Cisco & Meraki specialists. Across the UK.
+44 203 196 6566 · option 1sales@proxar.co.uk

Connect. Secure. Manage.

SaaS Network Path Optimisation

Review how office and remote users reach SaaS applications, assessing Cisco or Meraki routing choices, internet exits and measurable path quality.

Cisco Partner since 2009 Projects & ongoing support

Illustrative Cisco and Meraki data-centre network infrastructure
Your network. Properly considered.Design · Implementation · Support
1,000+

Devices supported
across the UK

20+

Client locations
supported

Nearly 8 Tbps

Traffic handled
at peak time

3 min

Average
response time

Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.

SaaS network path optimisation examines how users reach cloud applications and whether the chosen route is unnecessarily slow, congested or fragile. The shortest-looking path is not automatically the right one if it bypasses required security or breaks application access. MCI Network Services reviews Cisco and Meraki connectivity to SaaS services, balancing measurable user experience with routing control, inspection requirements and the practical limits of third-party networks.

01

The whole path

Understand how sites, providers, cloud networks and security controls fit together.

02

Resilience that can be tested

Separate a second circuit from genuine end-to-end service resilience.

03

Provider coordination

Keep addressing, routing and escalation ownership clear across organisations.

Start with the user journey

We identify the application functions that matter: signing in, opening a document, joining a meeting or completing a business transaction. A homepage loading quickly does not prove that the rest of the service performs well. The assessment maps office users, remote workers and any shared virtual-desktop environment because each group may take a different route.

The application owner helps define an acceptable experience and representative tests. We record when problems occur, which locations are affected and whether the symptoms follow a recent change. This prevents the review from becoming a general recommendation for local internet breakout when the actual constraint may be DNS, identity, endpoint performance or the SaaS platform itself.

Illustrative enterprise Cisco network rack in a modern office environment
01Enterprise switching and routing, built to be operated.
Cisco PartnerCisco Partner
Cisco MerakiCisco Meraki
ISO 9001Quality management
ISO 27001Information security
Cyber EssentialsCyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials PlusCyber Essentials Plus

MCI Network Services is operated by Proxar Ltd. Certifications apply to the certified legal entity and the scope of its certificates. View accreditation information

Map the real path and its dependencies

The route can include local wireless, an office firewall, a private WAN, a central internet exit, a proxy and a cloud security service before reaching the application. We document those stages and identify who controls each one. Where supported, path measurements from relevant vantage points help establish which route users actually take rather than relying only on the intended diagram.

DNS and service discovery can influence the destination selected by a cloud application. We review resolver placement and the effect of security services without assuming that one universal resolver change will improve every application. Some destinations are selected dynamically, and provider routing can change. The design therefore needs an operational method for observing the experience, not just a fixed list of addresses.

Illustrative Cisco and Meraki network rack in a modern office
02The office network: switching, uplinks and structured cabling.

A useful starting point

Not sure where to start?

Bring the requirement. We will help you define the engineering work.

Talk to a specialist

Evaluate centralised and local exits

A central exit can simplify security administration but add distance and shared capacity demands for remote sites. Local exits may reduce that detour while increasing the number of places where policy must be maintained. We compare those options against the customer’s actual security architecture and supported Cisco or Meraki features rather than treating decentralisation as an automatic improvement.

Application exceptions require careful scope. We identify which traffic could use an alternative path, how it will be recognised and what controls remain in force. Encrypted traffic and changing cloud endpoints can make static classification brittle. Any bypass of a proxy, inspection service or VPN must be explicitly approved by the appropriate owner; performance work is not authority to weaken the security design.

Illustrative Cisco and Meraki fibre network rack with structured cabling
03Fibre, switching and the physical path behind the service.

Measure the parts of the transaction

Network delay, connection establishment and application processing contribute differently to user experience. We choose tests that help separate them and compare results across affected and unaffected locations. Supported ThousandEyes tests, endpoint measurements and Cisco or Meraki path evidence may be used together. The method and its limitations are included in the report.

We examine variation as well as averages. A route that usually performs well may be unsuitable if peak-period loss disrupts meetings or interactive work. The assessment also considers upload traffic, which is often overlooked when teams focus only on download speed. Measurements reflect the real service and working hours rather than a convenient test destination that users never access.

Illustrative Cisco and Meraki network operations centre with monitoring displays
04Visibility, monitoring and operational control.

Introduce changes in a controlled pilot

Potential changes can involve exit selection, SD-WAN policy, DNS placement, capacity or security-service routing. We agree a limited pilot, baseline and rollback procedure before applying them. Representative users test the functions that prompted the review, and the operations team checks that access logging and security visibility remain adequate.

The pilot includes failure behaviour where practical. An optimised primary route should not leave the application unreachable when a circuit or security service fails. We check the backup path, public-address dependencies and any session re-establishment requirements. Improvements are accepted on observed results, not on the existence of a new policy in a dashboard.

Illustrative Cisco and Meraki equipment in a modern data-centre aisle
05Resilient infrastructure from rack to service path.

Keep optimisation aligned with service changes

SaaS providers change endpoints and application behaviour, while customers add sites and security controls. We recommend a manageable set of ongoing measurements and a review trigger for significant changes. The handover records policy ownership, exceptions and the evidence supporting each routing decision so that later engineers can understand why the path was chosen.

MCI works with Cisco and Meraki networks across the UK and can focus on one critical SaaS service or a broader cloud-access review. This service complements WAN performance and cloud network connectivity. An initial discussion needs the affected services, user locations and existing exit design, not unrestricted customer data or credentials. We will scope the investigation around the experience your business needs to improve.

Illustrative Cisco and Meraki data-centre network infrastructure
06Network infrastructure designed around the workloads it carries.

Talk to a specialist

What does your network need next?

Tell us what you are planning, changing or trying to improve. We will help define a practical next step and the engineering scope.

+44 203 196 6566

Choose option 1

sales@proxar.co.uk

UK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.

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