Cisco Meraki Systems Manager (MDM)

Cloud-based mobile device management via the Meraki Dashboard

Systems Manager is operated entirely from the Meraki Dashboard, a hosted web console, so there is no on-premises MDM server to install or maintain. Administrators enroll devices, build profiles and policies, and issue commands from that console, and enrolled devices check in to the cloud over the internet to receive them. The same console holds device inventory, status, and event history, and it is shared with other Meraki-managed products under one organization.

Cross-platform device management: iOS, iPadOS, Android, macOS, Windows, tvOS, ChromeOS

The product manages devices across multiple operating systems from one console, covering iOS and iPadOS phones and tablets, Android devices, macOS and Windows desktops and laptops, tvOS devices, and ChromeOS devices. Each platform is managed through that platform's native management framework, so the available settings and commands differ per OS. The dashboard presents all of them in a single device list with per-platform capability shown for each entry.

Device enrollment: manual, self-service portal, Apple Automated Device Enrollment (DEP/ABM), Android Zero-Touch, Windows Autopilot-compatible provisioning, Apple Configurator

Devices can be brought under management through several enrollment paths. Users can enroll manually by installing the enrollment profile or agent, or enroll themselves through a self-service enrollment portal; Apple devices can be enrolled automatically at first boot through Apple Automated Device Enrollment with Apple Business Manager, or staged with Apple Configurator over USB; Android devices can be enrolled through Android Zero-Touch; and Windows machines can be provisioned through Autopilot-compatible enrollment. Zero-touch paths bind the device to the organization before the user ever signs in, so management cannot be skipped during setup.

Supervised mode and Device Owner (fully managed) Android support

Apple devices enrolled through automated enrollment or Configurator become supervised, and Android devices can be enrolled as fully managed Device Owner deployments. Supervision and Device Owner mode unlock a larger set of restrictions and commands than user-enrolled devices allow, including stronger app control, non-removable management, and kiosk configuration. The dashboard shows the supervision or ownership state per device and exposes the extra controls only where the device supports them.

Configuration profile creation and deployment (Wi-Fi, VPN, email, certificates, passcode)

Administrators build configuration profiles in the dashboard and push them to targeted devices or device tags. Profiles carry payloads such as Wi-Fi network settings, VPN connection settings, email account configuration, certificates, and passcode requirements, so a device is configured for network and mail access without the user entering settings by hand. Profiles are scoped by policy or tag, and removing a profile from scope removes its settings from the device on the next check-in.