Based on Portnox’s commissioned Forrester Total Economic Impact™ study and third-party review data.
Three-year ROI
Reduction in breach risk
Net present value (NPV)
Payback period
Most access tools were built for a world with one kind of identity: the human user. Today, your network fields access requests from IoT devices, service accounts, contractor laptops, and AI agents, many of them unmanaged, and some trusted at login but risky minutes later. Portnox was built to evaluate and govern all of them, continuously, from a single enforcement layer.
Today’s Challenge
Cisco ISE demands dedicated appliances, a steep learning curve, and an operations team ready to manage version upgrades that carry real risk. What started as network access control has become its own infrastructure project.
Meanwhile, the network it’s protecting has changed. Hybrid work, cloud-managed switching, and distributed sites all need consistent policy, but ISE’s licensing tiers and feature sprawl make that harder, not easier, to deliver.
Portnox’s Solution
Portnox Cloud replaces Cisco ISE’s appliance-based architecture with a fully managed platform that works with the 802.1X-capable switches and access points you already have. Nothing to rack, patch, or upgrade on your own timeline.
Deployment takes hours, not the months typical of an ISE rollout, with no professional services engagement required. Pricing is simple and transparent, with no hidden licensing tiers or feature add-ons to negotiate.
Portnox delivers the access control Cisco ISE promises, without the appliances, upgrades, or licensing complexity.
Eliminate appliance-based NAC infrastructure and simplify operations end to end.
Automatic updates, patches, and upgrades are handled for you, not scheduled around your team.
Get up and running in hours, not months, with no professional services required.
Works with your existing Cisco switches and access points. No rip-and-replace.
No hidden fees, license tiers, or required add-ons.
Continuously assess compliance and posture, and enforce policy automatically when risk changes.
Issue and manage certificates and set distinct access policies for guests and contractors.
Protect access to routers, switches, and infrastructure with cloud-native TACACS+.
Common questions about switching from Cisco ISE
No. Portnox works with any 802.1X-capable switch or access point, including your existing Cisco infrastructure.
Most organizations are up and running on Portnox in hours, compared to the months typical of an ISE deployment or upgrade.
No. Portnox is designed to deploy without a professional services engagement.
Portnox uses simple, transparent pricing with no hidden fees, license tiers, or required add-ons.
Portnox’s team helps map existing policies to its platform, so enforcement continues without a gap in coverage.
Yes. Portnox applies distinct, policy-based access for guests, contractors, and BYOD devices.
Yes. Portnox includes cloud-native TACACS+ to protect access to routers, switches, and other critical infrastructure.
Yes. A commissioned Forrester Total Economic Impact™ study found a 287% three-year ROI and a 75% reduction in breach risk for organizations using Portnox.
Move to cloud-native NAC in hours, without touching your existing infrastructure.