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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
144
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 feature is the ASDM - the user interface makes it very easy to configure the firewall."
"Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very good at device administration."
"The most valuable feature is the provisioning of the device so as to ensure that they are compliant with the security policy that we need to have."
"The solution offers automation and real-time visibility, which aids in monitoring and troubleshooting issues with endpoints."
"Profiling is one of the most valuable features. We have a lot of different devices between cameras, access points, and laptops that get plugged in."
"Among the most valuable features is TACACS."
"It's keeping our company safe from rogue devices connecting to our network. From a security standpoint, there's peace of mind knowing that every device that connects is a good one."
"It is stable and easy to use."
"I am very happy with it currently."
"Microsoft Mobility and EMS include Intune for Mobility, which provides mobile device management and mobile application management. With mobile device management, you can control the entire device in an organization."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"The best advantage of the product is that it provides an all-in-one solution."
"The solution is scalable."
"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 solution offers excellent documentation that is easily available online."
"The product is centralized and we can use it for security purposes."
 

Cons

"They should improve the upgrades. It's not easy to upgrade the solution."
"They could incorporate some AI features."
"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."
"There can be a little bit more integration between the controller management and ISE. There are two dashboards, you have the controller dashboards, and you have the ISE dashboard it would is a way to maybe integrate that into one. That would be great. It's not that bad. It would be easier if it could be combined into one dashboard."
"The tracking mechanism in Cisco ISE is relatively costly, especially its vendor-specific protocol."
"The UI is not as intuitive as some other products, even products inside of Cisco's wheelhouse."
"The Guest Network verification needs to add a QR code option."
"The web interface needs improvement. The new web interface that they have is not as easy to manage and we find it to be very slow."
"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 MDM part of the engine could be better."
"Technical support could be improved. Sometimes they use a third party that's not so knowledgeable in the product and that can slow down things a bit."
"The technical support from Microsoft could be better."
"Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security is expensive."
"Microsoft's feature management is based on licenses. Microsoft follows ethical licensing and hence do not restrict the use of it."
"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."
"There are certain shortcomings in the licensing model of the product where improvements are required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco ISE is not inexpensive, but the solution is well-built and worth the expense."
"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 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."
"There are other cheaper options available."
"Being fully honest, the Cisco licensing model right now is really confusing. We don't know what licenses we have where. We have Smart licensing, but the different levels are way confusing."
"The price of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is expensive and we are thinking about changing to FortiGate."
"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."
"The pricing is fair for what it does."
"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."
"I would rate pricing at eight out of ten. It is a bit higher because of the security features that Microsoft provides."
"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
10%
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: February 2026.
882,813 professionals have used our research since 2012.