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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs ThreatLocker Protect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.3
Cisco ISE support is praised for expertise but criticized for slow responses and inconsistent quality, especially with complex issues.
Sentiment score
8.8
ThreatLocker Protect's customer support is fast, efficient, highly rated, but occasionally offers hasty responses needing further clarification.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
It could be better, especially with response times.
 

Room For Improvement

Sentiment score
4.5
Cisco ISE requires improved integration, usability, and performance, with enhanced features and efficiency for better user adoption and experience.
Sentiment score
5.8
ThreatLocker Protect needs improved training, support, integration, customization, and flexibility to enhance user experience and network efficiency.
They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases.
This is problematic when immediate attention is needed.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Cisco ISE is scalable for enterprises but requires proper design, planning, and hardware considerations for efficient deployment.
Sentiment score
8.3
ThreatLocker Protect excels in scalability, adapting to various business sizes and efficiently managing numerous endpoints with reliable performance.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
It is scalable to an extent, depending on where it is used.
 

Setup Cost

No sentiment score available
Cisco Identity Services Engine pricing is competitive but complex, with tiered licensing and additional costs potentially impacting smaller businesses.
Sentiment score
5.3
ThreatLocker Protect is cost-effective, appreciated for value and transparency, with flexible tiered pricing and some negotiation inconsistencies.
Making large organizational costs significant.
The pricing is reasonable and normal.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco Identity Services Engine is stable and reliable, with occasional update and scaling challenges, and generally effective support resolution.
Sentiment score
6.8
ThreatLocker Protect is stable with rare, quickly resolved issues, and appreciated for minimizing downtime and enhancing stability.
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Stability can be improved as there are times it goes down or requires management to adjust policies.
 

Valuable Features

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco ISE provides robust network control, seamless Cisco integration, and enhances security with policy management, zero-trust, and BYOD support.
Sentiment score
8.6
ThreatLocker Protect offers effortless access and management with strong security features, training, and support to meet cybersecurity standards.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very good at device administration.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
140
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
ThreatLocker Protect
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
5th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (13th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (8th), Application Control (4th), ZTNA (8th), Ransomware Protection (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

Rohit-Joshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables us to ensure that any machine that comes into the network is patched and secure
Posturing is the most valuable feature. There are other tools available that can do some of their other features, like network authentication. The posturing was something because of the nature of the industry that we are in. There are people who go outside for work. Their machines are at times not in the network, and not patched properly. We don't know when they're going to come back, whether it is in a good state, whether it has antivirus, whether it's installed on those machines. Posturing is something that we have made our baseline policy that whenever a machine comes back to our network, it should have a certain level of the operating system and a level of security and antivirus installed. We couldn't have done this posturing without Cisco ISE. This is its greatest feature. It does help me to detect and remediate my network. It enables me to detect any external threat that comes to my network and remediate. If a machine comes into my network that does not qualify per my baseline policy, I have a policy that the machine gets redirected to where it can be patched and remediated. I can ensure that it is fully patched and secure. The entire idea of having ISE is to enhance cybersecurity resilience. The zero trust architecture was coined by the cybersecurity team itself. It was a task given to us in the infrastructure space to see how we can bring resilience into the cybersecurity network and ISE was the solution.
Roy Richardson - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration is simple, deployment is straightforward, and extensive well-written documentation is available online
We use ThreatLocker's Allowlisting to whitelist specific applications and prevent unauthorized software from running. We utilize Ringfencing to establish guardrails around implementations, ensuring that applications operate within defined boundaries. We leverage network access control to granularly control interactions between computer systems and servers. This enables us to restrict communication between specific applications, even within a locked-down environment. We employ storage control to impose additional security measures on data storage. This includes controlling access to network shares, network files, and folders, as well as USB storage devices. We can whitelist specific devices based on their serial numbers or allow access based on predefined conditions. We rely on ThreatLocker's Cyber Hero support, which provides exceptional assistance and responsiveness. At any time, we can initiate a chat session and receive immediate support. If the issue requires escalation, it is promptly handled. Cyber Hero support also plays a crucial role in vetting application updates. When a user attempts to install or update an application, and the update has not been approved from a security standpoint, it is blocked by ThreatLocker. A notification is presented to the user, informing them of the block and providing an option to justify the application's need. These requests are then reviewed by ThreatLocker's Cyber Hero support team, who evaluate them against our security criteria and make an informed decision to allow or deny the application. We utilize ThreatLocker's elevated control feature for applications that require administrator-level access. We avoid granting full administrative privileges to end users, as this elevates the risk of compromise if the device is infiltrated. Instead, elevated control allows us to precisely define the execution conditions for specific applications, such as QuickBooks updates. By verifying the application's signature and certificate, we can enable the update to run with administrative privileges while restricting the user's overall administrative access. Integrating ThreatLocker with other products is simple and only requires a few clicks. ThreatLocker's deployment is also very straightforward. The company provides extensive and well-written online documentation, which is continuously being improved. They also offer a variety of training resources, including university courses, training videos, webinars, and conferences. I have no complaints about the level of support and knowledge transfer provided by the company. ThreatLocker is also developing a new reporting tool, which I had the opportunity to beta test. The company has also been showcasing the new reporting tool at conferences. The new reporting tool provides a level of detail that is unmatched by any other product on the market.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
37%
Retailer
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

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 ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
The interface is clean and well-organized, making it simple to navigate and find what we need.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
I handle the technical aspects, while my manager deals with pricing. Although the pricing seems good, there have been inconsistencies in contract negotiations. What we are told during calls sometim...
What needs improvement with ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
A valuable addition to ThreatLocker would be a column in the audit page displaying a VirusTotal score for each file. This would allow for quick identification of potentially malicious files during ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
ThreatLocker Allowlisting, ThreatLocker Network Control, ThreatLocker Ringfencing
 

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
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs. ThreatLocker Protect and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.