It’s a truism that IT and networking teams face growing demands with shrinking resources. Many organizations tell us they’re overwhelmed by constant support requests, operational pressure, fragmented software with high licensing fees, and navigating complex hardware ecosystems—all while ensuring everything works seamlessly throughout the hardware lifecycle.
What’s often overlooked is how these challenges ripple across the service provider landscape. Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Value-Added Resellers (VARs), and System Integrators now grapple with rising costs, stiffer competition, and reduced innovation from networking vendors—especially as industry mergers and acquisitions accelerate.
This is where Meter steps in. Our Partner Program empowers service providers to scale, stand out, and—most critically—double their profitability. It’s a win for providers and a win for customers.
Today, we’re excited to share the story of Keys School, led by their Director of Technology, Ryan Matyjasik, and supported by their MSP, Knowing Technologies, under Founder and CEO Tom Wildman. Their partnership with Meter showcases the dynamic ecosystem we’re building between our customers, partners, and technology to drive mutual success.
Proactive support: Knowing Technologies and Meter work from the same playbook
Keys School is an independent school serving Kindergarten through 8th grade across two campuses in Palo Alto, California. As Director of Technology, Ryan’s role is to ensure that Keys’ 350+ students, teachers, and administrators have the tech tools they need to succeed throughout the school year. That puts him in charge of a fleet of 400+ devices and the network powering them across multiple sites.
“I can already see Meter being proactive... I got an email about a power outage before I even knew there was an issue. That’s the kind of support I need.” Ryan Matyjasik, Director of Technology Keys School
Knowing Technologies is a full-service MSP that counts among its full-time clients 65 independent schools, along with an additional 25 for whom they do project-based work. Tom’s relationship with Ryan and Keys School goes back to when Ryan took over as Director of Technology a decade ago. Tom became a trusted partner when, in Ryan’s words, he “literally punched down a patch panel” on his first site visit. That kind of proactive support was exactly what Ryan needed, and it’s precisely what Meter is looking for in partner providers.
“Meter’s approach is innovative... as exciting as cloud management was 10 years ago. I think it’s an excellent idea, and it looks like it’s been very well executed.” Tom Wildman, Founder and CEO Knowing Technologies
From an untenable upfront cost to one simple monthly bill with Meter
This past summer, Ryan was looking at a licensing renewal for his existing Meraki hardware. The bill was closing in on $100,000 for a mix of new hardware and renewals for existing software licensing. He asked his trusted MSP partner, Tom, for advice. Tom’s response was simply to, “try Meter.”
Meter’s simplified pricing model, the promise of lifetime hardware upgrades, and the proactive support model combined to make the decision an easy one. According to Ryan, “My licensing was up, so the whole network was going to stop working at the end of August. Comparing the upfront costs of new firewalls and renewals for software licenses, and extending that over five years, Meter’s OpEx model just made more sense.” That model meant no upfront costs, one simple monthly bill covering multiple sites, and hardware overprovisioning for maximum performance and reliability.
“Meter said, ‘We’ll come in and we’ll make it right,’ meaning they doubled my AP count. That was a huge selling point.” Ryan Matyjasik, Director of Technology Keys School
From Tom’s perspective, having Ryan and Keys School switch to Meter made sense from multiple angles as well. Having Meter’s proactive monitoring in place has allowed the team from Knowing Technologies to consider other, high-impact services.
“With Meter here, we can dedicate more time to supporting the school’s future growth plans and improving their cybersecurity stance, ensuring that every student’s personal information is safe and secure.” Tom Wildman, Founder and CEO Knowing Technologies
They can also integrate student information systems (SIS) and other technology integrations to support general scalability better. And the shift from routine maintenance to strategic support is allowing Tom and his team to step back and assess how they’re helping their other clients, as well. “Three of our other school sites have recently had their networks go down due to a failed firmware upgrade from the vendor. I don’t see that happening with Meter,” says Tom. This stability, along with the proactive support Meter offers, means that Tom is considering recommending Meter to more of his school clients as existing contracts expire. This will allow him to continue his shift toward strategic support on SIS, scalability, and other initiatives.
Meter, independent schools, and MSPs: a perfect partnership
Ryan highlights the top three benefits of this three-way cooperation: “overprovisioning, the right amount of access to the back end of the network, and the proactive support I get from both Tom’s and Meter’s teams.”
When Meter did the initial site audit, Ryan was concerned about the number of dead zones his Wi-Fi currently had. Overprovisioning to the rescue, with no up-front costs for hardware, Meter set Keys School up with the right number of APs for their space rather than working to a specific budget. Ryan adds, “And when discussing how often our classes move outdoors, the answer was additional APs covering our courtyards.” Ryan simply flagged the issue to Meter, and Meter deployed technicians at no cost, solving the problem. This kind of overprovisioning gives Ryan peace of mind by future-proofing his campus’ Wi-Fi needs.
Tom relates an anecdote about the black-box vs full-access nature of a Meter network. “Ryan experienced a problem last week where he was like, ‘OK, I’ll use Command and see what’s going on,’ then he paused and said, ‘Actually, I have a meeting to get to, so I’ll just call Meter.’” Ryan’s technical know-how allows him to triage issues with Meter’s newest generative UI product, Command, which allows customers to query their network using natural language, just as he did in the past. And now, with Meter, he also knows a team of experts is there to help as soon as they need it.
“I respect what you’ve done with the user interface. It’s impressive, especially allowing end users to operate effectively without shooting themselves in the foot.” Tom Wildman, Founder and CEO Knowing Technologies
This brings us to Ryan’s third major benefit: proactive support. Says Ryan, “There have already been a couple of times where there was an issue I had no idea about, yet Meter was right there with a heads-up. Not only did they alert me to the issue, but they had the solution in place and could walk me through everything at once. By the time I got that call, the problem had already been remedied.”
“We anticipate having to touch the network less with Meter. That frees us up to provide other value to our customers, like cybersecurity, device management, and integrating IT systems to better support the school’s mission.” Tom Wildman, Founder and CEO Knowing Technologies
From Tom’s side of the relationship, Meter’s partnership plans are essential. Since Keys is using Meter for network monitoring and support, Knowing Technologies receives a percentage of the subscription through Meter’s referral program. The other option partner MSPs and customers can opt for would have the MSP handling installation and maintenance, while Meter supplies the hardware and software. In that case, the MSP can ensure their bottom line isn’t impacted, particularly if they also participate in the referral program.
Meter’s partnership program brings benefits to everyone
Both Ryan and Tom wanted to emphasize how using Meter for Keys School’s networking needs has allowed them to refocus their energy in ways that help both businesses. “I had an issue with a space that wasn’t getting a strong Wi-Fi signal. Our account rep happened to be traveling by our campus and stopped in. Once he saw the situation, he agreed that an additional AP was called for and put the order in while still on-site,” Ryan relates.
“[Meter] now allows me to sleep better at night knowing that if I wake up in the morning and something’s going crazy, I’ll have that support.” Ryan Matyjasik, Director of Technology Keys School
Tom adds that knowing Key’s network is in good hands with Meter has allowed him and his team to branch out and support Ryan in other ways. Now, more strategic initiatives like cybersecurity, device management, and student safety can all get the attention they deserve, allowing him to build new business lines while continuing to help Keys future-proof their campuses and protect their students' data privacy.
Tom goes on to say that he sees a bright future with Meter for his other school clients. “Network support is one of our main offerings. I see a confident company bringing a new approach to networking. I think Meter has an innovative model that could just be the perfect thing for many of our customers.”
For details on Meter’s plan options, or our partnership program, please reach out to our team of experts.