Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs SAP Identity Management comparison

The compared Cisco and SAP solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #2 in NAC , with an average rating of 7.9, and holds a 22.4% mindshare in the category. SAP is ranked #13 in IAM , with an average rating of 9.5, and holds a 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of SAP users who would recommend it.

Cisco Identity Services Eng...

Read 145 Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) reviews

15,135 Views
9,838 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

SAP Identity Management

Read 14 SAP Identity Management reviews

1,746 Views
1,310 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Cisco Identity Services Eng...

SAP Identity Management

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and SAP Identity Management based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC).

To learn more, read our detailed Network Access Control (NAC) Report (Updated: January 2026).

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Network Access Control (NAC)

January 2026

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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

145

Ranking in other categories

Network Access Control (NAC) (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)

SAP Identity Management

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

User Provisioning Software (7th), Identity Management (IM) (13th)

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and SAP Identity Management 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 22.4%, down 28.3% compared to last year.
SAP Identity Management, on the other hand, focuses on Identity Management (IM), holds 2.4% mindshare, up 2.3% since last year.

Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)	22.4%
Aruba ClearPass	21.6%
Fortinet FortiNAC	16.1%
Other	39.9%

Network Access Control (NAC)

Identity Management (IM) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SAP Identity Management	2.4%
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud	14.6%
Microsoft Entra ID	9.3%
Other	73.7%

Identity Management (IM)

Featured Reviews

NicolasFigaro

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.

Read full review

Fabiano Marques

Sales Executive at Minsait

Identity management enhances connectivity and productivity with streamlined access and robust security, offering time-saving processes and facilitating seamless integration with other BI tools

One area that could be improved with SAP Identity Management, other than support, is user engagement from an implementation perspective. It would be beneficial for SAP to extend their events and workshops that are currently performed for partners to their final customers, as many customers want to know what's new and what else they can do without solely depending on the partners. For SAP support in Brazil, everything is in English, which poses a difficulty for many customers. The support could be improved for the specific needs in Brazil, as many customers have difficulty accessing the support center due to the language barrier. This feedback is specific to Brazil, though it's unclear if SAP receives similar feedback from other countries. It could certainly be enhanced with Portuguese documents, among other improvements.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco ISE's integration with other external identity servers like Duende is very simple and easy."

"Cisco ISE scales exceptionally well."

"I found the CMDB Direct Connect in Cisco ISE 3.2 the most promising feature for my use case."

"The access policies, and all of the policies in Cisco ISE, are important to us."

"After the product was installed, no one could access the secure connection network. In order for any laptop or any endpoint device to attach to my network, it needs to be authorized or be certified to be connected."

"When you push out the policy, it is able to populate the entire network at one time."

"The best feature of the Cisco ISE platform is that it is compatible with Microsoft products."

"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."

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) pros

"What's most valuable in SAP Identity Management is that it's easily an out-of-the-box solution for connectivity with SAP applications. We do not have to do any customizations, and this makes the solution very compatible with most SAP applications. SAP Identity Management is also very user-friendly."

"The most valuable features of SAP Identity Management are business roles and automated user provisioning."

"It provides basic automatic user administration and role provisioning to save time."

"Some processes that they used to perform in two to three days now take one to two hours, which has been really beneficial for them regarding the time saved."

"Rather than implement a basic SSO, this solution assisted us with setting up two-factor authentication."

"What I found most valuable in SAP Identity Management is process automation. The solution also gives transparency about what is happening and why which I find beneficial. Another feature I found valuable in SAP Identity Management is integration. It has very good integration."

"The most valuable feature is the user experience for managing information."

"The tool's most valuable features are its access control and approval of access requests. The self-service password reset feature is efficient. Role management capabilities streamline user access by assigning and revoking roles."

More SAP Identity Management pros

Cons

"I don't like the fact that we can see the logs only for 24 hours. Maybe that happens because of the way we set it up."

"An area that could be improved is the agent. The challenge now is that agent and most of the computers have changed. They could think about agent-less deployment."

"Migration could be better. Right now, we back up with the new version, and it requires a lot of licensing and other things. Whenever we choose a product, it's very difficult because we have to meet the requirements of each feature. There is no standard feature, so the best system that we bought may not fit the solution. We have to look at every feature that the customer uses. If you compare it with other products like Aruba, it's not the same. With Cisco, I have to read all about the features on this version and the licensing required for the product. In Aruba, that thing is covered when you get one license because it covers almost everything. It could also be more scalable."

"The UI and UX could be more seamless and easier to use."

"It does a good job of establishing trust for every access request. We have had a little bit of a challenge with profiling, but we are probably about 80% there."

"The templates could be better. When you have to do certs, especially with X.500 certs, it isn't very intuitive."

"The user interface could be improved to make it more user-friendly."

"There is room for improvement in its ability to allow end users to self-enroll their devices. Instead, you should be able to assign that permission by AD group, which is currently not available."

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) cons

"The pricing could be better."

"I have encountered issues with the host authentication feature."

"It needs to have the SSO for the HANA modules that SAP is releasing."

"What needs improvement in SAP Identity Management is its compatibility with third-party applications. We'd like to get connectors or plugin settings to make it easier to manage other applications, whether SAP or non SAP applications. As SAP Identity Management is not compatible with non SAP applications, some of the clients are looking for other IDM applications such as SalePoint and Saviynt, so this is an issue we've observed in the solution."

"Research and marketing need to be improved."

"A lack of startup connectors to different systems, and could have better connectors for SAP IDM."

"I find SAP Identity Management complicated to use. Maintaining it is also complex."

"One of the areas for improvement in the solution is its user interface which needs to be up-to-date and fancier, in particular, have better visualization in terms of the tabs and buttons. The user interface of SAP Identity Management should be improved based on the latest trends."

More SAP Identity Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"Standard licensing gives backup access and very few features, and then there's VM licensing - each VM we use needs to be licensed."

"Cisco ISE's licensing can get pricey."

"The technology is good, but to use some of the other features, and capabilities, they request that we purchase the Cisco DNA Center. As a result, the bundled price is a little high."

"Hardware appliances are expensive...Now moving to DNA-styled licensing, we have subscription-based licensing for everything. I hope it will continue to be fair, but we will have to wait and see."

"In general, licensing can be quite complex with Cisco products. It would be nice if it was a bit more intuitive and had fewer "gotchas" in there."

"Cybersecurity resilience has been very important to our organization and has been a big factor. We've had issues in the past, but one of the things I like about ISE is its logging features. Security wise or information wise, it really has been a powerful tool."

"I get very good pricing from Cisco, so I don't have a problem with that. I also don't have a problem with licensing because we get enterprise or global licensing."

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) pricing and cost advice

"I rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten."

"The licensing cost varies depending on the specific requirements and deployment size."

"When evaluating the price of any product, I first look at how it meets my business requirements and if it meets requirements adequately and predictively. Currently, I don't see this from SAP Identity Management, so pricing for it is expensive, in my opinion."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

15%

Energy/Utilities Company

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	44
Midsize Enterprise	32
Large Enterprise	91

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	6

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 ...

See all answers

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, ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about SAP Identity Management?

The tool's most valuable features are its access control and approval of access requests. The self-service password reset feature is efficient. Role management capabilities streamline user access b...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SAP Identity Management?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SAP Identity Management?

The use cases for SAP Identity Management include the logistics company, and we also have a beverage company that is using SAP Identity Management. We did not make the migration for them, but we im...

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba ClearPass vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 24% of the time

Fortinet FortiNAC vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 20% of the time

Forescout Platform vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 8% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 3% of the time

Portnox vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Competitors

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs SAP Identity Management

Compared 28% of the time

Saviynt vs SAP Identity Management

Compared 8% of the time

Symantec Identity Governance and Administration vs SAP Identity Management

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs SAP Identity Management

Compared 7% of the time

EmpowerID vs SAP Identity Management

Compared 6% of the time

More SAP Identity Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

January 2026

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

Download Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Identity Management

December 2025

Download SAP Identity Management product report

Also Known As

Cisco ISE

SAP NetWeaver Identity Management, NetWeaver Identity Management

Overview

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers comprehensive network access control and visibility, supporting features like 802.1X authentication, profiling, and posturing. It integrates with Microsoft and other Cisco products, facilitating robust security policies across distributed networks.

Cisco Identity Services Engine is a key player in network access control, offering centralized management and a user-friendly interface. It supports zero trust principles and provides strong authentication for wired and wireless networks. ISE's capabilities include granular security policies, enhanced device posturing, and seamless integration, bolstering security infrastructure. Users benefit from its dual authentication through EAP, simplifying access management across networks.

What are the key features of Cisco ISE?

802.1X Authentication: Supports network security for authorized device access.
Profiling: Identifies devices for accurate policy enforcement.
Posturing: Evaluates device compliance for access decisions.
TACACS: Streamlines network device authentication and authorization.
Guest Access: Provides secure access to visitors.
Microsoft Compatibility: Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft environments.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Security Enhancement: Offers strong network security policies.
Operational Efficiency: Centralized management improves operational aspects.
Improved Compliance: Ensures adherence to industry standards.
Scalability: Supports growing network demands effectively.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and education, Cisco ISE is pivotal for securing wired and wireless networks, implementing BYOD policies, and managing user access. Organizations leverage ISE for effective authentication and authorization, while maintaining compliance with industry security standards.

Cisco

Reduce risk and centrally manage user access across your enterprise – with SAP Identity Management. The software integrates with your business processes to provide robust data and application security. Keep your operations running smoothly – and boost productivity by providing role-based user access, self-service password reset, approval workflows, and more.

SAP

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

State of Indiana, Automotive Resources International (ARI), Alliander N.V., Chemion Logistik GmbH, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH)

Buyer's Guide

Network Access Control (NAC)

January 2026

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