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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs One Identity Safeguard 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Identity Services Engine enhances security, simplifies operations, and reduces costs while boosting productivity and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Sentiment score
6.5
One Identity Safeguard delivers ROI through cost reduction, enhanced security, increased efficiency, and compliance improvements by automating password management.
Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
The time is reduced by nearly fifty percent for our audit preparation and compliance reporting compared to earlier.
Manager, Account Services Delivery at Softcell Technologies Limited
I have seen a return on investment through reduced audit effort and fewer security incidents related to privileged access, along with significant time savings for IT and security teams by automating access control and password management.
office administrator at Gitarattan International Business School
The efficiency of our team has increased as we have reduced manual credential management, allowing our IT team to focus on higher value tasks.
Technical Head - Cloud Services at Softcell Technologies Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco ISE support is highly rated for knowledge and responsiveness but struggles with response times and communication challenges.
Sentiment score
6.4
One Identity Safeguard's support is generally good but varies in response speed and effectiveness based on support tier.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Cisco support has pretty good teams for support and every time we had good answers and we could somehow solve the issues we had.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Sometimes it's challenging to identify which support team is responsible for certain issues, which is a significant concern.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
I sometimes need escalations to reach expertise.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Sometimes, I get a very helpful response and they address issues on a call.
Systems Administrator at a university with 10,001+ employees
When I have day-to-day incidents and problems, the response is good enough in terms of time and quality.
Team Lead / Consultant at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco ISE supports smooth scalability for diverse enterprises, but virtualization and hardware challenges may require strategic solutions.
Sentiment score
7.0
One Identity Safeguard scales efficiently, supporting growth in users and systems across diverse environments with stable performance.
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
However, you can have some latency issues depending on where your devices are.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
The scalability of One Identity Safeguard is perfect, scoring ten out of ten.
Business Line Manager - IGA & PAM at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
We have a cluster of SPPs and a cluster of SPSs, and we can add a node to that cluster without much fuss.
Systems Administrator at a university with 10,001+ employees
I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.
Team Lead / Consultant at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco ISE is stable and reliable, but large deployments may face challenges, requiring proper configuration and effective support.
Sentiment score
7.8
One Identity Safeguard is praised for stability, with minor bugs in non-LTS versions, frequent updates, and high user satisfaction.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes when we have upgrades or failovers with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), we had some minor issues.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
I would rate it a nine out of ten for stability.
Team Lead / Consultant at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
In terms of stability, I rate One Identity Safeguard nine to ten out of ten.
Business Line Manager - IGA & PAM at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
One Identity Safeguard is very stable and can handle the workload easily; I have not seen any downtime.
office administrator at Gitarattan International Business School
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ISE is hindered by complexity, compatibility issues, costly licensing, and needs improvements in usability, support, and performance.
Simplify interface, improve navigation, enhance integrations, boost performance, and upgrade support and customization for better user experience.
The whole setup works well with Cisco access points and Cisco switches, but when you have multiple vendors in the environment, such as HP switches or access points like Aruba, you'll find they will not work well with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE).
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Pricing can be more expensive compared to other vendors, and there is a significant price gap observed, which doesn't seem justified by some specific features.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
For some configurations on the SPS side, if I need to make changes, such as for DNS servers, I must redeploy the machine.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
There are many steps. We are still in the onboarding phase, and it seems very manual.
Systems Administrator at a university with 10,001+ employees
Another area for improvement could be the threat detection capabilities, like those seen in other PAM vendors.
Team Lead / Consultant at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ISE pricing is complex and costly, with strong vendor partnerships needed for discounts, favoring large enterprises over smaller businesses.
One Identity Safeguard offers competitive pricing and scalability with straightforward licensing, valued for security features despite moderate setup costs.
Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The license costs can range between $50,000 to $100,000 per year for enterprises.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Cloud solutions are expensive, while on-prem setups with shared environments are cheaper but not effective.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
It is one of those where the more you buy, the cheaper it is.
Systems Administrator at a university with 10,001+ employees
It is cheaper than CyberArk.
Team Lead / Consultant at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is more expensive than Secret Server but way less expensive than CyberArk.
IAM Specialist
 

Valuable Features

Cisco ISE excels in security, network access control, and integration, offering adaptability, scalability, and centralized management for organizations.
One Identity Safeguard enhances security with session monitoring, automation, and centralized management, improving compliance and reducing credential-related incidents.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers authentication using RADIUS, enhancing network security by separating and segregating networks.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
There is value because it helps us secure the network and prevents certain things from happening which could cause financial loss.
Ag Systems & Networks Head at UNBS
The adaptability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) policy enforcement can fit to the site we have depending on which kind of devices we have on site and then the needs for authentication, granting access and then assigning each device into its correct network for segmentation.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
The auditing and approval mechanisms are features we did not have before and are greatly appreciated.
Systems Administrator at a university with 10,001+ employees
Automatic credential rotation helps our team by removing the need for manual changes to privileged passwords, reducing the risk of stale or shared credentials and ensuring that every access is controlled and compliant.
Technical Consultant at ProTechmanize Solutions (P) Ltd.
The password vault has been a game changer because it provides a secure and controlled way to store, manage, and rotate sensitive credentials without exposing them to users.
Developer Intern at Stealth
 

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)
One Identity Safeguard
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (5th), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (2nd), Non-Human Identity Management (NHIM) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and One Identity Safeguard 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.
One Identity Safeguard, on the other hand, focuses on Privileged Access Management (PAM), holds 4.4% mindshare, up 4.2% 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)
Privileged Access Management (PAM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
One Identity Safeguard4.4%
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager11.4%
Delinea Secret Server4.9%
Other79.3%
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
 

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.
Aryan Priyanish D. - PeerSpot reviewer
Developer Intern at Stealth
Privileged access has been secured while real-time monitoring simplifies credential control
In my opinion, the strongest features of One Identity Safeguard are session monitoring, real-time session control, and the privileged password vault. The password vault has been a game changer because it provides a secure and controlled way to store, manage, and rotate sensitive credentials without exposing them to users. Session monitoring allows us to track and record privileged user activity in real time, which improves visibility and accountability. Overall, One Identity Safeguard has had a positive impact on our organization by strengthening security through centralized privileged access control and improving efficiency through automation. Real-time session monitoring has further enhanced oversight and reduced risk.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
University
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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 Business33
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise19
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for One Identity Safeguard?
One Identity Safeguard is positioned as an enterprise-grade solution, so the license is not the cheapest in the market, but it reflects the value and security capabilities provided. Initial deploym...
What needs improvement with One Identity Safeguard?
The user interface and navigation can be improved. Some workflows, particularly the reporting, session review, and policy configuration could be more intuitive. New users often need time to get com...
What is your primary use case for One Identity Safeguard?
My main use case for One Identity Safeguard is to specifically secure, control, and monitor the privileged accounts across our critical systems. We use this to secure password vaulting for privileg...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
No data available
 

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
Cavium
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