UK businesses rethink networks as cyber risks soar

UK businesses are being forced to reassess their IT infrastructure as two pressures mount: rising security threats and the need to cut costs. With cyberattacks at almost record levels1 and connectivity demands growing, companies are looking for ways to simplify their networks in a cost-efficient way.

Traditionally, enterprise-grade networking, the systems that securely connect offices, remote workers and cloud applications, has been the preserve of large corporates with deep pockets. Complex technologies like SD-WAN (software-defined wide area networking) were seen as too expensive and too complex for mid-sized organisations.

While Cisco Meraki is already a trusted global solution, its introduction into Zen’s portfolio means more UK organisations can now access those enterprise-grade capabilities in a simpler, more cost-effective way. Instead of juggling separate systems for office LAN, WiFi and external connectivity, Meraki brings them together in a single, simplified platform.

For UK firms, the timing is significant. Alternative network providers (“alt-nets”) are rolling out full-fibre connectivity across towns and cities, creating opportunities to drive down costs. But lower-cost connectivity is only part of the answer: businesses still need a secure, intelligent way to manage and blend multiple connections. That’s where SD-WAN comes in, allowing organisations to combine different networks for resilience, performance and savings.

“Businesses are under pressure to do more with less,” says Jon Nowell, Managing Director of Zen Business. “They want secure, reliable connectivity, but without the complexity or cost that’s traditionally been associated with enterprise networking. Cloud-managed services like Meraki mean even SMEs can now benefit from the kinds of tools that were once, likely to be, out of reach.”

“Businesses across the UK are reimagining how they connect people, places and applications securely to drive better outcomes for all,” says Aine Rogers, Cisco’s UK&I SMB Managing Director. “Cloud-managed solutions like Cisco Meraki enable organisations to boost productivity, improve security posture and reduce IT complexity – all while controlling costs. Through our partnership with Zen, we’re helping businesses achieve faster growth, seamless operations and secure digital transformation – whether modernising a single office or scaling their entire network.”

Zen Business, long known for its MPLS networking heritage, has added Meraki to its portfolio alongside Cisco’s Catalyst SD-WAN. The result is a spectrum of options from simple, cloud-managed deployments for smaller businesses, to fully integrated, enterprise-grade solutions for larger organisations.

“At its core, this is about making advanced networking accessible to more organisations”, adds Nowell. “Whether a firm just wants to refresh its office WiFi or is ready to overhaul its entire network, the new generation of solutions is designed to scale with their needs. That flexibility could prove vital as the economic outlook remains uncertain, and as hybrid work keeps shifting the demands placed on IT infrastructure.

“For UK businesses grappling with cost control and cyber resilience, networking may not always be top of the agenda. But without the right foundation, every other digital investment, from cloud apps to customer platforms, is at risk. The challenge now is to adopt solutions that balance security, simplicity and savings.”

Zen Internet’s new Meraki solution brings together LAN, WiFi and SD-WAN in a single, cloud-managed platform, designed to scale with business needs. For smaller organisations, it can start as a straightforward WiFi or LAN upgrade; for larger enterprises, it delivers a fully integrated, full-stack network with built-in security.

With Cisco now converging Meraki and Catalyst into a common subscription and management framework, Zen is uniquely positioned to support everything from lighter-touch cloud-managed deployments through to the most advanced enterprise-grade environments giving customers confidence that their investment can evolve with their business needs.

By combining Meraki’s simplicity with the flexibility of SD-WAN and the cost benefits of alt-net connectivity, Zen aims to give UK businesses a networking proposition that balances performance, resilience, security and cost-efficiency at a time when all four are under growing pressure.

More information can be found at https://business.zen.co.uk/sd-wan or https://business.zen.co.uk/