests’ data collected during sign-up Progressive collection of guests’ data and consents Advanced options for phone number and email validation
Be compliant with data protection regulations and internal corporate guidelines	Basic consent to a single generic text	Localizalization of consents and policies Advanced consent management  Consent-based data processing rules Parametric data retention rules  Automatic data minimization  Easy management of data subject access requests
Offer paid and/or premium services	No pay-per-use and premium service support	Pay-per-use service support with online payments Definition of multiple free or paid plans with different policies (by time, traffic of QoS) that can be dynamically assigned to each guest based on rules
Customize the onboarding journey	Customization of the onboarding journey by SSID Captive portal available in one language at the time	Definition of the onboarding journey by assigning templates to locations or groups of locations Captive portal content in multiple languages dynamically selected based on guest’s browser Publication of engaging content: Survey Offer Advertising Interstitial video Landing pages with call to actions
Monitor guest WiFi usage across multiple locations	Detailed network usage reporting Devices analytics	Detailed guest service usage analytics: Active users Connections and usage New/returning Contact acquisition insights Profile richness Registration methods Drop rate Service troubleshooting insights
Offer WiFi access to guests in offices while enforcing access control rules	Sponsored guest login - email domain filter	Sponsored guest login - email domain filter or single controller mode The sponsor can decide what access policies to grant to the guest Access via pre-shared code send before the visit Possibility to invite guests to pre-register before visiting and/or to enroll their devices with Passpoint Kiosk portal for registration and generation of individual access codes sent via email and text
Easily integrate guest WiFi into existing processes	Full set of network configuration and management APIs Location analytics APIs	Data export tool to extract data programmatically in external systems (example, SFTP, CSV, email) Rich set of APIs, to extract customer data and keep it in sync APIs to execute DSR (Data Subject Requests) and align consent with external systems Real-time webhooks on customer events (sign-up, entrance, dwelling, leaving) 50+ ready-to-use connectors with external business platforms (eg, Salesforce, Cloud, Cheetah Digital, Mail Chimp) Development of custom integrations with third-party systems
Get support in designing and implementing onboarding journeys	No consulting services	Strategic business and marketing consulting Implementation services and support Advanced data analytics services Dedicated customer success manager that ensures alignment with business goals

Location-based marketing

Client expectation	Cisco Meraki	Cisco Meraki + Cloud4Wi
Sign up customers that access WiFi	WiFi onboarding focused on network authentication	Multi-step onboarding experience designed to invite customers to subscribe to company’s programs, including communication of incentives and automatic delivery of rewards
Collect actionable customer offline data	No collection of customer data and profiling	Customer offline behaviors inside the locations (customers with and without mobile app) Customer offline behaviors outside the locations (customers with mobile app only)
Collect customer data in line with marketing, corporate and legal guidelines	No ad-hoc experiences	Extreme flexibility in configuring the experience of consent collection, including custom opt-ins and agreements Enforcement of advanced data processing rules based on specific consent (for example location tracking and profiling)
Identify the perfect segment to target	No customer data management tools	Advanced segmentation tool to create dynamic audiences based on profile attributes and history of interactions with the locations
Easily integrate customer offline data into existing business strategies	Full set of network configuration and management APIs Location analytics APIs	Data export tool to extract data programmatically in external systems (example, SFTP, CSV, email) Rich set of APIs, to extract customer data and keep it in sync APIs to execute DSR (Data Subject Requests) and align consent with external systems Real-time webhooks on customer events (sign-up, entrance, dwelling, leaving) 50+ ready-to-use connectors with external business platforms (eg, Salesforce, Cheetah Digital, Mail Chimp) Development of custom integrations with third-party systems
Reach customers at the right time and place to maximize marketing conversion	No engagement tools	Real-time, targeted multi-channel marketing using integrated campaign manager Easy integration of customer audiences and real-time event with external marketing platforms Ready to use content tools for marketing campaigns
Get support in designing and implementing customer journeys that maximize results	No business consulting services	Strategic business and marketing consulting Implementation services and support Advanced data analytics services Dedicated customer success manager that ensures alignment with business goals

Location analytics

Client expectation	Cisco Meraki	Cisco Meraki + Cloud4Wi
Extract location behavior insights that support business processes	Single clean and effective dashboard with pre-defined generic traffic metrics	Multiple dashboards and metrics organized to support specific business-driven use cases
Share insights with multiple stakeholders in the organization	Reports can be consulted inside the Meraki Dashboard, primarily designed for IT and network managers	Dedicated dashboards and reports accessible for a dedicated web dashboard design for analysis and business users
Analyze customer behaviors by specific zone inside large venues	Heatmap No zone based behavior analytics	Heatmap with demographic filters Traffic metrics by zones Support of “virtual zones” and polygons to adapt to any space peculiarity
Get actionable, accurate data	Static pre-defined algorithm for every scenario and space	Parametric algorithms to optimize behavior classification in each scenario Parametric metrics definitions to align with business needs Automatic classification and filtering of employees and network signals
Integrate location behavior analytics into external systems and BIs	Location Analytics APIs	Granular APIs to extract metrics based on multiple query parameters Premium connectors for external BI
Be compliant with data protection regulations	Data anonymization obtained via MAC address hashing with collision	Instantaneous MAC address hashing with collision Additional step with complete removal of any type of identifier within 24 hours

 

Guest WiFi reporting focus

Here are some of the questions that you can answer via Cloud4Wi reports that you cannot extrapolate directly from the Meraki dashboard:

• Number of Users who successfully signed up (provided data and consents) on any given period and location or across all locations
• Number/percentage of Users who successfully signed up with specific consents on any given period and location or across all locations
• Number of connections (of only authenticated/identified users) on any given period and location or across all locations
• Exchanged traffic (DL, UL) of only authenticated/identified users on any given period and location or across all locations
• Distribution of registrations and sign up across multiple dimensions (time, locations, time of the day, day of the week)

Notes on Meraki reporting:

• In general, Meraki - as well as all the network management solutions -  tracks and reports metrics related to "clients", rather than actual "individuals" (users)
  
  
• Meraki provides the total unique clients associated with a WiFi network on a given period and network. These include any client that associates with the network, even if it doesn't pass the Splash Page authorization
  
  
• Meraki provides insights on the number of clients who requested the splash page and those who were granted a connection. Multiple devices from the same user are counted as multiple clients, and returning users who bypass the Splash Page are not included in the count.
  
  
• Most of the client metrics are provided in the form of a single measure over the period, with no statistic distributions or trend charts. The breakdown dimensions are only time and Locations.