--- title: "Managed Services FAQs Part 1: Support, Hardware and Skills" description: "Managed services FAQs for IT leaders: why Meraki networks still need managing, what happens when hardware fails and who supports your network." image: https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Blogs/Managed%20Services%20FAQs%20Part%201/managed-services-faqs-part-1-square-feature.jpg --- [![IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png?width=200&height=59&name=IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png "IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)")](https://iptel.com.au) - [Home](https://iptel.com.au/) - [Solutions](https://iptel.com.au/solutions) Technologies - [Cisco Access Manager](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-access-manager) - [Cisco Catalyst Center](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-catalyst-center) - [Cisco Meraki](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-meraki) - [Cisco SDA Fabric](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-sda-fabric) - 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[Cisco Webex Meeting Rooms Monitoring](https://telconews.co.uk/story/highlight-iptel-add-webex-monitoring-for-meeting-rooms) - [IPTel adopts Highlight](https://itbrief.com.au/story/iptel-adopts-highlight-to-enhance-managed-services) - [Highlight MSP Upgrade](https://datacentre.solutions/news/71753/iptel-solutions-upgrade-with-highlights-service-platform) - [Cisco 360](https://www.crn.com.au/news/2026/networking/aussie-partners-react-cisco-360) - [DP World Transformation](https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/about/case-studies-customer-stories/dp-world.html) - [Cisco Managed Services](https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/1251771/how-partners-can-take-a-leap-of-faith-with-managed-services.html) - [Project Delivery Excellence](https://channellife.com.au/story/cisco-honours-top-nz-partners-cisco-live) - [Great Place to Work](https://greatplacetowork.com.au/companies/iptel-solutions/) - [Wi-Fi Doesn't have to be Unreliable](https://www.techpartner.news/feature/iptel-wi-fi-doesnt-have-to-be-unreliable-494069) Buying from IPTel - [Buying Panels](https://iptel.com.au/professional-supply-panels) - [IPTel Store](https://store.iptel.com.au) - [Request a Quote](https://iptel.com.au/request-a-quote) - [Managed Services](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services-enquiry) Case Studies - [DP World Video](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Case%20Studies/DP%20World_Case_Study.mp4) - [DP World](https://blog.iptel.com.au/dp-world-case-study) - [Backup Assure](https://blog.iptel.com.au/backup-assure-a-disaster-recovery-case-study) [Contact Us](https://iptel.com.au/contact-us) [Blog](https://blog.iptel.com.au) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ## Managed Services FAQs Part 1: Support, Hardware and Skills Dec 19, 2025 You can already see every Meraki switch and access point from a browser, so why pay someone else to watch them? It's one of the first questions customers ask us, and it's a fair one. In this blog, we'll answer four questions we hear often about our managed services: the Meraki dashboard, hardware failures, the skills of the engineers behind the service and support for people working from home. ![Managed services FAQs: Meraki dashboard management, hardware failures, engineer skills and remote workers](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Managed%20Services%20FAQs%20Part%201/managed-services-faqs-part-1-hero.png?width=1792&height=960&name=managed-services-faqs-part-1-hero.png) --- ## Meraki Dashboard: Why Do We Need Network Management? [![Managed Meraki Access: Switching, Wi-Fi and WAN](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Managed%20Meraki%20Access/managed-meraki-access-square.png?width=173&height=173&name=managed-meraki-access-square.png)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-access)The Meraki dashboard is an excellent tool, but a tool still needs someone using it. Network management adds the people and process: engineers who watch your sites, tune alerting so real problems stand out, respond when something breaks and keep firmware and configuration in good order, so your team isn't refreshing a browser tab all day. That's the gap our [managed services](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services) fill. For a Meraki estate, our [Meraki Access](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/meraki-access-and-security) service looks after switch and port configuration, SSIDs and access policies, and the base WAN on single-WAN MX appliances, all from your own dashboard. Firmware is a good example of where the value sits. The dashboard makes an upgrade easy to schedule, but we test each release in our lab first and then roll it out through change management, so the update doesn't become the incident. You don't give anything up, either. Because the service is co-managed, your admins keep their own full rights to the dashboard for as long as the agreement runs. Highlight sits beside it, showing both teams the same real-time picture of how each device is performing and which incidents are still open. Related reading - [Meraki Managed Service: Inside the MSP Dashboard](https://blog.iptel.com.au/meraki-managed-service) - [Cisco Meraki Dashboard](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-meraki-dashboard) --- ## Hardware Failure: What Happens When a Device Stops Working? When a device fails, monitoring raises an alert and an engineer starts working the problem. We check the device and its interfaces remotely, run diagnostics and work out whether it's configuration, power, cabling or a genuine hardware fault. Most issues can be fixed remotely, without anyone needing to visit the site. If the hardware itself has failed, our engineers work the case with Cisco directly. We have established relationships into Cisco engineering and Cisco TAC, so the case starts with the diagnostic evidence already gathered. Some faults need hands on site: a reboot, a cable re-patched or a replacement unit swapped in. We coordinate that work, using your own people where that's quickest or our pool of local personnel when it isn't, and our engineers stay involved until the fix is confirmed. Because nobody can predict how often a site visit will be needed, on-site attendance is treated as a variable cost rather than built into a fixed fee. We'll explain how that works for your sites when we scope the service. **Pro-Tip:** Keep a short site contact list showing who can open each comms room, the after-hours access arrangements and where spare patch leads and power supplies are kept. When a device needs hands on site, that list often saves more time than anything else. Related reading - [Incident Management in Managed Services: How It Works](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-incident-management) - [Cisco Powered Managed Services: What It Means for You](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-powered-managed-services) --- ## Engineer Skills: What Certifications Do Our Engineers Hold? [![The Long Road to Cisco CCIE Emeritus](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/CCIE/The%20Long%20Road%20to%20CCIE%20Emeritus%20(Instagram).gif?width=173&height=173&name=The%20Long%20Road%20to%20CCIE%20Emeritus%20(Instagram).gif)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/the-long-road-to-cisco-ccie-emeritus)Our engineers hold a mix of Cisco CCNA, CCNP and CCIE certifications. Just as important, the people on our managed services team also work on our consulting, design and integration projects, so whoever picks up your ticket knows how networks like yours are built, not just how to read an alert. That matters when something unusual happens. A generalist help desk can follow a script; an engineer who designs Catalyst and Meraki networks for a living can tell when the script doesn't fit the problem in front of them. Someone outside IPTel checks that engineering, too. Our managed services are part of the [Cisco Powered](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-powered-managed-services) program, which means Cisco audits us once a year against its published standards, looking at our tooling, our processes, how we engineer and what our customers actually get. Related reading - [Managed Network Services: 5 Benefits for Your Business](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-top-5-benefits) - [Managed Services Q&A: Is It Right for Your Business?](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-qa) --- ## Remote Workers: How Do You Support People Working From Home? Our managed service looks after network and security infrastructure rather than end-user laptops and phones. For remote workers, that means managing the secure connectivity they depend on: the remote access that brings them back to your applications, the SD-WAN at the other end and any edge appliance we manage at their location. Today most of that sits in our [Security Service Edge](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/security-service-edge) service. Cisco Secure Client goes out to devices through your mobile device management (MDM) platform, and we run the policies in Cisco Secure Access or Cisco Secure Connect, from secure DNS protection up to cloud VPN gateways and zero trust access, depending on your tier. If remote users connect back through Meraki MX appliances and AutoVPN, our [Meraki Security and SD-WAN](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/meraki-sd-wan) service covers the hubs, the tunnels and the site-to-site VPNs. What we don't do is fix the laptop. Device builds, operating system patching and application support stay with your desktop team or provider, and we work alongside them when a problem crosses the line between device and network. Related reading - [Managed Security Service Edge: Secure Access and Secure Connect](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-security-service-edge) - [Managed Meraki SD-WAN: What the Service Covers](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-meraki-sd-wan) --- ## Managed Services Support: FAQs ### Do We Keep Access to Our Meraki Dashboard? Yes. Nothing about your access changes. Under our co-managed model your admins keep full rights to the dashboard and everything else in your environment, and our engineers work from the same information they do. ### Is IPTel's Managed Service Available 24x7? Round-the-clock cover is part of the Critical tier, which includes 24x7 incident response. Our Essential tier runs in business hours and Advanced stretches to extended hours, so pick the tier that matches how critical each environment is. ### Do You Support Laptops and Mobile Devices? No. We manage the network and security infrastructure, including the remote access and Secure Client policy your users rely on, but the devices themselves stay with your desktop support team. ### Where Can I Find More Managed Services Questions Answered? [Part 2 of this series](https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-faq-part-2) covers data security, the infrastructure we manage, outsourcing only part of your network and how firewall changes are handled. --- ## Managed Services Support: Summary A dashboard shows you the network; a managed service puts experienced engineers behind it. Our service adds monitoring, incident response, tested firmware and change control to the tools you already have, coordinates on-site work when hardware fails, and covers the secure connectivity your remote workers depend on, all while you keep full access to your own environment. ### Need Help With Managed Services? If you'd like to see how this would work for your network, our free 10-minute [Build Your Business Case](https://score.iptel.com.au/managed-network-services) assessment gives you a recommended service tier and the value at stake. You can also read more about our [managed services](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services), [make an enquiry](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services-enquiry) or email us at [sales@iptel.com.au](mailto:sales@iptel.com.au). If that's useful, get in touch with the IPTel team. #### Related Articles ###### [The Network as Code: Network Programmability](https://blog.iptel.com.au/the-network-as-code) Mar 12, 2026 ###### [Cisco Access Manager](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-access-manager) Jan 12, 2026 ###### [Meraki Managed Service: Inside the MSP Dashboard](https://blog.iptel.com.au/meraki-managed-service) Aug 8, 2025 ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Mark McSherry", "url" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/author/mark-mcsherry" }, "dateModified" : "2026-11-01T00:28:23.911Z", "datePublished" : "2025-12-19T02:00:47.000Z", "headline" : "Managed Services FAQs Part 1: Support, Hardware and Skills", "image" : [ "https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Blogs/Managed%20Services%20FAQs%20Part%201/managed-services-faqs-part-1-square-feature.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/managed-services-faq-part-1", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/IPTel_Solutions_February2020%20-%20Header%20SiteMap/Images/IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2.png" }, "name" : "IPTel Solutions Pty Ltd" } } ```