We performed a comparison between Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) vs Fortinet FortiAuthenticator based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator has an edge in this comparison because it received higher marks in the ease of deployment and pricing categories, and users are more impressed with its features.
"The most valuable feature of Cisco ISE is its seamless integration with the switches and the entire suite, enabling wireless access and smooth client information retrieval."
"The most valuable feature is the visibility element, the ability for customers to be able to see what devices are actually on their network. Without a solution like ISE, they would have no idea what devices are connected to their network. It offers them the ability to authenticate devices via mobile."
"RADIUS is the best feature because it supplies authentication to our entire campus."
"Technical support is okay."
"It provides client provisions and profiling as well as guest access."
"The implementation is very simple."
"The way the ISE works is you can get into defining. Let's say, in my case, I've got a Windows laptop and I've got an Apple product and those have unique identifiers, unique back addresses. It would say that this in my profile so I could get to those apps with either device, 24/seven. That's how granular the ISE or these NAC Solutions can get."
"The profiling model included is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility in using the SMS messages."
"FortiAuthenticator is easy to use."
"The implementation has significantly improved access management within our organization."
"The product is stable and reliable."
"We have not had issues with Fortinet FortiAuthenticator. It is stable."
"The web feature is quite versatile. It serves as the sole server authenticator and is valuable not only with FortiGate products but also within the entire Forti system, making it highly useful for me."
"The product's on-premise version doesn't have recurring costs."
"Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is an easy-to-use solution."
"An issue with the product is it tends to have a lot of bugs whenever they release a new release."
"The solution is not so user-friendly."
"Cisco ISE requires a lot of time-consuming administration."
"The user interface can be improved."
"The compliance and posture don't always work. They should make it more stable. With each upgrade, we lose some functionality. We have to wait for another upgrade."
"The ISE software needs to be improved so that it is easier to administer."
"The solution lacks properly knowledgeable support, especially internationally, and this is why I am exploring other applications."
"The user interface could be improved to make it more user-friendly."
"There is a room for improvement. The log is a bit difficult to access, and searching the log codes is also a bit difficult. So it would be much better if, when we open a log, it could provide detailed information about errors, reasons for failure, and such."
"I would like to see more ways to authenticate, such as adding facial recognition to the two-factor, where you log into your phone or another device."
"They could expand FortiAuthenticator's capabilities to accommodate a broader range of environments."
"The technical support team is bad."
"The user interface and clustering are areas with shortcomings that need improvement."
"For improvement, Fortinet needs to ensure that they provide quick support to users...Fortinet sometimes needs to respond to users facing issues within an hour."
"The product must provide full support for third-party FIDO security keys."
"I would like to see more security features in reference to identity login or identity identification."
More Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) Pricing and Cost Advice →
Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is ranked 1st in Network Access Control (NAC) with 138 reviews while Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is ranked 6th in Single Sign-On (SSO) with 52 reviews. Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is rated 8.2, while Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) writes "Gives us that extra ability to assist the end user and make sure that we are making them happy". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator writes "A reasonably priced solution that can be scaled toward different functionalities and offers flexible SMS messaging". Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) is most compared with Aruba ClearPass, Fortinet FortiNAC, Forescout Platform, CyberArk Privileged Access Manager and Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security, whereas Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is most compared with Fortinet FortiToken, Fortinet FortiNAC, Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID and CyberArk Privileged Access Manager.
We monitor all Network Access Control (NAC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.