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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs OpenIAM Identity Governance 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
144
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
OpenIAM Identity Governance
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (15th), Identity Management (IM) (26th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and OpenIAM Identity Governance 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 21.7%, down 27.1% compared to last year.
OpenIAM Identity Governance, on the other hand, focuses on User Provisioning Software, holds 2.0% mindshare, up 1.1% since last year.
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)
User Provisioning Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OpenIAM Identity Governance2.0%
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud22.5%
One Identity Manager11.2%
Other64.3%
User Provisioning Software
 

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.
SM
Lead Consultant at a security firm with 51-200 employees
Manages user identities and application access in a centralized way from a single console/portal
OpenIAM provides an Identity and Access Management platform which includes identity and access management (i.e., SSO, Multi-factor Authentication, password synchronization, and RBAC). Below are the features : Lower Cost of Implementation & Total Cost of Ownership: * OpenIAM uses tools, such as Groovy script to implement business rules, Grails to create new UI functionality, Activiti for workflow, PowerShell, etc. It also support web services. So it is important to find skilled technical resources readily and at reasonable cost in comparison to the large vendors, which use proprietary tools for developing custom connector or product customization as per business requirement. * OpenIAM is also based on Open Source technologies (i.e., JBoss, Apache, MySQL, CentOS), so Total Cost of Ownership is very low in comparison to other IAM products. * Compliance with standards simplifies integration. * Subscription-based license model. Ease of Use: OpenIAM offers a single unified Admin console and a single unified self-service portal for customers to use and manage the IAM suite (i.e. Identity Management, Access Management, and Multi-Factor Authentication). Modern Architecture: * Built from the ground up, not through acquisitions and proprietary technology. * SOA architecture * Cloud-enabled Enterprise Grade Product: Even though OpenIAM is based on Open Source technologies, it is: * Built on industry standards * Simplified integration * Uses established industry frameworks

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is 801.1x and another very good feature is the TACACS."
"I've had no issues with scalability. I started using it on two campuses, and now I'm using it across the country and scaling it across subsidiaries in other countries."
"Cisco ISE has provided more mobility for the organization while controlling access no matter how the users connect to the network."
"We can better recognize our endpoints and we know whether they are allowed to access our network."
"SGTs are valuable because they make it easy to enforce policies, instead of pushing them across all the other platforms."
"There's no way for us to run a secure, reliable, user access or device administration access without something like ISE."
"The most valuable features are the NAC and the bundles that are available with Cisco ISE, such as Cisco ACS being integrated."
"One of the advantages is that you can easily find rogue endpoints. For example, if you don't want to allow any endpoints where you don't know the people plugging into what kind of devices, ISE can give you a big, clear picture, e.g., what kind of endpoints are getting connected to your network. That is one of the advantages."
"Customer support is very good and available in almost all time zones."
 

Cons

"The solution could be more secure."
"The solution infrastructure configuration is complicated to set up. They have improved over the years but there is still a lot of room to improve."
"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."
"I'd like to see an easier way to upgrade to larger versions, as well as more best practices that are easier to locate on their support page."
"A main issue is that the upgrade process, over time, is extraordinarily fragile. Repeatedly, over the past several years, when we've tried to upgrade our Cisco ISE implementation, the upgrade has broken it. Ultimately, we have then had to rebuild it because we need it."
"The customer server was great but it would have been better for me if they had support in other languages such as Spanish."
"The stability of the solution needs to be improved. It's not ideal. It's lacking overall."
"It's damn expensive and the licensing is terrible."
"OpenIAM should improve the product/API documentation on portal which gives more flexibility to developers for product customization and connector development."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Essentials licensing is reasonable, but I would like the Premier version to be perpetual instead of a subscription."
"Its price is probably good if you use all of its features and functionalities to protect your environment. If you use only a part of the functionality, its price is too high. It is just a question of value and the functionality you use."
"There is a license to use this solution and the price is reasonable."
"Cybersecurity resilience has been very important to our organization and has been a big factor. We've had issues in the past, but one of the things I like about ISE is its logging features. Security wise or information wise, it really has been a powerful tool."
"I believe I have paid around $1,000 in licensing fees. The license is annual."
"Its licensing could be improved. It used to be perpetual, but now they are moving away from that."
"Standard licensing gives backup access and very few features, and then there's VM licensing - each VM we use needs to be licensed."
"The licensing is subscription-based and based on the user account."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
University
14%
Construction Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise32
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 ...
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...
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Also Known As

Cisco ISE
OpenIAM, OpenIAM IGA
 

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
Citicorp, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Marsh and McLennan, SBC Warburg, GE Electric Insurance, Tata Communications, NettBuss, AMSCAN, Time Warner, MultiPlan, Stater Bros., County of Orange - California, TUI Hotels, NV Energy, EMCOR Group, Previred
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