

Cisco Identity Services Engine and Ruckus Cloudpath are both identity and access management platforms competing in the network security sector. Ruckus Cloudpath holds an advantage in simplicity and scalability, especially for environments prioritizing ease of management.
Features: Cisco ISE provides profiling, posture assessment, and dynamic VLAN assignment, compatible with 802.1X and TrustSec, and offers integration within the Cisco ecosystem. Ruckus Cloudpath is recognized for its BYOD management, ease of use, and straightforward deployment, which makes it appealing for environments needing simple management.
Room for Improvement: Cisco ISE is often seen as complex due to its initial setup process, steep learning curve, and troubleshooting difficulties. Users suggest simplified upgrades, improved user interface, and enhanced stability. Ruckus Cloudpath users note the need for better multi-vendor support and enhanced integration options.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco ISE is mainly deployed on-premises and benefits from Cisco's support network, despite mixed reviews on response times. Ruckus Cloudpath offers flexibility in hybrid and private cloud installations, praised for simple deployment and good customer service, but some seek quicker support responses.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco ISE is perceived as expensive with a complex licensing structure, yet users feel the cost is justified if all features are utilized. Ruckus Cloudpath's user-based licensing is considered more cost-effective, yielding good ROI, particularly in straightforward deployments.
Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.
We also save money because we increased security, stopped incidents, and reduced breaches and security breaches.
For a big organization, there is a high level of ROI with Ruckus Cloudpath, but when it comes to smaller organizations, it yields less ROI as it takes some time because it's not cheap, and there are customers for whom it isn't a great fit.
With on-premises and cloud options, certain scenarios make cloud more expensive while on-premises becomes cheaper.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
Cisco support has pretty good teams for support and every time we had good answers and we could somehow solve the issues we had.
TAC support from Cisco is a notable feature; it provides very professional support.
We have been using their products for more than ten years, and I have direct access to the Ruckus Turkey manager and also the Middle East region manager, Mr. Olivia.
Ruckus customer service is very good and helpful.
I would rate the technical support from Ruckus as eight out of ten.
You can run an all-in-one deployment and switch to distributed mode as your company grows, relying on Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) to support your scalability needs.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
However, you can have some latency issues depending on where your devices are.
Ruckus Cloudpath is a scalable service, and I would rate its scalability as eight on a scale of one to ten.
Ruckus Cloudpath is a scalable product.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Sometimes when we have upgrades or failovers with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), we had some minor issues.
Ruckus Cloudpath is very stable.
I would rate the stability as nine out of ten.
The whole setup works well with Cisco access points and Cisco switches, but when you have multiple vendors in the environment, such as HP switches or access points like Aruba, you'll find they will not work well with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE).
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.
They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases.
I would like to improve the automation aspect, ensuring that if any issues arise or alerts are detected, the cloud platform can respond and troubleshoot more effectively.
There is room for improvement in deployment.
The user interface of Ruckus Cloudpath needs some enhancement along with the support process, requiring more qualified engineers to support this product.
Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.
The license costs can range between $50,000 to $100,000 per year for enterprises.
Cloud solutions are expensive, while on-prem setups with shared environments are cheaper but not effective.
The pricing of Ruckus Cloudpath is on the expensive side.
Ruckus Cloudpath is a bit above medium in terms of pricing.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers authentication using RADIUS, enhancing network security by separating and segregating networks.
There is value because it helps us secure the network and prevents certain things from happening which could cause financial loss.
The adaptability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) policy enforcement can fit to the site we have depending on which kind of devices we have on site and then the needs for authentication, granting access and then assigning each device into its correct network for segmentation.
The solution provides powerful encryption, a secure wireless network connection through WPA enterprise connection, and advanced security tools.
The MMS portion is the best feature in Ruckus Cloudpath, as they can monitor the entire network intelligently with AI features that simplify the troubleshooting processes.
The wireless devices are used to control access, transmit messages, and integrate with the main system.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) | 22.4% |
| Ruckus Cloudpath | 2.0% |
| Other | 75.6% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 44 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 32 |
| Large Enterprise | 91 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 7 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 2 |
Cisco Identity Services Engine offers robust authentication, posture profiling, guest and secure access, and dynamic policy management. Known for its seamless integration with Cisco tools and network access control features, it ensures secure device and user authentication across networks.
Cisco Identity Services Engine is renowned for its capabilities in managing authentication, guest access, and policy management through segmentation. Its TrustSec functionality, alongside RADIUS and TACACS+ support, provides enhanced security, further augmented by its ability to operate in diverse environments. Its scalability and integration with Cisco solutions aid in maintaining network visibility and access control. Challenges include the complexity of initial deployments, somewhat cumbersome documentation, and limited integration in multi-vendor environments. While encountering issues in stability and updates, the demand for better analytics and straightforward troubleshooting alongside cost-effective licensing is notable.
What are the key features of Cisco Identity Services Engine?Industries implement Cisco Identity Services Engine primarily for network access control, ensuring secure authentication and segmentation in both wired and wireless environments. Supporting policies like bring-your-own-device and compliance standards, ISE manages identity-based access control, especially beneficial for entities that require detailed user rights management and integration within enterprise networks.
Cloudpath Enrollment System is a software/SaaS platform that delivers secure wired and wireless network access for BYOD, guest users and IT-owned devices. It streamlines getting devices on the network and secures every connection with powerful encryption. Cloudpath software gives you granular policy control over what network resources users can access. It lets you deliver a great end-user experience and virtually eliminates helpdesk tickets related to network access. Choose from cloud-based or virtualized on-premises deployment. Cloudpath software supports any user, any device, and any network infrastructure.
We monitor all Network Access Control (NAC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.