Looking for a Meraki MDM Alternative? Start Planning Now

Meraki Systems Manager is on the way out. If your business uses it for Mobile Device Management (MDM), you’ll need a Meraki MDM alternative at some point. The real question is when to make the move.

Our advice is simple: start planning now.

Cisco announced the End-of-Sale for Meraki Systems Manager in December 2025. The last day to buy new one-year and three-year licences was 3 June 2026. Cisco’s final support date is 3 June 2029. Five-year licences were withdrawn so that no licence would run past that date .

But there’s an important point to understand.

3 June 2029 is Cisco’s final support date. It isn’t necessarily how long your business can keep using Meraki.

At HardSoft, we usually bought Meraki licences for our customers on an annual basis. That means many of our customers need to look at their own licence expiry date, which could be well before 2029. June 2029 shouldn’t be treated as the migration deadline.

A business that bought a three-year licence just before the sales window closed may have much longer to make the switch than a business on an annual licence.

If you’re on an annual licence, waiting until 2028 or 2029 to think about a replacement would be a mistake.

If you use Meraki Systems Manager today, now is the time to review your options and plan your migration.

When Does Meraki Systems Manager Support End?

Cisco has published three key dates for businesses using Meraki Systems Manager :

• 3 December 2025: End-of-Sale announced.
• 3 June 2026: Last day to buy new one-year and three-year licences.
• 3 June 2029: Final day of support.

Until then, customers with the right licences will still get technical support, platform maintenance, essential security updates and support for critical MDM features .

But June 2029 shouldn’t automatically become your migration date.

Two questions matter more:

• When does our current Meraki licence expire?
• How much time do we need to move to our new MDM successfully?

Switching MDM platforms isn’t a quick job. You may need to re-enrol devices and move apps, settings, security policies, user settings and compliance requirements across every device you manage.

If you leave it until your licence is about to expire, you’ll have less time to do all of that.

Cisco itself advises customers to use this transition period to choose a new MDM and complete their migration .

So our advice is to start the conversation now, rather than let your licence expiry date make the decision for you.

What Should Replace Meraki Systems Manager?

Moving away from Meraki Systems Manager is a good chance to rethink what you actually need from an MDM platform.

Some businesses rely heavily on Meraki to set up and control devices, roll out apps and manage security policies.

Others need much less. Their main concern is knowing where company laptops are and protecting business data if a device is lost, stolen or not returned.

These are different needs, and they don’t always need the same solution.

At HardSoft, we’d start by asking:

• Do you need full Mobile Device Management?
• Which devices and operating systems do you need to manage?
• Do you need policies, app deployment and compliance monitoring?
• Is your main concern protecting lost or stolen laptops?
• Do you need to find, lock or wipe a device remotely?
• Would your business benefit from both device management and extra device protection?

Your answers will show whether Shepherd, Locate+ or both are the right fit.

Need a Full Meraki MDM Alternative? Meet Shepherd

If your business relies on the wider MDM features in Meraki Systems Manager, Shepherd should be part of the conversation.

Shepherd is HardSoft’s device management service. It helps businesses and IT teams set up, manage and secure their workplace technology more easily.

We offer different Shepherd options depending on your devices, including options for Apple environments, iPhone and iPad fleets, and businesses that use several operating systems.

If you’re moving from a mixed-platform Meraki setup, Shepherd Fusion is particularly relevant.

Shepherd Fusion manages Apple, Windows, Android, ChromeOS and Linux devices from one platform. Your IT team gets a single view of every device and can control them all from one place.

It includes:

• operating system and third-party app patching
• compliance monitoring
• software deployment
• workflows
• encryption management
• remote troubleshooting

If your business needs a full Meraki Systems Manager alternative, you don’t have to start by searching for another vendor.

Start with Shepherd and work out which MDM features your business actually needs.

Don’t Need a Full MDM? Consider Locate+

The end of Meraki Systems Manager gives you a chance to ask whether you really need to replace every feature you have today.

Your main concerns might be much simpler:

• Where is this laptop?
• Can we find it if it goes missing?
• Can we lock it if it’s lost or stolen?
• Can we wipe company data from it?
• What happens if an employee leaves and doesn’t return their laptop?

If those are your priorities, setting up another large MDM platform just to copy features you rarely use may not be the best answer.

That’s where Locate+ comes in.

Locate+: Find. Lock. Wipe.

Locate+ focuses on three simple things that matter when a company laptop isn’t where it should be.

Find

Locate+ uses GPS where available, Wi-Fi location and IP address information to help work out where a business device is.

Lock

If a laptop is lost, stolen or not returned by an employee, you can lock it remotely so whoever has it can’t use it.

Wipe

If a device isn’t coming back, you can erase it remotely to help protect your company data.

Locate+ currently works with Windows laptops and Macs. On supported devices, it’s also designed to stay in place. Its software can reinstall itself if it’s removed or if the operating system is reinstalled.

If your priority is protecting company laptops when they go missing, Locate+ is a more focused option than swapping one full MDM platform for another.

Shepherd or Locate+: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Instead of asking “What product replaces Meraki?”, we’d suggest asking:

“What were we relying on Meraki to do for us?”

If you need central device setup, app deployment, compliance monitoring and security policies, Shepherd is the right place to start.

If your biggest concern is protecting business laptops that are lost, stolen or not returned, Locate+ gives you a focused way to find, lock and wipe them.

If you need full device management and extra protection when hardware goes missing, Shepherd and Locate+ can work well together.

The aim is to avoid paying for complexity you don’t need, while keeping the features you genuinely rely on.

Why You Shouldn’t Wait Until 2029

This is the most important point for existing customers.

“Meraki is supported until 2029” doesn’t mean “we don’t need to do anything until 2029.”

Cisco Meraki’s final support date is 3 June 2029, but Cisco’s own guidance tells customers to use the transition period to choose a new MDM provider and complete their migration .

If you’re a HardSoft customer on annual licensing, there’s another reason to act sooner: your licence may give you a much earlier deadline in practice.

Start by answering three questions:

1. When does your current Meraki licence expire?
2. Which Meraki Systems Manager features does your business actually use?
3. Do you need full MDM through Shepherd, find, lock and wipe protection through Locate+, or both?

Answering these now gives you time to compare your options properly, prepare your devices and people, and migrate in a controlled way.

Leave it until your licence expires, and a planned decision becomes a rushed deadline.

Ready to Move Away From Meraki Systems Manager?

If your business still uses Meraki Systems Manager, don’t wait until your licence is about to expire to decide what’s next.

HardSoft can help you review how you use Meraki today, identify the features you need to keep and choose the right way forward.

If you need full Mobile Device Management, we’ll help you explore Shepherd.

If your priority is protecting laptops that are lost, stolen or not returned, we’ll show you what Locate+ can do.

If you need both, we’ll help you see how they fit into your wider device management and protection plans.

The important thing is to get ahead planning now.

Talk to HardSoft about replacing Meraki Systems Manager