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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.4
Cisco ISE users report enhanced security, cost savings, seamless integration, improved efficiency, and reliable threat mitigation with positive ROI.
Sentiment score
6.6
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager enhances security, reducing breach vulnerability, delivering complex yet crucial ROI and risk reduction benefits.
Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.3
Cisco Identity Services Engine's support is responsive but inconsistent, with reliance on partners and occasional delays in complex issues.
Sentiment score
6.6
CyberArk's support is valued and knowledgeable, though response times and accessibility could be improved for efficiency.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
Sometimes it's challenging to identify which support team is responsible for certain issues, which is a significant concern.
We engage them when needed and receive prompt responses that typically resolve our issues.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco ISE is scalable and flexible, but may require careful planning and specific hardware for complex environments.
Sentiment score
7.6
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is praised for scalability, effectively managing diverse environments, despite some challenges with large-scale deployments.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
We can set permissions per team or department, allowing some teams to elevate specific applications while others have different permissions.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco ISE is reliable and consistent, with some instability during updates or heavy loads, but overall well-regarded.
Sentiment score
8.1
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is stable, reliable, highly rated, with notable Windows stability, despite upgrade-related downtime.
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.
Since implementing it, we have not experienced any outages or stability issues.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ISE needs UI, integration, performance, and stability improvements, with enhanced documentation, real-time analytics, and security capabilities.
CyberArk needs UI improvements, better integration, admin tools, and enhanced features for performance, support, and user experience.
Additionally, the product is vulnerable and has many bugs.
Pricing can be more expensive compared to other vendors, and there is a significant price gap observed, which doesn't seem justified by some specific features.
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager could be improved by simplifying the administration process, specifically when setting up policies and applications.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ISE pricing is complex and costly, particularly challenging for small businesses, with value dependent on feature utilization.
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is seen as costly yet reasonable, with varying pricing based on users and sessions.
Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.
Cloud solutions are expensive, while on-prem setups with shared environments are cheaper but not effective.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Identity Services Engine enhances network security with integration, robust features, and centralized management supporting zero-trust principles.
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager enhances enterprise security with features for management, integration, and threat protection, ensuring efficient access control.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very good at device administration.
The solution is integrated with other Cisco devices and can offer automation for an organization, making deployments more dynamic and providing real-time visibility.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
141
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (1st), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Compliance (4th), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (5th), Anti-Malware Tools (5th), Application Control (6th), 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 28.4%, down 31.7% compared to last year.
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Privileged Access Management (PAM), holds 4.0% mindshare, up 3.9% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

SunilkumarNaganuri - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced device administration hindered by complex deployment and security limitations
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) needs to improve the profiling preauthentication. They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases. This will give them a roadmap for software-defined access (SDA) use cases and network segmentation. Threat detection capabilities are very weak. Additionally, the product is vulnerable and has many bugs.
Anish R - PeerSpot reviewer
Foolproof and good for controlling access but can be expensive
I've worked in BeyondTrust, also. They have Asian-based solutions, and it's not as heavy as CyberArk. Since I have been working with CyberArk for some time, I feel a little bit more comfortable with CyberArk. BeyondTrust is also not that bad. However, they did not have all the capabilities that CyberArk was offering at that time. That said, this was maybe four or five years ago. I haven't explored anything after that. I'm sure a lot of things have changed. There used to be IBM Privilege Identity Manager as well, but it's not there anymore. Saviynt has its own solution as well. Basically, there are multiple solutions there, however, CyberArk was definitely been our choice for Privilege Identity Manager.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
28%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
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
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