Meraki Launches Lobby Ambassador, Bringing Powerful Guest Management to Organizations of All Sizes | Meraki

Meraki, the cloud-based wireless networking company, today announced the release of Lobby Ambassador, which provides fine-grained guest management for wireless networks. Lobby Ambassador is the first such system that eliminates complex management appliances and wireless controller hardware, instead leveraging cloud computing and intuitive, web-based software.


Typically, providing wireless access to guests and visitors requires creating an open network that anyone can join, scribbling passwords on post-its, or deploying a back-end system to provide fine-grained access control for guests. All but the largest enterprises often lack the IT resources for these back-end systems, both from cost and complexity standpoints. Yet these organizations are left the most vulnerable by open guest networks. Unlike Fortune 500 corporate campuses, they typically have limited bandwidth, and have neighboring business and residences in range of their wireless network. As a result, abuse of their open guest networks can increase bandwidth costs and slow business-critical network usage.

With this in mind, Meraki designed Lobby Ambassador, an easy-to-use guest management system that can be set up with just a couple clicks. Since the system is part of the Meraki Enterprise Cloud Controller, organizations require no on-site management appliances or additional software licenses. Existing Meraki customers may access Lobby Ambassador immediately via the cloud, with no upgrades to purchase, download, or install on their network.

Lobby Ambassador provides an interface for non-technical personnel, such as receptionists, to give guests temporary access to the wireless network. Guest accounts can be set to automatically expire, or can be deleted when the guest has finished with the network. Lobby Ambassador works in tandem with Meraki’s Virtual Network Isolation, a technology that allows guests to use the same network infrastructure as employees, yet restricts guests from accessing private LAN resources (such as file servers) and prevents viruses from spreading from the guests’ computers to employees’ computers.

Lobby Ambassador provides the following capabilities:

• Delegation: Front-desk employees may manage guest accounts without having access to the rest of the system.
• Easy for administrators: Web-based software requires minimal training and no installed software.
• Easy for end users: Guests can self-register or get an account from a receptionist.
• Secure: Set an expiration time for guest accounts, or manually delete guest accounts once they have ended their visit.
• Multi-site: Manage guest accounts across buildings or sites over the web.

Remington Colleges, a Meraki customer with 20 campuses around the country, has been using Lobby Ambassador on its networks.

“I’m impressed with the Lobby Ambassador system and foresee it being a really special service we can leverage at our various campuses, not just for security purposes but as another way to market ourselves to prospective students,” said Chuck Farraj, CIO at Remington Colleges. “When new students come to visit the college to decide if it’s the right place for them, it’s a nerve wracking experience. Easing that transition by giving them Wi-Fi access, especially on their WAP-enabled mobile device or smart phone, goes a long way in building a positive first experience.”

“Guest access systems have been around for a while, yet the great majority of wireless networks don’t have one because they are a pain to setup and administer,” said Hans Robertson, VP Product Management and Co-Founder. “We’ve solved that problem. With Meraki Lobby Ambassador there’s no software to integrate, licenses to buy, or dependencies on other infrastructure. Implementation takes about 30 seconds, and it just works.”

Lobby Ambassador is available for immediate use by all Meraki Enterprise Cloud Controller customers.

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