Purple Access against the way you run WiFi today
Two comparisons IT teams ask for: three SSIDs against shared passwords and SSID sprawl, and the largest cloud RADIUS in the world against Cisco ISE, Aruba ClearPass, Microsoft NPS and FreeRADIUS. NAC tools secure your staff and forget your guests. Guest WiFi tools sign in your guests and forget your tills. Purple Access runs all three.
Pick a comparison
Cisco ISE, Aruba ClearPass, Microsoft NPS and FreeRADIUS
Running a NAC appliance, RADIUS and a certificate authority yourself, against cloud RADIUS with managed PKI, Conditional Access and device posture.
Comparison
Seven SSIDs and a shared password, or three SSIDs on Purple
The same estate, run two ways. Read across and decide which one you want to defend in your next audit.
| Three SSIDs on Purple | Shared passwords, seven SSIDs | |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation | Three SSIDs on PurpleIdentity decides the VLAN. Each resident, tenant or device group sits in its own segment. | Shared passwords, seven SSIDsEveryone on an SSID shares one segment, so one compromised device can see the rest. |
| Revoking | Three SSIDs on PurpleDisable one account or one key. Nobody else notices. | Shared passwords, seven SSIDsChange the password, then re-key every device that knew it. |
| Headless devices | Three SSIDs on PurpleEach till, screen or camera gets its own key, VLAN and bandwidth limit. | Shared passwords, seven SSIDsDevices share the guest or staff password, or get another SSID. |
| Lifecycle | Three SSIDs on PurpleJoiners and leavers flow from Entra ID, Okta or Google Workspace. Certificates auto-renew. | Shared passwords, seven SSIDsLeavers keep the password until someone remembers to rotate it. |
| Casting | Three SSIDs on PurplemDNS reflection keeps AirPlay and Chromecast inside each resident's private network. | Shared passwords, seven SSIDsEvery TV in the building shows up in every resident's cast list. |
| Audit | Three SSIDs on PurpleEvery accept and reject logged with its reason, by person and device, and streamed to your SIEM. | Shared passwords, seven SSIDsA log of a shared credential tells you nothing about who connected. |
FAQ
Common questions
We already run ISE, ClearPass, NPS or FreeRADIUS. Why move?
Because you are still patching it. Purple is the largest cloud RADIUS in the world, with 500 million logins a year, a 99.9% SLA, multi-region failover and nothing for you to patch. ISE and ClearPass are appliances to buy, license and patch. NPS and FreeRADIUS are servers you run yourself. Migration is usually a weekend. We map your policies with you from your export.
Isn't PSK insecure?
A shared PSK is. A unique key per device, bound to an identity and a VLAN and revocable on its own, is not. Certificates stay the default, and xPSK is for everything that cannot hold one.
Isn't guest WiFi a commodity?
A splash page is. Purple Access is the identity layer for every network you run: guests on the portal, staff on certificates from your directory, and every device and resident on its own key, all in one authentication log. That is how JPMorgan runs 5,000 branches and McDonald's cut IT helpdesk requests by 80%.
Compare it on your own estate
Prove it on one site first. We plan the pilot with you. All in a 45-minute design session.
- Get your three-SSID plan in 45 minutesTell us what runs on your WiFi today, and a Purple network engineer maps it with you.
- Map your SSIDs onto threeOpen, secure and xPSK, on the access points you already own. You leave with the plan.
- Prove it on one site firstJudge the result on tickets and audit evidence, then roll out.
Your design session
45 minutes. Your estate. A plan you keep.
Led by a Purple network engineer. No slides. You keep the plan.