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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security 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
145
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
Microsoft Enterprise Mobili...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security 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 27.9% compared to last year.
Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security, on the other hand, focuses on Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), holds 1.3% mindshare, up 0.8% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)21.7%
Aruba ClearPass21.2%
Fortinet FortiNAC15.5%
Other41.6%
Network Access Control (NAC)
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security1.3%
Microsoft Intune28.3%
Workspace ONE UEM11.3%
Other59.099999999999994%
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)
 

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.
AD
Manager IT at Konverge.AI
User experience improves efficiency while awaiting improved application performance
The solution is meeting my requirements. I don't have any direct inputs here, except that stability of the application can be improved. Sometimes it gets hung or restarts multiple times in the background, which consumes battery life. If stability can be improved, it will generally help everyone. These solutions are usually a little expensive. If costs can come down, that will generally help the masses. A reduction of around 30-35% would make it more prompting for people to take that extra jump. Due to budget constraints, I have seen people not going for Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security because even if the commercials get discounted for the first year, subsequent years see significant price increases.

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 features are the NAC and the bundles that are available with Cisco ISE, such as Cisco ACS being integrated."
"The first benefit is that we can implement zero trust architecture because of Cisco ISE. I can assure my CISO in my company that my network is such that nobody can just bring in their laptop, desktop, or any sort of mobile device and can directly get connected to my network. That is a benefit that I can only allow people who I trust on the network."
"The most valuable feature is the ASDM - the user interface makes it very easy to configure the firewall."
"The endpoint profiling feature is among the most valuable because it keeps me from having to manually maintain a MAC address bypass list to track endpoints. I can have ISE profile them for me and then put them in the right bucket."
"We found that the most valuable features associated with this tool are posture assessment, policy management, VLAN assignments, guest assignment, and BYOD services. In addition to these services, the Cisco IOS software switch configuration feature is another very valuable aspect of the policy and compliance solution."
"I have noticed measurable improvements in security and efficiency since implementing Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), as we have increased security significantly compared to before and everything has changed in security after we implemented it."
"In terms of features, I think they've done a lot of improvement on the graphical user interface — it looks really good right now."
"The most valuable features are authentication, we have more granular control on the access policies for the administrators. The solution is easy to use, has a center point administration, and has a good GUI."
"You can scale the solution up or down by department."
"The solution offers excellent documentation that is easily available online."
"Integration between our departments has been the most valuable."
"The solution is scalable."
"The solution is very good at securing files. For example, if I forward a secure document, it's blocked from others, as I can send it with restrictions in relation to who can open it."
"The product is a unified solution and you don't require to purchase tools from different vendors. The system analyzes behavior and activity and takes steps for protection."
"The product is centralized and we can use it for security purposes."
"The best advantage of the product is that it provides an all-in-one solution."
 

Cons

"Its user interface could be better. It's not bad. They've just redesigned the whole user interface. It's not terribly difficult. The drop-down menus are easy to use. However, when you're looking for some things in the user interface, it takes a minute to find where you were prior."
"It would be nice if it could be configured easily by default."
"There should be more visibility into TrustSec policy actions. When TrustSec blocks something or makes any kind of changes to the network, we don't always see that. We have to log into the switch itself, or we have to get some type of Syslog parsing to do that."
"It would be ideal if Cisco could provide some short training videos or documentation to customers to help them understand how to use the product."
"The pricing and licensing structure are not ideal for customers."
"Some of ISE's features need to be more agile. For example, we couldn't integrate our data because Cisco needs your data to be in its own format."
"The learning curve is steep and the initial setup is complex."
"Cisco ISE can become quite complex, especially with policy sets, the entire authentication process, and everything involved."
"The licensing is quite expensive."
"Sometimes the application gets hung or restarts multiple times in the background, consuming battery life."
"There are certain shortcomings in the licensing model of the product where improvements are required."
"The MDM part of the engine could be better."
"Its performance needs enhancement."
"Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security is expensive."
"We did the deployment with the help of Microsoft's consultants. But sometimes, we found it difficult to educate the application developers to integrate."
"The auditing and reporting could be updated and upgraded. I would like to see light applications because they consume a lot of the device's memory at present."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is good. The last time we purchased four new appliances the price was doable for any organization of our size."
"There are three levels of pricing: basic, plus, and apex. Basic satisfied our needs."
"The price for Cisco ISE itself is very low, however, Cisco professional services are quite expensive. Subscription amount is dependent on number of users."
"The recent changes in the licensing model have caused some issues with the team."
"This solution requires an annual license and it is a bit expensive than competitors."
"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 am not aware of the current price for Cisco ISE, but considering it is a Cisco product, it is likely to be quite high."
"Cisco ISE is not inexpensive, but the solution is well-built and worth the expense."
"I would rate pricing at eight out of ten. It is a bit higher because of the security features that Microsoft provides."
"The increase in the prices of the product might not be the actual problem, but things become complex with some new plans that were introduced by Microsoft recently."
"We have to pay 10 dollars per user. I would rate the tool's pricing a six out of ten."
"The solution is cost-effective."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Pharma/Biotech Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise91
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

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...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security?
The technical support from Microsoft could be better. Because there are many changes in Microsoft, and most support centers or representatives moved to India, I can share that my experience with su...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security?
I have been selling Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security for more than 10 years.
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security?
Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security is a basic part of all of our projects because it's a very important basis for any customer wanting to set up Microsoft technology, as they need to manage a...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
Enterprise Mobility + Security E3, Enterprise Mobility + Security E5, MS Enterprise Mobility + Security
 

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
Mars, Whole Foods, Land O'Lakes, Dow
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: January 2026.
882,410 professionals have used our research since 2012.