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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs RSA SecurID 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
6.7
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (1st), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
RSA SecurID
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (8th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and RSA SecurID 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 24.9%, down 30.3% compared to last year.
RSA SecurID, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 6.4% mindshare, down 7.4% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

SunilkumarNaganuri - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced device administration hindered by complex deployment and security limitations
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. This will give them a roadmap for software-defined access (SDA) use cases and network segmentation. Threat detection capabilities are very weak. Additionally, the product is vulnerable and has many bugs.
Chandan Tripathi - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful for making logins more secure by using multifactor authentication but extremely expensive
There is room for improvement in a few areas. Firstly, it lacks support for OIDC and OS capabilities, making it less versatile for integrating various applications. Secondly, there are some limitations in the number of supported applications. Lastly, it doesn't offer an agent-based or reverse-proxy-based approach to integration, which could enhance its flexibility.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Not having to trust devices and being able to set those levels of trust and more finely control our network is a benefit."
"The way the ISE works is you can get into defining. Let's say, in my case, I've got a Windows laptop and I've got an Apple product and those have unique identifiers, unique back addresses. It would say that this in my profile so I could get to those apps with either device, 24/seven. That's how granular the ISE or these NAC Solutions can get."
"Assisting a larger number of users in gaining access and guiding them through the process of getting on Cisco ISE has been seamless."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the policy sets."
"In terms of scalability, you need to factor in your licenses. With a virtual platform, the scalability is more than sufficient. We have over one thousand users."
"Typically, the installation is pretty simple."
"The WiFi portal in Cisco ISE is very useful for WiFi customers."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco ISE is its seamless integration with the switches and the entire suite, enabling wireless access and smooth client information retrieval."
"The most valuable features of RSA SecurID Access are push notifications, multifactor authentication, and ease of integration and deployment."
"One of the most valuable feature is the ID soft token and hard token."
"I think it is really good when it comes to the hard token side of things."
"I would say that the two-factor authentication and the ease of installation and configuration are the most valuable features of this solution."
"It is a scalable solution."
 

Cons

"Cisco ISE requires a lot of time-consuming administration."
"In a future release, I would like to see network access control. That is something that customers seem to be looking for."
"I don't like the fact that we can see the logs only for 24 hours. Maybe that happens because of the way we set it up."
"Some of the reporting could be improved."
"I would like to see integration with other vendors, and the RADIUS integration needs to be improved a little bit."
"Cisco ISE's performance could be better, faster, and more robust."
"Since we have started, we struggled a lot to implement this solution into our network, and we opened a case a couple of times. Up until this point, nothing else needs to be improved with this product."
"I would definitely improve the deployment and maybe a little bit of the support. Our first exposure to ISE had a lot of issues."
"It doesn't offer an agent-based or reverse-proxy-based approach to integration, which could enhance its flexibility."
"The interface needs to improve a lot. It should be easier to manage and navigate."
"There are different compliances across the globe; RSA SecurID Access could be more complaint-based."
"Sometimes, we encounter issues with other applications that are not compatible with RSA SecurID Access and require expert troubleshooting. At those times, we need additional support from an implementation perspective. This is an area where Oracle can improve as there is no substitute for reliable and efficient support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not that pricey."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"According to my sales and account team, the prices we're getting are pretty good."
"Our customers pay for the license of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine). They have an annual subscription, rather than a monthly subscription."
"The solution’s pricing is okay."
"Pricing and licensing are not my expertise. As far as budgeting is concerned, we run an ELA with Cisco. It's a part of our ELA."
"I believe I have paid around $1,000 in licensing fees. The license is annual."
"There are other cheaper options available."
"RSA SecurID Access is expensive."
"I think the price of this solution is reasonable compared to YubiKey and Duo given that it offers the same similar features."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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...
What do you like most about RSA SecurID Access?
The most valuable features of RSA SecurID Access are push notifications, multifactor authentication, and ease of integration and deployment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RSA SecurID Access?
RSA SecurID Access is quite expensive. I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of costliness.
What needs improvement with RSA SecurID Access?
There is room for improvement in a few areas. Firstly, it lacks support for OIDC and OS capabilities, making it less versatile for integrating various applications. Secondly, there are some limitat...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
RSA SecurID Access, RSA Access Manager
 

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
Milliman, Geisinger Health System, Advanced Micro Devices
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.