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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Forescout Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.3
Cisco ISE support is valued for expertise but criticized for delays, reactive approach, and integration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.3
Customer service excels in responsiveness; technical support praised but some report slow Tier 1 responses and mixed experiences.
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.
 

Room For Improvement

Sentiment score
4.4
Cisco ISE users face challenges with complexity, performance issues, integration, intuitive interface, documentation, and licensing concerns.
Sentiment score
3.8
Forescout users seek improved accuracy, interfaces, integration, support, analytics, and scalability, highlighting needs in usability, training, and communication.
They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases.
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.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco ISE offers scalable solutions for diverse enterprises, supporting expansions with additional nodes or licenses for efficient endpoint management.
Sentiment score
7.4
Forescout Platform offers scalable management for diverse users and devices, supporting seamless integration and deployment across industries.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
 

Setup Cost

Sentiment score
3.5
Cisco ISE's pricing model is complex and costly, with subscription expenses, though discounts benefit larger clients.
Sentiment score
3.4
Forescout Platform offers flexible, endpoint-based licensing for enterprises, considered expensive yet competitive, with discounts potentially available.
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.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco ISE is generally stable, though some face issues during updates; reliability improves with proper configuration and recent versions.
Sentiment score
7.8
Forescout Platform is praised for reliability but has occasional issues resolved quickly; users rate it 7-10 out of 10.
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.
 

Valuable Features

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco ISE offers robust security and ease of use, integrating AAA management with scalability and improved GUI, enhancing network control.
Sentiment score
7.6
Forescout Platform enhances network security with agentless visibility, flexible access control, and real-time threat detection for diverse environments.
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...
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
141
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
Forescout Platform
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
IoT Security (1st), Endpoint Compliance (6th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (16th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is 28.8%, down from 31.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forescout Platform is 13.9%, up from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

Bill Masci - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps across a distributed network, giving you a central way of authenticating everybody
A lot of people tell you the hardware requirements for ISE are pretty substantial. If you're running a virtual environment, you're going to be dedicating quite a bit of resources to an ISE VM. That is something that could be worked on. The upgrade process is not very simple. It's pretty time-consuming. If you follow it step by step you're probably going to have a good time, but there are still a lot of things that could be a lot more user-friendly from an administrator's perspective. [They could be] easing a lot of the issues that people have. Instead of just saying the best practice is to migrate to new nodes [what would be helpful] would be to make that upgrade process easier. The UI is a lot nicer in 3.0. It's pretty slow, but for the most part, it's easy to find what you're looking for, especially things like RADIUS live logs, TACACS live logs. From a troubleshooting perspective, it's really nice finding stuff. For setting up policies, from that perspective, it could be a little bit better looking.
Odai Halawani - PeerSpot reviewer
It's an easy and effective solution, especially for device profiling without agents
Forescout Platform's most valuable aspect is its excellent device profiling for devices without agents, which is crucial for our work due to challenges with agent-based devices. Its isolation and blocking actions are particularly effective for network security. The device compliance feature helps us ensure device compliance through immediate actions like updating antivirus software. We have already integrated Forescout with antivirus and vulnerability assessment tools, allowing it to monitor vulnerability scores and automatically isolate devices if critical vulnerabilities are detected.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
32%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

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...
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
Forescout is a very powerful NAC product that does not rely on port level configuration. It can detect and block unauthorized devices very quickly. But it has a lot of capabilities and really would...
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I would rate the Forescout Device and Visibility Control Platform at a six out of ten.
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
Forescout Platform, CounterACT for Endpoint Compliance, ForeScout CounterACT
 

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
NHS Sussex, SAP, SEGA, Vistaprint, Miami Children's Hospital, Pioneer Investments, New York Law School, OmnicomGroup, Meritrust
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs. Forescout Platform and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
823,875 professionals have used our research since 2012.