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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Fortinet FortiToken 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)
Fortinet FortiToken
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Fortinet FortiToken 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 29.2%, down 31.6% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiToken, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 8.6% mindshare, up 8.4% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Rohit-Joshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 3, 2023
Enables us to ensure that any machine that comes into the network is patched and secure
Posturing is the most valuable feature. There are other tools available that can do some of their other features, like network authentication. The posturing was something because of the nature of the industry that we are in. There are people who go outside for work. Their machines are at times not in the network, and not patched properly. We don't know when they're going to come back, whether it is in a good state, whether it has antivirus, whether it's installed on those machines. Posturing is something that we have made our baseline policy that whenever a machine comes back to our network, it should have a certain level of the operating system and a level of security and antivirus installed. We couldn't have done this posturing without Cisco ISE. This is its greatest feature. It does help me to detect and remediate my network. It enables me to detect any external threat that comes to my network and remediate. If a machine comes into my network that does not qualify per my baseline policy, I have a policy that the machine gets redirected to where it can be patched and remediated. I can ensure that it is fully patched and secure. The entire idea of having ISE is to enhance cybersecurity resilience. The zero trust architecture was coined by the cybersecurity team itself. It was a task given to us in the infrastructure space to see how we can bring resilience into the cybersecurity network and ISE was the solution.
Sutjipto Budiman - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 28, 2024
Easy to learn, provides secure access to our internal server, and integrates easily with other products
We use the solution only with Fortinet products for VPN During COVID-19, we needed server access from different places. The solution provides FortiToken Mobile. It makes things easier because we can have access through our mobiles instead of other devices. Thus, the solution made our application…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco ISE is a comprehensive solution that allows you to control access to network resources granularly based on policies."
"For me, the TACACS feature is the most valuable. I have also used Cisco ISE with LDAP, not with Active Directory. That works for me because I prefer LDAP versus Active Directory."
"We have multiple metal devices from different places that use management, so we need to know who would be accessing all those devices and what changes are being done to those metal devices. With Cisco ISE we have visibility of all the changes happening on those devices."
"The way the ISE works is you can get into defining. Let's say, in my case, I've got a Windows laptop and I've got an Apple product and those have unique identifiers, unique back addresses. It would say that this in my profile so I could get to those apps with either device, 24/seven. That's how granular the ISE or these NAC Solutions can get."
"It provides client provisions and profiling as well as guest access."
"The initial setup was easy. It took around one month. We did the installation part within half an hour to two hours but we found a couple of issues so we raised a case and once everything was resolved it was a month in total."
"The return on investment we have seen is related to time in terms of troubleshooting. The logs, such as the security logs, inform us of the issues that people have had. ISE has been very instrumental in helping isolate those issues. We've seen a lot of cost savings because we don't have to pay an IT person to waste time doing something that should be instantaneous."
"A lot of customers use a third party to manage their guest Wi-Fi. Cisco ISE presents the ability to bring that in-house so that customers can have full control over it, change the branding, and get extra telemetry from it and the user data. It works really well for our customers."
"The product provides secure access to our internal server."
"I believe FortiToken is the simplest to implement."
"One of the product's most valuable features is its ease of use."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its mobile application. It is particularly beneficial as it eliminates the need for hardware management."
"I would rate the overall solution an eight out of ten. The solution is a smart product that anyone can easily access and manage. The solution is a good product for multi-factor authentication and to secure remote authentication in the corporate environment."
"I love the push-button authentication on FortiToken Mobile. It's also great that the soft token automatically reloads the OTP at intervals, so I always have a fresh code to enter."
"Fortinet FortiToken is used for double factor authentication."
 

Cons

"The policies could be adjusted to make them more easily implementable."
"In order to make it a ten, it should be more user-friendly. You need somebody who is knowledgeable about it to use it. It's not easy to use. We have to rely heavily on technical support."
"It would be ideal if Cisco could provide some short training videos or documentation to customers to help them understand how to use the product."
"The solution lacks properly knowledgeable support, especially internationally, and this is why I am exploring other applications."
"One of the issues that we used to have was with profiling because we're working with a service provider that uses a lot of bring your own devices."
"It should be virtualized because many people have begun migrating to the cloud. They should offer a hybrid version."
"Sometimes, there are instances when Cisco ISE simply fails to function without any apparent reason, and regardless of the investigation we undertake, the logs indicate that everything is functioning properly, making it somewhat inexplicable."
"Cisco ISE's performance could be better, faster, and more robust."
"Configuration can be confusing due to the lack of community and context-sensitive help. We've had to rely on technical support, which slows down the setup process."
"Fortinet support has some room for improvement. It has taken a long time to resolve some issues or find a workaround."
"It could be integrated better if you could have your FortiToken, and the license would allow you to work across multiple FortiGate solutions."
"The problem is that our customers create budgets annually based on the figures at the beginning of the fiscal year. Our customers get annoyed when the price is adjusted in the middle of the year. I understand that it's a difficult time, and price increases make sense for hardware devices. However, FortiToken is a software product, so it shouldn't be affected by factors like chip shortages or supply chain issues. Software solutions should have more transparent and predictable pricing."
"The solution could be more user-friendly."
"The tool could be a little cheaper."
"I would like to see the product improvements in dynamic VLAN pooling. Specifically, when users are assigned different VLANs based on their SSID, ensuring no unintended lateral traffic between users would enhance security and efficiency."
"Maybe the price could be improved, and the integration could be better. But the integration is different from the authenticator side."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our customers pay for the license of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine). They have an annual subscription, rather than a monthly subscription."
"It's damn expensive and the licensing is terrible... If you have perpetual licenses on 2.7 and you upgrade to 3, you are forced to go with Essentials. That is one of the issues that I'm seeing with my clients now."
"There is a license to use this solution and the price is reasonable."
"ISE has always been expensive compared to other products in terms of what it does on a user level."
"Licensing has got much simpler since Cisco moved to the DNA model because we just have the three tiers, but it could always stand to be improved upon."
"Cisco is moving towards a subscription service, which would mean additional costs."
"Cisco has actually transitioned to a lot of subscription models, fees, and licenses."
"Its price is probably good if you use all of its features and functionalities to protect your environment. If you use only a part of the functionality, its price is too high. It is just a question of value and the functionality you use."
"From an Indian perspective, it's definitely costlier."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate and reasonable."
"Although the platform is relatively expensive, it offers significant value. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is the cheapest, and ten is the highest, I rate the pricing an eight."
"It is included as part of our firewall license."
"Fortinet FortiToken is not an expensive solution."
"Overall, it's cheaper than other solutions. Of course, we evaluated it five years back, and I haven't checked to see its current market position, but one reason we adopted FortiToken is its lower cost of ownership relative to other solutions we evaluated."
"The solution’s price is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Government
7%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
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 do you like most about Fortinet FortiToken?
The solution is simple and similar to Google Authenticator. It follows time-based authentication. We use it for hardware and software in one environment. The tool offers simple and fast authenticat...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiToken?
I would like to see the product improvements in dynamic VLAN pooling. Specifically, when users are assigned different VLANs based on their SSID, ensuring no unintended lateral traffic between users...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiToken?
The primary use cases of Fortinet FortiToken for my customers typically involve adding multi-factor authentication (MFA) for remote access. This is often required for remote workers or external pro...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
No data available
 

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
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, HPE Aruba Networking, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.