Comcast Business expanded the reach of its Cisco Meraki-powered managed secure networking platform, an expansion that extends long-standing work between the two companies.

The aptly named Meraki Technology Stack from Comcast Business is a cloud-based, fully managed platform that includes SD-WAN, Wi-Fi, switching, and unified threat management. It’s targeted at “lean IT environments” that need scaling from a single site up to more than 100 sites.

Comcast Business is the single point of contact for the offering, providing monitoring, patching, and support for the platform.

The new offering continues Comcast’s Cisco integration. This includes Comcast tapping the Meraki platform in early 2021 to power its Teleworker VPN program, which included Comcast offering an all-in-one Meraki appliance that handles, routing, switching, wireless access as well as VPN connectivity directly to enterprise employees.

Comcast Business also uses Cisco’s Viptela SD-WAN platform, which is the vendor’s more fully featured SD-WAN service, supporting more data paths, NFV, and secure access service edge (SASE) services.

Those Cisco deals feed into Comcast Business’ broad SD-WAN and SASE offerings, which have garnered third-party accolades. Vertical Systems Group (VSG) recently ranked Comcast Business as the top U.S. managed SD-WAN service provider for 2024, while consulting firm ISG named Comcast Business an SD-WAN “leader.”

Cisco maintains SD-WAN momentum

The Comcast Business extension is also a feather in Cisco’s cap.

The vendor earlier this month updated its Meraki platform to reduce configuration complexity and consolidating network and security tools that traditionally required separate management interfaces. This followed a broad network platform refresh earlier this year that included consolidation of management through a single cloud-based Meraki-based management platform.

Gartner deemed Cisco a leader in its ranking late last year of the SD-WAN market. The research firm applauded the dual path Catalyst and Meraki product lines noting that the former platform was targeted at more advanced deployments and the latter at “customers that prioritize ease of use,” as was Cisco’s sales execution and market visibility.

Gartner did ding Cisco for “below-average customer service” and questioned its go-forward marketing strategy that could impact customer choice. The vendor did recently shift its operational focus away from its legacy networking platforms in favor of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, and cybersecurity.