Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Forescout Platform vs Illumio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Forescout Platform
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (4th), IoT Security (2nd), Endpoint Compliance (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (16th)
Illumio
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Cloud and Data Center Security (2nd), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (12th), Microsegmentation Software (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Security Systems solutions, they serve different purposes. Forescout Platform is designed for Network Access Control (NAC) and holds a mindshare of 13.2%, up 13.1% compared to last year.
Illumio, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud and Data Center Security, holds 25.2% mindshare, up 21.0% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Cloud and Data Center Security
 

Featured Reviews

Odai Halawani - PeerSpot reviewer
It's an easy and effective solution, especially for device profiling without agents
Forescout Platform's most valuable aspect is its excellent device profiling for devices without agents, which is crucial for our work due to challenges with agent-based devices. Its isolation and blocking actions are particularly effective for network security. The device compliance feature helps us ensure device compliance through immediate actions like updating antivirus software. We have already integrated Forescout with antivirus and vulnerability assessment tools, allowing it to monitor vulnerability scores and automatically isolate devices if critical vulnerabilities are detected.
Alark Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Visual traffic interface aids in network micro-segmentation while a streamlined update option enhances process efficiency
The strongest aspect of Illumio is the visual traffic interface, which allows us to see all traffic that communicates with our servers and allied companies. We can write rules that can be embedded into the IP table, making it easy to handle. Illumio enables us to see network flows, traffic sources, and destinations. The policy generation and enforcement capabilities are valuable, allowing for selective enforcement. Illumio helps in audit purposes by saving data and showing blocked traffic, ensuring no outside traffic is allowed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We really like that we get full visibility of devices in the local network."
"The user management has been very easy for the most part."
"Within three or four days, we have complete visibility of your infrastructure on the network. Compared to other solutions, the deployment of the solution is easier and we can close the project quickly."
"The valuable feature of the product stems from the fact that it is easy to implement."
"It allows for good detection of all the vendor products we have on-site."
"Being able to sort on device types or devices with open ports is helpful when narrowing down assets of possible misconfigured devices that may be vulnerable on the network. We can take action on those devices based off of corporate policy."
"The most valuable features are remote access and administration scripts."
"Forescout CounterACT has allowed us to better open our access and control wireless access globally from our HQ. This allows us to monitor the network access for every office globally. This has improved overall security, reducing risk and opening up the opportunity to provide greater end user flexibility."
"The dependency map is most valuable feature."
"Customer support is excellent."
"The features that I have found most useful is the ability to centralize all the rules and then distribute them across various locations. However, I've encountered challenges related to tagging policies, which can be complex to devise. It's a matter that requires careful consideration and stakeholder involvement before implementing such policies."
"The Explorer allows you to know the traffic between source and destination."
"The tool helps with my company's security posture."
"The solution helps to maintain logs and monitor activities. It also helps us with access management. The tool helps us to secure organizational data that include files."
"The flexibility of the solution is its most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature of Illumio Adaptive Security Platform is monitoring. When I have no requirement from the other application, I can use the web block traffic to build."
 

Cons

"The solution could always improve by adding more features to make it more robust."
"The solution's customer support is bad and should be improved."
"Regarding pricing, there is room for improvement to enhance competitiveness with other vendors and solutions."
"The product may not yield any return on investment since it is only used to make your environment more reliable and secure."
"The installation is not secure because it takes high admin privileges."
"The licensing costs are quite high. With the amount of hardware we have, we need too many licenses to make the product effective and it's ultimately just too costly."
"I'd like to see improvements in the reporting aspect of Forescout Platform. While the dashboards are good, the reports are lacking and need enhancement, especially in terms of standardization and customization options. Apart from that, all the features and functionalities are working well without any issues."
"The console is a fat client, and a web interface would be preferable."
"The customer service is lagging a bit. It could be better."
"I have not had the chance to experiment deeply with it."
"We need more details on areas where there is an error or a traffic blockage. I would like the tool to offer a more detailed view."
"There should be an option to upgrade from the console to the latest version instead of performing manual upgrades. This would be more helpful to streamline processes."
"The solution is very basic and doesn't do anything other than the orchestration of layer four endpoint firewall rules."
"It requires a low-level re-architecting of the product."
"The product’s agents don't work very well in OT environments."
"The interaction we've had with the support team hasn't been ideal. Technical support should be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Forescout Platform is on the expensive side."
"The cost of licensing for this product is quite high, but this cost covers all the features of the solution so it is a single payment for the term that has been selected."
"Time savings in finding rogue devices as well as identifying potentially unwanted devices on the network has saved the organization time and money."
"Forescout's pricing is noted for its attractiveness, with potential discounts depending on partnership levels."
"We went with the virtual appliance option. The biggest cost to running these types of appliances would be to either have multiple virtual appliances at every data center or running Remote SPAN hardware to provide you the real-time network visibility."
"The product's pricing is reasonable."
"It's about $160,000, but I'm not sure how long that is for or what it includes. Because we were a test base, we were provided with servers, but now, Forescout wants us to buy servers because those servers are now end-of-life or end-of-service. For our lifecycle management program, in order to get a refresh on those servers, we would have to buy servers or use our own network resources to house Forescout. Forescout takes up about 13 or 14 virtual CPUs."
"5,000 user licenses will cost you between seven and eight million dollars, compared to 20 million for Aruba."
"The product's pricing is around 10,000-15,000 USD. The pricing is on a yearly basis."
"There is a subscription needed to use Illumio Adaptive Security Platform and we pay every three years. Overall the solution is expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Access Control (NAC) solutions are best for your needs.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
33%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
Forescout is a very powerful NAC product that does not rely on port level configuration. It can detect and block unauthorized devices very quickly. But it has a lot of capabilities and really would...
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I would rate the Forescout Device and Visibility Control Platform at a six out of ten.
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will...
What do you like most about Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
The features that I have found most useful is the ability to centralize all the rules and then distribute them across various locations. However, I've encountered challenges related to tagging poli...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
I do not have specific knowledge about pricing details as it is handled by upper management. I know that Illumio is the cheapest solution in the security area.
What needs improvement with Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
There should be an option to upgrade from the console to the latest version instead of performing manual upgrades. This would be more helpful to streamline processes.
 

Also Known As

Forescout Platform, CounterACT for Endpoint Compliance, ForeScout CounterACT
Illumio Adaptive Security Platform, Illumio ASP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NHS Sussex, SAP, SEGA, Vistaprint, Miami Children's Hospital, Pioneer Investments, New York Law School, OmnicomGroup, Meritrust
Plantronics, NTT Innovation Institute Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.