Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Fortinet FortiAuthenticator compete in the network access control and authentication category. While both offer comprehensive solutions, Fortinet FortiAuthenticator has an edge in cost-effectiveness and integration within its ecosystem, especially in environments that prioritize straightforward deployment.
Features: Cisco ISE is notable for its compatibility with 802.1X, TrustSec capabilities, and centralized access control through Radius and TACACS+. It provides posture profiling and a guest portal experience, integrating seamlessly with Cisco products. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator excels in two-factor authentication, integrates effectively with various identity management systems, and offers cost-effective solutions. Its integration within the Fortinet ecosystem and straightforward authentication processes add to its advantages.
Room for Improvement: Cisco ISE could improve in setup complexity, learning curve, and user interface integration. Users find difficulties with upgrade procedures and documentation clarity. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator may enhance vendor integration support and setup intuitiveness, while also addressing documentation and user interface improvements. However, FortiAuthenticator is known for being less complex than Cisco ISE configurations.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco ISE deployments, typically on-premises or hybrid, involve Cisco’s support ecosystem but sometimes face mixed technical support reviews. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is lauded for its flexible hybrid deployments and straightforward setup, with support commended for its efficiency. Fortinet’s customer service is user-friendly and cost-effective compared to Cisco’s comprehensive but complex network.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco ISE is often perceived as more expensive, involving complex licensing and higher capital expenses due to hardware reliance, though offering strong integration advantages. The ROI justifies security enhancements and network management improvements, but smaller organizations may find the costs burdensome. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is recognized for its affordable licensing model, providing competitive pricing with clear ROI through security enhancements and straightforward investment recovery.
Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.
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.
At times, some technical staff lack knowledge, which delays issue resolution.
When we send a ticket to Fortinet, they go into research mode as if they are hearing the problem for the first time.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
The scalability of FortiAuthenticator is good, and I would rate it an eight on a scale of one to ten.
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.
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.
For example, authentication for wireless users expires after 24 hours, requiring re-authentication daily.
The technical support could be improved as some staff lacks the necessary knowledge to assist effectively.
I would like to see more integration and inclusion of features for ransomware protection directly within the FortiAuthenticator without requiring additional devices.
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.
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.
We use multi-factor authentication for enhancing security.
The most valuable feature I find in FortiAuthenticator is web filtering.
Cisco ISE is an all-in-one solution that streamlines security policy management and reduces operating costs. Cisco ISE delivers visibility and access control over users and devices across wired, wireless, and VPN connections.
Identity Services Engine enables enterprises to deliver secure network access to users and devices. It shares contextual data, such as threats and vulnerabilities, with integrated solutions from Cisco technology partners. You can see what is happening in your network, which applications are running, and more.
Features of Cisco ISE
Benefits of Cisco ISE
Cisco’s holistic approach to network access security has several advantages:
Support
You can get ISE as a physical or virtual appliance. Both deployments can create ISE clusters that create scale, redundancy, and requirements.
Licensing
Cisco ISE has four primary licences. Evaluation for up to 100 endpoints with full platform functionality. The higher tiers are Partner, Advantage and Essential.
Reviews from Real Users
"The user experience of the solution is great. It's a very transparent system. according to a PeerSpot user in Cyber Security at a manufacturing company.
Omar Z., Network & Security Engineer at an engineering company, feels that "The RADIUS Server holds the most value."
“Whether I deploy in China, the US, South Africa, or wherever, I 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," says Rammohan M., Senior Consultant at a tech services company.
Hassan A.,Technology Manager at Advanced Integrated Systems, says that "The most valuable feature is the integration with StealthWatch and DNA as one fabric."
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is the primary secure point of approved access into the Fortinet network, authorizing users, reviewing access permissions, and relaying the information to all Fortigate devices for comparison with identity-based protocols. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is a top-ranked authorization and SSO solution.
Appropriate secure access is fundamental to every role in an enterprise ecosystem. It is an integral function of every organization to ensure that every access and privilege is secure and to mitigate any possible risk to an organization. Approved users should only have access to the necessary information when they need it, from the appropriate location(s) to safeguard an organization's security at all times.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is available as an appliance, virtual machine, or in the cloud.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator Methods
Reviews from Real Users
Ernesto C., Presales Engineer at a comms service provider, shares,
”Key Features and Benefits
Ibrahim M., Senior Network & Security Engineer at a tech services company, relates, "The initial setup is a valuable point on Fortinet products. Most of the time, putting the theory into practice on the devices is quite friendly and straightforward. As long as you can read English you can find your way around the solution and make it work. This is a high value point on Fortinet - the way everything is laid out in the web UI is user-friendly and quite straightforward. The UI is quite simple."
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