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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Forcepoint ONE 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.6
Cisco Identity Services Engine boosts security, simplifies IT, reduces costs, mitigates risks, and enhances efficiency with long-term support.
Sentiment score
5.5
Forcepoint ONE improves efficiency and security, reducing alert fatigue, with notable Bitglass costs enhancing cloud app productivity and protection.
Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.
Since I'm on the technical side, I don't handle ROI or financial metrics directly, but based on client feedback, many have seen improvements in operational efficiency mainly through centralized policy management and reduced manual investigation time, resulting in time savings and better visibility across their environments.
It is very difficult to measure the return on investment, but the control for the data is very important for companies because without an application similar to Forcepoint ONE, there is no control.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Cisco ISE customer service is praised, but tech support varies, with fast resolutions or delays and inconsistent expertise.
Sentiment score
6.5
Forcepoint ONE's customer service is praised for professionalism and quick responses, though some situations require escalations and improved response times.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
Cisco support has pretty good teams for support and every time we had good answers and we could somehow solve the issues we had.
Sometimes it's challenging to identify which support team is responsible for certain issues, which is a significant concern.
Having a local principal support available also helps speed up communication and coordination, especially for urgent or region-specific cases.
They are responsive and assist me with creating cases for any complex issues.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Identity Services Engine scales flexibly for various environments, though virtual deployments and licensing necessitate careful planning and hardware selection.
Sentiment score
6.8
Forcepoint ONE efficiently scales for thousands of users, offering seamless integration and performance through its cloud-native architecture.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
However, you can have some latency issues depending on where your devices are.
It can easily scale to support thousands of users and devices without requiring major infrastructure changes.
Forcepoint ONE is very scalable because it is located in the cloud, and I don't have to manage the machines or anything with the infrastructure.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco ISE is stable and reliable, though occasional bugs occur, but technical support and proper management ensure performance.
Sentiment score
7.6
Forcepoint ONE is stable and reliable, with high uptime, seamless operations, and strong data security capabilities in field operations.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Sometimes when we have upgrades or failovers with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), we had some minor issues.
There have been some specific outcomes since switching to Forcepoint ONE.
I think Forcepoint ONE is pretty stable, as the connection and agent synchronization are reliable, but it can still be improved.
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek simplified Cisco ISE setup, improved integration and UI, refined stability, transparent licensing, and enhanced logging and analytics.
Forcepoint ONE needs better integration, streamlined configurations, real-time reporting, improved DLP, dashboard, documentation, and enhanced scalability and training.
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).
Pricing can be more expensive compared to other vendors, and there is a significant price gap observed, which doesn't seem justified by some specific features.
They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases.
I need to control specific functionalities within certain applications, like preventing the transfer of certain file types.
Having more flexible reporting and alert customization to tailor insights for different clients and compliance needs would be beneficial.
There is room for improvement in making the reporting closer to real-time, ideally around five or ten minutes instead of half an hour.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ISE provides three tiers; complex, costly pricing is offset by comprehensive features and potential discounts through partnerships.
Forcepoint ONE offers competitive and customizable pricing, but understanding its flexible licensing structure is essential before purchase.
Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.
The license costs can range between $50,000 to $100,000 per year for enterprises.
Cloud solutions are expensive, while on-prem setups with shared environments are cheaper but not effective.
The pricing is very good and cheaper than other solutions like Netskope and Forcepoint.
the pricing is better than all
The licensing and pricing were fine with no issues.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Identity Services Engine enhances security via dynamic policy enforcement, seamless integration, and robust authentication for a zero-trust environment.
Forcepoint ONE offers cloud-based security with DLP, CASB, and Zero Trust, enhancing data protection and simplifying access control.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers authentication using RADIUS, enhancing network security by separating and segregating networks.
There is value because it helps us secure the network and prevents certain things from happening which could cause financial loss.
The adaptability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) policy enforcement can fit to the site we have depending on which kind of devices we have on site and then the needs for authentication, granting access and then assigning each device into its correct network for segmentation.
The most valuable feature was the website blocking capability, which allowed me to quickly block any dodgy websites.
It shortens response time for our clients, allowing their security team to view incidents in real-time, classify them easily, and focus on genuine risks instead of sorting through false positives, and it simplifies reporting and audit preparation since all the relevant data is consolidated in one place.
I can access social networks but block specific platforms like Instagram and Facebook while allowing access to LinkedIn, a professional network.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
144
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (1st), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
Forcepoint ONE
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (19th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (11th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Forcepoint ONE 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 23.8%, down 29.1% compared to last year.
Forcepoint ONE, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Web Gateways (SWG), holds 1.4% mindshare, up 1.3% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)23.8%
Aruba ClearPass22.7%
Fortinet FortiNAC17.3%
Other36.2%
Network Access Control (NAC)
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Forcepoint ONE1.4%
Cisco Umbrella16.4%
Zscaler Internet Access14.1%
Other68.1%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

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.
Edwin Eze-Osiago - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy, stable, and scalable
Bitglass integration with some IDP providers needs improvement. Currently, the solution is not compatible with Azure AD for third-party authentication. The fraud proxy in the SmartEdge agent is not compatible with Forcepoint DLP or a web hybrid agent. I would like the developers to consolidate multiple agents across systems for better integration.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise91
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise12
 

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 Forcepoint ONE?
The platform's feature that has been most beneficial for our web security is its capability to replicate rules.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint ONE?
The licensing and pricing were fine with no issues. I took over from somebody else, and it stayed as it was until we rebuilt and moved to the cloud.
What needs improvement with Forcepoint ONE?
I believe that Forcepoint ONE could be improved when configuring certain policies; for content filtering, when trying to whitelist or blacklist certain domains, you can only do up to about 50 domai...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
Bitglass
 

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
UNC-Charlotte
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: October 2025.
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