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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Workspace ONE UEM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

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)
Workspace ONE UEM
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
100
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (3rd), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (6th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (3rd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (8th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Workspace ONE UEM 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 28.8%, down 31.6% compared to last year.
Workspace ONE UEM, on the other hand, focuses on Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), holds 20.9% mindshare, down 24.3% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
 

Featured Reviews

Bill Masci - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps across a distributed network, giving you a central way of authenticating everybody
A lot of people tell you the hardware requirements for ISE are pretty substantial. If you're running a virtual environment, you're going to be dedicating quite a bit of resources to an ISE VM. That is something that could be worked on. The upgrade process is not very simple. It's pretty time-consuming. If you follow it step by step you're probably going to have a good time, but there are still a lot of things that could be a lot more user-friendly from an administrator's perspective. [They could be] easing a lot of the issues that people have. Instead of just saying the best practice is to migrate to new nodes [what would be helpful] would be to make that upgrade process easier. The UI is a lot nicer in 3.0. It's pretty slow, but for the most part, it's easy to find what you're looking for, especially things like RADIUS live logs, TACACS live logs. From a troubleshooting perspective, it's really nice finding stuff. For setting up policies, from that perspective, it could be a little bit better looking.
Joel Amate - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution is stable, scalable, and offers single sign-on
I give the solution a nine out of ten. I suggest if a person wants to start using Workspace ONE, they should make use of the cloud instance instead of the on-premise instance. There is an on-premise instance available, but the cloud instance is a better option now. I advise them to make use of the cloud instance. This is because management-wise, there is no need to manage a server. For example, we don't need to buy a server, and we don't need to buy network switches, which are required for the on-premise. At the same time, I can advise setting up all the functionalities or whatever functionalities are available for the trial version. We need to check if the Workspace ONE integration includes Azure AD or other identity providers. A lot of applications are using these providers for authentication, such as Ping, Okta, and others. If the Workspace ONE integration doesn't include these providers, the company might have to find a different solution. Security projects should also be considered. Specifically, if the solution can integrate with local security solutions to secure mobile devices.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very good at device administration."
"Cisco ISE integrates with everything else."
"The profiling model included is the most valuable feature."
"It offers automatic profiling of phones and computers, enabling administrators to identify and categorize devices seamlessly."
"The way we can trust this solution is the most valuable. We have no issue with this product. It is a competitive product. You need to have a very good and deep knowledge of the product to take the full benefits of all the features, but it is a good product."
"The most valuable feature is the integration with StealthWatch and DNA as one fabric."
"The solution cuts down on the repercussions of getting malware or ransomware."
"The most valuable feature is the ASDM - the user interface makes it very easy to configure the firewall."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the tracking of the devices."
"The most valuable feature of VMware Workspace ONE is its reliability."
"It is like any other mobile solution. It gives us the ability to control remotely, and that is what we like. We can wipe out and deploy remotely."
"AirWatch has one of the best User Interfaces and it's quite easy to figure out where particular items are within the menu system."
"It's all about centralizing your data and making sure that your data is centralized and secure."
"The solution has very good documentation."
"The most valuable feature of VMware Workspace ONE is its reliability."
"The single sign-on feature, which integrates with the Identity Manager is one of the most vital features."
 

Cons

"Cisco ISE has numerous features that are impractical, and I won't utilize them since they require payment."
"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..."
"The Cisco wireless​ controller needs to add more than one physical port."
"The interface is not very user-friendly and it is not simple to use."
"In a future release, I would like to see network access control. That is something that customers seem to be looking for."
"There should be more visibility into TrustSec policy actions. When TrustSec blocks something or makes any kind of changes to the network, we don't always see that. We have to log into the switch itself, or we have to get some type of Syslog parsing to do that."
"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."
"It could be less monolithic. It's one huge application, and it does everything under the sun, so it's hard to deal with and upgrade and manage."
"There is room for improvement in customer service and support."
"They do have a good integration, but there is a long way to go as far as integration is concerned. They need to integrate with the cloud solutions a little bit more. We are looking for Azure integration."
"They could provide DLP integration for applications and specific user account security."
"The app installer is something that they should really change. It creates a lot of confusion for the user."
"I'd like to see more integration capabilities in future releases."
"When it comes to deployment and maintaining security, there should be an integrated console where you have a singular view of all of the products from the same OEM."
"From an identity perspective, there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to integration with other solutions. I would say it needs more capabilities in terms of direct integrations, including cloud identity solution integrations."
"One thing VMware needs to improve is compatibility with different operating systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"It is fair."
"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."
"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 don't know too much about the actual pricing on it. The licensing part is pretty straightforward. It's a lot more simple than some of the other Cisco licensing models. In that aspect, it's great."
"The solution’s pricing is okay."
"I believe I have paid around $1,000 in licensing fees. The license is annual."
"The price of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is expensive and we are thinking about changing to FortiGate."
"VMware Workspace ONE licensing price is good with their supportability. The price of VMware Workspace ONE is reasonable. We are using an enterprise license."
"VMware Workspace ONE has a yearly license. You have to buy the license for one year at a time."
"In terms of pricing, this solution is definitely much more expensive compared to other solutions, like MobileIron or MaaS360 or any other product in the market. This solution is more expensive by 30 or 40 percent."
"If you have a host of custom requirements (including licensing), make sure to set aside enough time for the initial setup because it can take up to a few weeks depending on how complex your environment is."
"The price of the solution is costly for the number of users I am using it for."
"I think the pricing of the product needs advisement. It would be great to bundle the VM products together. I think the actual box itself should be included in the license. At present, it is not paired with the mobile device."
"My guess is that its licensing was yearly. There was probably no fee in addition to the standard licensing fee."
"The cost is a little bit high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

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...
How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes it easy to control security and manage the usage of mobile apps when you have a ...
How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?
VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...
What do you like most about VMware Workspace ONE?
The platform provides a stable environment for operations and quickly creates new environments. Additionally, it offers efficient flexibility.
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
VMware Workspace ONE, VMware AirWatch, Workspace ONE Assist, VMware Identity Manager, Workspace ONE Access, VMware Horizon Air
 

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
Australian Sports Commission, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Lomond School, Merck, United Bank, Medical College of Wisconsin, Latymer Upper School, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, Dowling Aaron Inc., Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Harrogate Grammar School, Duke University Football, Delta Air Lines, Adventist Health System, Giochi Preziosi, Cramlington Learning Village, Intermountain Healthcare, Safexpress, TAG Aviation
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, HPE Aruba Networking, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: December 2024.
824,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.