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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 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

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
144
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (3rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
IBM Security Identity Gover...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (14th), Identity Management (IM) (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 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 18.6%, down 25.3% compared to last year.
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence, on the other hand, focuses on User Provisioning Software, holds 3.1% mindshare, up 2.0% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)18.6%
Aruba ClearPass18.0%
Fortinet FortiNAC13.7%
Other49.7%
Network Access Control (NAC)
User Provisioning Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence3.1%
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud19.1%
One Identity Manager9.3%
Other68.5%
User Provisioning Software
 

Featured Reviews

NF
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Has improved authentication management and simplified visitor network access
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. You cannot search into the oldest logs; you have to use another tool for that. This can be blocking if you don't have any log consolidation solution. To do a search for an issue or something that happened two days ago, you cannot search directly in there. The capacity of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced. Something between one week and one month for the log capacity would be nice.
reviewer1830612 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head, Cybersecurity at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We use the solution to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices
We use the product to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices and do not contradict their security policies within the base points they specify in the system, which are used to match everything against their governance use cases I think the product's most…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have found that all of the features are valuable."
"The most valuable thing in ISE is the adoption of EAP deep that came in [version] 2.7, so we can do authentication based on user and machine certificates in one authentication."
"The authorization and accounts inside of ISE are very useful for us."
"The most valuable feature is 801.1x and another very good feature is the TACACS."
"We can better recognize our endpoints and we know whether they are allowed to access our network."
"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."
"It does what it's supposed to. We use a certificate-based authentication method for corporate-managed devices. That means when a user walks in with their managed laptop and plugs it into the network, it chats with Cisco ISE in the background, allows it on the network, and away they go."
"Cisco ISE has provided more mobility for the organization while controlling access no matter how the users connect to the network."
"We use the product to ensure organizations conform to industry base certifications and best practices and do not contradict their security policies within the base points they specify in the system, which are used to match everything against their governance use cases."
"I would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
"Lifecycle management, governance and documentation."
"This solution has a very good dashboard and the documentation is also very good, and life cycle management and governance are also good features in this solution."
 

Cons

"The initial setup was a little bit complex. It's not that simple because it requires a lot of prerequisites for the solution to get a hold on."
"I would like to see integration with other vendors, and the RADIUS integration needs to be improved a little bit."
"I don't see as many customers as I should adopting the onboarding feature. I think Cisco should make that process a lot easier and less intrusive on the end users' devices."
"I would definitely improve the deployment and maybe a little bit of the support. Our first exposure to ISE had a lot of issues."
"If I was going to improve anything, it would be the ease of migration. It's really difficult at the moment if you're looking to upgrade ISE 2.1 and you want to go to ISE 3.1 or 3.2, that whole upgrade path and, particularly, the licensing is quite a minefield to sort out."
"Setup wasn't easy, especially if you haven’t worked with it intensively."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in CLI. Most things are done through the GUI, and there aren't many commands or troubleshooting options available compared to other Cisco products like switches and routers."
"I think improvements could be made in the self service center, making it easier for the user to understand."
"Self service center is not always easy to understand."
"The solution is also a bit pricey for the Nigeria region."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco has actually transitioned to a lot of subscription models, fees, and licenses."
"The price is a bit on the high side."
"Previously, Cisco ISE had a perpetual licensing model, but now they have shifted to a subscription-based licensing system."
"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."
"ISE has always been expensive compared to other products in terms of what it does on a user level."
"The pricing is good. The last time we purchased four new appliances the price was doable for any organization of our size."
"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."
"Our customers pay for the license of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine). They have an annual subscription, rather than a monthly subscription."
"I would rate the price eight out of 10, with 10 as the best value for money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise91
No data available
 

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...
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Also Known As

Cisco ISE
IGI, IBM Security Identity Manager, ISIM
 

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
E.ON Global Commodities
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet, Cisco and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: June 2026.
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