Taxware, LLC is the leading provider of tax determination software, with more than 34 years of experience in the transaction tax compliance business. They have over 300 employees and two locations, in Massachusetts and Maine. Cisco Meraki offers Taxware the ability to see their entire edge network through a single pane of glass without compromising functionality and security.

Original Networking Challenges

• Sought a cloud networking solution to manage the remote branch in Maine
• Required a solution with secured data centers and a high SLA
• Small IT team needed to focus on projects other than network management

Why Cisco Meraki

• SSAE16 audited data centers, 99.99% reliability SLA, PCI compliance, and daily penetration tests ensure network reliability and security
• Simple to deploy and easy to manage solution allows IT team to focus on other projects
• Devices are configured via the dashboard, allowing Taxware to quickly plug in devices and have the network up and running in minutes
• Easy to set up features such as authentication rules, guest networks, WAN optimization, auto site-to-site VPN, port scheduling, etc.

The biggest draw for Cisco Meraki was the integration and ease of use in the
dashboard. All platforms are integrated and there’s just one single point of entry. Joseph Castro, Director of IT at Taxware

The Deployment

• MR access points, MS switches, and MX security appliances at Massachusetts headquarters and Maine development office
• Same network in both offices, allowing team to share data more securely
• Able to monitor, manage, and troubleshoot remotely without going to Maine office

Results

• Secure corporate network with splash page where employees log on using 802.11x RADIUS credentials
• Open guest network with click-through splash page including terms and conditions for guests and employees for BYOD
• Traffic shaping enforces per device bandwidth; Layer 3 firewall rules deny access to the LAN on the guest network
• Security appliances block adult content from the guest network and provide VPN connectivity between offices in just two clicks