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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) (3rd), 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 18.6%, down 25.3% compared to last year.
RSA SecurID, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 2.5% mindshare, down 6.7% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)18.6%
Aruba ClearPass18.0%
Fortinet FortiNAC13.7%
Other49.7%
Network Access Control (NAC)
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
RSA SecurID2.5%
Microsoft Entra ID5.9%
Okta Platform4.5%
Other87.1%
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.
Chandan Tripathi - PeerSpot reviewer
Identity and Access Management Principal at Mobily
Useful for making logins more secure by using multifactor authentication but extremely expensive
There is room for improvement in a few areas. Firstly, it lacks support for OIDC and OS capabilities, making it less versatile for integrating various applications. Secondly, there are some limitations in the number of supported applications. Lastly, it doesn't offer an agent-based or reverse-proxy-based approach to integration, which could enhance its flexibility.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Using this solution gives us the ability to allow proper access to the network."
"I love the policy sets, they are really nice and dynamic."
"It works as a good RADIUS server. It has lots of features. It works with all the proprietary Cisco AB pairs and features."
"It's a great tool for that, if you want to profile your network and you want to secure your network inside."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the policy sets."
"The RADIUS Server holds the most value."
"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."
"It is stable and easy to use."
"With the SSO RSA technology, we simplify the login and authorization process for dozens of web sites with high load traffic."
"Encryption random key generation and making it available for the user on the fly without any knowledge of the user regarding the keys."
"All of its features work well with the cloud authentication manager and the tokens — the authentication manager is good."
"The most valuable features of RSA SecurID Access are push notifications, multifactor authentication, and ease of integration and deployment."
"It is a scalable solution."
"I think it is really good when it comes to the hard token side of things."
"One of the most valuable feature is the ID soft token and hard token."
"I would say that the two-factor authentication and the ease of installation and configuration are the most valuable features of this solution."
 

Cons

"Cisco ISE's performance could be better, faster, and more robust."
"Their technical support isn't good."
"There are still some bugs in ISE that need to be worked out."
"The user interface could be improved to make it more user-friendly."
"The solution isn't as dynamic as it could be; there are some limitations, specifically around switches."
"Technical support is horrible. If we call and ask them for help, their first response is always that we should upgrade."
"The interface is a little bit complex."
"The product is expensive. It would also be a good add-on to have some machine learning."
"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."
"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."
"We are currently migrating to CA Site Minder due to RSA not having a viable SSO solution at this time."
"It doesn't offer an agent-based or reverse-proxy-based approach to integration, which could enhance its flexibility."
"The interface needs to improve a lot. It should be easier to manage and navigate."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"According to my sales and account team, the prices we're getting are pretty good."
"The licensing is subscription-based and based on the user account."
"If you're not going through an agreement, it's very expensive."
"Cisco is moving towards a subscription service, which would mean additional costs."
"There is a license to use this solution and the price 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."
"The Essentials licensing is reasonable, but I would like the Premier version to be perpetual instead of a subscription."
"I don't know too much about the actual pricing on it. The licensing part is pretty straightforward. It's a lot more simple than some of the other Cisco licensing models. In that aspect, it's great."
"RSA SecurID Access is expensive."
"I think the price of this solution is reasonable compared to YubiKey and Duo given that it offers the same similar features."
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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%
Computer Software 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 Business6
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...
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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, Fortinet, Cisco and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: June 2026.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.