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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
144
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (3rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
IBM Security Identity Gover...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (14th), Identity Management (IM) (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 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 18.6%, down 25.3% compared to last year.
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence, on the other hand, focuses on User Provisioning Software, holds 3.1% mindshare, up 2.0% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)18.6%
Aruba ClearPass18.0%
Fortinet FortiNAC13.7%
Other49.7%
Network Access Control (NAC)
User Provisioning Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence3.1%
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud19.1%
One Identity Manager9.3%
Other68.5%
User Provisioning Software
 

Featured Reviews

NF
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Has improved authentication management and simplified visitor network access
The log capacity in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced because today natively on the ISE can only have a look at the logs from the day before. You cannot search into the oldest logs; you have to use another tool for that. This can be blocking if you don't have any log consolidation solution. To do a search for an issue or something that happened two days ago, you cannot search directly in there. The capacity of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced. Something between one week and one month for the log capacity would be nice.
reviewer1830612 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head, Cybersecurity at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We use the solution to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices
We use the product to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices and do not contradict their security policies within the base points they specify in the system, which are used to match everything against their governance use cases I think the product's most…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the provisioning of the device so as to ensure that they are compliant with the security policy that we need to have."
"The live logs and live sessions for troubleshooting are the most valuable features because they provide a detailed report of any issues."
"It is scalable because we use a network load balancer at the front of the PSN, it can be extended as we want to multiply, it's scalable to our environment, we have around 8,000 users and we are planning to expand it."
"I love the policy sets, they are really nice and dynamic."
"ISE helps us protect our industrial control systems and SCADA systems by segmenting them off from the rest of the network, eliminating trust, and making our government and law-enforcement-related audits go a lot faster and a lot smoother than they used to."
"I like the logging feature."
"The most valuable feature is network access control for the users coming into the network, which allows us to know who is in the network at any given time."
"Being able to authenticate wired users through 802.1X is valuable as it enhances our security."
"This solution has a very good dashboard and the documentation is also very good, and life cycle management and governance are also good features in this solution."
"Lifecycle management, governance and documentation."
"We use the product to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices and do not contradict their security policies within the base points they specify in the system, which are used to match everything against their governance use cases."
"I would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
 

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."
"There are always some things that I would request."
"Deploying to a machine, as opposed to a dedicated appliance, can be a bit difficult."
"I think some areas where ISE could be better are perhaps in the number of integrations that they offer from a virtual standpoint, as well as having a better and more comprehensive pathway for the customer to go from a physical environment to a virtual one."
"There is room for improvement in CLI. Most things are done through the GUI, and there aren't many commands or troubleshooting options available compared to other Cisco products like switches and routers."
"Since we have started, we struggled a lot to implement this solution into our network, and we opened a case a couple of times."
"The integrations with the switches and the wireless controllers are not really straightforward. There is what they call the best practice for them, but it may not be what we have on-premise."
"Self service center is not always easy to understand."
"The solution is a bit pricey for some regions."
"I think improvements could be made in the self service center, making it easier for the user to understand."
"The solution is also a bit pricey for the Nigeria region."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution’s pricing is okay."
"I believe I have paid around $1,000 in licensing fees. The license is annual."
"It is not that pricey."
"The price for Cisco ISE is high."
"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’s pricing is reasonable."
"There is a license to use this solution and the price is reasonable."
"Cisco ISE is not inexpensive, but the solution is well-built and worth the expense."
"I would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise91
No data available
 

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...
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Also Known As

Cisco ISE
IGI, IBM Security Identity Manager, ISIM
 

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
E.ON Global Commodities
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet, Cisco and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: May 2026.
896,563 professionals have used our research since 2012.