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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Impulse Point SafeConnect comparison

Cisco and Impulse Point are both solutions in the Network Access Control (NAC) category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while Impulse Point is ranked #16. Cisco holds a 24.2% mindshare in NAC, compared to Impulse Point’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Impulse Point users who would recommend it.
Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Read 144 Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) reviews
  • 16,354 Views
  • 10,630 Comparison Views
87% willing to recommend
Impulse Point SafeConnect
Read 1 Impulse Point SafeConnect review
  • 180 Views
  • 180 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Impulse Point SafeConnect based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC).

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To learn more, read our detailed Network Access Control (NAC) Report (Updated: October 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Network Access Control (NAC)
October 2025
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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...
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
144
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (2nd)
Impulse Point SafeConnect
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is 24.2%, down from 29.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Impulse Point SafeConnect is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)24.2%
Impulse Point SafeConnect0.5%
Other75.3%
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

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.
Read full review
CD
Easy to scale, enforces policies well, and has responsive technical support
A lot of campuses use SafeConnect. It gives us good visibility and enforces policies. It helps enforce network security by scanning devices, making sure they have current and valid antivirus solutions with up-to-date antivirus definitions, and steers our end users by enforcing policy groups and steering them to the right access. Technical support is responsive. The stability is pretty good. It is very easy to scale the product.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The interconnection with the ecosystem and the ability to force rules all over the network are the most important features."
"It's flexible and stable. It's been good as a standard environment to run."
"There are a lot of integrations available with multiple vendors. This has made the solution easier to work with."
"The authorization and accounts inside of ISE are very useful for us."
"The ability to integrate our Cisco AnyConnect connections to the active directory has been great."
"Authentication is the most valuable feature because it puts our company at another level of security."
"They have recently made a lot of improvements. My clients don't have much to complain about."
"I like the logging feature."
More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) pros
"It is very easy to scale the product."
 

Cons

"The area where things could be improved is education. It's complicated to deploy initially because you have to know what you're getting into."
"The interface is a little bit complex."
"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."
"On the network services devices, when you click on filter, the filter comes up. However, when I type in a search and I want to click on something it defaults back to the main page. I keep having an issue with that, and I'm not doing anything wrong."
"I would like the product to include support for OSVS version three."
"The customer server was great but it would have been better for me if they had support in other languages such as Spanish."
"The support could be faster and the pricing could be reduced."
"It could be less monolithic. It's one huge application, and it does everything under the sun, so it's hard to deal with and upgrade and manage."
More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) cons
"The solution would be much better if it offered self-service onboarding."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has a fair price. It is better than it was before."
"Cisco has actually transitioned to a lot of subscription models, fees, and licenses."
"The pricing is complicated."
"This solution requires an annual license and it is a bit expensive than competitors."
"The licensing can be confusing, but it is still pretty good."
"Its licensing could be improved. It used to be perpetual, but now they are moving away from that."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"In general, licensing can be quite complex with Cisco products. It would be nice if it was a bit more intuitive and had fewer "gotchas" in there."
More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) pricing and cost advice
"For our tier group, for one year, the cost is probably around $10,000 for the license. If you do multi-year, you could get two years, and you could get it for about $8,000 per year. If you do three years, you get it around $7,000 a year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise91
No data available
 

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 ...
See all answers
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, ...
See all answers
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...
See all answers
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Comparisons

Aruba ClearPass vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Logo
Aruba ClearPass vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Compared 22% of the time
Fortinet FortiNAC vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Logo
Fortinet FortiNAC vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Compared 21% of the time
Forescout Platform vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Logo
Forescout Platform vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Compared 9% of the time
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Logo
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Compared 5% of the time
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Logo
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Compared 4% of the time
More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Competitors
Forescout Platform vs Impulse Point SafeConnect Logo
Forescout Platform vs Impulse Point SafeConnect
Compared 63% of the time
Fortinet FortiNAC vs Impulse Point SafeConnect Logo
Fortinet FortiNAC vs Impulse Point SafeConnect
Compared 38% of the time
More Impulse Point SafeConnect Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
October 2025
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) reportDownload Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) product report
Buyer's Guide
Network Access Control (NAC)
October 2025
Impulse Point SafeConnect reportDownload Impulse Point SafeConnect product report
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
SafeConnect
 

Overview

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers comprehensive network access control and visibility, supporting features like 802.1X authentication, profiling, and posturing. It integrates with Microsoft and other Cisco products, facilitating robust security policies across distributed networks.

Cisco Identity Services Engine is a key player in network access control, offering centralized management and a user-friendly interface. It supports zero trust principles and provides strong authentication for wired and wireless networks. ISE's capabilities include granular security policies, enhanced device posturing, and seamless integration, bolstering security infrastructure. Users benefit from its dual authentication through EAP, simplifying access management across networks.

What are the key features of Cisco ISE?
  • 802.1X Authentication: Supports network security for authorized device access.
  • Profiling: Identifies devices for accurate policy enforcement.
  • Posturing: Evaluates device compliance for access decisions.
  • TACACS: Streamlines network device authentication and authorization.
  • Guest Access: Provides secure access to visitors.
  • Microsoft Compatibility: Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft environments.
What benefits and ROI should be considered?
  • Security Enhancement: Offers strong network security policies.
  • Operational Efficiency: Centralized management improves operational aspects.
  • Improved Compliance: Ensures adherence to industry standards.
  • Scalability: Supports growing network demands effectively.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and education, Cisco ISE is pivotal for securing wired and wireless networks, implementing BYOD policies, and managing user access. Organizations leverage ISE for effective authentication and authorization, while maintaining compliance with industry security standards.

Cisco

SafeConnect provides the ability to automate the enforcement of security compliance and network access control policies (based on identity, device type, location, and ownership), and gathers a wealth of real-time and historical context-aware device data so you can make more informed and intelligent decisions.

Impulse Point
 

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
Aerohive Solution
Buyer's Guide
Network Access Control (NAC)
October 2025
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