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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs RSA SecurID 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
141
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (1st), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
RSA SecurID
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (8th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and RSA SecurID 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.
RSA SecurID, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 8.4% mindshare, up 7.2% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Authentication Systems
 

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.
Santhosh Rajamanickam - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced security, reliable, helpful technical support, and easy to install
RSA SecurID Access is a scalable solution. I would rate the scalability of RSA SecurID Access a nine out of ten. Initially, our organization had around 250 users for whom we were aware of the usage of the solution. However, there were certain users for whom we were not notified due to the nature of their job, and hence we were not aware of their usage. Eventually, we decided to scale the solution for all our 4,000 users. Currently, we are using it for 250 users only. There is a high likelihood that we will expand our usage in the future.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that Cisco ISE is easy to use."
"The authorization and accounts inside of ISE are very useful for us."
"The solution is integrated with other Cisco devices and can offer automation for an organization, making deployments more dynamic and providing real-time visibility."
"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 found all the features of the product to be valuable."
"The features that do work, work well, and we use it on a daily basis."
"The biggest value of ISE is that it can get so granular with gaming systems, versus IoT and BYOD."
"The most valuable features are authentication, we have more granular control on the access policies for the administrators. The solution is easy to use, has a center point administration, and has a good GUI."
"I would say that the two-factor authentication and the ease of installation and configuration are the most valuable features of this solution."
"It is a scalable solution."
"I think it is really good when it comes to the hard token side of things."
"One of the most valuable feature is the ID soft token and hard token."
"The most valuable features of RSA SecurID Access are push notifications, multifactor authentication, and ease of integration and deployment."
 

Cons

"On the network services devices, when you click on filter, the filter comes up. However, when I type in a search and I want to click on something it defaults back to the main page. I keep having an issue with that, and I'm not doing anything wrong."
"I would like the product to include support for OSVS version three."
"Compatibility and integration with other vendors is what needs to be improved in Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine)."
"The user interface could be improved to make it more user-friendly."
"I would like for the next release to be easier to implement and to limit its dependencies around ISE, Windows, the network as a whole, etc."
"We do tend to run into a lot of issues with ISE when it comes to bugs."
"There are always some things that I would request."
"Cisco ISE has almost all the features we are looking for now, but sometimes the configuration, such as the conditions, is a little difficult to understand and not so easy to navigate."
"Sometimes, we encounter issues with other applications that are not compatible with RSA SecurID Access and require expert troubleshooting. At those times, we need additional support from an implementation perspective. This is an area where Oracle can improve as there is no substitute for reliable and efficient support."
"The interface needs to improve a lot. It should be easier to manage and navigate."
"It doesn't offer an agent-based or reverse-proxy-based approach to integration, which could enhance its flexibility."
"There are different compliances across the globe; RSA SecurID Access could be more complaint-based."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is expensive and we are thinking about changing to FortiGate."
"The pricing is good. The last time we purchased four new appliances the price was doable for any organization of our size."
"The solution is not that cheap."
"This solution requires an annual license and it is a bit expensive than competitors."
"The price for Cisco ISE is high."
"Being fully honest, the Cisco licensing model right now is really confusing. We don't know what licenses we have where. We have Smart licensing, but the different levels are way confusing."
"Cisco ISE's licensing can get pricey."
"Previously, Cisco ISE had a perpetual licensing model, but now they have shifted to a subscription-based licensing system."
"RSA SecurID Access is expensive."
"I think the price of this solution is reasonable compared to YubiKey and Duo given that it offers the same similar features."
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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
18%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
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...
What do you like most about RSA SecurID Access?
The most valuable features of RSA SecurID Access are push notifications, multifactor authentication, and ease of integration and deployment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RSA SecurID Access?
RSA SecurID Access is quite expensive. I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of costliness.
What needs improvement with RSA SecurID Access?
There is room for improvement in a few areas. Firstly, it lacks support for OIDC and OS capabilities, making it less versatile for integrating various applications. Secondly, there are some limitat...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
RSA SecurID Access, RSA Access Manager
 

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
Milliman, Geisinger Health System, Advanced Micro Devices
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: December 2024.
831,791 professionals have used our research since 2012.