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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Tenable Security Center 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)
Tenable Security Center
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (2nd), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (12th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Tenable Security Center 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 29.9%, down 31.4% compared to last year.
Tenable Security Center, on the other hand, focuses on Risk-Based Vulnerability Management, holds 31.2% mindshare, down 40.6% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

TA
Aug 3, 2023
We can view and control access, but there are a lot of bugs
One of the benefits of ISE for us in our organization is the fact that, because we're a very large entity with employees of over 10,000 people, we have over 2,000 pieces of equipment. So, rather than individual programming or managing everyone's credentials on each piece of equipment, using ISE to manage all of that and giving everybody just one Active Directory login simplifies that process for us. ISE as a platform has been able to free up time, even for me personally, in terms of having to constantly remember credentials, passwords, and all these password complexities. Using ISE to integrate into all of our core infrastructure, frees up so much time for me to do other things. Even down to the configuration, when we are building config for the scripts as well as for our switches and routers, being able to eliminate a lot of those redundant credentials within the configuration itself is a massive time saver for us. In terms of time savings with using ISE itself, we see the savings every day because we have to constantly interact or interface with tons of network equipment. So every single time I have to log into a switch, I am literally realizing I'm saving time in that moment. It's always a constant; I'll say at least three to five minutes for every login. ISE, we use it strictly for authentication and authorization. For consolidation, not so much, because it just serves one dedicated purpose, which is basically that access control. In terms of cybersecurity, I would say ISE helps in a way, but we do have other platforms and tools that are specifically designed for that purpose because we try to choose tools that are very specific in their functions. For us, because we are mostly a Cisco shop, all of our equipment is Cisco. So integrating Cisco ISE into our environment wasn't too complicated, because a lot of our equipment, again, are Cisco-related products. Thus, they were all able to integrate nicely within that ecosystem.
SB
Dec 21, 2023
The solution is completely stable and can be setup very easily
We work as System Integrators and my team has experience in using Tenable Security Center. We provide solutions to work for various customers in BFSI, Telcos, and the Government sector.  We use this solution mainly for vulnerability assessment and management. With the scanning feature set, we do…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It does a good job of establishing trust for each access request, no matter the source. It's also very effective at helping with the distributed network and at securing access."
"We have seen ROI. It has done its job. It has protected us when we needed it to."
"We were originally a Cisco shop and Cisco ISE integrated well with our other Cisco switches and networks."
"With NAC, the profiling feature is valuable. We're able to see what we have out there in the network and dynamically assign policies to it. We can then use that to enforce TrustSec policy or anything else with NAC."
"When we use ISE, one of the helpful things is that I can go through the dashboard and get every step along the way of how a device was authenticated. If it's failing, why did it fail? Why is it unauthorized? If there's an error, what is the error and how can I fix that error? If it's something that, if they should be passing, why are they failing?"
"For guests we give them limited access to the internet when they come in so that access has been useful. Previously, we just used to give them the APN key which they would leave with. Now, we give them credentials to use that are for a limited period of time."
"In terms of features, I think they've done a lot of improvement on the graphical user interface — it looks really good right now."
"They provide you multiple ways to achieve security, not only on-prem, but also when you have remote and guest workers. Especially post-pandemic, a lot of our customers have remote workers. So, it has been really helpful."
"Tenable.sc is user-friendly."
"Initial setup was pretty straightforward."
"Support is knowledgeable."
"Tenable also helps us to focus resources on the vulnerabilities that are most likely to be exploited. And since it is continuously updated, it allows us to reevaluate quickly if there are new vulnerabilities found..."
"The solution is very intuitive and the dashboards are simple to use."
"The most valuable feature of the product is the Assurance Report Card, which gives us an overview of the security poster in just a simple glance."
"The feature we've liked most recently was being able to take the YARA rules from FireEye and put them into Tenable's scan for the most recent SolarWinds exploit. That was really useful."
"The most valuable features of Tenable SC are the reports and the dashboards."
 

Cons

"The opinion of my coworkers, and it's mine as well, is that the user interface could use some tender loving care. It seems counterintuitive sometimes. If you go to the logs, it's hard to figure out which one you need to look at."
"Third-party integration is important, as well as the continuous adaptation feature which is the AIOps. It would be helpful to include the AIOps."
"If you have someone taking care of it, it can be quite easy to manage the solution. Otherwise, if you don't look after it and take care of it day-to-day, then it will become more complex to run."
"It is too complex. It should be easy to use. We are not such a big team. We only have three engineers to work with this, and we don't use all of the functionality of the product. Its range of functionality is too wide for us, and this is the reason why we are thinking of switching to a more simple product. We have shortlisted a Microsoft solution. We have a big footprint for Microsoft products, especially in security. As a global strategy, we try to leverage to the maximum what is possible around Microsoft."
"Cisco ISE integration with Cisco ACI is something that can be done in a less complex way. And the simplification in that area may help us do better."
"Its user interface could be better. It's not bad. They've just redesigned the whole user interface. It's not terribly difficult. The drop-down menus are easy to use. However, when you're looking for some things in the user interface, it takes a minute to find where you were prior."
"Automation [is an area for improvement]. It seems like everywhere I look, automation is super important. Automation and integrations. That's the area it could be improved..."
"Cisco ISE has numerous features that are impractical, and I won't utilize them since they require payment."
"Tenable SC can improve by adding more integrations with HCI-type tools and more accurate vulnerability detection."
"If I want to have a very low-managed scan policy, it's a lot of work to create something which is very basic. If I use a tool like Nmap, all I have to do is download it, install it, type in the command, and it's good to go. In Security Center, I have to go through a lot of work to create a policy that's very basic."
"Security can always be improved."
"Tenable SC could improve by making the creation of the initial reports easier that correspond to our network."
"Deploying Tenable.sc is highly complex because it's an on-prem solution, whereas Tenable.io is cloud-based, so you can go live as soon as you log in. Tenable.sc involves significant integration with other on-prem solutions, and the deployment takes about two to three weeks with the help of a system integrator"
"Tenable SC could be improved with additional connectivity to external company postures and the capability of managing and sustaining agents in the systems directly without additional platforms in the middle."
"The tool's initial configuration is not so easy."
"There is not much room for improvement. However, there should be a guide that describes the step-by-step procedures for doing tasks. Otherwise, training is required from a senior guy to a junior guy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"I think licensing costs roughly $2,000 a year. ISE is more expensive than Network Access Control."
"Pricing is not a problem for Cisco because it has a lot of features and not much competition, although it's more expensive than other products. But if I do a cost-benefit analysis, Cisco provides high quality."
"Cisco ISE is not inexpensive, but the solution is well-built and worth the expense."
"The pricing is good. The last time we purchased four new appliances the price was doable for any organization of our size."
"The price can be lower, especially for subscriptions. It should be a lot cheaper to have a wide range of customers. The price should be comparable to competitive products like Forescout or Fortinet FortiNAC. Forescout is cheaper for customers looking for a cloud solution."
"The licensing is subscription-based and based on the user account."
"We are running Version 2.9 because Version 2.9 of the ISE has a persistent license — it's a one-time payment. The latest version (3.1) is only available if you do a yearly subscription."
"The pricing is more than Nexpose."
"Though reasonable, the main competitor of Tenable SC, Rapid7, offers a more aggressive and better priced product."
"We're happy with the licensing cost and find it affordable."
"The tool provides competitive pricing."
"It is a bit expensive. Everything is included in the license."
"I would rate the pricing a nine out of ten, where ten is expensive. It is the most expensive tool my company is using."
"Costing is pretty reasonable compared to the competition."
"Compared to other companies or other products it could maybe be a little bit less, but the price is okay. I would say it's not very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
25%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

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 Tenable SC?
The tool's dashboard and reporting capabilities match our company's needs since we are able to modify the basic view to create a new dashboard, and it works out very well for our needs.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable SC?
For enterprise customers, it's acceptable. However, for smaller enterprises or businesses, the budget may be too restrictive to consider such extensive solutions. When proposing to small-scale indu...
What needs improvement with Tenable SC?
They are not currently handling call flows properly. Some call flows are being deleted from the registry but still show as active. Support is also lacking in onboarding properly in this area. This ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
Tenable.sc, Tenable Unified Security, Tenable SecurityCenter
 

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
IBM, Sempra Energy, Microsoft, Apple, Adidas, Union Pacific
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, HPE Aruba Networking, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: September 2024.
801,634 professionals have used our research since 2012.