Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Symantec Privileged Access Manager 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

Privileged Access Management (PAM)
Network Access Control (NAC)
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

Featured Reviews

Prashant Uppuluri - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides critical application control and ensures security with a flexible setup process
Regarding the feedback scenario, it's a tough question as I have thoroughly gone through the entire partner portal and library of BeyondTrust, as well as BeyondTrust University. I have also interacted with support whenever a ticket is raised, ranging from P1 to P3 or P2. Most end users and partners seem happy and content with BeyondTrust. The deployment of the solution is generally easy, flexible, and scalable. However, it can be challenging in certain environments, especially regarding management. Improvements could focus on adding more AI features to automate processes that are currently manual or challenging for end users. In some cases of competition, I have noted specific use cases where the recording of sessions was an endpoint for BeyondTrust, providing an edge for higher management. The ability to view recorded live sessions of specific users is a crucial benefit.
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.
Muzi Lubisi - PeerSpot reviewer
Secure management of sensitive servers and seamless applications with direct linking
The credential injection feature is highly valued, particularly for RDP sessions. A majority of customers use it for RDP, and a couple for Linux servers. The broader capabilities, including access to multiple systems, web-based applications, and clustering, have never posed an issue. The threat analytics aspect is also a robust feature that analyzes all pertinent information.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the valuable features is the absence of any local user in a unique system. All users are defined in the AD; communication is only between Unix and AD."
"The most valuable feature is the asset discovery, which makes it very easy to locate and identify assets and pull them into the manager."
"I'm a BeyondTrust partner and I have multiple deployments, four or five banks right now. The features that give us quite an edge compared to what our competitors are offering - like IBM or Thycotic - are the Session Management, that is quite a big one; also the recording of keystrokes. In addition, there is the password vaulting and state-of-the-art Password Management, which I haven't seen in other products."
"The solution's least privilege enforcement has helped us ensure access is given to only the required people."
"What I liked about this solution is that it can also integrate for tracking malicious use or sending analytics to a host that can process them. I don't know if CyberArk, Centrify, or Thycotic can do that. The analytics was something the client really wanted, and they already had BeyondTrust. It is very scalable. The agent on the workstation is very thin, and the processing power required on a server is nothing out of the ordinary. It is also very stable and easy to deploy."
"It's relatively straightforward to set up, especially if you are deploying to the cloud."
"It scales easily and the product is stable."
"The tool is easy to use and deploy. It has PAM capabilities like privilege access. The solution helps with the management of third parties and vendors. It is an effective solution compared to other alternatives."
"Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very good at device administration."
"The way we can trust this solution is the most valuable. We have no issue with this product. It is a competitive product. You need to have a very good and deep knowledge of the product to take the full benefits of all the features, but it is a good product."
"It is stable and easy to use."
"The first benefit is that we can implement zero trust architecture because of Cisco ISE. I can assure my CISO in my company that my network is such that nobody can just bring in their laptop, desktop, or any sort of mobile device and can directly get connected to my network. That is a benefit that I can only allow people who I trust on the network."
"It does a good job of establishing trust for each access request, no matter the source. It's also very effective at helping with the distributed network and at securing access."
"Not having to trust devices and being able to set those levels of trust and more finely control our network is a benefit."
"I like the logging feature."
"There is good integration with third-party systems like antivirus patch management, MDM."
"We can check the activities in the server for fragile files and documents in case of any issues."
"The DB clustering is a really good benefit of using CA PAM."
"We can enforce complicated password policies and very important frequent password changes."
"CA PAM is working well for us."
"It reduces the viral attacks on my website. It also allows certain users access to see what happens daily."
"The credential injection feature is highly valued, particularly for RDP sessions."
"Stability is solid as a rock."
"Transparent login for users of privileged IDs (Linux, Windows). This prevents sharing of the password because it is never seen."
 

Cons

"We use a program to automate all of this, but it's not a default feature of BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management."
"There is a need for better MQ integration with DevOps and improvements in architecture."
"Their technical support could be more responsive and helpful."
"They need to come up with better integrative options which should be customer-centric."
"There are three types of endpoints. If we need to use them in the solution, then we need to purchase the licenses separately. The tool needs to improve its licensing."
"There is a need for better MQ integration with DevOps and improvements in architecture."
"There is room for improvement in having the solution align more with standards. We're always shoehorning the product into the standards. It's not that it doesn't work for standards, it does. But Quick Start Policies are pretty close to what we need. The vendor needs to keep looking at GDPR, 27001, and 27701. That's why our clients buy the product."
"Reporting analytics is one of the areas that can be improved. It is a new cloud-based solution. So, many more specific reports can come out natively. Currently, we get all the events, and we put them in plug-ins. From there, we generate our own design of reports. If there is a much more solid or robust reporting analytics framework within the product itself, it would be helpful."
"An issue with the product is it tends to have a lot of bugs whenever they release a new release."
"The pricing is fair."
"Cisco ISE requires a lot of time-consuming administration."
"The product is expensive. It would also be a good add-on to have some machine learning."
"This product doesn't work in isolation."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing and licensing structure are not ideal for customers."
"I would like this solution to be simpler. It should have a one-click access that works together with AWS."
"The setup is complex."
"They should include some assignments in the test environment to explore the product's features."
"Technical support was good when CA handled it. After Broadcom took over, it's not as good."
"I wish it could create local accounts on desktops."
"We experience stability issues after every patch upgrade. This is a place where CA needs to improve drastically."
"The service account management functionality needs to be extended to application pools, SQL database, PowerShell scripts, service account discovery, etc."
"They need to do a little bit more on the mainframe side.​"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'm sure everyone should have the cluster environment, which means more expensive, anyway, cheaper than the other solutions."
"The solution's pricing is high."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"It was very expensive."
"It is relatively more cost-effective compared to the competing product."
"This solution is expensive compared to its competitors."
"Its pricing and licensing are okay. We were in the perpetual model when it was on-prem, and now, with the SaaS service, we have a subscription model. As a customer, I would always like to see a lower price, but it seems to be priced at the right model currently, and we are trying to get the maximum benefits out of it."
"Price-wise, it is very competitive. In our area, government entities and banks don't go for the monthly payment. It is a headache even for us in terms of finance and procurement to go for monthly payments. Quarterly might be more logical and reasonable, but the minimum that we go for is one year, and sometimes, we even try to compile and give one offering for three years."
"This solution requires an annual license and it is a bit expensive than competitors."
"Pricing is not a problem for Cisco because it has a lot of features and not much competition, although it's more expensive than other products. But if I do a cost-benefit analysis, Cisco provides high quality."
"The Essentials licensing is reasonable, but I would like the Premier version to be perpetual instead of a subscription."
"I am not aware of the current price for Cisco ISE, but considering it is a Cisco product, it is likely to be quite high."
"Cisco ISE's licensing can get pricey."
"For the Avast virus scan, we pay around USD $95 per machine for five years which includes all updates and technical support."
"We are running Version 2.9 because Version 2.9 of the ISE has a persistent license — it's a one-time payment. The latest version (3.1) is only available if you do a yearly subscription."
"The price of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is expensive and we are thinking about changing to FortiGate."
"The licensing is simple and scalable."
"It is more expensive than other solutions on the market."
"I would prefer better licensing options for the 20-100 users we have at a given time."
"Cost-wise, CA was better compared to others in the market. ​"
"It is reasonably priced."
"Pricing is fair compared to other top vendors."
"Don’t go with an agent model. Don’t go with a model that has you buying a thousand different parts. Go with PAM that gives you everything, or you’ll just be paying costs of implementing another tool that PAM would have just given you up front."
"They offer per-device, per-user, or monthly and yearly licensing models."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions are best for your needs.
851,451 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
24%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Looking for recommendations and a pros/cons template for software to detect insider threats
This is an inside-out --- outside-in --- inside-in question, as an insider can be an outsider as well. There is no sh...
What do you like most about BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management?
The solution's least privilege enforcement has helped us ensure access is given to only the required people.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management?
Setup costs vary depending on the scenario. Sometimes we win orders, and other times we lose due to partner preferenc...
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...
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 cann...
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 some...
What do you like most about Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
We can check the activities in the server for fragile files and documents in case of any issues.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
Due to the nature of the solution, it is hard to gauge, but compared to competitors, the pricing is very good. I woul...
What needs improvement with Symantec Privileged Access Manager?
Recent releases need improvement in webpage management. For instance, navigating through a webpage that acts like a w...
 

Also Known As

BeyondTrust PowerBroker, BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management for Windows, BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management for Mac, BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management for Linux, BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management for Unix, Avecto Defendpoint
Cisco ISE
CA PAM, Xceedium Xsuite, CA Privileged Access Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aera Energy LLC, Care New England, James Madison University
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
NEOVERA, Telesis, eSoft
Find out what your peers are saying about CyberArk, Delinea, One Identity and others in Privileged Access Management (PAM). Updated: May 2025.
851,451 professionals have used our research since 2012.