Could Your Next Network Cost Less Than Your Renewal?
Many IT teams assume renewing their existing platform is the safest commercial choice. But when they take a fresh look at the market, they often find something unexpected: moving to a modern cloud-managed network can cost less than standing still.
Mark Groom, Network Solutions Consultant at Misco, sat down with Andrew Blomley, Head of Product and Solutions at TP-Link, to discuss what IT teams are discovering when they re-evaluate cloud-managed networking and why that conversation is changing faster than many expected.
A Platform Built Around What IT Teams Actually Need
TP-Link’s Omada is a cloud-managed networking platform that brings access points, switches and gateways together in a single interface. It offers zero-touch provisioning, centralised visibility, role-based access and Wi-Fi 7 hardware, without the burden of an on-premises controller or per-device licensing.
Andrew Blomley is clear on the value proposition.
For years, enterprise networking has treated complexity as a feature with expanding licences, costly renewals and platforms that need specialist skills to run. Omada was built to change that.
Andrew Blomley, Head of Product and Solutions, TP-Link
For Mark Groom, that proposition had to stand up in real customer environments before it could be recommended with confidence.
I tested Omada against distributed estates and multi-site deployments. The cloud management is strong, the visibility across sites is excellent, and it feels like a genuine enterprise platform.
Mark Groom, Network Solutions Consultant, Misco
How the Platform is Changing Perceptions
Omada is often seen as accessible, but that can lead customers to underestimate just how capable the platform is. According to Mark, that perception tends to change quickly once customers see it in action.
Customers come in with one set of assumptions about what a TP-Link platform will look like, and within minutes those assumptions start to fall away. The depth of the interface, the control and the visibility across sites is far more capable than many expect.
Mark Groom, Network Solutions Consultant, Misco
Andrew sees that reaction as a reflection of exactly what Omada was built to do.
What surprises people is not just that Omada is more affordable, it is that they see a platform with the features, control and usability they would expect from a serious enterprise solution.
Andrew Blomley, Head of Product and Solutions, TP-Link
A Better Investment Not Just a Lower Cost
For many organisations, the commercial conversation becomes most relevant when a renewal comes due. At that point, the choice is often framed as paying again to maintain the existing estate, or investing in something more modern.
A lot of customers are paying year after year to license infrastructure that is not really moving forward. They can renew what they have, or move to a modern cloud-managed Wi-Fi 7 network with Omada often for less than the cost of that renewal.
Mark Groom, Network Solutions Consultant, Misco
Andrew frames that distinction directly.
Paying to maintain a static estate is a holding pattern. Moving to Omada means investing in modern cloud management and Wi-Fi 7 capability without being tied into the commercial model that has defined the market for years.
Andrew Blomley, Head of Product and Solutions, TP-Link
A Credible Enterprise Networking Alternative
For many IT managers, renewal no longer feels like a neutral decision. It feels like a licensing trap, keep paying to maintain the existing estate, or face the perceived disruption of change.
That is where Omada changes the conversation. Misco can help customers assess the platform properly through a walkthrough, site survey, tailored solution design and access to sample hardware, giving teams a practical way to validate an alternative before making any commitment.
The real opportunity is not just to save money. It is to break out of a commercial model that keeps costs recurring while capability stands still. If Omada offers a genuine route to better capability, modern cloud management and Wi-Fi 7 readiness often for less than the cost of renewal, then it is worth taking seriously.
See What Omada Can Do for Your Network
Speak to Misco today to arrange a platform walkthrough, site survey or tailored solution design and discover what modern cloud-managed networking should actually look like and what it should actually cost.