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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

it_user375078 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer/Mobility Specialist at CCSI - Contemporary Computer Services, Inc.
May 10, 2017
Cisco ISE now competes with any other product in the space because of its centralized and unified highly secure access control with ISE.
it_user816279 - PeerSpot reviewer
Research Engineer with 1-10 employees
Feb 8, 2018
Improves switch account management.
it_user866460 - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect of Security and Networking solutions (Presales and after sales) at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
May 7, 2018
Member Access Control and the ability to integrate all Cisco wireless, Cisco networking, switches, routers, and firewalls.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,036 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Jan 28, 2019
For device administration, all devices have multifactor authentication in collaboration with IT, so it secures access to all of our devices. For guest and wireless access, it's a matter of a lowly manager who we give access to the portal and he can assign access to the guests, so it's a very simple process now. It keeps the IT focusing on their work, and gives the business people the right access.
RF
Information Security System Specialist at everis New Company Erifson
Jan 31, 2019
It is scalable because we use a network load balancer at the front of the PSN. It can be extended as we want to multiply. It's scalable to our environment. We have around 8,000 users and we are planning to expand it.
SK
Security Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 201-500 employees
Feb 4, 2019
The initial setup was easy. It took around one month. We did the installation part within half an hour to two hours but we found a couple of issues so we raised a case and once everything was resolved it was a month in total.
it_user690516 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager - IT Security & Process Compliance at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 5, 2019
We have multiple metal devices from different places that use management, so we need to know who would be accessing all those devices and what changes are being done to those metal devices. With Cisco ISE we have visibility of all the changes happening on those devices.
Netw0997 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at a government with 51-200 employees
Feb 10, 2019
After the product was installed, no one could access the secure connection network. In order for any laptop or any endpoint device to attach to my network, it needs to be authorized or be certified to be connected.
it_user683622 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Feb 10, 2019
We found that the most valuable features associated with this tool are posture assessment, policy management, VLAN assignments, guest assignment, and BYOD services. In addition to these services, the Cisco IOS software switch configuration feature is another very valuable aspect of the policy and compliance solution.
AP
OPCO IT Manager at MTN
Feb 18, 2019
For guests we give them limited access to the internet when they come in so that access has been useful. Previously, we just used to give them the APN key which they would leave with. Now, we give them credentials to use that are for a limited period of time.
 

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Cons review quotes

it_user375078 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer/Mobility Specialist at CCSI - Contemporary Computer Services, Inc.
May 10, 2017
The learning curve is steep and the initial setup is complex.
it_user816279 - PeerSpot reviewer
Research Engineer with 1-10 employees
Feb 8, 2018
The Cisco wireless​ controller needs to add more than one physical port.
it_user866460 - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect of Security and Networking solutions (Presales and after sales) at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
May 7, 2018
In a future release, I would like to see network access control. That is something that customers seem to be looking for.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,036 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Jan 28, 2019
The compliance and posture don't always work. They should make it more stable. With each upgrade, we lose some functionality. We have to wait for another upgrade.
RF
Information Security System Specialist at everis New Company Erifson
Jan 31, 2019
They should improve the upgrades. It's not easy to upgrade the solution.
SK
Security Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 201-500 employees
Feb 4, 2019
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.
it_user690516 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager - IT Security & Process Compliance at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 5, 2019
Support and integration for the active devices needs to be worked on. Their features mainly work well with Mac devices. If we use an HP the Mac functionalities may no longer be able to deliver.
Netw0997 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at a government with 51-200 employees
Feb 10, 2019
I would rate this solution a 7.5 out of ten. To make it a ten they should have more people on tech support. They need to invest more in the product. It's a good product. They should just work on tech support. More support for the customer. It's not that easy to get somebody to understand this product. I have had some issues with tech before for the solution. One of them brought the solution down due to some of his activity. They need to hugely invest in their tech support.
it_user683622 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Feb 10, 2019
There are issues with respect to the posture assessment function. It's been observed that customers are not receiving total access to the network because the assessment agent is glitchy and malfunctions from time-to-time. I would like to see refining of the compliance assessment and adding more detailed compliance of endpoints on the user end.
AP
OPCO IT Manager at MTN
Feb 18, 2019
In order to make it a ten, it should be more user-friendly. You need somebody who is knowledgeable about it to use it. It's not easy to use. We have to rely heavily on technical support.