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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Logo

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) pros and cons

Vendor: Cisco
4.1 out of 5
Badge Leader

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) provides centralized and unified secure access control, enhancing security for all devices with multifactor authentication and allowing easy integration with Cisco networking equipment.
It offers scalability and flexibility, making it suitable for environments with thousands of users, and integrates seamlessly with Active Directory for streamlined management of user access.
ISE's valuable features include posture assessment, policy management, VLAN assignments, guest access, BYOD services, and integration with StealthWatch and DNA for comprehensive network management.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) excels at automating and providing real-time visibility for proactive monitoring and management of endpoints, ensuring compliance and trust for network access.
The integration capability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) with third-party systems and its comprehensive profiling and posturing features enhance security and efficiency across organizations.

CONS

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) has a steep learning curve and complex initial setup.
Support and integration for active devices require improvement, with better compatibility across different manufacturers.
Upgrades and update processes for Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) are problematic and not user-friendly.
Licensing structure and cost of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) can be challenging and confusing.
Improved documentation and easier-to-locate best practices are needed.
 

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Pros review quotes

NF
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Oct 7, 2025
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) has simplified guest access management for us without compromising security for our organization.
JN
Ag Systems & Networks Head at UNBS
Jun 25, 2025
The policies allow us to enforce certain rules on the network to be able to screen our users more effectively.
SunilkumarNaganuri - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Nov 13, 2024
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very good at device administration.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
JN
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Feb 28, 2025
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very stable.
Brad Lossing - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Network Operations at RAND Corporation
Jun 15, 2023
The solution enables us to do everything from one interface.
SL
Network Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Jun 15, 2023
The solution enables us to authenticate with AD.
reviewer2590572 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Nov 7, 2024
The solution is integrated with other Cisco devices and can offer automation for an organization, making deployments more dynamic and providing real-time visibility.
Solomon Okonta - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Architect at Great Canadian Gaming Corp
Jun 14, 2023
Being able to authenticate wired users through 802.1X is valuable as it enhances our security.
Vergin Mansour - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Aug 3, 2023
My team has gained a lot from Cisco ISE as it does also provide automation, which is a big asset in the eighth hour. After setting it up, it took a lot of the weight off in many ways. We have a co-worker, who we call the ISE Master because he's in charge of the ISE configurations. He's able to save a lot of time by being able to monitor everything from there. So it did take off a lot of time that we would waste by going individually to that different device and trying to figure out what was wrong.
Brad Davenport - PeerSpot reviewer
VP of Technical Architecture at Logicalis
Aug 3, 2023
For us and our clients, the most valuable features of Identity Services Engine are really around the rich contact sharing that ISE gives you.
 

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Cons review quotes

NF
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Oct 7, 2025
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.
JN
Ag Systems & Networks Head at UNBS
Jun 25, 2025
The integrations with the switches and the wireless controllers are not really straightforward. There is what they call the best practice for them, but it may not be what we have on-premise.
SunilkumarNaganuri - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Nov 13, 2024
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) needs to improve the profiling preauthentication.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
JN
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Feb 28, 2025
I would say they need to expand the hardware compatibility. The whole setup works well with Cisco access points and Cisco switches, but when you have multiple vendors in the environment, such as HP switches or access points like Aruba, you'll find they will not work well with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE).
Brad Lossing - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Network Operations at RAND Corporation
Jun 15, 2023
They should improve the documentation. There tends to be a lot of old text, or the new things aren't always up to what's been released on the code, and sometimes the documentation is inconsistent.
SL
Network Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Jun 15, 2023
The web UI should be made similar to the one in DNAC.
reviewer2590572 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Nov 7, 2024
The licensing scheme is complex and could use enhancement to provide more options.
Solomon Okonta - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Architect at Great Canadian Gaming Corp
Jun 14, 2023
The policies could be adjusted to make them more easily implementable.
Vergin Mansour - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Aug 3, 2023
The one main thing that it can improve on is the GUI. As the newest addition to the team, I struggle a little bit to get around it just because it has so many features.
Brad Davenport - PeerSpot reviewer
VP of Technical Architecture at Logicalis
Aug 3, 2023
I think some areas where ISE could be better are perhaps in the number of integrations that they offer from a virtual standpoint, as well as having a better and more comprehensive pathway for the customer to go from a physical environment to a virtual one.