Cisco ISE vs Aruba ClearPass for CIOs: How to Choose for Your Switch Estate in 2026

Cisco ISE leads in Cisco-led estates and at very large scale, with deep integration into TrustSec, Catalyst Center, Cyber Vision and the wider Cisco Zero Trust stack. HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass leads in multi-vendor estates, with a vendor-agnostic policy engine and a faster learning curve for the operations team. Both have been recognised as Leaders in the NAC category by industry analysts including Gartner and Forrester. The decision is a stack-fit decision, not a quality decision. 

This comparison reflects Cisco ISE 3.4 and HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass 6.12 features as published by each vendor in mid-2026. 

Side-by-Side: How the Two (and Three) Platforms Compare 

Forescout is the third platform Indian RFPs sometimes shortlist, particularly in healthcare and in estates with very heavy IoT or medical-device exposure. It is agentless, vendor-agnostic and strong on device discovery. 

Where Cisco ISE Has the Edge 

In Cisco-heavy estates, ISE compounds value because TrustSec policy and SGT propagation run natively across Catalyst switches and Catalyst Center; Cyber Vision feeds OT context into the same policy plane (see our Cisco ISE for OT and IoT Segmentation piece); and Duo, Secure Access and XDR share identity through pxGrid. Cisco's published scalability supports up to 50 Policy Service Nodes in a single deployment, which suits national BFSI and large BPO estates. 

Where Aruba ClearPass Has the Edge 

In multi-vendor estates, ClearPass is purpose-built. It is vendor-agnostic by design, uses open standards (RADIUS, REST APIs) heavily, and several independent reviews note that its service-oriented policy editor is faster to learn than the rule-matrix model in ISE. ClearPass Device Insight is a strong cloud-based machine-learning profiling option. The HPE Aruba Networking 360 Security Exchange Program provides a well-developed catalogue of third-party integrations. Estates that have leaned on Microsoft Network Policy Server (NPS) for legacy NAC are now generally migrating to one of these two platforms, as Microsoft has effectively retired NPS as a strategic NAC option. 

ISE integrates with Catalyst Center for SDA fabric policy push and assurance; ClearPass integrates with Aruba Central for parallel policy and management. The architectural pattern is similar on both sides; the integration depth is deeper inside each vendor's own fabric. 

Licensing and Effective Pricing in India 

ISE is sold as a subscription across three tiers, Essentials, Advantage and Premier. The model rewards enterprises that lean into the full Cisco security stack.  

ClearPass uses an endpoint-based licence with modular add-ons. The model is simpler to forecast and is often cited as more predictable for procurement teams. 

On effective Indian pricing, ClearPass is often cheaper per endpoint in mid-sized multi-vendor estates due to its simpler per-endpoint model. ISE's per-tier subscription often wins on effective cost when Cisco Duo, Secure Access, XDR and Cyber Vision are part of the same Enterprise Agreement. Exact India pricing depends on EA scope and deal size on both sides. 

How Indian RFPs Typically Frame the Decision 

1. What Is the Switching Estate Today, and in Three Years? 

A 70 per cent or higher Cisco share, with the Cisco roadmap for refresh, points to ISE. A mixed estate with no consolidation plan points to ClearPass. 

2. What Is the Security Stack Direction? 

A Cisco-led security architecture (Duo, Secure Access, XDR, Cyber Vision) compounds value with ISE through pxGrid and TrustSec. A best-of-breed security stack with multi-vendor SOC tooling may prefer ClearPass's open-integration model. 

3. What Does the OT Estate Look Like? 

Manufacturers running Cisco Industrial Ethernet plus Cyber Vision get tighter OT segmentation with ISE. ClearPass can support OT segmentation, but the integration path is longer. 

4. What Is the Operations Team's Strength? 

Teams comfortable with rule-matrix policy editors and Cisco CLI default to ISE faster. Teams that prefer a service-oriented, visual policy editor settle into ClearPass faster. 

Vertical Guidance for Indian Enterprises 

BFSI in India most often selects ISE due to existing Cisco core networks and the integration needs of large SOCs, with the DPDP and CERT-In posture mapping often anchoring the business case. Indian manufacturers with Cisco Industrial Ethernet pick ISE plus Cyber Vision for the OT case; manufacturers with mixed switching pick ClearPass. ITeS and BPO floors tend to follow the principal's mandate or the existing identity-stack standardisation. 

Verdict in Brief 

If your switching estate is 70 per cent or more Cisco today with no plan to change, pick ISE. If your switching estate is genuinely multi-vendor with no consolidation plan, pick ClearPass. If you have a meaningful healthcare or medical-device footprint, evaluate Forescout alongside. If you are mid-consolidation, the right answer is to talk to a partner who has deployed both. 

How Proactive Data Systems Helps 

Proactive Data Systems is a Preferred Partner under the Cisco 360 Partner Program across Networking, Security, Collaboration, Cloud & AI, and Services. We deploy and run Cisco ISE for Indian enterprises in BFSI, manufacturing and ITeS, and we have engineers fluent across both platforms to advise honestly on stack fit. 

Book an NAC Selection Workshop. Ninety minutes. Your switching inventory, your security stack, your OT estate, your team's skills. A platform recommendation and a costed deployment plan in your hands inside ten working days. Write to [email protected].