In the IT world, complexity is a dirty word.

And that’s for good reason. Complexity creates longer workflows, less reliable systems, and more preventable mistakes.

Simplicity drives the development of Cisco Meraki’s network infrastructure and security services, which makes the daunting task of administrating internet technology in the age of ever-increasing security threats an easier and more intuitive proposition. Read on to learn how.

1. Saving Time on IT Administration and Maintenance

If time is money, then time saved is money earned. By automating repetitive IT and security functions, Meraki users can instead expend IT resources elsewhere.

Meraki’s recent addition of firewall groups, for instance, reorganizes and automates the time-consuming task of device permissioning. Without such automation, IT managers are forced to manually code and maintain hundreds of lines of permissions so the right users have access to the right applications and data. Firewall groups greatly reduce the length of firewall lists and automatically update with the addition of new devices, applications and users.

Another Meraki feature, Secure Connect, protects switch ports while automating device configuration—effectively eliminating the potential for configuration errors. Meraki’s Adaptive Policy, meanwhile, automates the application of security policies based on the end-user intent.

2. Reducing the Costly Consequences of Human Error

Cisco Meraki services address cyber risk at the source. This means preventing entry to those with ill intent like hackers and foreign state actors, but it also means solving for the likeliest source of cybersecurity incidents: human error.

In a Kaspersky Lab study released last year, the blame for 90 percent of breaches was laid on the backs of unwitting employees.

The simplification and automation of IT security and management workflows is a huge boon to organizations looking to secure their IT networks through the reduction of everyday human mistakes.

Fewer lines of firewall lists mean fewer opportunities to give undue access to the wrong people. Automating incident reporting ensures that suspicious events aren’t accidentally overlooked. Automatic device patching ensures missing the latest firmware release won’t expose your organization to additional risk.

3. Works Well With Legacy Technology

Meraki-built hardware and software are designed to work especially well with other Meraki-based solutions, but they also play nice with a wide range of other IT providers.

For organizations lacking a centralized network for all employee activity—like SD-WAN, for instance—Meraki’s Trusted Access feature can connect corporate assets with non-networked personal devices, replacing the need for mobile device management (MDM) profiles. What’s more, various Meraki services, like Trusted Access, allow for API connections to a veritable ocean of internet services.

4. Boosts Speed and Reliability as Well

Security is not the sole aim of Meraki services, as its products and services are additionally built for network speed and reliability.

Traffic shaping on Meraki access points keeps excessive bandwidth usage in check, shoring up resources for essential cloud-based services and increasing overall speed. Meraki SD-WAN, on the other hand, offers cost-effective bandwidth optimized to run cloud-based applications with minimal downtime.

After all, greater speed and reliability means more time spent on work activities and less time waiting for seemingly stalled services to finally load.

Fight Back Against Complexity Creep

The volume of potential problems one may encounter in securing and administering IT is enormous. The solution for IT managers doesn’t lie in adding undue complexity through additional point solutions, but rather in simplifying both network infrastructure and the complexity of work for often-overburdened IT departments.