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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
6.7
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (1st), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
RSA SecurID
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (8th), 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 25.1%, down 30.7% compared to last year.
RSA SecurID, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 6.6% mindshare, down 7.4% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC)
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

SunilkumarNaganuri - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced device administration hindered by complex deployment and security limitations
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) needs to improve the profiling preauthentication. They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases. This will give them a roadmap for software-defined access (SDA) use cases and network segmentation. Threat detection capabilities are very weak. Additionally, the product is vulnerable and has many bugs.
Chandan Tripathi - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"The WiFi portal in Cisco ISE is very useful for WiFi customers."
"Typically, the installation is pretty simple."
"Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is very good at device administration."
"The profiling model included is the most valuable feature."
"The solution is very reliable."
"The most valuable thing in ISE is the adoption of EAP deep that came in [version] 2.7, so we can do authentication based on user and machine certificates in one authentication."
"For me, the TACACS feature is the most valuable. I have also used Cisco ISE with LDAP, not with Active Directory. That works for me because I prefer LDAP versus Active Directory."
"The solution enables us to do everything from one interface."
"I would say that the two-factor authentication and the ease of installation and configuration are the most valuable features of this solution."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The most valuable features of RSA SecurID Access are push notifications, multifactor authentication, and ease of integration and deployment."
"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."
 

Cons

"The upgrades could be better. Every time we try to do an upgrade, we have problems. It's a pain."
"Third-party integration is important, as well as the continuous adaptation feature which is the AIOps. It would be helpful to include the AIOps."
"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."
"The policies could be adjusted to make them more easily implementable."
"If I was going to improve anything, it would be the ease of migration. It's really difficult at the moment if you're looking to upgrade ISE 2.1 and you want to go to ISE 3.1 or 3.2, that whole upgrade path and, particularly, the licensing is quite a minefield to sort out."
"There should be a single button that can be pressed to dismiss all of the alarms at once."
"The solution could be more secure."
"Segmentation can be improved."
"It doesn't offer an agent-based or reverse-proxy-based approach to integration, which could enhance its flexibility."
"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."
"The interface needs to improve a lot. It should be easier to manage and navigate."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Licensing is a disaster. It's a mess and I hope they fix it soon."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"ISE has always been expensive compared to other products in terms of what it does on a user level."
"I believe I have paid around $1,000 in licensing fees. The license is annual."
"If you're not going through an agreement, it's very expensive."
"I have complaints. I don't enjoy the licensing model. Once we moved from 2.7 to 3.1, switching from Base, Plus, and Apex to Essential and Advantage in Premier, we went from a perpetual, with our base licenses, to now a subscription-base. So, we will have to renew those licenses every year, and I'm not a fan of that for our base licenses. Apex/Premier, we already expected, which is fine, but for basic connectivity, I am not a fan of that."
"Hardware appliances are expensive...Now moving to DNA-styled licensing, we have subscription-based licensing for everything. I hope it will continue to be fair, but we will have to wait and see."
"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
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
15%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about RSA SecurID Access?
The most valuable features of RSA SecurID Access are push notifications, multifactor authentication, and ease of integration and deployment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RSA SecurID Access?
RSA SecurID Access is quite expensive. I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of costliness.
What needs improvement with RSA SecurID Access?
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 limitat...
 

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 Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: June 2025.
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