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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
139
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (1st), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege...
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Compliance (5th), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (7th), Anti-Malware Tools (8th), Application Control (5th), Ransomware Protection (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is designed for Network Access Control (NAC) and holds a mindshare of 29.9%, down 31.4% compared to last year.
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Privileged Access Management (PAM), holds 4.0% mindshare, up 3.6% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Darren Hill - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 3, 2023
Offers users the ability to be able to see what devices are actually on their network
I don't really know how to improve it, I think it's a great product. If I compare Cisco with something like ClearPass, for example, ISE is a lot more intuitive in terms of all the workflows and the work centers. They give you all the building blocks you need to be able to configure it. It's quite useful and quite easy to manage. If I was going to improve anything, it would be the ease of migration. It's really difficult at the moment if you're looking to upgrade ISE 2.1 and you want to go to ISE 3.1 or 3.2, that whole upgrade path and, particularly, the licensing is quite a minefield to sort out. If I wanted anything to be easier, it would be this.
IkeEkweruo - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 21, 2022
Helps us secure our endpoints and prevent attacks, but it can be improved by allowing computers to be excluded from policies.
All of the features are valuable. They control applications for users, like preventing users from elevating applications. You can use it to strip users of their local admin rights and, at the same time, elevate applications for them and give them access to elevated applications. Hence, administrative rights are unavailable for domain accounts which are the juicy ones for attackers because they can use them to move laterally from one host to another. Therefore, attackers can no longer strip a user's near right, but at the same time, they can elevate the user from access to the application and do their jobs without having issues elevating applications.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have seen ROI. It has done its job. It has protected us when we needed it to."
"There are a lot of integrations available with multiple vendors. This has made the solution easier to work with."
"The way we can trust this solution is the most valuable. We have no issue with this product. It is a competitive product. You need to have a very good and deep knowledge of the product to take the full benefits of all the features, but it is a good product."
"The core point is that Cisco ISE is the same globally compared to FortiAuthenticator. Whether I deploy in China, the US, South Africa, or wherever, I'm can get all the capabilities. It allows me to directly integrate with 365, and from a communications point of view, that is a good capability."
"The user experience of the solution is great. It's a very transparent system."
"Member Access Control and the ability to integrate all Cisco wireless, Cisco networking, switches, routers, and firewalls."
"We found that the most valuable features associated with this tool are posture assessment, policy management, VLAN assignments, guest assignment, and BYOD services. In addition to these services, the Cisco IOS software switch configuration feature is another very valuable aspect of the policy and compliance solution."
"Cisco ISE provides authentication for various applications. It can integrate with other applications to manage access, including Privileged Access Management for those applications. For a comprehensive environment, Cisco ISE should be able to integrate and provide asset management for an IT organization or any organization."
"It has drastically reduced the attack surface for local administrative rights and the chance of escalation of privilege. We've removed, at this point, close to 98 percent of the local administrative accounts on workstations. If there were an incident, it would stop at that point and we'd be able to know."
"I like that you can remove the admin rights from the user's computer and have control over the environment. That means you can delete the local admins and grant them proper privileges with the console. So, they will get proper permissions for applications they need, but we don't have to do it. In the domain where we don't have control, the user can only do specified actions, but not all of them."
"The password rotation and the session recording are the most valuable features."
"What sets CyberArk apart is its continuous innovation, staying ahead of the competition."
"We can do both server and endpoint protection."
"The solution's technical support is good."
"The most valuable feature of CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is its high performance, it's the best identity security platform. The security is good. It's easy to showcase the feature and capabilities and compare it with other competitors. It competes well with other solutions. Additionally, it is a complete solution."
"This is the number one product for privilege account security."
 

Cons

"I'd like to see the logging be a bit more robust in terms of what it has baked in. If I want to do any in-depth searching, I have to export all the logs to an external platform like Elastic or LogRhythm and then parse through them myself. It would be nice if I could find what I want, when I want it, on the platform itself."
"Compatibility and integration with other vendors is what needs to be improved in Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine)."
"The web UI should be made similar to the one in DNAC."
"An issue with the product is it tends to have a lot of bugs whenever they release a new release."
"Cisco could improve the GUIs on their hardware."
"Cisco ISE integration with Cisco ACI is something that can be done in a less complex way. And the simplification in that area may help us do better."
"There are issues with respect to the posture assessment function. It's been observed that customers are not receiving total access to the network because the assessment agent is glitchy and malfunctions from time-to-time. I would like to see refining of the compliance assessment and adding more detailed compliance of endpoints on the user end."
"I'm frustrated by the resource consumption and how many resources it needs to run. It takes a lot of RAM. It takes a lot of space and a lot of IO power. It's frustrating to do upgrades because it takes a long time."
"CyberArk has some performance issues. For example, servers could not handle the solution when we first took CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager."
"We have had some major issues with the tool, but we have worked with the R&D teams and we have worked with support. There is room for improvement, especially on response times. But they're working on it and they're doing the best they can."
"The solution can be complex to use at times."
"CyberArk meets clients' need very spot-on. It covers everything customers ask for. As for improvements, honestly, the feedback's been really positive. I haven't heard any specific areas that need work."
"It cannot be on-prem. It is only cloud-based. Sometimes, that's a restriction in terms of usage."
"CyberArk is a pretty heavy solution."
"CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager can be better by making its UI more consistent."
"They need much better integration with Azure AD."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price can be lower, especially for subscriptions. It should be a lot cheaper to have a wide range of customers. The price should be comparable to competitive products like Forescout or Fortinet FortiNAC. Forescout is cheaper for customers looking for a cloud solution."
"Over the years, licensing has been confusing and complicated because there are so many different licenses for each different product and each different iteration of the product."
"It has a fair price. It is better than it was before."
"According to my sales and account team, the prices we're getting are pretty good."
"If you're not going through an agreement, it's very expensive."
"It is difficult to measure security breaches, but since we have not been attacked so far, it has paid for itself over the years."
"The solution is not that cheap."
"In terms of the licensing and the pricing structure of the Cisco Identity Services Engine, there's been a huge advantage to our clients recently with the advent of the enterprise agreement."
"Pricing depends on how many devices you use. Right now, on-premise, it costs us a little, but it's worth it. It seems like the cloud solution is much more expensive. We got this solution one year ago, and it's like we bought the solution, and now they are not going to support it on-premise anymore. We are in the implementation phase, and we missed this, and we already paid for the licenses. This is wasted time from my perspective, and CyberArk should be more customer-friendly."
"The tool is a bit pricey compared to its competitors. My company does work with competitors, but I don't have hands-on experience with other software. I've just done some comparisons."
"The professional services for one eight-hour day would be $1,800."
"It is an expensive solution."
"We pay about $17 per user."
"The price of CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is expensive. The solution is priced based on the number of accounts onboarded and the number of concurrent sessions. Everyone else is included in the price, such as support."
"The cost for CyberArk is very high."
"licensing for this solution is based on the number of APV (privileged users), and the number of sessions that you want to record."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
25%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Aruba Clearpass or Cisco ISE?
Aruba ClearPass is a Network Access Control tool that gives secure network access to multiple device types. You can adapt the policies to VPN access, wired, or wireless access. You can securely ...
What are the main differences between Cisco ISE and Forescout Platform?
OK, so Cisco ISE uses 802.1X to secure switchports against unauthorized access. The drawback of this is that ISE cannot secure the port if a device does not support 802.1x. Cameras, badge readers, ...
How does Cisco ISE compare with Fortinet FortiNAC?
Cisco ISE uses AI endpoint analytics to identify new devices based on their behavior. It will also notify you if someone plugs in with a device that is not allowed and will block it. The user exper...
Looking for recommendations and a pros/cons template for software to detect insider threats
This is an inside-out --- outside-in --- inside-in question, as an insider can be an outsider as well. There is no short answer other than a blend of a PAM tool with Behavioral Analytics and Endpo...
What do you like most about CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager?
The most valuable feature of the solution is its performance.
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
Viewfinity
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, BC Hydro, Beachbody, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Cisco IT, Derby City Council, Global Banking Customer, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, Houston Methodist, Linz AG, London Hydro, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Molina Healthcare, MST Systems, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Reykjavik University, Wildau University
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, HPE Aruba Networking, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: September 2024.
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