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Cisco Duo vs CyberArk Identity comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 24, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Duo
Ranking in Authentication Systems
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (2nd), ZTNA as a Service (6th), Cisco Security Portfolio (7th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (1st)
CyberArk Identity
Ranking in Authentication Systems
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (13th), Authorization Software (4th), Enterprise Password Managers (9th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (9th), Access Management (9th), Active Directory Management (11th), Cloud Resource Access Management (2nd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

RyanDeppe - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps reduce the risk of a breach and is easy to deploy and onboard
For our customers, Duo Security is a significant advantage because it provides them with a straightforward method to implement MFA across their entire environment. Moreover, once we delve into the more advanced features of Duo Security, it enables us as a partner to engage in ongoing discussions regarding security strategies with our customers. Initially, we may only introduce them to MFA during the onboarding process. However, as their security strategy evolves, we can leverage Duo to perform additional tasks such as risk-based assessments and deployments, thereby assisting in the development of their security measures. Duo Security helps secure our infrastructure. It serves as our gateway layer of protection, allowing us to understand who is logging in and why. We conduct risk-based assessments on each user to determine whether their actions are appropriate or not. Duo Security is not a comprehensive security solution, but it is undoubtedly a crucial component, a critical layer of security. This aspect resonates with our customers consistently. Their ability to reduce the risk of a breach is of utmost importance. It serves as the primary line of defense. Currently, credential gathering and leaks are widespread in the market. By implementing an MFA solution like Duo Security, we can effectively prevent these issues. When we put a stop to credential harvesting, it becomes much harder for attackers to infiltrate and navigate our network. Therefore, Duo Security acts as an excellent first line of defense. User authentication and device verification are the methods through which we envision our customers navigating in order to prevent identity-based attacks. Initially, when we employ Duo Security, it is a straightforward implementation of multi-factor authentication. As we progress, we enhance security measures by incorporating device risk assessment and potentially even regional assessment. This includes considerations such as whether the login is being attempted from a specific IP address. These gradual enhancements contribute to the establishment of an additional layer of protection. Thus, it is not necessary to implement a completely disruptive strategy right from the start. Instead, it is possible to gradually adopt and integrate this approach, following a crawl, walk, or run methodology. The Duo Security self-service portal helps free up our customers' IT staff time, allowing them to focus on other projects. As a Cisco partner, we have received feedback from our customers that the portal is highly interactive, enabling them to easily navigate and resolve issues. After setting up their Duo environment, we rarely receive callbacks for assistance, as the portal is intuitive and empowers users to handle everything they need on their own. The appealing aspect of Duo Security is its ability to establish trust for every access request, regardless of its origin. It is a cloud-based solution with excellent API integrations. It doesn't matter where or how a user logs in; Duo will be there to protect the user, whether it's through MFA, risk assessment, or similar methods. It is extremely beneficial to our customers that Duo Security considers all resources as external. Our customers frequently inquire about a zero-trust model, and this is a key component of it. Unfortunately, I would love to say that there is a simple solution for zero trust where we can just deploy this solution and be done with it. But that's not the case. It requires a layered approach, and that's what we convey to our customers. Duo Security is definitely a part of that. Duo Security has helped improve our customers' cybersecurity resilience. Internally, it protects our users from accessing sales operations-based environments. Additionally, our customers use it regularly to protect business-critical applications.
Avinash Gopu. - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows Linux and Unix administrators to login with single password
The solution helps with auditing, and monitoring, and integrates with Splunk for log analysis. User activity logs are captured in CyberArk Identity and sent to external tools like Splunk for analysis and monitoring. It is integrated with tools like Splunk and Dynatrace for the analysis of risk behavior and user activity. The pushing teams receive automated reports to assess factors such as login times and server activity in the last 60 days. The licensing for IAM and PAM tools is based on headcount and usage. Users who are not actively utilizing the resources may have their access revoked. This approach helps manage budgeting and reduces the risk impact on the organization by implementing protocols to mitigate threats.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It provides single-pane-of-glass management, which is pretty easy and straightforward. Because we manage multiple access tiers, it allows us to essentially manage everything from one viewpoint and not have many viewpoints for the same product. This is important because it is a time and resource saver. It also saves us money."
"It's easy to use for the security part, and it helps to improve our security posture."
"Documentation is the most valuable feature, and if you ever have to reach out to them with a question, their support is also fantastic."
"It has continuously evolved by introducing new solutions and products to address emerging security threats in our industry, demonstrating its commitment to staying ahead of evolving security challenges."
"It was a simple way of providing two-factor authentication for remote access when we hit the COVID pandemic. It was very easy and quick to get it going."
"The solution is easy to use."
"For me and my customers, the best feature is that it's very easy to integrate with the existing infrastructure. It takes a few minutes to configure it."
"It is really scalable. It is easy once you get an application in. You can import users from Active Directory and enroll users really fast."
"I like the RBAC (Role-Based Access Control). It basically involves defining various roles, and then simply assigning those roles to users."
"If anyone makes an error, or if an incident occurs by accident, the business will not be harmed as a result of this activity."
"The setup, via cloud, is simple."
"The feature that we find most valuable is the ability to integrate multiple IDs for on-premises Active Directory."
"The user self-service program and the Office 365 provisioning service feature are the most valuable. It is a very easy and feature-rich solution that gives priority to the users and security."
"The initial setup is straightforward. It takes me up to an hour and a half."
"The tool is a very strong and valuable enterprise solution, particularly in ensuring the continuity of service."
"The features that I personally find most effective in terms of security stem from the fact that it is easy to integrate and also the adoption is faster."
 

Cons

"I believe there are two new features. I am interested in adding auto-admin services and incorporating icons for easier navigation. This could contribute to a new business idea platform. I have seen the features, and they make things easier, resolving issues from before. The platform has been updated, and there's now another link in my platform for media access. When it comes to improvements, the UI can be more user-friendly, and there is room for easier navigation. Perhaps there could be enhancements in customization. I haven't faced issues in storage or backup, but I am open to improvements in customization functionality. It's not my environment, but I see possibilities for improvement in the deployment of funds. The addition of new features is appreciated, and for customization, it could provide more freedom for users."
"Smart Licensing needs improvement. It's terrible. We have problems with it every year and we need to involve support to fix it."
"I wouldn't mind seeing some options for remembering a device for a short period of time or a specific login, particularly for administrative engineering staff, as we may be logging in to four or five different services."
"We have a 24 hour timer for our Duo cookie and we would like to reduce this to a shorter time when using Duo."
"Duo was clearly purchased, and Cisco has a lot of other panels for their Firepower products, et cetera. They need to continue bringing it, Umbrella, and the endpoint pieces even more together and make the integration a little more seamless among all of them."
"The product could be more intuitive on the app."
"Reducing or eliminating the "telephony credits" system used by Duo would be great."
"Integration between Duo Security and FTDs needs improvement. Integrating Next Generation Firewall safety with Duo Security currently requires a proxy agent between Active Directory and the appliance. It's an additional factor that we need to think about. It would be great to have direct integration with FTD so that we don't have to worry about middleware products. For the rest of the Cisco Secure solutions, the APIs need improvement."
"In terms of general user feedback, the more security you put in front of a user, the more they complain. So usability and the user experience are always a challenge. So there's always room for improvement."
"CyberArk Identity could improve by having the ability to better manage the network, such as Cisco. There seem to be some issues in this area."
"CyberArk Identity's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"More integrations would be better."
"The solution could be easier to use and I found it to be very complex involving many steps."
"The product needs to leverage the cloud more, especially in the financial sector, where cloud adoption might be limited. Proper reporting within the cloud is essential. The tool should be more user-friendly to expedite access for users. The current agent-based system poses challenges if a user loses access to the server, making tasks difficult to perform. It should also improve technical support."
"In terms of a governance platform, it's worth noting that CyberArk doesn't offer a particularly strong one."
"The product is not cheap, especially if you opt for an on-premise deployment requiring a complex server infrastructure. On the other hand, choosing the software as a service version simplifies infrastructure requirements but necessitates being online all the time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I haven't seen it in a while, but it's at par with everything else licensing-wise."
"Duo Security's pricing is good, fair, and very comparable to today's market."
"I haven't seen any information on the pricing in four years, so I can't comment on that."
"Duo Security is free."
"It has a fair pricing model. I know they have different tiers, but it would be nice to have different types of licenses for certain groups of users in our organization. That way, we wouldn't have to lump everybody into one group. That would be also one complaint."
"The licensing is very good because it does not cost a lot of money. It's affordable for all-sized customers, including enterprises. There is an additional cost for premium support."
"During testing we are allowed a certain number of licenses for free."
"You pay per user when using this solution and the pricing is fair."
"I would rate the tool’s pricing a seven out of ten. The product’s pricing is expensive and is on a yearly basis. You will need to pay around 10,000 GBP for 500 users."
"In terms of pricing, BeyondTrust and CyberArk tend to be more expensive, with CyberArk receiving an eight out of ten, in this regard."
"It's not that affordable compared to Delinea or other products. They're less expensive and allow more customization. For the cost, it is expensive."
"There is an initial license and then there is a subscription needed."
"The solution is cheap and I rate its pricing an eight out of ten."
"There could be some additional costs apart from the licensing costs of the solution when you want to develop connectors in CyberArk Identity."
"We find that the pricing and licensing of this solution is adequate, as compared to the other competitors in the market."
"I think it is a fairly priced tool. I rate the tool between six and seven on a scale of one to ten where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
25%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?
We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What do you like most about Duo Security?
They are users who, as mentioned before, utilize RDPAP and MDPAP. It includes functionalities related to finance, specifically in single sign-on.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?
I would rate the pricing of Cisco Duo as a seven on a scale of one to ten, which means it is quite expensive.
What do you like most about CyberArk Identity?
The integration capabilities, ability to integrate CyberArk into the overall IBB strategy of our current clients.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Identity?
I think it is a fairly priced tool. I rate the tool between six and seven on a scale of one to ten where one is expensive, and ten is cheap.
What needs improvement with CyberArk Identity?
At the moment CyberArk needs to enrich Conjur and it needs to be made more viable so that its adoption can be made much faster.
 

Also Known As

Duo Security
Idaptive
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
MLB, Citi, Pfizer, SulAmerica, GE Capital, Shiseido
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Duo vs. CyberArk Identity and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
830,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.