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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Ping Identity Platform 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
7.1
Cisco Identity Services Engine enhances security, simplifies operations, and reduces costs while boosting productivity and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Sentiment score
6.6
CyberArk enhances security, reduces risks and costs, improves efficiency, and streamlines workflows, but ROI remains difficult to quantify.
Sentiment score
5.3
Ping Identity Platform simplifies identity management, lowers IT overhead, enhances security, improves efficiency, boosts satisfaction, and offers scalability.
Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
The return on investment lies in improved security infrastructure, addressing over-privileged access, and reducing the risk of credential compromise, which is a major source of data breaches.
Cyber Security Engineer at Isolutions Associates Ltd (ISOLS)
The end users have the authority to reconcile the password or verify it before using session isolation, which is one of the unique features that can be enabled through Privileged Session Manager, preventing any attacks from happening within the organization when connected with sessions through CyberArk Privileged Access Manager.
Senior Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager has helped customers save on costs primarily by reducing the number of engineering and information security personnel.
Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco ISE support is highly rated for knowledge and responsiveness but struggles with response times and communication challenges.
Sentiment score
6.5
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager's customer service is knowledgeable but experiences delays and inconsistency in response times.
Sentiment score
6.3
Ping Identity Platform offers responsive, knowledgeable support with some portal confusion; ratings typically range from six to eight.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Cisco support has pretty good teams for support and every time we had good answers and we could somehow solve the issues we had.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Sometimes it's challenging to identify which support team is responsible for certain issues, which is a significant concern.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
CyberArk has been exceptional in coming back to us with immediate responses.
IT Cyber Security Lead at a mining and metals company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It could be forever until you talk to someone who knows what they are doing.
Senior PAM Consultant at iC Consult GmbH
Based on the issue resolution and support quality, I rate the support 10 out of 10.
Operation Specialists at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I have reached out to technical support for troubleshooting SAML certificate mismatches and federated errors between Ping and enterprise apps.
Senior ServiceNow Developer at Wells Fargo
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco ISE supports smooth scalability for diverse enterprises, but virtualization and hardware challenges may require strategic solutions.
Sentiment score
7.6
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is scalable, supports diverse environments, but scaling decisions depend on licensing and proper planning.
Sentiment score
7.2
Ping Identity Platform efficiently scales for diverse users, featuring adaptable environments, clustering, and load balancing for seamless performance.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
However, you can have some latency issues depending on where your devices are.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
The CPM can reportedly handle up to 50,000 accounts independently without issue.
Privileged Access Management Engineer at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
I would rate it a ten out of ten for scalability.
IT Cyber Security Lead at a mining and metals company with 1,001-5,000 employees
They had 40,000 passwords in this one safe, and it was saving the last ten iterations of each password object. That means they had 400,000 password objects in this safe. They exceeded the limit.
Senior PAM Consultant at iC Consult GmbH
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco ISE is stable and reliable, but large deployments may face challenges, requiring proper configuration and effective support.
Sentiment score
7.7
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is highly reliable and stable, with minor issues mainly from older versions or configurations.
Sentiment score
7.8
Ping Identity Platform is stable, generally rated 8-10/10, with minor issues in integrations and external dependencies.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes when we have upgrades or failovers with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), we had some minor issues.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Proper fine-tuning and expertise ensure the product performs well.
Cybersecurity Specialist at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees
Overall, the stability of the solution is high.
Senior Cybersecurity Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It has a large customer base and positive feedback within my network.
Senior Manager at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ISE is hindered by complexity, compatibility issues, costly licensing, and needs improvements in usability, support, and performance.
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager needs improved navigation, reporting, automation, integration, platform compatibility, and pricing for enhanced user satisfaction.
Ping Identity Platform needs improvements in biometrics, integration, cloud capabilities, user interface, and documentation for better security and flexibility.
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).
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
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.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
They want everything to be on the cloud, but even in the SaaS version of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, they need to deploy some servers on-premises.
Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
We cannot generate a plug-in for web-based applications.
Contractor at a pharma/biotech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
If they want clients to move to the cloud, they need to support them in real-time.
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
I would like to enable ServiceNow Generative AI for auto-diagnosing PingFederate SSO failures and suggest remediation steps.
Senior ServiceNow Developer at Wells Fargo
Ping Identity Platform has multiple products for access management, identity management, a solution for API security, a solution for authorization, and a product for identity verification.
VP Engineering at Inspirit Vision
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ISE pricing is complex and costly, with strong vendor partnerships needed for discounts, favoring large enterprises over smaller businesses.
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is costly but valued for features and security, deemed worthwhile for large implementations.
Ping Identity Platform offers competitive, subscription-based pricing, ideal for large enterprises but less suitable for smaller companies.
Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The license costs can range between $50,000 to $100,000 per year for enterprises.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Cloud solutions are expensive, while on-prem setups with shared environments are cheaper but not effective.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
CyberArk is expensive compared to other products I know.
Cybersecurity Specialist at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees
CyberArk is comparatively expensive compared to other PAM solutions, such as Delinea, especially during renewal.
Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
CyberArk's SaaS solution is particularly expensive.
Senior Manager at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco ISE excels in security, network access control, and integration, offering adaptability, scalability, and centralized management for organizations.
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager enhances security and efficiency with robust features, seamless integrations, and user-friendly, scalable architecture.
Ping Identity Platform offers customizable authentication, robust security features, and seamless integration for diverse client needs and device management.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers authentication using RADIUS, enhancing network security by separating and segregating networks.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
There is value because it helps us secure the network and prevents certain things from happening which could cause financial loss.
Ag Systems & Networks Head at UNBS
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.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager helps ensure data privacy because we now know who is using which credentials and at what time.
Senior Cybersecurity Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It keeps a record of activities, allowing me to easily fetch screen recordings to detect any misuse and see who did what and what happened.
Senior Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
It can integrate with Splunk, SNMP, and other solutions and technologies.
Technical Support Analyst at Capgemini
The platform enhances security measures by analyzing multi-factor authentication attempts, highlighting suspicious patterns, and generating compliance reports.
Senior ServiceNow Developer at Wells Fargo
It's a converged platform which can do both identity management, access management, and recently they are bringing privilege management capability as well.
VP Engineering at Inspirit Vision
 

Mindshare comparison

Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)21.7%
Aruba ClearPass20.8%
Fortinet FortiNAC15.0%
Other42.5%
Network Access Control (NAC)
Privileged Access Management (PAM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager11.4%
Delinea Secret Server4.9%
One Identity Safeguard4.4%
Other79.3%
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Ping Identity Platform3.7%
Microsoft Entra ID7.8%
Okta Platform5.0%
Other83.5%
Authentication Systems
 

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.
Atul-Gujar - PeerSpot reviewer
CyberArk manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Secures critical infrastructures with essential user session audit records
A potential area for improvement is enhancing support for cluster environments and distributed Vaults. Clients in multiple countries that need central access have different challenges that require better solutions from CyberArk. For financial services, CyberArk can improve incident response by ensuring fast support for critical priority tickets to meet compliance requirements. Providing more documentation on CyberArk is recommended for new team members to enhance their troubleshooting capabilities. I understand it's up to the client, but 99% fail to change the demo key, so it's crucial for CyberArk to emphasize changing the key and documenting it as part of the installation process.
SV
Senior ServiceNow Developer at Wells Fargo
Generative AI automates access reviews and provides workflow efficiencies
I work with Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), IT Service Management (ITSM), and Customer Service Management (CSM) modules of ServiceNow. My project is related to cybersecurity. I have touched on generative AI and integrations like SOAP APIs. I have used the Ping Identity Platform for seamless…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Retailer
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise91
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise42
Large Enterprise174
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise20
 

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...
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...
How does Sailpoint IdentityIQ compare with CyberArk PAM?
We evaluated Sailpoint IdentityIQ before ultimately choosing CyberArk. Sailpoint Identity Platform is a solution to m...
What do you like most about CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
The most valuable features of the solution are control and analytics.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?
My thoughts on the pricing of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager depend entirely on the vendors' requirements. If the...
What do you like most about PingFederate?
PingFederate is very flexible. We can do many customizations, and it also provides an SDK to tailor it to our specifi...
What needs improvement with PingFederate?
It requires some expertise to set up and manage. Also, having dedicated support is helpful. It's not something anyone...
What is your primary use case for PingFederate?
We use PingFederate to provide SSO (Single Sign-On) solutions to enterprise applications. We support protocols like S...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
CyberArk Privileged Access Security, CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault
Ping Identity (ID), PingFederate, PingAccess, PingOne, PingDataGovernance, PingDirectory, OpenDJ
 

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
Rockwell Automation
Equinix, Land O'Lakes, CDPHP, Box, International SOS, Opower, VSP, Chevron, Truist, Academy of Art University, Northern Air Cargo, Repsol
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: March 2026.
885,728 professionals have used our research since 2012.