Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Reviews

We use it for network device administration and for user access.

It has really helped us when it comes to security. It has eliminated trust from our network architecture because, with the solution in place, you tell us who you are and, based on who you are, we give you access. The solution provides us with a platform to define our policies. Users get into our system based on those policies. That eliminates threats. If you are not who you say you are, it will block you completely from our network.

It integrates with the rest of our platform, like our firewall, and helps us a lot. It also does a good job establishing trust for every access request.

With the recent release of the solution, we had a bunch of bugs and we had to delay our deployment. Other than that, the solution is good.

I have been using Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) for 10 years.

Cisco ISE has come a long way when it comes to stability. It's getting better.

It's very scalable. We have it deployed in two data centers, and we're managing about 10,000 endpoints.

TAC is very responsive whenever we call them.

Positive

Currently we have two solutions that do the same kinds of things. For our wireless infrastructure, we use Aruba, but for our wired access, we use ISE.

The ROI we have seen is because Cisco gives us what they promised us. They deliver. Our requirements are being met and that results in getting value for what we pay.

Since we have a complete Cisco portfolio, including an Enterprise Agreement, it's not simple for me to compare what we're paying with the prices of other platforms.

We evaluated other companies and what they each do differently and looked at what was the better fit for our requirements.

Cisco TAC is really good. Whenever we have issues, we know they are there and that they will help us out with troubleshooting. The support of the other companies we looked at is not that great.

When I compare it with Aruba ClearPass and other solutions out there, I prefer Cisco. Cisco is number-one for user access, managing devices, and for network devices.

We don't leverage Cisco ISE for application access. We have another solution for that.

Get some hands-on familiarity with it first. Do a PoC and get people who really know the solution to help you out during phase one before you deploy it.

We're using version 3.1, which is very stable. There have been a lot of improvements.

I like the automation of the collection of information.

We have only been deploying this version for three months. We haven’t had any issues, but we'll see how it goes. One of the issues that we used to have was with profiling because we're working with a service provider that uses a lot of bring your own devices. We haven't had any issues since we started using version 3.1.

I have been using this solution for over 12 years.

There are no stability issues with version 3.1.

It's stable. We deployed with a client in petroleum with about 200 users worldwide, and it was stable.

Setup wasn't easy, especially if you haven’t worked with it intensively. VM is a little bit easier. If you don't deploy ISE with correct policies, it will be difficult.

If you deploy it with the correct policies, it's a wonderful product. You don't need to attach anything like your firewalls or creating rules.

ISE has always been expensive compared to other products in terms of what it does on a user level. I haven't had a client who didn't say that ISE wasn't expensive. I’ve had an issue where I was just selling four boxes, and it was four million. It was a high-end box, and the client didn't take it. They end up going with VM.

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10.

It's one of the more difficult products to deploy.

You can learn a lot about ISE from their training videos. I would suggest watching the videos before deploying the solution. They have created good videos for ISE, from version 1.3.

Our customers use Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) as a network access control solution. Before they can get network access, you can do posture check, e.g. in the Windows version, or another version, then it is only after this posture check that the clients can enter the network.

Compatibility with other vendors is what needs to be improved in Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine). We should be able to use it with other vendors, for all specifications. There should be integration with different vendors, e.g. Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) working with AccuPoint networks.

I've worked in my current company in product pre-sales for one year, and prior, I worked for a different partner company in Turkey, so my total usage of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) spans eight years.

Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is a stable solution. It has good performance.

If we need support from the vendor side, we can open a case, then the vendor replies to us as soon as possible. Support for Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is fast.

The installation of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) was easy.

Our customers pay for the license of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine). They have an annual subscription, rather than a monthly subscription.

I evaluated Fortinet.

I'm a technical person, and I've worked for a company that does system integrations, including network pre-sales. My company sells Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) and Fortinet products in Turkey. I can also sell these products. My company is a gold partner of Cisco.

I've sold the on-premises version of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine).

Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is the best solution for Cisco network customers. It is the best solution for Cisco network devices. As for network products from other vendors, we can use, or we could offer other network access control (NAC) solutions, e.g. Fortinet NAC, or Aruba Secure NAC, etc.

I'm part of the pre-sales team at our company. There are other people who are responsible for installing Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) post-sales, e.g. they install the solution for the customers. For this reason, I am unable to give information on how long it takes to install the solution.

We currently have over 30 users of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine).

I can recommend Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) to other users.

My rating for Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is eight out of ten.

We are a partner with Cisco and am a part of an information security team that uses Cisco to provide security policy management via network, device and wireless access. 

Cisco offers automation, visibility, and control as well as third party integration capabilities.

I would like for the next release to be easier to implement and to limit its dependencies around ISE, Windows, the network as a whole, etc.

I have been using Cisco ISE for over six years.

This is a very stable solution with many integrations.

Cisco's scalability depends on the design - small deployments are not scalable.

Cisco support is good.

This solution is a bit more complex to set up than in comparison to other options - it can take anywhere from two to five months depending on the use case.

The price for Cisco ISE itself is very low, however, Cisco professional services are quite expensive. Subscription amount is dependent on number of users.

We looked at Forescout which is more user-friendly but they have a very vulnerable network.

This is a good solution for security teams. If you do not have a security team, I would not recommend this product. 

Overall, I would rate Cisco a seven out of ten.

My main uses are device administration, wireless access authentication, and ethernet access.

The most valuable feature is network access control for the users coming into the network, which allows us to know who is in the network at any given time.

The intuitiveness of the user interface could be improved. They could also make the deployment process more user-friendly.

I have two years of experience with this solution.

ISE is very stable - since it was installed, I've had no issues with it.

I've had no issues with scalability. I started using it on two campuses, and now I'm using it across the country and scaling it across subsidiaries in other countries.

I've worked closely with Cisco for many years and have no complaints about their support. Sometimes it takes less than a couple of minutes to get through to their support team.

I previously used Portnox, but it only gave us network access control, so we switched to ISE, which has more features like device administration.

Deployment is usually tough the first time, though once you get it working, it works well.

We used in-house engineers and an integrator.

We have a three-year license. Standard licensing gives backup access and very few features, and then there's VM licensing - each VM we use needs to be licensed. VM licensing comes in different sizes: small, medium, and extra-large. There are also licenses for features, posturing licenses, and profiling licenses.

Before deploying, it's a good idea to read up on the product first and then get some training so that when deployed, someone in the organization understands the solution. I would rate this solution as nine out of ten.

The solution is primarily used for Network management and Network Access Controls.

The general usefulness of the product is not specific to a particular feature. This is a comprehensive solution covering access to network to create a zero trust environment. It covers Network Access Control, Network Segmentation & policy control

The solution integrates well with other Cisco solutions. It works both from a single-vendor perspective and in cases where the client might have a hybrid network and multiple security solutions.

The product offers very good functionality.

From a configuration point of view, it's simple. It's not very complex. I don't see any major challenges when using the product.

The solution is reliable.

The scalability is good.

We haven't had any issues with technical support. They have been helpful. 

I have not come across any missing features. 

It would be ideal if Cisco could provide some short training videos or documentation to customers to help them understand how to use the product. 

We have not used this solution for ourselves but implemented it for various organisation's.

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. The performance is good. 

This solution can work well for large enterprises that have a larger environment, such as a distributed environment. Mostly, from my organization's perspective, we deal with SMEs.

The solution is quite scalable. 

I've been in touch with technical support in the past. They are quite good. I am satisfied with the level of support they provide. I don't have any complaints. 

Positive

The initial setup is not very complex. All similar solutions will have a similar type of configuration as well, so it's pretty simple to figure things out. 

In terms of how long a deployment takes, it primarily depends upon the environment the customer has. Customers might have a very basic environment wherein it might get done in a couple of hours or so. If it is a very complex environment and they have multiple policies to be deployed, then it could definitely take more time.

There aren't any challenges when it comes to maintenance. It's pretty simple. 

I don't handle the licensing aspect of the product. I can't speak to the exact costs involved. 

We have not faced any major challenges in terms of getting a good price point from our customer's perspective. That said, the pricing would depend upon the perceived value of the solution rather than the actual cost of the product. If the solution is able to help the customer in mitigating its challenges many customers don't see any point in discussing the price point if POC is successful

We are a system integrator.

The version of ISE we are using depends on the customer. 

We primarily have the solution set up on premise. 

In terms of advice, from a security standpoint, it is paramount for any organisation, to be secure, no matter its size (large or small). Having secure network access control will always make it safer & help organisation in attaining a zero trust environment 

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. 

We use Cisco ISE for device authentication, such as auto switches, and wireless authentication.

The most valuable features are authentication, we have more granular control on the access policies for the administrators. The solution is easy to use, has a center point administration, and has a good GUI.

The solution could be more secure.

I have been using Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) for approximately five years.

Cisco ISE is stable.

I have found Cisco ISE to be scalable.

We have approximately 500 people using this solution in my organization.

We were using Cisco ACS previously. I have found Cisco ISE to be a more advanced and easy-to-use solution than the Cisco ACS.

The installation is straightforward since we have worked on Cisco platforms previously.

We have approximately 100 people for the maintenance and support of this solution.

I rate Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) an eight out of ten.

The RADIUS Server holds the most value.

The TACACS feature in ISE is good.

We also use the Posture feature to control the environment.

The product features are quite good.

One of the main issues in  Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is that it lags excessively.

Sometimes Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) just doesn't work properly, due to misconfiguration.

I would like to see the product simplified more, especially with the configuration.

I have been working with Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) for approximately two years.

We are using version 2.7 Patch 2.

Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is easy to scale.

I have approximately 450 Apex end-based licenses.

Currently, we don't have plans to expand.

Technical support as always is one of the best.

The initial setup was a bit complex. It took us three to four weeks to complete the setup and get it up and running. We had help from the reseller.

It was deployed by a vendor.

It was installed by a vendor.

It's a bit expensive, especially the licensed product.

The hardware is purchased one time. 

The support license is reasonable, but when compared to other products, such as ClearPass or Fortinet, the base license for users is much lower in other products. In general, Cisco is more expensive.

I would like to see one license based on one user. We do not need to use multiple licenses in order to have multiple features in the product.

One of the issues in ISE is that if you need more features you have to have multiple licenses per user. One user can have three or four licenses. 

It would be beneficial to have a single license that included all of the features.

We are currently trying to deploy Fortinet network access control. The support from Fortinet is disappointing.

We are in the testing phases, but there is a good possibility that we will go with Fortinet.

We have not used it yet. We will try the POCs this week coming.

I would suggest having an experienced engineer implement the product. If there is an error when implementing, you will experience many issues, especially lagging.

If it was well implemented I would rate it a nine out of ten, because it's good.

Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is used in large enterprise companies. In our company and with our implementation, I would rate  Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) a four out of ten.