No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs RSA SecurID 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)
RSA SecurID
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (10th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and RSA SecurID 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 19.4%, down 25.8% compared to last year.
RSA SecurID, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 2.8% mindshare, down 6.8% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)19.4%
Aruba ClearPass18.5%
Fortinet FortiNAC14.5%
Other47.6%
Network Access Control (NAC)
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
RSA SecurID2.8%
Microsoft Entra ID6.5%
Okta Platform4.8%
Other85.9%
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.
Santhosh Rajamanickam - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant - Principal SOC Security at Royal Technology Solutions LLC
Enhanced security, reliable, helpful technical support, and easy to install
RSA SecurID Access is a scalable solution. I would rate the scalability of RSA SecurID Access a nine out of ten. Initially, our organization had around 250 users for whom we were aware of the usage of the solution. However, there were certain users for whom we were not notified due to the nature of their job, and hence we were not aware of their usage. Eventually, we decided to scale the solution for all our 4,000 users. Currently, we are using it for 250 users only. There is a high likelihood that we will expand our usage in the future.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Use ISE if you want to build more resilience within your organization."
"The solution offers automation and real-time visibility, which aids in monitoring and troubleshooting issues with endpoints."
"Our clients like Cisco ISE because they already use various Cisco solutions. It's easy for them to use this solution because they have an engineer with Cisco certifications."
"The interconnection with the ecosystem and the ability to force rules all over the network are the most important features."
"If you deploy it with the correct policies, it's a wonderful product."
"This product allows them to see the traffic that is going through the network; it is stable and easy to use."
"The management part is much smoother, and it takes care of all the costs across branded devices as well, so that it is a single panel where we can manage all the end-to-end entry devices as well."
"I have found that all of the features are valuable. It is very easy to deploy because we are able to port users directly from Active Directory (AD) and LDAP."
"All of its features work well with the cloud authentication manager and the tokens — the authentication manager is good."
"It is easy to set up and reliable."
"In house applications access via weblink can be locked down to specific groups or criteria."
"One of the most valuable feature is the ID soft token and hard token."
"It is a scalable solution."
"I think it is really good when it comes to the hard token side of things."
"Encryption random key generation and making it available for the user on the fly without any knowledge of the user regarding the keys."
"With the SSO RSA technology, we simplify the login and authorization process for dozens of web sites with high load traffic."
 

Cons

"Profiling is a really good feature. However, it sometimes is a challenge for customers when there are issues with the remediation part. I would add a built-in remediation solution. That would be a very nice feature."
"Cisco ISE is complex. The deployment and design of networks with it is so complex."
"The admin interface is really slow. It's horrible."
"Their technical support isn't good."
"The intuitiveness of the user interface could be improved."
"Cisco could improve the GUIs on their hardware."
"In an upcoming release, it would be nice to have NAC already standard in the solution."
"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."
"We are currently migrating to CA Site Minder due to RSA not having a viable SSO solution at this time."
"The interface needs to improve a lot. It should be easier to manage and navigate."
"There are different compliances across the globe; RSA SecurID Access could be more complaint-based."
"Sometimes, we encounter issues with other applications that are not compatible with RSA SecurID Access and require expert troubleshooting. At those times, we need additional support from an implementation perspective. This is an area where Oracle can improve as there is no substitute for reliable and efficient support."
"I would really rate the technical support as 4 (in a scale of 1-10). My interaction with the technical support was never good."
"There are different compliances across the globe; RSA SecurID Access could be more complaint-based."
"It doesn't offer an agent-based or reverse-proxy-based approach to integration, which could enhance its flexibility."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of the licensing and the pricing structure of the Cisco Identity Services Engine, there's been a huge advantage to our clients recently with the advent of the enterprise agreement."
"It is difficult to measure security breaches, but since we have not been attacked so far, it has paid for itself over the years."
"If you're not going through an agreement, it's very expensive."
"The pricing is good. The last time we purchased four new appliances the price was doable for any organization of our size."
"I think licensing costs roughly $2,000 a year. ISE is more expensive than Network Access Control."
"The technology is good, but to use some of the other features, and capabilities, they request that we purchase the Cisco DNA Center. As a result, the bundled price is a little high."
"The pricing is complicated."
"I get very good pricing from Cisco, so I don't have a problem with that. I also don't have a problem with licensing because we get enterprise or global licensing."
"I think the price of this solution is reasonable compared to YubiKey and Duo given that it offers the same similar features."
"RSA SecurID Access is expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Access Control (NAC) solutions are best for your needs.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

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 Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
RSA SecurID Access, RSA Access Manager
 

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
Milliman, Geisinger Health System, Advanced Micro Devices
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: May 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.