Sophos XG 115 - security appliance - with 3 years TotalProtect
Mfg # XB1B3CSUS
CDW # 3906489
Know your gear
Based upon the award-winning Sophos SG series, the XG series firewalls come pre-loaded with the Sophos Firewall OS to provide optimal performance to meet today's network security requirements.
Enhance your purchase
Sophos XG 115 - security appliance - with 3 years TotalProtect is rated
4.29 out of
5 by
146.
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Supportservice464 from
An easy to use firewall solution that improves our security
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution mainly as a firewall.
What is most valuable?
The solution improves security.
What needs improvement?
It's easy to use, but it's harder to configure when you want detailed settings. They need to make it easier to access advanced features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution seems pretty stable. We've had no issues so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven't had to scale anything so far, so I'm unsure about the scalability of the solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've never had to deal directly with technical support.
If you previously used a different solution, which one did you use and why did you switch?
We did not previously use a different solution.
How was the initial setup?
Implementation is straightforward. The only thing that was difficult was that we had some special cases and we had to dig in a lot to find the information for accessing very specific features. Deployment took about a week, however, we did about 6 months of research beforehand. You can deploy the solution with maybe one or two people, but we used five. We only need one person for ongoing maintenance.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the implementation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We don't have any costs above the licensing of the solution itself.
What other advice do I have?
We are using the on-premises deployment model.
The solution is easy to implement, however, if you do decide on this solution, I would make sure that you have someone that has experience with this kind of solution or to hire someone to implement the solution properly. It will make everything much easier in the long run.
I would rate the solution 9.5 out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2019-08-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Leadvanceng574 from
Very easy to use but bugs find their way through their security
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of this program is for antivirus and security purposes.
What is most valuable?
What I like about this program is that it is easy to use and easy to manage.
What needs improvement?
Sometimes we experience difficulties with our server and that is usually due to a bug. Somehow bugs seem to find their way through Sophos' security. The issue is usually resolved when we contact technical support. In the next version, I would like to see an improvement in this. The developers should test everything after any update to ensure that bugs don't come though with the update.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I've used FortiGate before and I would say that Sophos is just as stable, both being around 70% as stable as other products on the market.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good. We have 300 to 400 antivirus end users, and our company has around 1,000 users. We do have plans to increase usage because we are growing our projects around the world to countries like the US, Germany, Pakistan, India, UAE (Dubai) and Egypt.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is okay. Whenever we call them with an issue, they come to us and resolve the issue. Sometimes they take time, but I still think it's good. I will rate the technical support eight out of ten.
If you previously used a different solution, which one did you use and why did you switch?
We only use Sophos because it can integrate with other product like FortiGate and we can easily connect the two programs. This makes the program scalable and easy to use. Many other products on the market are not compatible with each other and that is why we chose Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was rather complex but we had no issues with the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We bought a license for three years and we will renew it but I think the price is too high. If it could be less expensive, more end-users or partners will be able to afford it.
What other advice do I have?
It is a good product and I will definitely recommend it. I rate this product a seven out of ten. In the next version I would like to see an advanced level and not only a basic level. Nowadays it is a very useful feature to be able to upgrade.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2019-08-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Wael Nasr from
Enables us to trace any user and pinpoint any vulnerability or malicious software
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for application control and web filtering. We also use it as a VPN point, and we use it on other occasions for tracing and reporting about usage and high application rates.
How has it helped my organization?
We are able to trace any user and pinpoint any vulnerability or any malicious software. We are able to synchronize between the local and active directories so we can catch users easily through their login names and IDs.
What is most valuable?
The reporting on the solution is excellent.
What needs improvement?
There needs to be a way that we can distinguish between educational institutions on Youtube and other Youtube videos. You can do this on Fortinet. Basically, they can block all other Youtube videos besides those that are from educational institutions. With Sophos, you either allow for all Youtube videos or none at all. They need to allow for more specification on different websites.
They only have one single location for training videos. They must offer them elsewhere as well. When the site goes down, everything stops, and you can't access the videos when you need them, so they need to diversify that. It's limiting.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution is excellent.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good. We could only handle around 5,000 users but even when we reached 3,000 users, Sophos only consumed around 24% and 40% of Prime usage.
How are customer service and technical support?
The solution's technical support is not the best. When I take a step to open a case with Sophos support I can't understand them at all; I can't understand their accent. I always appreciate if they can communicate with me through e-mail instead, which makes it much easier.
Many cases take a long time to be resolved. Some cases they seem to ignore or don't reply to for a long time so I have to remind them that the case is still open before they will respond.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. The implementation took about a day. There were only two people needed for deployment.
What about the implementation team?
We had a consultant assist with the setup. They were very good.
What other advice do I have?
We use the on-premises deployment model.
I would rate the solution nine out of ten. It's a very good firewall. It helps a lot with protection, and every organization needs a firewall to ensure they are protected.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2019-09-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
MohamedAhmed from
Multifaceted security protection to protect us and our customers
What is our primary use case?
This solution is implemented for medium and large enterprises to protect their network from attacks and to filter the web traffic through web protection and application protection modules.
This solution includes Email protection, IPS, Antivirus gateway, ATP, Reporting, VPN, Sophos Wireless controller, load balancer, WAF, and traffic shaping.
How has it helped my organization?
* It's protecting our networks from threats.
* Block URLs and web applications based on business needs.
* Not expensive when compared to other vendors, with a great added value.
* Impressive synchronized security with its endpoint solution.
What is most valuable?
All of the features are amazing, especially Sandstorm, which prevents bad traffic or downloaded files from reaching our customers' and partners' networks.
What needs improvement?
Network security is in need of improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for five years.
Disclaimer: I work for the vendor.
Date published: 2019-09-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Ezekiel Dhlamini from
Excellent endpoint protection and easy filtering but needs a slightly better UTM
What is most valuable?
The endpoint protection plan is the most valuable feature of the solution.
The filtering is very easy to do. You can segment and create profiles for usage very easily.
What needs improvement?
The UTM itself needs improvement. When you're navigating it seems like it takes forever to load anything. The hardware is okay. It's just the software that could be more responsive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We do updates periodically, but the solution is very stable. We haven't had to go back to the site to reconfigure it or anything like that.
How are customer service and technical support?
At the moment, we haven't had a reason to contact technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented the solution ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We tend to go for the bundle because it's pricing is competitive. If a unit comes out and they bundle the hardware with the software, it seems to work for us. I've seen that with future upgrades coming up, that features like this will be taken away. The option to get a combo with hardware means the software portion is mostly free, and then you pay upfront for the three-year license for everything.
However, with the changes, I don't think that's going to be available anymore. It might sway our clients away from Sophos. Maybe there's something that can be worked out. Other than that, we've been happy with the price. It's competitive if you compare it to the competition, from a price point of view.
What other advice do I have?
We use a variety of deployment models, including public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises.
For what we are using the solution for, its practically perfect. We don't need other features added. The solution offers exactly what we need.
I would rate the solution seven out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner.
Date published: 2019-08-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Tunji Gbola from
Excellent integration with the Sophos firewall and has a user-friendly interface
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution as my endpoint firewall and at the same time, I use it for load balancing and spillover.
What is most valuable?
What I like the most is the reporting.
The integration with the Sophos firewall is brilliant. I don't need to be physically present in the office. I can monitor everything from Sophos Central. That is a great feature and it's one thing that I really appreciate about the solution.
I like the fact that it can self remove malware and do updates on the cloud via Sophos Central.
The interface is good.
What needs improvement?
Although I enjoy the reporting elements of the solution, it can still be improved. I still can't drill down. There is some information that I would really, really like to see, but I still can't access it.
On reports, they sometimes give a summary, but it lists different users as unknown. There are times that I really want to know which user or which IP is causing a problem.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for ten months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There is something that have observed and I don't know what exactly the problem is. Right now, from my ISP I'm supposed to have unlimited bandwidth, but I observed behind the firewall my bandwidth seems low. I'm not exhausting what I have from my ISP. I've checked the TOS and there's no limit. When I spoke with one of the resellers they said that they too had experienced it before and that probably I should restart the device.
That they observed that the clients that restarted had their internet service improve. I don't think that is a good solution. I don't want to have to restart my device to have the internet service improved.
I've checked the setup. I even checked with the reseller, who told me everything is okay. I've gone for XG training. Even after the XG training, I've gone back to look at my setup. I can't see anywhere the bandwidth is being shared. I'm not sure if it's the device itself, but I've checked everything.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is okay. We have about 200-250 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support can be improved upon. There are times that I've had some issues that I've tried escalating in technical support and it takes a while before we really get it resolved.
Once I was getting a particular malware from an unknown source on one of my servers which was behind the firewall. I asked their support why. Later they advised that I should install Intercept X for servers on that particular device. I was confused about how it was behind a firewall; the firewall should be able to detect which system is getting infected. The system doesn't really go to the internet and nobody browses on it. The only thing I could imagine that could cause it was a Windows update. If it was from an update they least it should have been able to say, "Okay, it was from this particular update that this malware was filtered in."
Out of ten, I would give their service a five.
If you previously used a different solution, which one did you use and why did you switch?
The solution we were using previously was Cyberoam.
The Cyberoam device was about five years old and had started malfunctioning. It wasn't giving us the output it had previously provided. At that time, Sophos had already bought Cyberoam. We had the option to either upgrade the OS to a Sophos OS or to a Sophos device.
We decided to go for a Sophos device since the Cyberoam device was already problematic.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
I used a reseller to assist with implementation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay on a yearly basis.
We have Sophos XG, but we also have Intercept X for our endpoint and recently we just deployed Intercept X for the servers. I've not done a calculation of the costs of all three to know what my yearly maintenance costs would be.
What other advice do I have?
Once you have basic networking skills and firewall management it's easy to set up. With Sophos Central, I think it's a good solution for any IT department.
I would rate the solution eight out of ten.
As it is now, the solution is good, but I believe that there's still room for more improvement. I still believe the reporting could be improved. Sophos, from my experience, seems to affect my bandwidth. I didn't set any limit, so I don't know where that is coming from, but it's something that we've noticed with the XG.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2019-08-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Zaher EL Bsat from
An excellent firewall solution with reasonable licensing rates and a straightforward setup
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution internally in our company and we also deploy it for our customers.
What is most valuable?
We have many Sophos solutions that we use together. We use Sophos UPM and Sophos XG. Next, there are just firewalls. The Sophos UPM is the basic firewall; Sophos XG is a mix of Cyberoam and Surface (Sophos acquired Cyberoam three years ago). We use all the features within these solutions and we have a full set of licenses. They offer IPS, IBS, BPM, web publishing, web protection, etc. We're using everything.
What needs improvement?
They should expand their DDoS feature. It's basic. They need to enhance it.
Technical support needs to be improved.
The solution needs a mobile application for the administrator. Today, as an administrator, you cannot manage the solution from your tablet or from your mobile. You can only go through a web console. Other vendors have mobile apps. Some vendors also have the ability to manage and check the chart report and change some settings from a mobile application. This would be an excellent add-on for administrators who are traveling. It could help a lot.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
For the past seven years, we haven't had any issues with the hardware or software. It's stable. If a customer misconfigured it, they might face issues. Out of the box, however, it's stable; it is an appliance that customers can depend on.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. Sophos has plans for customers who want to upgrade or add another appliance in the same environment. As a customer, I've deployed to as many as 300 users or as few as 30.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support isn't as good as it needs to be. In most cases, these days, the partner has to work hard to support the customer. The response time and the experience of the support team are not as expected. As a partner, we've never opened a case. Our customers, however, have told us they have had issues.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is straightforward. Deployment took about 30 minutes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Price-wise the solution offers acceptable rates. You can find cheaper solutions on the market, but when you go cheaper you have fewer features. Today, based on iQuate market the price is very reasonable and affordable, and it's good if you get a good discount. Discounts can be offered by the vendor. If it's a competitive upgrade which means the customer is upgrading from another vendor, Sophos provides extra discounts so they can win the deal. In general, it is a good price.
What other advice do I have?
We are a Sophos partner. We both use the solution and recommend it to clients.
Compared to other competitors, I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. However, for very large enterprises, the largest firewall appliance from Sophos might not be enough for thousands of users. If I was rating the solution for enterprises, I would rate it eight out of ten because of this.
I would recommend the solution, however. We often recommend the solution to our clients and it works very well for them.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner.
Date published: 2019-08-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Olufemi Adalemo from
An easy to manage solution that streamlines processes and management
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution as an internet firewall, and a VPN concentrator.
How has it helped my organization?
It streamlines the process of creating VPN access for users. Because of the AD integration, it makes it very easy to manage these users from different locations from a central source. It also helps us to get a good idea of what our risks are, or if there's any risky activity going on with the users.
What is most valuable?
The SSL VPNs are the most valuable feature for me. I have a lot of systems out of the head office that need to connect to the local networks, and they all connect via the Sophos VPN client.
What needs improvement?
The initial set up process can be a little tricky, especially when you are registering with Sophos and you have a poor internet connection. Setup is not necessarily complex, but it's not trouble-free. You do have connectivity issues at the initial setup with registering the device on the Sophos platform to access the advanced features. It doesn't always go through the first time around. That may be an issue with the quality of our connection. I'm not sure exactly what it is.
The single sign-on client I get maybe a 60% success rate on. There are times when it will use single sign-on for verification of users to access Internet resources. It still doesn't always catch the user. The user gets sent to the web login. Even though the single sign-on is helping, it doesn't always work.
I would like to see a better single sign-on performance. I'd like to see a more streamlined way of managing your licensing as well.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for eight months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are no issues with stability. It's a very stable system and you almost never have serious problems for any reason. It's only when you do an upgrade that you have to restart. Stability-wise, for the on-premise solution, I'd give it 4 stars.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Once you've bought the specific version, you are locked into the limitations of that plan. You can't exceed the number of VPNs, connections, etc. There's no way to increase that capacity, per se. You do have options where you can increase the port count and so on. However, in terms of scalability, you have to buy the capacity you require.
On the system I have now, it's not fully populated, but we have about 100 users. The plan is to eventually support about 1,400 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
I don't use the solution's technical support. I typically just use the documentation. There are lots of guides and videos available. In most cases, I search the guide. There's a step-by-step guide to deploy so I don't have to contact technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup isn't hard, but it can be tricky. Since I've been using several Sophos devices, I now find it's fairly simple. I get the deployment done in two hours, including integration. For others, it may take about a day to get everything done.
There's almost no maintenance. There's really only the requirements of adding users and populating VPN connections. One person does that on a part-time basis.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation myself.
What was our ROI?
We do see an ROI. It would be the cost of the support. If I had to hire a CCNP in Nigeria, I would be paying about $10,000 per annum for a CCNP minimum. For a less experienced person, I can get for about $6,000. I am probably saving about $4,000 a year in personnel costs from going with the XG rather than the ASA.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are paying about $1,500 yearly for the Enterprise Plus. As far as I know, there aren't costs above this standard fee.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Cisco ASA as well as the FortiGate before ultimately choosing Sophos.
I chose Sophos over FortiGate because I'd already had experience with Cyberoam and it was a fairly similar migration in terms of configuration from the UTM over. But in terms of features and capabilities, I think FortiGate is pretty similar to the Sophos. Cisco ASA I choose not to go with because it's much harder to configure. I also needed to be able to have someone other than myself manage it and not need to have someone with CCNP sitting down just to add VPN users etc. I felt that the Sophos solution was a better option because it gave me all the functionality of the ASA, but it's much easier to manage.
What other advice do I have?
We use the on-premises deployment model.
We definitely plan to increase the usage and also add high variability too. Right now, it is the main internet gateway and firewall for my network.
We're using both Sophos XG and Sophos UTM.
I would warn those considering implementation that, once you've got it, you're stuck with it. You can't really increase the capacity very much beyond what you have. It's always good to have the expertise available to take care of the box because even though it's a lot easier than the Cisco ASA, you still need someone that has a little expertise in managing it.
You can get very good performance without spending all of your money and without having to send a lot of high-end techs in-house to monitor processes.
I would rate the solution nine out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner.
Date published: 2019-08-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Ivanildo Teixeira Galvão from
Efficiently protects against malware attacks, gives visibility into ports, apps, and websites
How has it helped my organization?
My clients gain efficiency in protecting against attacks from malware such as ransomware and hacker attacks. It also provides them efficient internet access control, and full visibility of ports, applications, and websites.
What is most valuable?
* IPS
* Very efficient
* Web Filter
* Captive Portal with Voucher and Application Control.
What needs improvement?
It could offer other important functions such as a DNS Filter for blocking botnet networks.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No scalability issues.
How is customer service and technical support?
Satisfactory.
Which solutions did we use previously?
I still use Fortigate, also Sophos UTM. As I'm a solution consultant, I have different clients where each solution fits the environment.
How was the initial setup?
Simple and easy.
What other advice do I have?
Excellent product, meets most of the security needs of companies of various sizes. You can buy it without fear.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner.
Date published: 2018-01-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jeroen Vercoulen from
?The product has much potential to be one of the best on the market according to bang for bucks. But look critically to the features you want and the features that are available with this product.
What is most valuable?
Sophos RED, because this makes it very easy to deploy new sites, without the need of static IP addresses and a completely new firewall setup. The rule-based use is the same as if it were internal to the central site.
Web Protection, because this feature implements rules on user/group basis and this is done on the firewall rules itself. So it is easy to check.
Sophos Sandstorm, because it implements sandboxing so downloaded files are checked by hash or checked by unpacking it in within the Sophos Cloud.
How has it helped my organization?
With its central management console, it implements an intuitive management console with change tracking. So it’s easy to see who has made changes and to keep track of changes.
What needs improvement?
Email Protection has room for improvement. It doesn’t have an intuitive rule base. I would much like it to be like the Sophos UTM ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/sophos-utm ) software. The level of detail in the settings is much too low.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been personally using this product for almost two years now.
In our business, we have been using the product alongside the Sophos SG for more than a year now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The first firmware versions were not that stable and had a lot of bugs in it. From Version SF 16 and above, the stability has improved a lot.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We didn’t encounter any issues with scalability as of yet.
How is customer service and technical support?
Technical support, I would rate it as a six, because the technical expertise level from this product is below the level I’m used to. Also, the response times have increased since the launch of Sophos XG ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/sophos-xg ).
Which solutions did we use previously?
We used the Sophos UTM software. We did switch for some customers to the Sophos XG solution because of the customer’s needs.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. The only downside is that a Sophos Account is necessary to activate the box. It has an intuitive setup to take care of the basic settings needed to connect to the internet.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing of the hardware box is the same as Sophos UTM, but the licenses are a little more expensive. The most used license is the Enterprise Guard, it implements Network Protection and Web Protection in a bundle with support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluate other options for our customers constantly. We select the product which is best suited to the situation. We evaluate Sophos UTM, Sophos XG, and Meraki ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/meraki-mx-firewalls ).
What other advice do I have?
The product has much potential to be one of the best on the market according to bang for bucks. But look critically to the features you want and the features that are available with this product. Don’t select this product just yet for email filtering, because it is underdeveloped.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Date published: 2017-07-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Sherif Fouad from
Offers a high level of visibility of what's happening on your network or on your client machines
What is our primary use case?
I use Sophos XG as a content filtering, web filtering, and application filtering utility, as well as to integrate with the endpoint antivirus software.
I have Sophos Endpoint Antivirus installed on the user machines as well, i.e. the Central Cloud Management version. That's our main use.
Sophos XG has cybersecurity. It integrates with the antivirus software.
How has it helped my organization?
I have a serious problem because our offices are scattered around the world in very remote areas. We cannot deploy proper branch office guides, active directory sites, and software services.
It is impossible to apply any sort of group policy on the user machines, which makes it very hard to control issues like USB ports, access to cameras, or access to any preferences on the user machines.
With the integration between Sophos UTM and the installed endpoint antivirus, you can now manage all those features from your cloud subscription. You can allow and block whatever you want from the cloud.
You can allow whatever USB ports you want for specific devices with specific IDs, serial numbers or modems. The machine gets updated online or updated from the antivirus settings, i.e. the UTM unit itself.
The UTM unit itself has a cache update on it. Once the clients behind the UTM get updated, they get access or they get denied access to the hardware resources they are applying for. This is a major benefit for us.
What is most valuable?
The application filters available with Sophos XG are brilliant. The sandboxing and the way the firewall or the UTM integrates with the installed endpoint antivirus clients on the user machines is brilliant. You get the chance to isolate network threats before they become active or become distributed on your network.
With the cloud version of Sophos XG, you get the proper visibility of your network and the user machines. With the cloud versions of the antivirus, i.e. the cloud central management of the antivirus, you get high visibility.
With the application between the installed Sophos UTM, you get a high level of visibility of what's happening on your network or on your client machines. You get protected against threats. You get proper visibility. That solves a major issue.
What needs improvement?
There was a big issue with the Cyberoam and with the SG units as well, i.e. the previous Sophos UTM model. With Sophos XG, you get the chance to block what sites operate on SSL or that operate with HTTPS, without the need of extracting and distributing a certificate.
On older Cyberoam and Sophos SG old versions, if you wanted to block something like YouTube or Facebook or any other websites that operate with HTTPS, you had to extract the certificate. Then you had to export that certificate. Then you had to re-import that certificate in all the user browsers.
The only problem was if you needed to use an active directory where those certificates would be automatically thrown into the user browsers once they logged in to the domain.
For a scenario like mine where you don't have a group policy, it is a disaster and ends up with you setting the rules to block certain websites with HTTPS on the firewall, even while they are not being blocked so that the user will still have access to them. This problem is now 100% sorted out with Sophos XG.
Now you can actually block whatever you want, whether it's using HTTPS or HTTP keys from the firewall without the need for extracting certificates. That's a major improvement. That problem with the HTTPS settings was a huge issue.
I know other people must be enjoying that it's sorted out now. It was a serious and major issue for Sophos. The only issue that Sophos XG now needs to improve is the product's reporting capabilities.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Sophos XG for over 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is stable enough for our requirements.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have about 450 Sophos XG users currently using this edition and 300 for the antivirus platform installed on the machines, plus in-service, around 310. We also have around 15 additional units deployed around the world.
How are customer service and technical support?
I'll give Sophos XG technical support an eight out of ten for their service.
If you previously used a different solution, which one did you use and why did you switch?
I used Cyberoam previously, although I always used it as a UTM only. What made me move to Sophos is that they were acquired, i.e. they acquired Cyberoam to start with the development. At that time the software had many features that were not available with FortiGate, in terms of content filtering, and it was an appliance when Websense was the software to be installed on a server.
There was a problem with our operating system with some of the updates, i.e. with the operating system or the hardware. I moved from Websense to Cyberoam because it wasn't applying properly.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is definitely something different than the old Cyberoam and it's a bit complex. If you've been dealing with UTMs and you understand the concept, it is still complex but then I find it enjoyable.
Sophos XG is not hard to configure. Too much detail is always good.
I required three or four hours for the initial setup. One day for the testing, fine-tuning, optimizing, and categorizing. Three days for the first unit with the initial setup and the customization including testing. Finally, three days for testing all the rules, the QA, and then putting everything live.
What about the implementation team?
I used to work for an integrator myself years ago, as well as my team. We are all trained. We are all professional in what we are doing. No external help was used.
What was our ROI?
Our ROI is 100%. I've got the ransomware attacks being blocked. I've got the users' consumed bandwidth by using proxy bypasses and all sorts of applications being blocked now.
It's saving on the companies and the employees working hours and time. It's saving on minimizing virus infections and applications that the users like to use on their machines in order to bypass blocking USB ports or cameras.
It is saving the company money by saving bandwidth and saving employees time by not allowing them to access time-wasting websites.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have the annual license for Sophos XG. It all depends on what you would like to have in the package that you are purchasing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated FortiGate but wasn't happy with it. I evaluated another group called WatchGuard. WatchGuard has good features in it, but it's for a smaller business scale than the Sophos clients.
I evaluated Cisco ASA or PIX but now, I use Sophos XG as the firewall. I have confidence in their unit. Before Cyberoam and Sophos, I used FortiGate and Websense for our UTM requirements.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend that everyone should have a proper understanding of new network requirements and then enjoy it. Sophos XG is definitely a good product.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give Sophos XG an eight.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2019-05-25T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Danyllo Cabral from
Very intuitive and easy-to-use interface making it much easier to setup access and business rules
What is most valuable?
* URL Filtering: because of the importance of controlling what and individual might access from the organization’s network. Sophos XG ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/sophos-xg ) has 90+ categories, providing a level of granularity that eliminates the need to create customized categories.
* IPS (Intrusion Prevention System): because of the importance of preventing hackers from using exploits and other mechanisms that might compromise the network
* Anti-malware: Sophos XG comes with two anti-malware engines: its own and Avira, making the UTM more effective at catching malicious code.
* Control Center: an interface crammed with the most vital information like security issues, appliance performance, and Internet link status.
How has it helped my organization?
With a very intuitive and easy-to-use interface, it made it much easier to setup access and business rules, VPNs and to identify issues like Internet link outages and security issues.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG lacks link load balancing options like ratio and spill over, both useful in some scenarios.
I also think they might consider improving the RAM of some of the appliances, since there are processes that are very memory intensive.
Lastly, I would say packet monitor is another area for improvement as it lacks capabilities like exporting the capture from inside the GUI tool.
For how long have I used the solution?
A year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Yes, on the SFOS Version 15, I had to upgrade the firmware of an appliance since it had a problem with the JAMVM process (an apparently known issue in which that process consumes almost all of the CPU resources).
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No.
How is customer service and technical support?
I would say that Sophos Brazil has an excellent support team.
Which solutions did we use previously?
No.
How was the initial setup?
It was very straightforward. And I credit that to the great job Sophos did on its OS interface, providing different ways of accessing the same option, hiding some of the complexities of a firewall system, and deploying it with many pre-built policies, objects and rules that for most of the environments makes it unnecessary to spend hours tuning the system.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sophos is clearly trying to position itself as the market leader in the UTM niche. One way they are doing this is by having an aggressive pricing policy and this makes it a good moment to start using their products.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes, FortiGate ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/fortinet-fortigate ).
What other advice do I have?
Try to have the help of a Sophos Partner for the correct sizing and purchasing of an adequate licensing bundle.
In addition, I would recommend having a PoC in place in order to make sure that the solution is what the organization needs.
It is important to notice that the XG is available for a 30 days free trial and that there are virtual appliances available for the main virtualization platforms on the market.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-07-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
SecMgr5390 from
Cloud portal allows me to manage firewall from any location; interface is user-friendly
What is our primary use case?
We use it for VPN connectivity with remote sites, as well as general IPS and IDS.
It's a satisfactory solution so far, no problems. It's very easy to use, and we have technical support for any issues, so it's quite good.
How has it helped my organization?
It's cost-effective. We are not that big a company. It gives us the features that we need.
What is most valuable?
* The ease of setting up the VPN connection.
* The fact they have the cloud management option, I can manage it on a cloud platform. So anywhere I am, I can always manage the firewall.
* The user interface is very user-friendly, so it's very easy for the administrator to make any policy changes.
What needs improvement?
I would like the update process to be easier, to update the firmware of the boxes. I think it's much better automatically than having to do it manually: Download the file, do network discovery. If they can make the update process much more automatic that would help.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability, so far, is actually quite good. I think the only issue we have had is some flapping on the connection, but it was a bug. The support is quite good, so the issue was resolved in no time at all. We have not had many issues at all. It's been working fine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I don't think this applies in our own case because we just bought the medium-range box, so it's adequate for our needs.
How is customer service and technical support?
It's very good, very responsive, and they resolve our issues in no time at all.
Which solutions did we use previously?
We were previously using a different solution, a Cisco ASA firewall, but it was not a next-generation of firewall, next-generation meaning it can do unified threat management. We wanted a new solution that would also give us next-generation features, like anti-malware and end-point management and the like. That informed our choice of Sophos.
When selecting a vendor, the stability of the solution and then the technical support are very important. Also, the cost-to-reward ratio, the value we get from the product compared to what we pay for it. In addition, ease of management; how easy is it to manage? If it's too complex to manage it's a problem because you don't want to spend too much time managing it.
How was the initial setup?
It was completely straightforward, but our internal network is not that complex.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Sophos vs Fortinet ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/comparisons/fortinet-fortigate_vs_sophos-utm ) and Sophos vs Cisco ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/comparisons/cisco-asa_vs_sophos-utm ).
The cost of Sophos was more competitive compared to the rest. We also considered the management and it was easier to manage than the rest. That's how we came to our conclusion.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it an eight out of 10. I don't rate it "perfect" because it can always improve. But the features that come along with Sophos are very, very extensive. It gives me so many options, the ability to remotely manage my firewall ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/categories/firewalls ) from anywhere, given the cloud portal. The solution hasn't given us too many problems at all, and even when we did have an issue, it was resolved.
My advice is to take advantage of the trials, they have a trial on their website where you can see how the cloud management works; you can have a free account for one month and play around with it and see how easy it is to manage. That way you can know if it can handle the services you are going to require. Take advantage of training on their website as well. Check the industry ratings, they are pretty highly rated.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-04-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Vikas-Gupta from
The pricing is very competitive in the market and the support is awesome
What is most valuable?
* Internet security, where we have one single point of console; where I can manage my endpoint and my gateway.
* Any messages coming in, I am getting the intermission immediately.
* If my endpoint is getting infected, I get to know.
* If my file is getting infected, I get to know from a single pane point of view.
How has it helped my organization?
The product has been upgraded, and one of the features we were looking for has been incorporated into the newer version. It has allowed me to customize for my needs as well.
For how long have I used the solution?
The past six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Nothing. No issues. It is quite stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a little bit of a challenge. Scalability is one issue with the hardware device and hardware files. Any kind of hardware file which has been delivered has been a challenge.
How is customer service and technical support?
Sophos is being preferred only because of their technical support. The tech support there is very good. It is a five-star support system that they have there.
Which solutions did we use previously?
Our previous solution was Check Point. I switched to Sophos just because of the pricing issue.
How was the initial setup?
It is very user-friendly to set up. Very straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is very competitive in the market.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Only Check Point. That was the one product which I evaluated.
What other advice do I have?
The support is awesome. QA is very simple, and the administration is very straightforward.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-11-21T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
SherifFouad from
Gives us customizable policies, modifiable templates, and customized rules for single users
What is our primary use case?
It's being used as a UTM, no firewalling. So it acts as a bridge. It doesn't provide the IP services, it doesn't provide DNS, it doesn't provide DHCP services, and it doesn't operate as a router or a point of mapping. It's only being used for filtering: Web and application filtering, as well as antivirus. I usually disable the anti-spam on all those units, because I have a gateway anti-spam server in place.
What is most valuable?
The web and application filters, as well as the quality of service. It has a very friendly interface like the Cyberoam iNG units, it has customizable policies, it has proper templates that you can even modify, and you can customize the rules, down to each single user.
It gives flexibility in the rules and the filters that you apply, based on, for example, the level of usage and the managerial level, etc. It's highly customizable.
The dashboard is customizable as well. It gives you the feature of including what you need to see as soon as you open the dashboard and to remove the non-necessary stuff, which varies from one organization to the next and from one IT manager to the next. And it has a wide variety of reports as well, template and customizable reports.
What needs improvement?
The major problem that I am facing, and I know that others are facing as well, is with the HTTPS classic, in general, or any classic that works on Secure Socket Layers. Let's say I set up a rule to block users from accessing YouTube or Facebook. The rule will only block the HTTP traffic, which is non-secure traffic. But most websites right now, most of the reputable web services providers, for extra security for their own web servers and for the user's security, provide a connection over Secure Socket Layer.
The problem comes when you are trying to block, or allow, similar traffic that uses HTTPS. You have to create a certificate and import it into the users' web browsers, whatever they are using. Now, this is not a problem when you're dealing with users stationed and fixed in a specific site or location. They are using desktops, they will never take the desktops and go home with them, nor will they ever take the desktops and travel to another country, or another site with it. The problem occurs when you're dealing with roaming users who use laptops and have to move between different sites that have different types of policies applied to them. You have to import all sorts of certificates from each site into their browser. Doing so will most probably conflict with something else that is totally irrelevant and cause a problem.
A way around this is if you are using authentication with Active Directory. But most of the time, especially if you're operating in a remote site with a very slow internet connection, if it's available in the first place, authentication with Active Directory is impossible.
So it needs an easier way to apply HTTPS filters, without importing certificates into users' browsers and without the need for using an Active Directory. There must be a way around it. There are workarounds. But with applied workarounds, it will work out once, it won't work out properly 10 other times. That is my only request.
Also, since Sophos took over Cyberoam, the online technical library and support library have become super messy. To get a piece of information is becoming a nightmare. They need to reorganize the online technical support and technical library. The easiest way to overcome this is to look at how the Cyberoam online technical library was structured and to build the Sophos technical library the same way. It is messy, totally unorganized, time-wasting. Instead of getting what you want in five minutes it takes half an hour.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is good. I was so happy with the Cyberoam iNG unit, and I think the Sophos XG series is exactly the same as the Cyberoam iNG unit. It's a very good unit for a smaller or medium business. It's very stable and it takes overload easily, so it can add to the throughput. It has versatility, it will support extra users, it will support extra bandwidth, to a limit, and it keeps on working as a monster. I have barely replaced any of those units through the years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is brilliant.
How is customer service and technical support?
I usually deal with one of the major partners in Egypt. The name is Gateworx. I've been dealing with those guys since my previous company, back to 2002. Even when we're buying devices that will be used in other countries outside of Egypt, we get them from them.
They provide outstanding technical support and they provide outstanding pre-sales services. If I require a device to be delivered to a country outside of Egypt, they contact the partner directly and they set up everything, and I get the hardware delivered. They are outstanding.
This is one of the major reasons we didn't look at another UTM or firewall through the years. These guys were a proper representative of Sophos and Cyberoam.
Which solutions did we use previously?
I've used heaps of them through the years. I've used Fortigate, which is now Fortinet. I've used Websense, they issued something like that years ago. ISS issued something like that years ago.
Sophos UTM, along with Cyberoam UTM, since they are both the same - it's only a different interface and a different hardware look - they provide the best value for the money. You get the best features for the best cost. They are the best, to a certain limit for a certain usage. I never use any of those units as a firewall. What I usually do is, I have an edge firewall responsible for routing, switching, and firewalling. And then I deploy the UTM behind it, only for filtering.
The most important criteria when selecting a vendor include getting the best features that you can get for an equivalent cost, so you're paying for what you're getting. You don't want to be paying for the name or the brand or the reputation of it. Also important are pre-sales services and "1000-percent" technical support services, in the environment and the remote areas we operate in, the warranty services as well.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is straightforward. But what could be a straightforward setup for me might be complex for others. It depends on your level of experience, the training that you got, and the engagements.
They have a setup wizard, and I have had heaps of technicians, over the years to set it up, even initially.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I was looking at either Cyberoam iNG or Sophos XG.
What other advice do I have?
My advice would vary based on your requirements. If you have a dedicated edge firewall, like Cisco ASA, you should get Cyberoam iNG and Sophos XG. They will do the job brilliantly. They will take the load, they will do a fantastic job.
If you are looking at units that will do both jobs - being an edge firewall and a UTM at the same time - with routing features, if you are going with Cyberoam and Sophos XG, I'd always recommend that you buy a higher model than what will meet exactly their requirements. So let's say that I'm looking at features that could be fulfilled with an XG 125 or 115, but I want to use the same unit as a firewall. I'd step up and buy an XG 135. You will always need those extra machine resources when you're providing routing, switching, and firewalling as well. Both of those products provide the best support ever, for the money being paid.
I rate it at eight out of 10. It's not higher because of the HTTPS issue that I told you about. That's my major issue. That's a super-disastrous issue that, unfortunately, cannot be solved easily.
And, sometimes we'll get a specific detailed report, stressing a certain aspect and it's not straightforward. I'll be able to do it, but then I'll have to combine or merge more than one, two, or three reports to get the results that I want. So more specific reports would be good. But then, again, there is a work-around by customizing the reports you want and then getting several reports and comparing them together. It's workable. My only issue is trying to save time, administration time is an issue for us.
But other than that, I'm happy. The product is brilliant, support is brilliant.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-07-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
it_user306159 from
It allow us to see literally everything when it comes to traffic in a very easy and intuitive way.
Valuable Features:
* Web and Application filter
* Wireless integration
* Email protection with encryption
* Reporting and Dashboards
Improvements to My Organization:
Mostly it's related to visibility as this platform allow us to see literally everything when it comes to traffic in a very easy and intuitive way.
Room for Improvement:
I would like to see the possibility to add or block some content directly from the log interface or the live view of the interface so that if I see that an IP address is consuming a lot of bandwidth, I can right click on it and set some kind of policy. Everything else its perfect.
Deployment Issues:
There was no issue with the deployment.
Stability Issues:
There has been no issue with the stability.
Scalability Issues:
There have been no issues scaling it to our needs.
Other Advice:
Contact a good partner with experience and follow the online KB for doubts. its almost everything there
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2016-03-20T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Sean Gambill from
Has an intuitive interface. Easy to look at the logs and troubleshoot issues.
What is most valuable?
For one, its ease of use is the most valuable feature. It's very easy to look at the logs and troubleshoot issues as they arise. Things just make sense and it is a very intuitive interface.
How has it helped my organization?
It is easier to use than Cisco ASA ( https://www.itcentralstation.com/products/cisco-asa ), so it has reduced our SLAs by a considerable margin.
What needs improvement?
The VPN and central management need to be improved, but that's being nit-picky.
The IPsec VPNs are a little on the buggy side and you sometimes have to jump through hoops to get it to work. When I looked at them last, they were still in development for the centralized management of the firewalls, so when I saw it, it was very much in its infancy.
One more thing to add to what they can improve is the firewall policy presentation, they have their own special way of doing it which takes time for some to get used to, especially if you’re used to Cisco ASA.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for about a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There were no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There were no scalability issues, it is very scalable.
How is customer service and technical support?
I would rate the technical support a 10/10; they are very professional. I know a couple of those guys over there on a first name basis.
Which solutions did we use previously?
Previously, we were using another solution. However, we switched as we needed to upgrade our infrastructure.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was pretty straightforward. They had someone come in, walk us through it and train us on the platform.
What other advice do I have?
Get the professional support contract; it is well-worth it and those guys know their product very very well.
It is a very solid product, easy to use and implement.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2017-07-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Hesham Sakr from
Firmware flexibility allows us to run multiple rules with different configurations
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature, according to the setup we have at our work place here, is the flexibility of the system or the firmware that's running the appliance. It's so flexible, performing multiple rules with different configurations. According to the set up here, we need to implement several firewalls with different access levels, because we have a variety of users. For this requirement, it's very flexible and very easy to use.
What needs improvement?
It is performing well. However, the only challenges that we are facing are the effectiveness with blocking the proxy and tuneling applications, aside from proxy and similar applications. So the application filter on the product is not really performing 100%. Every now and then there are some updates that are happening on such applications, and it takes time until it gets the appropriate updates and becomes capable of capturing such applications and blocking them.
A new feature I would really like to see would be some sort of an enhanced application filter with greater efficiency when it comes to the applications that can bypass firewall policies. These applications are really a nightmare. Once they are on the network and not detected, or the appliance is not really successful in capturing them and unblocking them, the bandwidth gets wasted all the time.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. So far we haven't experienced any instability issues with.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
As for scalability, I think it is a bit limited. We did a sizing exercise before the purchase. But that was just to fit our current needs. There was no room for having an option to upgrade the device. The only option that we have if we are grow in the near future, is to go for another model with higher specs, which is actually more expensive. In other words it doesn't have that modularity feature.
How is customer service and technical support?
From time to time I use technical support provided by the seller and sometimes I use the online support, but not that much actually. It has only been for a very few issues. And the support I have received is not bad.
Which solutions did we use previously?
Before Sophos there was mix of various legacy solutions that were not really considered firewall grade. The only specific thing that was used was a software-based firewall, but it was used on a very limited scale and only temporarily.
How was the initial setup?
It was very straightforward.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
The other vendors on the list were Fortinet and Palo Alto. Although it was really great with outstanding features, Palo Alto was far beyond our budget. And as for Fortinet, I was not really happy with the ease of use of the firewall and the features that were coming with it. Sophos was better compared to Fortinet.
What other advice do I have?
When it comes to selecting a vendor I think the most important thing would be the level of support and how fast they can respond in critical cases.
I would rate Sophos at eight out of 10. I cannot give it the best rating because there are the issues that I mentioned, and I believe there are other products on the market that are much better, like Palo Alto. And there is another product that I've come across recently, which is called Clavister. It's a Swedish product, if I'm not mistaken. They are current with features and have more stability. So for Sophos, it would be the appropriate rating for the time being, unless they come up with some new features and add some enhancements.
There is no straightforward advice in this case because there are many factors that may limit the person who wants the solution. Budget is an issue. If you don't have any budget limitations I would recommend going for Palo Alto. If not, consider Sophos or Clavister.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2018-04-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Kolanji Selvaraj from
Email security features are good, but the technical support needs improvement
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for this solution is to act as the main broadband device in our data center. The XG 210 model is being used for a hospitality solution.
How has it helped my organization?
The main improvement for us is with our email. The email options and email security features are good.
What is most valuable?
We have found that the simplicity of the XG 210 is its most valuable feature. There are a lot of options available for the default firewall rules, such as email and web, that are used to secure the network.
I like all of the options, but the most important thing is that it is easy to understand how to configure everything, compared to other firewalls.
What needs improvement?
We are having a lot of issues with conflicts and user sessions, and Sophos has suggested that we change the device to the XG 400.
Aside from these issues with scalability, the email security features are good, but there are not many options. We would like to know why an email is being blocked, and how we can allow delivery. It does not keep emails in the queue for delivery. It can only log whether it is delivered or not delivered. If I need more details then I have to log in using SSH to get that information.
When an email comes in from the outside it is detected. When we check the log it only tells us that it is not delivered. We would like to create an exception, but there are not many options available for this. For example, a domain space is not allowed. Only the user name can be used to do that. We need a domain-based exception for email.
Next, the XG 210 is easy to configure, but when we are looking for more details then we can only get this information through SSH. It is quite difficult. If we can get all of those details then it would help us to understand, so this needs to be improved.
There are a lot of options and it gets confusing sometimes. If they can give limited options, with more information, then it would be good for the large sites.
For how long have I used the solution?
Less than one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable, but by stable, I mean that we still have issues. The issues are more technical, which is why they suggest that we change the device to fix the problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Our main data center has more than seventy servers that host a web server and internal applications. This is where we use the XG 400.
We have installed the XG 210 model at a smaller data center. We have between three and four hundred users at the most. However, because we have more than three hundred sessions, the vendor has suggested that we change to the XG 400. We do not yet know if this will fix our problem.
At our remote sites, we use the XG 135 model, and we do not have many issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
I am not sure why Sophos suggested using the XG 210 model after doing a site check, but we are facing issues and they suggested that we replace the model.
When I call, I have to wait for at least one to two hours to reach them. Sometimes they will pick up the call immediately, but most of the time they will not. I usually have to wait one hour before they pick up the phone.
When a ticket is created we have to wait three days before getting a reply from them. When they create a ticket for a critical issue, the response is delayed. This is a new device, and we expect support from Sophos. At least the partner should support the product, but the partners are always looking for money. Even if they deploy the device, for example, the XG 450, then they only offer support for one day. After that, there is no support.
If you previously used a different solution, which one did you use and why did you switch?
We have been using the Sophos XG 135 model at our remote sites and it works.
This year we deployed the XG 210 model at our data center, but prior to this we used Barracuda. We switched because Barracuda is too expensive. The options are very limited because you have to pay for each additional option. Each one represents a different service, like ADP (Active DDoS Prevention) or firewall. In contrast, Sophos is only a single payment, so we switched even though we lost some options that we liked.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy.
Our deployment took only two to three days. The problem is that we had a lot of issues, especially with the email. The SMTP did not work, so I could not continue with the deployment. It took between fifteen and twenty days to resolve this. I do not know what they did to fix it, but we were delayed between twenty-five days and a month.
We had contacted the Sophos partner for help, but they were not able to fix our issue. After the problem was resolved I re-initiated the deployment. Only one staff member is required to maintain the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Even when you purchase the product from Sophos, they ask for a separate contract for support which is on an hourly basis.
For licensing the XG 210, we paid approximately $3000 for three years. There are no additional fees on top of this.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Other than the Barracuda and the Sophos models, I did not evaluate other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
Because of the problems that we are having, I cannot recommend this solution to anyone at this time.
I would rate this solution five out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2019-04-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
David Van Win from
Has a simple setup and has good stability
What is most valuable?
The simplicity of the setup is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
Their technical support needs improvement. I've been on hold with them for hours waiting for their support.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
They seem pretty stable. They're pretty good devices when they're up and running. Once you get them up and running they seem to work quite well. It runs 24/7.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
They're very scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is easy. We did the deployment ourselves.
What other advice do I have?
If you pay for the premium support, you'll get better support from Sophos.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
The integration with their Sophos Central isn't great. That needs some work. If they could work on the integration with Sophos Central, that would be great.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-04-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1439775 from
Stable, easy to setup the rules, versatile, and good support
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case of this solution is as the main company firewall.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is the flexibility of it, it's pretty versatile.
Also, the firewall aspect in terms of setting up rules. They worked pretty well.
What needs improvement?
The UI needs improvement because it can be a little weird at times.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Sophos XG in the last twelve months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable. We haven't had any real issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I don't know if this solution is scalable. We haven't explored this area yet.
As we grow, we plan to increase usage.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
Initially, the setup was a bit complex.
It was complex because we were coming off of a different setup. It was just getting used to the software, but it's not too bad.
We require one and a half staff members for the deployment and the maintenance. They seem to do a pretty good job of updating it and keeping it current.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented ourselves. We did not use a vendor or integrator.
What was our ROI?
We're military contractors, and the cybersecurity compliance aspect of it has been the most helpful.
We know how the networks operate from our end, even though we are relatively green. We don't what we are comparing it to.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We prepaid in advance to get the max discount.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1192233 from
Local support and good training, but the wireless controller and scalability can be better
What is our primary use case?
I am using it for unified management.
What is most valuable?
I like the firewall, inbound, and outbound modules the most. The VPN feature also works well. It is very easy to configure rules in Sophos XG.
We have got local service here in Zimbabwe from Sophos, which is something that I like a lot. We have got good local support, and they come on-site when we have any challenges.
Sophos provides a lot of good training all around Zimbabwe. They are quite dominant here, similar to other solutions like Fortinet or WatchGuard.
What needs improvement?
When you are using it as a controller for the wireless access points, it doesn't perform well.
It is not suitable for the public cloud. It is more suitable for enterprise data. It is not really the equipment for cloud data centers. I am looking for a data center firewall.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for more than five years. I started with Cyberoam, which was bought by Sophos.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. I have managed to secure my network. It has been good so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is not so scalable. If you want to upgrade, you have to buy another appliance. I don't see so much scalability. You can only change a port from 1 gigabit to 10 gigabits. There are other solutions like Fortinet that are more scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support is good. We get local support from them.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment took two days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is flexible. Sophos looks at a country's economy and offers flexible pricing. This is how they have managed to penetrate the market.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend it. It has good support and training.
I would rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-11-09T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Bjoern Koeckert from
Good filtering capability, but the interface is slow and it is difficult for beginners to understand
What is our primary use case?
We use this product to protect all of the connections to our sites and for web filtering.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is web filtering.
What needs improvement?
The behavior with the zones was a little bit tricky to understand and the beginning of the project.
Sophos XG is difficult to manage and it is difficult to understand when you first begin.
The reaction time of the GUI is terrible when compared to other manufacturers.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for about a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable product, although the web GUI is slow. We plan to use it for another couple of years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a small site, and we have 15 users.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for Sophos XG was not straightforward. We already had experience with Sophos UTM, but they are completely different systems. The deployment took us one week to complete.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed this solution in-house.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I now have a proof of concept with a FortiGate firewall and we are trying some test cases on it.
What other advice do I have?
For now, this is not a product that I can recommend.
I would rate this solution a six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-11-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Purnachandra Rao Koneru from
Easy to use, robust, and the default templates are helpful
What is our primary use case?
I was using the Sophos XG firewall in my last job, where it was part of our security solution.
We had multiple locations with the internet being provided from a central location. Each of our locations was connected point-to-point using MPLS lines. Using Sophos meant that we didn't need to have a router.
What is most valuable?
The default templates are helpful because if you want to create new policies, they make it easy to do anything you want.
Sophos XG is a very robust technology.
This solution is very user-friendly and even a non-professional can configure the policies.
There are unlimited SSL VPN clients and it is free with Sophos.
What needs improvement?
The cloud support needs to be improved. As it is, they only have support for Microsoft Azure. They should expand it to include providers like Amazon and Alibaba.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have not heard complaints of bugs or glitches occurring.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos is a scalable technology that is being regularly updated.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have been in contact with technical support many times and they are very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Currently, in my new company, I am using Fortinet. This is a very basic firewall and ultimately, I would like to update them.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not complicated. For somebody with an intermediate level of knowledge, it will take between three and four hours to deploy. For a more experienced person, it may take two or three.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I am currently in the process of evaluating the different firewalls that are available in India. One of the options is Sophos, and I am also considering others such as SonicWall and Palo Alto.
With Fortinet and SonicWall, there is a limit of 10 people who can simultaneously connect using the VPN.
What other advice do I have?
Sophos XG is a firewall that I would recommend for people who are looking for good security in a medium-scale organization.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-06-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Michael Hlavaty-LaPosa from
Easy to manage, performs well, and the pricing is good
What is our primary use case?
We are a managed service provider and the primary firewall that we sell and maintain is Sophos XG. It is also used in the company.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is that it is a next-generation firewall.
The fact that it is integrated between endpoints and the firewall, and then the firewall and a central Sophos operation center, is very good.
The cloud-based interface makes it easy to manage.
The integration with the Intercept X approach means that Sophos XG can do things that none of the others are doing.
What needs improvement?
The main area that needs improvement is the documentation.
Sophos needs to be a little better at communicating with partners about changes, issues, patches, and so forth.
The weakest point is the technical support because they are difficult to get into contact with.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the Sophos XG series for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution has been very stable and it's a good product, otherwise, I wouldn't be using it.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support team is knowledgeable and they are good, although it is very hard to get a hold of them. You sometimes have to wait in queue for over an hour to speak with somebody. To me, that is the most frustrating thing about Sophos.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use another similar solution prior to Sophos XG. Since the MSP business started, it has been our primary firewall product because of the pricing and support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is complex, as is setting up any next-generation firewall today. You have to know what you're doing with firewalls in general, although beyond that, it isn't as bad as some of the firewalls that I have seen.
The deployment typically doesn't take longer than a few hours or a day, depending on the type of client and what it is that we have to do.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The Sophos pricing, in general, is better than SonicWall, Fortinet, WatchGuard, or anybody else. Because of the partner program, the pricing I get is extremely good compared to what I would get from any of the others.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have evaluated several firewall products and I think that Sophos is better in terms of ease of use, performance, and pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I would highly encourage others to evaluate Sophos and adopt it. I've discovered that compared to other products, it is easier to manage and I think that it operates better.
Overall, I think that they've got a pretty complete set of features and they seem to be on a really good path. My only complaints are about the documentation and the availability of technical support.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-06-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Devanand PR from
Simple, stable and secure with regular timely updates
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is as a firewall, failover management of the internet lines. We have over 50 people using the product on 200 devices and we use it on a daily basis. I'm an IT support executive and we're a customer of Sophos.
What is most valuable?
I like the simplicity of the solution and the timely updates. It works well.
What needs improvement?
The interface could be improved by simplifying it and making it much smarter. I would also like to see an improvement in the diagnostic system graphs. They could be modified to provide individual graphs. The present page has all graphs in a single page and it slows things down and takes more time to refresh and load.
Additional features they could consider including in any update would be symbols and tools. They could also include URL groups and all Office updates, the regular things that people do on a daily basis.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for the past year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven't yet tried scaling, that will take another six months. I'll be in a better position to answer then.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is fine overall.
How was the initial setup?
I've now configured three times and although it gets easier, deployment is a little complex. We had some issues with the company, unrelated to the product, more to do with the licensing procedures in India which could be simplified. Deployment only took about half an hour and the solution doesn't require any maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing costs are generally set for three years.
What other advice do I have?
Before installing this product it's worth taking some lessons from the website which also provides some support. It's almost better than the technical support which is offline. If you have a good vendor with hands-on experience that's also helpful for first time deployment. After you've implemented once, it's easier the second time.
I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-07-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Kamran SAJJAD from
Stable IPS features and good technical support, but the reporting needs to be improved
What is our primary use case?
We use this firewall as part of our security solution.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the intrusion prevention system.
What needs improvement?
The two main areas where this product needs improvement are routing and reporting.
The security can be improved, as well.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for more than two or three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability has not been a problem for us.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I am satisfied with the scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support from Sophos is excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used the Microsoft Firewall. It is easy to use but it doesn't the IPS and malware detection capabilities that Sophos has.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup and configuration are not difficult for somebody with firewall experience. However, for somebody who has not worked on one in the past, it will be complicated.
What about the implementation team?
We had assistance with the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is cheaper than that of some competing vendors.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Prior to implementing Sophos, I tried using a solution by Fortinet. However, it was much more expensive.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is implementing this solution is to ensure that somebody with firewall experience handles the deployment.
Overall, I find that this is a good product. That said, there are improvements that need to be made in the routing, reporting, and security.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-07-15T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Unmesh Deshpande from
A great UI with very intuitive features; comprehensive documentation ensuring issues are easily resolved
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of this solution is for protection and to have better governance for our LAN usage. I've got a lot of people working from outside on the corporate infra and all policy based decisions happen there. The solution is basically a firewall that protects us from various internet threats, but other than that provides controlled and properly managed access using various rules of VPN and other fingerprints of people logging in. I'm the CTO of the company and we are customers of Sophos.
What is most valuable?
The interface is great and easy to understand. Any firewall engineer who has medium to moderate experience on bylaws, can easily understand the UI. The language presented on various features and the in-built help, is very intuitive. If you have a problem you can figure it out there and then. As a result, there is less probability that we'll call tech support.
What needs improvement?
The solution really needs some additional features like network access control. If they could incorporate some user profiling and present the analytics of the login user usage patterns, or a typical proper management dashboard to take a decision on the firewall rules, that would be useful. Basically, MI's and the dashboard could be more user friendly. The information is there but the dashboards are not in a graphical format. In short, I'd like to see network access control, user profiling and analytics dashboards. It would make the solution a more competitive product on the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for over four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution. I haven't had any firewall crashes or any non-performing rules for over two years. We are a hospital so all the lights of all the devices should be on 24/7, 365 days a year.
We manage and control around 250-300 internal users. There would probably be another 75-100 logging in externally.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is definitely a scalable solution. The way we've configured it, if a device goes down, it can be shut off and removed from the network for repairs or updates and our second firewall automatically takes the load.
How are customer service and technical support?
We only used technical support during our initial deployment. After that, we didn't need support because the product was working perfectly well. We trained ourselves on the newer software and we are capable of managing and maintaining our own firewalls. In addition, Sophos provides online documentation which is very user friendly. If you follow the steps you get the result.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used Cisco's firewall ASA and it was extensively implemented in my earlier role. The main reason to migrate to Sophos was due to their aggressiveness in terms of pricing but also the fact that they had features that Cisco did not have.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straightforward. Deployment took somewhere between six and eight hours.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There's no annual licensing fee. When we purchased the product, it was with a five year agreement bundled in with the product price and the recent rollout is not yet five years old. When we renew, we'll renegotiate. I can't differentiate between the product costs and the licensing costs at this point. We're very lucky that we get one of the best deals in the country in terms of pricing. The Sophos-backed pre-sales and implementation team were very cooperative and collaborative which really helped us make the decision to choose Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend this solution but it's only suitable if it fits the needs of the company so I would suggest carrying out some research. Why does the company need a firewall? What rules do they want to deploy on the firewall? Based on the answers to those questions the company can make a call.
I would rate this solution a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-07-28T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Neeraj Mohotra from
Endpoint firewall and proxy that is user-friendly, easily scaled, and has good synchronization features
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case of this solution is as an endpoint firewall and proxy.
What is most valuable?
The features that are most valuable are synchronized security, the security hard build, the application synchronization, and the events synchronization.
it's user-friendly, not complex.
What needs improvement?
The uploading and downloading of reports should be included.
We are looking for a firewall to block the uploads from the user, not the downloads. I would like to see this feature updated.
In the next release, I would like the uploading and downloading reports to be included.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for almost two years.
We will be upgrading to the newest version that was released two or three months ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This product is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is easily scalable. We have 15 to 20 users.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
It's easy to understand and to install.
What about the implementation team?
I am a technical analyst and handling the pre-sales. We provide and implement the solution to our customers.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2020-07-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jasim Alsafran from
Easy to set up, monitor, and block traffic, but the stability could be better
What is our primary use case?
We are using this product to monitor traffic, payments, and VPN access to our branches. Some are using VPN with hooks, Sophos XG 210, and the main one they are using in the data center is Sophos XG 310.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the central management, the user VPN, and communications.
You can monitor and block traffic.
What needs improvement?
In regards to email as an example, if you experience any malware, it is contained in the container but doesn't give you any information about the email, or what is contained in the email. You only have the option to reject it or to release it.
I need to open the email to see what it contains and the value of it before I know whether to access it or not.
Stability needs improvements.
For how long have I used the solution?
We started with Sophos SG UTM 9, then we upgraded to XG. We have been using the latest version of XG for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability could be better.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's scalable and good for small businesses.
We have approximately 120 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have contacted technical support three to five times per year.
It's good, but I don't have many questions to ask.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, I was using Sophos SG. We were not using any other software from any other vendor. We have only dealt with Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was simple. It was not complicated.
If you are familiar with the technology, the implementation will not be difficult.
It also depends on the business needs.
From testing and switching from SG to XG, it took approximately one week to deploy.
What about the implementation team?
We had help from the vendor. The maintenance and the VPN connection is done in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is not expensive, it's a reasonable price.
There are some additional fees for additional tools.
What other advice do I have?
I can recommend Sophos XG to others who are interested in using this solution.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-11-12T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1274955 from
A good tool that offers stable and reliable protection
What is our primary use case?
This firewall is being used to protect our site.
What is most valuable?
It's a good security tool and it aligns with the rest of our security stack.
What needs improvement?
The VPN is in need of improvement. For us, it is hard to set up and it not working properly.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the Sophos XG at one of our sites for about a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This product is part of our infrastructure and we use it every day. The internet stays up with no outages, so I think that Sophos XG is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not had the need to scale to this point. Our entire organization is protected by it.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not been in contact with technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to this solution, we were using Meraki. My company has a better partner channel with Sophos, which is why we switched.
What about the implementation team?
Our in-house technical team deployed this firewall.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is looking into implementing this product is to trust your techs.
This is a good product, although there is always room for improvement.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-10-27T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Michel Labonte from
Stable, with an intuitive and user-friendly dashboard
What is our primary use case?
This solution does everything and anything a firewall can do.
What is most valuable?
I am tempted to say that all of the features are valuable.
When you choose a firewall you have to make a strategic decision, much more than a tactical one. We decided that everything we use within it, goes through and it's got protection.
The dashboard is intuitive and user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
Training on the devices is an area that needs improvement. Their training mechanisms are not perfect, and this is where you lose a good appreciation of the product.
The documentation for implementation is not good. For example, when you look up the details on a firewall rule to validate it, the details are not there.
If you click on the help file, they say a zone is an area where you can define specific logical network areas. This is where they stop, with nothing more. If you want to go further into the concept of it, which you know there is, you have nothing. Then you have to revert to the internet and go onto newsgroups to try to see if anybody has had your type of experience. Then you find someone, they explain it to you then say, "Oh, it only makes sense". So, then when you want to implement this, it's much easier at that time. So, that's the best-case scenario that I can explain.
There is an area that is very specific to our setup, where working tools you cannot easily establish a VPN between two internal networks.
When you want to establish a VPN with different wizards, they assume that you're always going through your internet link.
If you want to create, with the zero-trust concept, which is where you don't trust anybody or any device, you want to make sure that everything on your network is segmented and everything is relative, depending on its flexibility, behind its firewall or a firewall segment. At some points, you might want to establish VPNs between certain network segments.
Since you cannot establish VPN tunnels from the Sophos interfaces, plus if you are doing something that's going through the internet, then you lose flexibility.
Currently, let's say we have a factory V-LAN and you don't want anybody within the factory V-LAN to be able to connect to another unless it is to a specific V-LAN, and you want to use VPN technology, you can't do it because you can't establish the connection again between two internal interfaces.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XG for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In regards to scalability, it's difficult to ascertain at this time because we haven't scaled it necessarily.
The use cases that we have are very particular, and we're not in a mode of having scaled it yet. We have approximately 100 users in our organization who are using Sophos XG.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support, we have a mixed review of it. It's good, but where it's bad, is because they're an international company that relies on many different continents to be able to get the support at different levels.
When we get into the people that are from India, that's where the support becomes not as efficient as we would want it to be. They have different rules of operating under and they don't show themselves to be flexible. Whereas where I am, currently I'm in Canada. When I speak to the support people within Canada, they're much more flexible when it comes to trying to follow us up on what we're trying to do and get the thing working. They're more flexible.
How was the initial setup?
It was a combination of 75 percent straightforward and 25 percent complicated.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's approximately $6,000 for each device. We have three devices and it was somewhere around $18,000.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Sophos XG to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-11-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
KabeerAnees from
User-friendly, good load-balancing functionality, and it's easy to manage
What is our primary use case?
We are a digital design agency. We offer services such as website design and development, mobile applications, and more. We use Sophos XG to protect our network. It is also used for reporting and load-balancing.
What is most valuable?
The interface is very user-friendly and it's easy to manage.
The load-balancing capabilities are good.
What needs improvement?
All of the options should be available when I renew my subscription for the year. As it is now, there are some limitations.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for between two and three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable product and we use it on a daily basis.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have not tried to scale this product.
How are customer service and support?
I have not had issues that required contacting technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple. It takes approximately one hour to install, create the policies, and deploy.
What about the implementation team?
I deployed it myself.
If there are any issues then I can fix them because I have the expertise.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The subscription costs approximately $300 yearly. I am satisfied with the price.
What other advice do I have?
Feature-wise, this is a good product.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-27T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
SegunIyanda from
Secure, duel switch capabilities, and good support
What is our primary use case?
We are using the Sophos XG in a different manner than the typical use case. We have the physical box, and we are using Sophos XG on the cloud.
We have two different types. We have two different Sophos XG we're running. We're running one on the Microsoft Azure cloud which mostly all security on the cloud goes through the Sophos XG. The second Sophos XG is running on our own physical local data center.
We are doing something similar to an IPsec between Azure and the local data center. So we are doing an IPsec between the two. We connected all our resources and we mostly run the applications on Microsoft Azure. Were now are doing IPsec between the two data centers.
What is most valuable?
Most of the features Sophos XG has are valuable. However, if I have two different ISP, I'm able to create an automatic switch between the two ISPs. I can do the same thing for the cloud as well. If I have two subnets coming from the cloud, I'm able to create a type of switch between both of them where if there is traffic on one and has the traffic drop, I'm able to switch to the other ISP without any problems. It's a normal feature and I get to enjoy the ability to switch between services with no issues.
Security is one of the major reasons we are deploying Sophos XG in our process.
What needs improvement?
We recently did an upgrade on the Sophos XG firmware and we were surprised that after the upgrade, the automatic switch actually we were using did not work anymore.
We try to understand exactly why it wasn't working with the new 18.5 firmware, but we could not figure it out. I realized that I was stuck with the main ISP. If there's an outage, it was not reliable on the network any longer.
We had to reverse, back to the old firmware even though we were still trying to fix the new version. It is a very efficient feature for our operation. If it was not there, it could make the workings of our operation inefficient. It is one of the best features of Sophos XG. It makes operations very efficient. You don't have to worry about anything at all. We are using the entire Sophos package, such as Sophos endpoint, Sophos XGR, Sophos ZGR.
The documentation can improve with Sophos XG. This will allow our network engineer to work better with the solution. Additionally, they can improve the ability to filter down devices. Recently we were faced with a challenge where we needed to restrict mobile phone users on the network but we realized that we couldn't do this with the solution.
Recently I was looking at the Cisco Meraki solution, to see what it can do in terms of capacity. There's one feature that stood out to me, and that feature has the ability to implement some policies. Organizations need to have security policies in place. I would like the ability to create policies.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately two and a half years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 60 people that are working on Sophos XG. However, the number is higher because Microsoft Azure routes every customer through the firewall. We have multiple layers and the traffic passes through Cloudflare and then gets directed to the Sophos XG on Microsoft Azure. The Sophos XG on Azure does all the filtering and routing to the private IP, allowing us not to use the public IP.
The DMs are private, and approximately 14,000 customers pass through the Sophos XG and Microsoft Azure
How are customer service and support?
The support from Sophos XG is very good. We can easily relate to the support.
I would rate the support from Sophos XG a two out of five. You cannot have good support without good documentation.
If you look at the software environment now, anywhere you go, you see the documentation for everything that has been done. Sophos XG has documentation, however, you should not need to have a certification to be able to understand it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Sophos Cyberoam previously.
How was the initial setup?
If we had better documentation we would be able to implement Sophos XG better for the organization's exact specifications. When you have already come up with your networking strategy, presented it to the company, then you find out the new framework doesn't conform with the organizational strategy. You have to start going back and receiving approval for a new strategy. However, you are not even sure what the strategy is going to be with the new framework, because everything has changed. Most of the automatic resources stop working.
There is a high chance I do not even know why it is not working or what the major issue is. We have realized the package wasn't switching and we did a lot of troubleshooting for almost a week to understand why. We switch over to our old firewall, then we finally understood that it was something that has to do with the new 18.5 firmware in Sophos XG. Immediately we switch back to the old firmware, this fixed out problems we were having at that point.
I would rate the implementation of Sophos XG a two out of five.
What about the implementation team?
The initial deployment was done approximately three years ago and it was done by a third party because of some complex considerations, such as the VOIP Gateway.
However, since the initial implementation, we have been managing it by our own in-house network engineers and every modification to the network has been done in-house.
We have three network engineers, that work on the solution and the network. They can manage all the features and securities. The amount of people needed to maintain the solution depends on the organization's architecture.
What was our ROI?
In information security, the only way you rate ROI is by the level of information you're securing. I will ask myself how much is the information I'm securing is worth? The worth of what I'm securing will determine the amount of cost that I'm spending on the information secured. If I were to judge it that way, the ROI is high.
I would rate the ROI of Sophos XG a five out of five.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay for two licenses for the use of Sophos XG annually and it is a flat fee. We do not have everyone going through both of the Sophos XG firewalls a the same time and the Sophos XG on Microsoft Azure is only accessible from the VPN.
Sophos XG has changed its pricing model for extreme protection.
I rate the price of Sophos XG a two out of five.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
When we were evaluating other solutions we looked at Barracuda and it had an old GUI. This was an issue when we were making decisions between Barracuda and Sophos XG.
What other advice do I have?
The solution has served its purpose in my organization.
I rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-02-24T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Mohamed Lamine OUATTARA from
Simple to configure and implement, good pricing, and suitable for medium-sized enterprises
What is our primary use case?
We use it for network protection. We use Sophos XG as a firewall in our own company, and we have also implemented it for customers. I have been using Sophos XG for a small office for my own family.
We have also implemented Sophos Email Gateway for government mailing servers. It is not so elaborate, but for basic usage, it works very well.
We have implemented version 17 to the latest version of Sophos XG.
What is most valuable?
I like it for its simplicity. It is very simple to configure and implement. It is a very good product for medium-sized organizations.
What needs improvement?
There should be web caching to improve bandwidth utilization. It should have a very good caching feature. That's because we are in a very poor continent, and the connectivity cost is very high. We have low bandwidth, and the intensive usage of bandwidth is not easy here in Africa. If they improve services for web caching, it would be better.
It should also support a feature for Virtual Domains. Similar to FortiGate, we should be able to use a single device to create two or more virtual units. Such a feature is useful for separating the traffic between departments in a large enterprise.
When I try to use Sophos for Email Gateway, it's not easy to check a user in the LDAP directory. It's not as good as other products, such as HCL Domino. Sophos is good, but it is not so good. When we use the LDAP filter to select some users, we have small problems, but overall, Sophos is very good for me.
Their support in Africa is not so good, which is a problem. Their support can be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos technology for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Generally, when we implement a Sophos product, we do the sizing and plan the resources based on the expected traffic. We anticipate the resource usage for one or two years, which helps with scalability, but it is a product for medium enterprises. In my company, we have around 20 employees.
How are customer service and support?
Their account manager and support in Africa are not so good. Their community support is very good, and a lot of times, I use their community when I need any kind of support, and I get a response for my issue.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I use Sophos and Fortinet. I sometimes also use Cisco Firepower. We are an integrator in West Africa, and my choice also depends on a customer's choice. Sometimes, they are telecom operators, and sometimes, they are small companies, such as non-governmental organizations.
How was the initial setup?
It is very easy to implement.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price is good. All features are grouped in the same license. It is an all-in-one license, and the license price is acceptable.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it a nine out of 10.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-03-13T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1166514 from
Powerful, simple implementation, useful update scheduling
What is our primary use case?
I use Sophos XG as a network firewall.
What is most valuable?
What I have found most valuable with the Sophos XG is it's a key component of the Intercept X EDR environment. You have to have it to receive the full benefit. If you've you are using Sophos SG firewalls, they're great firewalls and in many ways, I prefer them to the Sophos XG. Since I have set them up, programmed them, and manipulate firewall rules, et cetera, the Sophos SG's a better interface. However, the Sophos XG's very powerful. I prefer it over other solutions I have used, such as Cisco Meraki and SupportNet, I don't like them. They're not very friendly to people who have to set them up and implement them.
What needs improvement?
The interface of Sophos XG could be improved. I would prefer the Sophos XG to have an interface for the technician who is setting it up similar to the Sophos SG. I felt the Sophos SG user interface was superior. however, in terms of the functionality of the product, Sophos XG is in many ways more powerful than the Sophos SG. I have no complaints about the quality of the product or the end result. For someone who has used both, I preferred the old interface to the new one.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Sophos XG within the last 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is what I have found attractive with the whole Sophos product line. You can have a client that starts with a three-person office and grow it to a 10,000 person operation and you keep moving the configuration to the next level of power.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Cisco Meraki and SupportNet solutions previously.
How was the initial setup?
Sophos XG is a better solution for implementers, once you learn it. You have to learn the interface and once you do, it's straightforward. Additionally, you don't have to know the CLI as you do with Cisco, where you have to get into the command-line interface to do any powerful operations.
What about the implementation team?
Maintenance for Sophos XG it's pretty straightforward. I will receive an email if there's a firmware update that needs to be applied and any one of my team, or I will apply the update at our next convenience. You can schedule it to allow it to take place at a non-production time. For example, if I want the firmware update to apply it at 2:00 am in the morning I can schedule it. Additionally, it automatically applies pattern updates.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-02-12T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
MohamedReda from
Helpful support, simple installation, but stability could improve
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG is used for network security for RED devices, client servers, and VM servers.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Sophos XG is the VBM.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG could improve by being more stable and for it to be able to be used for large enterprises.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Sophos XG within the last 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
For small to medium-sized businesses, Sophos XG works well, it is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 15 users using this solution in my organization and we do not plan to increase usage.
How are customer service and support?
The support we have received from Sophos XG has been good.
How was the initial setup?
The installation of Sophos XG is simple.
The time it takes for the implementation depends on many factors, such as how many features are required and the size of the business. However, for a small business, the process can take approximately one day.
What about the implementation team?
For small implementations, I can do the process but for larger implementations, I have an assistant.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others for small to medium-sized businesses.
I rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-12T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1739214 from
All the features are contained within a single bundle and the solution comes with easy installation and a user-friendly GUI
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for incoming and outgoing computer traffic. It has advanced Samsung features, which means it adds IPS to each of the packets. It creates different zones and manages of each of them individually. It can also be managed from the central cloud solution, known as the super central. It works with most devices.
The server comes with web server protection and and provides application, email and avenue protection, meaning the solution boasts many features.
What is most valuable?
The solution is really cool and has a very user friendly GUI.
It comes with a common bundle which comprises all the feature. There is no need to get one edition, just the license. With Cisco, I must get different bonds and types, but Sophos XG has all the bundles in a single box.
What needs improvement?
While it is possible to configure between two of the solution's devices in the same model, the high available usually fails. We are talking about when there are two devices running concurrently. When it comes to the traffic, there is a distribution of load balancing and the upworking. This is what is meant by high availability.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is definitely stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For sure, the solution is scalable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use a different solution prior to Sophos XG.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is extremely straightforward.
Deployment takes one hour, tops.
What about the implementation team?
Installation can be done on one's own.
The same holds true of deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is no need to get one edition, just the licensing, as we are talking about a common bundle which encompasses all the features.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Unlike Cisco, which requires the purchase of different bonds and types, Sophos provides all of the bundles in a single box.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend the solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG as a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-06T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Cesar Reza from
Nice interfaces and good configuration
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are its nice interfaces and configuration. The endpoint is also very good.
What needs improvement?
Areas for improvement would be the access points and the on-premise version, which is very bad.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for two years.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is very, very bad.
What other advice do I have?
Sophos is about three or four years behind FortiGate. I would score this solution nine out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1698042 from
Reliable, user-friendly, and provides good endpoint protection
What is our primary use case?
The majority of our customers use Sophos XG as a traditional firewall. Some use it for endpoint protection, which is similar to anti-virus.
We also have customers that have SD-WAN as part of their use case. For the most part, it is a firewall, it depends on what the customer environment looks like that would determine how you're going to configure the appliance to work for the customer.
Technology can deliver what you want based on your environment, what you do may differ from what others do.
We have customers from insurance, some oil, and gas, as well as some from the banking sector. Based on the technicality and the peculiarities of the environment, we must explain the technology, of how Fortinet delivers its own firewall, and also others such as Check Point, and Palo Alto deliver their own firewall.
With the explanation given the customer can choose the solution, they want in their environment.
What is most valuable?
Sophos XG is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The only area that requires improvement is scalability.
I understand why scalability is difficult in all firewalls. I understand why it is difficult in our firewalls. If you want to scale, you can scale vertically or horizontally. That is the world of scalability. However, you cannot do so for the firewall. It's a forklift, you have to buy a new appliance.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been deploying Sophos XG for our customers for many years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is based on the environment.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Every firewall solution has a different level of scalability. The majority of firewalls are based on the user. Scalability, in Sophos XG, requires a forklift.
The scalability could be improved.
We have between 12 and 16 customers.
How are customer service and support?
I have never contacted technical support.
How was the initial setup?
We have deployed more Sophos this year than in any previous year.
I have six engineers dedicated to deploying and maintaining the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is a price-based solution, not based on technology.
Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-11-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Nagaraj K N from
Offers good traffic control, has an easy setup, and is stable
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for gateway purposes, in order to provide us with gateway security.
What is most valuable?
The product is good in terms of routing multiple ISP Internet and also it's good in internet traffic control.
The updates are helpful and add to the solution in a positive way.
The initial setup is simple.
The solution is stable.
For the most part, you can easily scale the solution.
What needs improvement?
I'm not seeing any such things that require any improvement. It's good. From time to time, some updates will come through. It's meeting our requirements right now.
The pricing has gotten much higher.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using the solution for three years. It's been a while now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability and performance are excellent. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 50 users spread across three devices.
The solution, in terms of scalability, has its limitations, of course. Scalability in the sense of if I want to add more ISPs all depends upon my port availability. Transitions and migrations are fine and doable. I don't find any challenges there.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support from Sophos has been brilliant. We deal with them on any L3 issues and they are always helpful.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward and simple. it's not overly complex or difficult.
The deployment was quick and took maybe one day.
In terms of maintenance requirements, We have an L1 technical person who will take care of all the routine maintenance of the firewall, and we also have L2 support with the vendor. We have an L3 support from the Sophos team itself.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation with the assistance of a vendor. We did not completely handle it ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
While, at first, the pricing was very good, it's since crept up. Now, upon renewal, it's pretty high. They've increased the costs.
Currently, we have three devices that are similar. Only the capacity varies.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer and an end-user. I don't have a business relationship with Sophos.
I'd recommend the solution to other users and organizations. I'd rate it at a ten out of ten. it's the best.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-11-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Million Gizaw from
Good Protection, scales well, and is easy to setup
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for VPN, client VPN, malware filtering, and antivirus scanning.
How has it helped my organization?
It has definitely improved the way our organization functions. Previously only using free tools, and once we started using Sophos XG, the number of threats dropped dramatically. We had a lot of threats to our network, but they have dramatically decreased since we started using this solution.
What is most valuable?
All of the features in Sophos XG are valuable.
Web publishing is important, as well as the importance of the antivirus patch.
The firewall is also essential, and the VPN.
What needs improvement?
Our clients use Karios, and while it integrates well with it, the integration could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for three years.
We are using the XG version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We encountered an issue with the hardware when we first purchased this solution. We called Sophos, who replaced the device, and we have not had any issues since.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have no issues with the scalability of Sophos XG.
In our organization, we have 150 users, and all are required to maintain this solution.
We don't have plans to increase the usage at this time.
How are customer service and support?
We have not really used technical support. If we have an issue, we resolve it ourselves.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we were using older versions of Microsoft. We used it for almost 10 years before switching to Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy.
We completed the installation ourselves. I took a maximum of two weeks.
What was our ROI?
I have not calculated our ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have a three-year license.
What other advice do I have?
I am the Chief IT Officer. I don't have all of the technical details of this product. We have technical staff who use this solution for their daily routines and activities.
It's a very good product. I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-11-28T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Hossam Alaa from
Easy to set up with good content blocking and good stability
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use the solution for managing my firewall. I'm managing my internet and my laptops in my company. I'm a personal domain controller. I'm tasked with blocking some websites with it and I'm managing my updates through it. I'm basically controlling the flow of the internet through it.
How has it helped my organization?
I block a lot of sites. I'm controlling the flow of the internet directed to Office 365 so that people can use it easily and fluently. They can upload and send emails easily without hassle and without accessing the internet. I'm also controlling Teams, Zoom, and other stuff for chatting online. Without this solution, I would have no control.
What is most valuable?
Content blocking for websites is the most valuable aspect of the solution. A lot of employees always want to use Facebook and other non-work-related sites. I'm always blocking that.
The initial setup is easy.
The stability is good.
Scaling is not an issue.
What needs improvement?
The reporting needs to be much better. Sometimes I have a lot of trouble understanding what they mean.
Sometimes it misses websites. For example, websites the users shouldn't be able to enter, or sometimes these websites are not shown in this log viewer. It's just occasional misses here and there.
Technical support could be more responsive and quicker in getting to a solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for at least three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found the stability to be very good. There have been no hiccups, no restarts, nothing like that. It doesn't hang and there are barely any bugs.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's my understanding that they have a solution called RED, and I can upgrade it with another one to make a VPN between them. I haven't tried it yet. I'm looking at it as I have another office. I want to research scaling and have the offices together. From what I have seen, it will be easy.
Right now, we have about 50 users and 10 VPNs. That includes everyone from financial and procurement managers to the CEO, chairman, and HR department, and other operations staff.
We don't have any plans to increase users right now as we haven't increased in population, in employees number. That said, I use it a lot every day. I have to manage my firewalls through it.
How are customer service and support?
In my experience, technical support takes a while to get things done. In the past, I stuck with them for a while. It took about three weeks to serve us up a solution. I don't remember what the problem was as it was a long time ago. It might have been something about the subscription or something like that. What I do remember is it took a very long time.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I had a previous firewall, and I just swapped it out. I didn't have to change anything about my network. We previously used a firewall called MikroTik.
With MikroTik, its GUI was very bad. It's very old. Everything was manual. There were no tutorials and it was open-source. You had to search for yourself and do everything yourself. There was no support even from the company.
How was the initial setup?
It was really easy for me, to be honest. The initial setup is very straightforward and simple. It's not overly complex. I had a firewall before that, so I knew what to expect. The implementation was done by a company that I bought this from. They installed it for me. It took about an hour and a half, or something like that.
I can't recall how many staff covered deployment. The deployment happened three years ago now.
What about the implementation team?
I didn't need the assistance of an integrator or reseller.
What was our ROI?
The solution has saved me a lot of time and enhanced my workflow for my company. It enhanced employees' work time and enhanced the internet connectivity for emails. On top of that, there was no downtime with the internet. That was the basic ROI we've seen.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The subscription for this product is yearly. The last time I bought it two years ago it was about $2,000. There's just a subscription fee. There aren't any other costs.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I also looked at Fortinet, however, from my research, I was told that Sophos had better reporting. With Fortinet, you have to buy a server to handle reporting. With Sophos, this is unnecessary.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer and an end-user.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-12-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Garen Barnett from
Plug-and-play with a modern interface and helpful technical support
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution as our firewall.
How has it helped my organization?
I'm able to have very granular control over my organization's input and output data that goes in and out of our networks.
What is most valuable?
The firewall portion of the solution is the best part The rest is really just fluff.
The initial setup is straightforward.
We have found the stability to be quite good.
What needs improvement?
User management is the area that, by far, needs the most work. The way that they try to transparently utilize user groups from the active directory to the Sophos firewall is outdated.
I'd like to see them do a little bit better of a job with the content filtering. It has content filtering, however, it rarely works. Sometimes it just fails altogether. I'd like to see a better job done.
I'd like to see better reporting. While the logs are great, the reports are not.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for six years at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is great. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. It's a reliable firewall.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is super scalable. If I had a giant organization, I'd have no problem putting the Sophos firewall in.
Right now, we have 155 on the solution. That's everyone from support to upper-level management.
We use it every day.
We just recently upgraded. I have no reason or need to upgrade for years to come and therefore don't plan on scaling anytime soon.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is fairly good. It's a pain to get ahold of them, however, once you get them, they're very thorough.
The only thing that s not so great is that sometimes they try to force me down to my reseller, whoever their partner is. I always have to make up a lie and say I already tried and only then will they help me. Besides that, it's not bad.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used Cyberoam. We really switched as Cyberoam was bought out by Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation process was pretty straightforward. Learning the ins and outs was a little complex. How, in terms of just getting it set up, I was able to get it set up in a couple of days.
Overall, the deployment took about three days. My strategy was, basically, going from my old Cyberoam to my new Sophos. I just copied each rule individually and tested them. Then I ran them in sync with each other for a couple of weeks. When I realized there were no problems, I pulled the Cyberoam out.
We have three people on staff that can handle deployment and maintenance responsibilities. I've got a system admin, myself, and a help desk/content specialist.
What about the implementation team?
I did not use an integrator, reseller, or consultant for deployment. I handled the process myself.
What was our ROI?
From an ROI standpoint, the product I had before, even though they were basically the same thing, I found I was spending a lot of man-hours with it and calling support a lot and actually having to pay for support on the previous model.
With this firewall, I rarely have to call support. When I do, it's free of charge. The ROI is 100% there. It might be a little more expensive up front, however, the quality is there for a medium-sized business.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing is based on a multi-year contract. It's a bit higher, in terms of price than other options. The billing process is pretty simple and straightforward. they don't have a complex licensing setup.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated all the big players out there before choosing Sophos. I likely evaluated seven different options.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer and an end-user.
I'd advise those considering this product to stick with it and stay away from the fluff. For example, the Sophos Anti-Virus is not worth it.
The firewall is fantastic. Definitely take their firewall courses, as there are going to be a lot of tasks that you feel should be easy and they're not. There's going to be a lot of troubleshooting. I've been working on it for five years and I still catch myself sometimes trying to figure out why a certain rule doesn't work doing this or that. Definitely take the training. I would highly recommend staying away from the other products.
I'd give the product an eight out of ten for a score. It does everything I need it to do. The user interface is very modern. It works. I was able to figure out some very advanced things. Even though it has a modern interface, I like the fact that I can always go into the console and it's a Linux box behind the scene - which is very nice for when you're trying to do very advanced tasks. For the most part, it was plug-and-play. The setup was really easy. The support is fantastic.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-11-30T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Junedh Rehman from
Easy port configuration, scalable, but policies could improve
What is our primary use case?
We use Sophos XG for network security as a firewall for our company.
What is most valuable?
I have found configuring the ports to be easier in Sophos XG compared to the other devices.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG could improve the policies, they are a bit confusing when creating them. There are many options that make it confusing and it could be simplified.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The Stability and performance are quite good. We haven't seen any problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
I would rate the scalability of Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
We have approximately 10 people using this solution in my organization.
My customers are using this solution on a daily basis.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted support once or twice to receive some clarification. I had a good experience.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used other solutions preciously and FortiGate's user interface is much easier to use when compared to Palo Alto and Sophos. Additionally, in Palo Alto, assigning the ports are more user-friendly.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
I did the implementation of Sophos XG myself and it took approximately 20 minutes.
There is no maintenance is required for this solution.
Our networking team is approximately 10 people that use the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The Palo Alto solution is expensive and the FortiGate is less expensive than Palo Alto. The Sophos XG would be priced in the middle of the two.
There are some fees but you can purchase a bundle package.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to those wanting to use this solution is if you don't have experience, don't use it.
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-12-01T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Sreekanth N Shenoy from
Offers VPN functionality, has good monitoring capabilities, and IPS filtering helps secure our network
What is our primary use case?
I use this product for my VPN. It links site-to-site between us and my client's VPN.
All of the users have a unique ID that they use to connect to the VPN.
The product also does site blocking based on the category of the website that the users are trying to access.
I can also use it to monitor all of the users' activities.
We use this in our physical environment.
How has it helped my organization?
During the pandemic, this product helped our employees connect with the office network. Security-wise, it provides IPS filtering, which is also quite benefiticial.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the VPN. Over the past two years, during the COVID pandemic, the VPN has helped us a lot. All of the users are able to connect with our office network using their own devices.
What needs improvement?
The interface can bit a bit more user-friendly. For me, it's still user-friendly and I don't find it difficult to use. However, the configuration should be more user-based. As an example, IPSec is complex and a little bit difficult to configure. If it were more like Microsoft Azure and the way their online configuration works, it would be an improvement. As it is now, I have all of the settings inside the device, so I can clone them and use them for customers. But, on the customer's side, it is difficult for people to understand.
Our Wi-Fi network is not working as well as expected.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XG since December 2019.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a product that we use every day. Without it, it is very difficult for us to work. I really like the reliability and the performance of the Sophos device, but I'm facing a few issues with my Wi-Fi networks. This device supports the Wi-Fi network, but it's not quite as good as we expected. I'm not sure why it is not working so well for me.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is quite a reliable device, even as we scale it. We have fewer than 35 people in the company that uses it.
How are customer service and support?
It has been a very long time since I have contacted Sophos technical support. It was very difficult to get connected with customer service. Finally, after reaching customer care, which was handled by Cyberoam, they helped me out and fixed whatever issue I was facing.
My customer care team is not in India, and this is something that we expected to have.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to Sophos XG, I was using the Cyberoam product. Cyberoam was acquired by Sophos. Aside from this, I don't have much experience with other providers.
How was the initial setup?
It is not complex to set up. Initially, it is a simple configuration but they should have default profiles available. For example, many companies only need a generic configuration. Even if it's just a static IP to get them started and then they can assign a default profile for all of the users inside the company.
Our initial deployment took between two and three days to complete. This included deploying a new server. In advance of beginning deployment, we spent one day gathering requirements. The Sophos part of the deployment only took between three and four hours.
What about the implementation team?
The initial deployment was done by the vendor and me together. We had an integrator to set up the rack, and they supplied us with Sophos. Most of the configuration was done by me because the integrator did not have enough time.
I also take care of the maintenance including the patching and updating. One person is enough for this. I used to have an assistant but now, I'm the only person that takes care of it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of this product is fine for me. For example, there are open-source solutions available on the market, but I trust Sophos. I know the vendors in India and I trust the product.
I paid approximately 57,000 Rupees ($750 USD) for three years.
What other advice do I have?
Personally, I like this product and I like the vendor. The platform is very good and apart from the wireless interface issue that I am having, working with this product has been a very good experience.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-18T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
ArcadMkoji from
Review about Sophos XG
What is our primary use case?
Network Security
How has it helped my organization?
Performance has been as per expectations and productivity has greatly improved as there are no downtimes experienced.
What is most valuable?
All of Sophos XG's features are valuable.
What needs improvement?
Sometimes when you roll out a new firmware, you find that the rules you already have in place are broken, so it's difficult to migrate to a new firmware without going through release notes and user reviews. That's the only downside I've experienced in Sophos.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Sophos XG for about four years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
So far, so good. Sophos XG has been stable, and we have not had any challenges.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I find Sophos XG to be scalable. I only have one site, so I still see room for that kind of deployment. I don't see a challenge when it comes to the scale. I have around 150 users.
How are customer service and support?
I rate Sophos support 10 out of 10. When my device was freezing, I contacted them, and they sent me a replacement. I didn't have a redundant device, so it was urgent. It only took a couple of days for Sophos to ship the device to Kenya.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I rate Sophos UTM eight out of 10 for ease of deployment. We didn't have any serious issues. The only challenge we had was migrating from Sophos UTM to XG. There was no direct migration, so we had to do a manual configuration.
After deployment, the solution doesn't require much maintenance. So as long as my connections are up and running, I don't need to do any maintenance. All the updates are automatic.
What about the implementation team?
Both teams were involved. The in-house team was more familiar with the network environment and requirements. I would rate the vendor team's expertise 8 out of 10.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sophos XG's price is affordable for most organizations, so I rate it six out of 10 for affordability.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We looked at FortiGate to see how it performs compared to Sophos. I wouldn't speak for the other vendors because I'm mainly using XG, so I will praise Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Sophos XG eight out of 10. I recommend Sophos XG. If you subscribe to the enhanced support, you get 24/7 customer service, so you can get help any time you need it. I wouldn't hesitate to advise people to implement Sophos.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-18T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
RicardoURQUIDI from
Migration from pfSense or Astaro is easy
What is our primary use case?
We are using Sophos XG, but not the latest version. The solution works as the main gateway. We are a small company of 250 employees so we also use the solution as a router.
The hardware and VPN connections are slow so we are planning on upgrading the solution. Next month we will be replacing the Sophos XG we have as it is reaching the end of life next year. We will be purchasing the XG 3000 to gain more options in the VPN tunnels.
What is most valuable?
The two most valuable feature of Sophos XG is, one the option to filter according to different applications and two, the integration with the Active Directory.
What needs improvement?
Over the last six months, we have noticed that the hardware is slow, especially the VPN connections.
Sophos would benefit if they could improve the integration with Active Directory. It does not function consistently and we have to reconfigure it to make it function again.
Integration with IPA, which is like Active Directory for Linux servers, would be a nice feature to include.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is very stable. We have not had any problems in the three years we have been using Sophos XG. We did have one infection that gained access to one server in the DMZ but it was because the rules were not well configured and not because of the product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven't had to scale the solution.
How are customer service and support?
Support from Sophos XG has been fine for what we have required.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We had been using Astaro. We selected Sophos XG because we knew it would be easy to set up and configure as the two solutions are similar.
How was the initial setup?
Previously we were working with Astaro, so the setup and configuration of Sophos XG was easy. The implementation took less than a month.
What about the implementation team?
The company that sold the firewall solution provided support hours while we were migrating the rules of our old firewall. They provided us with advice on some of the rules, especially on the routing to connect to a branch office.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We purchase an annual standard license.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Sophos XG if you are coming from pfSense or Astaro as the migration will be really easy. The learning path will also be easy. If you are coming from Barracuda or Cisco it will be more difficult especially the web interface of the firewall is not intuitive.
I would rate Sophos XG an 8 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-20T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1621608 from
Easy to use, scalable, and provides good security
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for a firewall. We use it as a security device.
What is most valuable?
The product is very easy to use. We enjoy the ability for it to fit into our high-level security framework.
It gives us some separation from being on Microsoft tasks. We've got multiple levels of security. We're government contractors. It's great that it's been a separate product that gives us the ability to do the security to a high level without having to resort to needing a big team.
The solution is stable. I've had very few problems with it.
We have found the solution to be scalable.
What needs improvement?
We're always looking for the best products and the best pricing. Pricing is always a concern for us.
When they do updates, they could handle them a little bit better. We've only had one problem, however, I do prefer when updates come out a bit quicker. We do the patching and updates and different things, however, in terms of the patch and timing and the criticality of it, it could always be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using the solution for five or more years at this point. We've used it for a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is reliable and stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product has proven to be scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so.
We have 430 end-users on the product.
How are customer service and technical support?
We're mostly happy with the technical support. It's better than Microsoft. Any issues we have may simply come down to the SLA.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward, and, over the last six years, it's gotten simpler, especially when it comes to cloud products. A company shouldn't have any issues with the process.
The deployment was very quick. It does not take long.
My team is quite small internally. I have five to seven IT staff. I have many service providers that I outsource a lot of the day-to-day management of the infrastructure to.
What about the implementation team?
Sophos assisted us with training at the outset, which we really appreciated.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay annually for the licensing for the overall on-prem solution, however, we also have some Sophos access points at permanent IT sites and different things. I have different Sophos products I may pay a monthly fee for.
What other advice do I have?
We're just customers and end-users.
While this deployment is on-premises, for the cloud, we use Sophos Central.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We're pretty pleased with its protection capabilities.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-09-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1787565 from
Secure, highly reliable, and good online support
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG is used as a firewall to manage our WiFi connections.
What is most valuable?
The security of Sophos XG is very good.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG could improve by coming out with more innovative feature developments.
The solution is secure, but security could always be better, they should work on perfecting the security of Sophos XG.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found Sophos XG to be very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Sophos XG is great.
As our business grows we will increase the users using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
I have not connected the technical support from Sophos XG. I have only used online support from websites which was good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy, it took less than one hour.
What about the implementation team?
We used an integrator for the implementation of the solution.
We have two engineers for the deployment and maintenance of Sophos XG.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the Sophos XG is very good. There are not any licensing costs, it is a one-time purchase price.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Sophos XG to others. It is a good solution and I am satisfied.
I rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-21T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Mohamed Abozied from
It protects against attacks, is simple to install, and has good technical support, but it could be more secure
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG is used to handle my network and traffic.
It can control our employees' network behavior and prevent many attacks and other threats from outside of our company.
What is most valuable?
Sophos XG is very useful, it does many things.
It is secure.
What needs improvement?
While it is a secure solution, I believe it could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for almost one year.
We received the latest update one or two months back and it was great.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is scalable.
We have 1,000 internal employees and nearly 4,000 external employees. However, Sophos Firewall only operates within an internal network or within a single company, so is used for nearly 1,000.
We plan to increase the usage in the future.
How are customer service and support?
We communicate with support frequently. Many times, we encountered hardware technical issues in the previous version, and they replaced the device for us. We have contacted them numerous times for this purpose. They resolved this issue for us.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
We have IT teams and managers, to help maintain this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing fees are paid monthly.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-06T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1166202 from
Reasonably priced, implementation straightforward, but could be more user-friendly
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG is used as a network firewall.
What needs improvement?
In the Sophos XG, the SD-WAN has all the rules done separately, such as net policy routing. In the previous version, they were all in a single rule and everything was done that way. The way it is now is difficult for us because we are not used to this newer version. The firewall rules should be easier to configure and create. Everything should be done with a single click.
In the next version, the solution would be more user-friendly overall.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Sophos XG is good, it has good performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG has good scalability.
We have approximately 50 people that use the solution in my company.
We use this solution on a daily basis.
How are customer service and support?
We have contacted the support from Sophos XG but we do not require the support often.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Sophos Cyberoam and we switched to Sophos XG because it was the end of life for the Sophos Cyberoam and the bandwidth was poor.
How was the initial setup?
The initial installation of Sophos XG was not difficult.
What about the implementation team?
We used an integrator to do the implementation of Sophos XG.
We only require one person for the implementation and maintenance of the solution.
What was our ROI?
The solution is very good and we have received a return on investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Sophos XG is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG a six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-02-19T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Terry Cheung from
Reliable, simple installation, and scalable
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG is an on-premise next-generation firewall with comprehensive features and the console is centralized on the cloud.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG could improve Data Loss Prevention(DLP).
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Sophos XG is good.
We have approximately 20 users using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support is a bit behind compared to other vendors.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward and only took one and a half hours.
What about the implementation team?
We have one or two people for the deployment and maintenance of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My customers pay a license for one or three years to use Sophos XG.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-02-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1223154 from
Lacking security, poor search tool, but stable
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG is a firewall and we use it to create networking rules.
What needs improvement?
The security of Sophos XG could be improved.
Sophos wants to move all things to the cloud, including access to the end-user PCs and data from the cloud. What will be easier to hack for a customer with an outdated firewall, or the Sophos cloud could get hacked which has all the access and information from customers. With my experience, it's not a question of if they will hack it, but a question of when they will do it. I'm not happy with the direction Sophos is going on.
We have problems with the use of the user interface. You have a poor search engine for objects via which you can write new rules. You have to start at the beginning of the whole object name. With the Sophos UTM, you can start with a pattern, with part of the whole word. In Sophos UTM it will list you all the hits with parts of what you type, and that does not happen on the Sophos XG.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The performance of Sophos XG is generally good and it is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the scalability of Sophos XG the same as Sophos XG.
We have approximately 10 clients using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
Since Sophos XG moved the support from London to somewhere in the world, such as India, it's a little bit longer to receive a fast response. They are knowledgeable but they are slow to make decisions. For example, we had a firewall and the hardware was defect. It was really clear, but we had to have a long discussion for them to be able to send us the new firewall. It took one or two weeks until the supporter was able to talk to someone who can make the decision. This is too long, this process could be streamlined.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward . As long as you buy the appliances from Sophos, it works very well. However, in some cases, we have to use our own servers because they have more power and more network bandwidth.
What about the implementation team?
The amount of users needed for the implementation and maintenance depends on the size of the customer's infrastructure.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license required to use this solution and my customers pay for it annually.
What other advice do I have?
I am not amazed by this solution.
I rate Sophos XG a four out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-02-03T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1096419 from
Is versatile and easy to install, and integrates well with other solutions
What is our primary use case?
We manage all the network services, like DHCP, of each branch office.
How has it helped my organization?
It has helped us because we have identified some of the loopholes in our assets that we did not know existed.
What is most valuable?
I like using the combination of XG firewalls and the XDR product with the end user. I also like the integration of all the solutions and the visual of all our clients and the traffic routing in to the network from inside the console. The synchronization and the integration with all the products in the central office, such as Office 365 or AWS, make it a valuable solution.
We can configure rules with the user, traffic, etc., making it a very versatile solution for our network.
What needs improvement?
Better instructions should be provided as part of the technical support so that we can understand the functionalities. This will help us to troubleshoot faster.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using Sophos XG for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a scalable solution. We have about 1,000 users.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good, in general.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Fortinet, and we changed the solution because there were additional costs for reporting, licensing, and centralization. If we compare Fortinet to Sophos XG, the XG firewall costs less and performs better. That's one of the reasons that we moved to XG.
The other and the most important reason is the integration with our security solution, Sophos XDR.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very easy. It's much easier than that for other products.
Deployment and maintenance can be done by one or two people. I am a specialist, and an engineer and I worked on the deployment and maintenance.
What about the implementation team?
The provider of the solution implemented it, and it took about a day.
What was our ROI?
We have seen an improvement in security not only in terms of technology but also in terms of internal practices in our company.
We predicted that it would take three years to obtain an ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We bought the three-year license, and there are no additional costs.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Check Point, Barracuda, and Palo Alto.
What other advice do I have?
It's a good product, and you should go ahead with it.
I would rate Sophos XG at nine on a scale from one to ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-04-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Tahir Awan from
Offers a great reporting feature but throughput performance could be improved
What is our primary use case?
This product is our perimeter firewall with web filtering and application filtering, as well as also providing site-to-site VPN and SSL VPN. We are end-users and customers of Sophos. I'm a network administrator.
How has it helped my organization?
Sophos XG enabled our organization to establish site-to-site connectivity with our Branch offices and enabled work from home during pandemic through very easy to deploy SSL VPN solution for our employees.
What is most valuable?
Reporting is the most valuable feature. They also recently provided the SDWAN solution and we're currently working on implementing that.
What needs improvement?
I'd like to see improved throughput performance in a box. It's already a cost effective solution but I'd like to see the cost further reduced for annual renewals.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for four years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos has the same issue as all firewalls where it's scalable for virtualization and for cloud deployment, but it's not so scalable when it comes to the hardware.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service is good but has room for improvement like all others.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straight forward.
What about the implementation team?
Vendor team has very good level of expertise, transfer of knowledge was excellent and we are managing firewalls at our own.
What other advice do I have?
I believe there are better products on the market so I rate this solution seven out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-03-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Md. Shirajur Rahman Akash from
Helpful support, secure, and user-friendly
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Sophos XG are user-friendliness and it is highly secure.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG could improve by making the remote access and VPN better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Sophos XG within the last 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is good. We have approximately 4,000 concurrent users.
How are customer service and support?
The Sophos XG technical support we receive from our local vendor, they are very helpful.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. I have recommended it to many organizations already. I have had a very good experience with the Sophos XG.
I rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-03-23T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1359507 from
User-friendly security with quality disk encryption but lacks on-premise deployment options and firewall rules could use improvement.
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution to secure the computers within our environment.
What is most valuable?
Sophos offers great disk encryption, anti protection, and the interface is very user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
I would like to next release to be able to support on-premise deployment. The construction of the rules within the firewall could also use some improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for about two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution, I have not had any issues in regards to stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution. We have about two hundred users in our company.
How are customer service and support?
I have not needed to contact support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using ESET prior to switching to Sophos. ESET was a very simple solution that was unable to detect malware or ransomware. We had an attack and needed to switch to a solution that supported ransomware.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straightforward and took about one week to complete.
What about the implementation team?
We used an integrator to compete the deployment. We have a contract with them so we do not need any in-house team members for maintenance.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution as it offers good protection.
I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-03-01T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
LauriLaanenurm from
Simple implementation, useful synchronized security, and helpful support
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG can be deployed on-premise and on the cloud.
We use Sophos XG as a network firewall for many use cases, such as offices, residential, and data centers.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG could improve the connectivity with Microsoft 365 or Azure Active Directory(AD). It doesn't work directly as other solutions do, such as Fortinet FortiGate. The client needs a separate AD server which is a problem.
There is no endpoint software for Linux systems, only the server version runs on Linux.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately fours years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Sophos XG is very good. However, there have been some issues with other weaker models because they are limited in hardware in resources.
How are customer service and support?
We had an issue, but after speaking to the technical support, I understood it was a problem with Sophos, not a firewall problem, but with the endpoint that was related to the encryption of the disc. The problem is if you have a computer controlled by Azure at the same time as Sophos, then there may be some incompatibility problem between them because both of them are trying to control the computer and the encryption of the hard drive.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used other firewall solutions, such as Fortinet Foregate and Check Point.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Sophos XG is simple, but Cisco Meraki is easier.
Since I have used Sophos XG long time it is easier than Fortinet FortiGate or Check Point.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sophos XG is not an expensive solution. If you are willing to pay more, then there is the Check Point firewall which is the best out of all the vendors.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise other Sophos XG is a great solution because it is synchronized security between the endpoint and firewall which is unique. I'm not sure if Fortinet FortiGate has this technology, but it is a good technology in Sophos XG. Sophos was perhaps the first to use this kind of technology. What it does is if your computer gets infected, then the endpoint tells the firewall that, it is infected and the firewall doesn't allow the use of the network at all. It'll lock it down on this computer.
I rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-03-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1680258 from
Simple to use, easy installation, and performs well
What is our primary use case?
We use Sophos XG for network threat protection in our data center.
What is most valuable?
The solution has good performance and is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The solution could be more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 100 users using this solution.
How was the initial setup?
The installation of Sophos XG is easy.
What about the implementation team?
We have four technical engineers for installation and administrators for this equipment.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have evaluated Palo Alto and FortiGate.
What other advice do I have?
We have replaced some of our hardware with Palo Alto and FortiGate solutions.
I am satisfied with this solution.
I rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-10-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1231140 from
Performs well, the firewall and threat management are good
What is our primary use case?
There are about 100 people using Sophos at our office. We have two ISPs, so we have to have access to our internet providers. We also need security to deploy our network. Also, our home and external users need to be able to log in. So we use Sophos XG to build our deployment. Sophos is more than just a firewall. It analyzes security effects, so it's a firewall for the future. It's more than just a hardware firewall. There are also some paid options, so we do not have to have the main server inside our office here. We use Office 365. And although we use five servers at our location, not everything is in the cloud yet.
What is most valuable?
We haven't used it for very long, so I have not analyzed the main features deeply. So far, I'm happy that they have recently added a firewall role, so I feel a little more comfortable with the security. The threat management is good. Also, the graphics and the throughput of our internet access are better than before, so it's the Sophos anti-threat device that we have.
What needs improvement?
For the moment, managing the Sophos interface is a little bit challenging. We have an external partner that helps me to comprehend. But it's new. It has to keep up with the market, and I understand that. But that's my personal problem at the moment. High-availability clusters have not been implemented, so we have only one firewall and one device. So should this device go down, there's no more internet access. But so far, we haven't had any problems.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've only been using Sophos XG for three months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I used Sophos tech support for the previous solution because Sophos sold that as well. Now, we only work with the external partners. So for the moment, I haven't had to send questions directly to Sophos. But my past experience with Sophos support was good. It was very professional and easy. We stay with Sophos software because of the technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We had Cyberoam. That brand that doesn't exist anymore, so we had to change.
How was the initial setup?
I contacted the external partner, and the setup was easy. It took about two or three days. Some little pictures were difficult for us to find, but that's normal. We could not make a one-to-one copy of the older one, so we had to search for some little personal configurations here. Now that everything is configured right, we are happy to have it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Because Sophos is sold by the brand that we had before that and Cyberoam does not exist anymore, it costs less because we stayed within the older firewalls. The price was also very good. It was not expensive before because of their value at the time. I think it's not cheap but not very expensive, either. It's in the middle.
What other advice do I have?
Based on what I know from using it so far, I would recommend Sophos. I rate it eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-10-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
ZaherEL Bsat from
Affordably priced, helpful, stable, and simple to set up
What is our primary use case?
I am a system integrator. We integrate SG, XG, and XGS.
We are also deploying it on Azure on-premises for our clients.
Sophos XG is a firewall. It can protect your internal users if it is on-premises. It can publish applications such as websites, it can also protect your internal networks like IPS, and IDS. It provides you with VPN Access, and it gives you reports on the consumption of the internet.
If you have deployed the endpoint between the antivirus in Sophos, it can also communicate with your endpoint and protect your users if infected.
What is most valuable?
It's a complete firewall solution that has everything.
It is very useful.
It competes with the majority of the market's products, including Palo Alto and Fortinet.
What needs improvement?
We always strive for more features.
We could see the bandwidth use right away with the prior version, which was the SG version. The current bandwidth consumption is no longer shown in the XG and XGS.
They are nearly a complete solution. However, they are missing this feature with the ability to view the current bandwidth usage. We have requested this, but have not had a reply yet. It was in SG before but it was removed in XG.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with Sophos XG for six years.
We started with SG, then XG, and now XGS nine years ago.
It can be deployed both on the cloud and on-premises.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is very stable. We haven't had a single issue with stability in the nine years we have been using Sophos.
All electric appliances rely on a stable electric current, which requires the use of a UPS, and a backup power supply. The main issue is the stability of the power.
All Sophos appliances are SSD-based, which means the hard drive in the appliance is solid-state.
we have deployed more than 50, 60 for our customers in Kuwait and we haven't had an issue or, any RMA.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
When purchasing a firewall, as a customer, you must first plan, consult with your partner(s), and decide on the sizing. If you buy an XGS 230, for example, it can support up to 200 users and 50 VPNs. If you buy the wrong product, you won't be able to scale it up.
You should always size upfront. If you have a hundred users, you buy an appliance that can support 150. The license is the license.
It's all about the hardware. If you purchase small hardware and you know that after one year you're going to have more employees then it is wrong.
It's not a server, where you can just add more drives, It only has expansion units for the network. If you need to add fiber, for example, you can. There are expansion units, but you can't expand the architecture of the firewall.
We have more than 50 customers.
How are customer service and support?
We haven't required any technical support. I have however heard from my peers that they have not had any issues with the customer support.
They have offices in India, Dubai, and even in the United Kingdom. As we are certified Gold partners in Kuwait, we haven't had any issues with the Sophos team. They are quite responsive when you have a tender to submit. I have no complaints at all.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
in the past, we also integrated Palo Alto.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy and straightforward. As certified partners, this is something that we do every week. If the customers provide you with the network details, you can have it up and running in 30 minutes with no issues.
It's a problem if you don't know your firewall, or how to deploy it, or know how to put the proper rule in place. It is very important that in any firewall if the customer doesn't know what rule should be in place, it is possible they will create the wrong rule and expose the network.
You have to have a certified person to maintain the solution. How many you will need depends on the number of customers. If you have a lot of customers, you will need two technical people. It also depends on the size of your business. One is fine but as you grow with more customers, you will need at least two to deploy and maintain the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't have any issues with the price. The price varies depending on the market. The price of Sophos in Europe differs from that in our region, GCG, and from that in the United States. You will notice that each region has a different pricing structure.
Customers will always try to minimize the cost. When compared to other products, Sophos licensing is very affordable.
What other advice do I have?
They have already released the XGS. If you are referring to the previous version, XG. It is still in production and available for purchase. They have already released the XGS, which is the next generation of the XG. It has a more advanced architecture. Now that we have passed XG, there's XGS on the market.
Remember to size your customers. You'll need to know how many web applications you will be publishing, how many end customers the company has, and how many of them will need to connect to the VPN. It's a formula that, based on the data, that will determine which appliance you require. You can start with a little one, but it's best to understand the requirements first.
We are very happy with Sophos products.
I would rate Sophos XG a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2021-10-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Amgad Soliman from
It has a good interface that's very user-friendly
What is most valuable?
I've tried out Sophos XG a little. It has a good interface that's very user-friendly, but I haven't used all of its functions because I'm only configuring and running the system.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with Sophos XG for six months. I am not an end-user. I only provide the solution and implementation.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think Sophos XG is very stable because the users who have installed it never mention any issues. It's very stable and scalable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a scalable solution. Our clients who use Sophos are not big companies.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't dealt with Sophos support because I'm just doing the basic implementation for the Sophos. But I Sophos support is very experienced and helpful. Sophos has a team for administration and implementation—a good team to improve the application.
How was the initial setup?
It depends on the implementation and the deployment of systems. In my small company, I have four people on my technical team. Two of them specialize in firewall and security. They're working on Fortinet. They deal with antivirus and security implementation as well as Veeam Backup. The other two handle the administration implementation, including Active Directory and other administration solutions.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would prefer if Sophos XG were cheaper. A lower price would benefit me as a system provider for the end customer. The cost of the license and renewal for all the software and devices is somewhat high.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Sophos XG nine out of 10. I am a Fortinet partner. If a user asks me which solution to buy, I'll tell them Fortinet. But if the customer needs Sophos, I will implement it for him. However, if I had a Sophos partnership, I would recommend it every time.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-10-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1167909 from
Reasonably priced, stable, easy to setup and has good technical support
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG is used as our firewall.
We are an MSP, and we have a variety of clients with varying needs. It is a solution that is tailored to each of our clients and their specific requirements.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is flexibility.
What needs improvement?
Scalability could be improved. It could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XG for approximately six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable in the majority of cases. We've had a couple of problems.
Our main application is for medium-sized companies.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are also using FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy, it's straightforward.
What was our ROI?
The technical support is good. We have no problems with technical support.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is reasonable but it would be great if it was reduced to half the price.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, it all depends on the environment.
I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-10-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Niranjan Prajapati from
A comprehensive solution which makes available heartbeat security
What is most valuable?
Sophos is a comprehensive solution which allows me to configure all the attendant products, such as Sophos' firewall, Endpoint and Encryption features.
A nice feature of Sophos is that it offers in sync and heartbeat security. When my clients have a perimeter involving Sophos firewall and endpoints with Sophos Endpoint, they can communicate with each other.
Heartbeat security is a great feature.
What needs improvement?
In light of all the firmware upgrades, maintenance, feature and general releases of firmware, I really appreciate the support offered by Sophos. It is really good.
However, the response time could stand improvement, as I do not benefit from immediate support. There is a delay involved. This can be problematic when I need urgent support, such as when my device is in a production environment.
How are customer service and support?
The support is really good. With all the firmware upgrades, maintenance, feature and general firmware releases which occur nowadays, I really appreciate Sophos support. It is really good.
This said, it could be faster, as it is not immediate. This can be problematic when I require urgent support, such as when my device is in a production environment.
How was the initial setup?
When it comes to the firewall, everything hinges on the configuration. Every firewall is good, but one can see the importance of the configuration in the firewalls of Sophos and SonicWall. This is the most important thing, since users occcasionally disable the app control, IPS or anti-spyware features. They do this out of a lack of familiarity with the security, something which allows attacks to occur. Therefore, the configuration is key. I configure every firewall I employ, be it Sophos, SonicWall or Fortinet.
I have not encountered any issues when it comes to the configuration.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I was a gold partner with Sophos XG. As such, I make suggestions about the appropriate model in line with my customer's requirements. Essentially, over the last two years of the COVID-19 crises, most users required an SSL VPN license, something for which SonicWall charges but which Sophos offers for free.
SSL VPN involves two factor authentication. This is free of charge. Both email and key OTP are options. While SonicWall also offers SSL VPN capabilities, it is problematic. When I needed a license, I purchased an additional perpetual SSL VPN license.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
SonicWall makes available all the different models, such as TZ and NSA. I am familiar with all the models. Sophos only has an entry-level model, which is actually 87, 107 and 116.
Fortinet offers the Forti ATF model.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend the solution to other clients, but make certain to first understand their individual needs. I would be doing them a disservice were it otherwise.
I really like Sophos.
In the past, when Sophos employed XG firewall, I was forced to deal with a slow GUI. This is because its back-end kernel is Linux. Now that XGS is provided, many changes can be seen in the hardware appliance. The hardware has been upgraded. The XGS firewall is faster than the XG series, so the problem has been resolved.
While I rate Fortinet as a nine out of ten, I give Sophos XG a rating of eight.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-10-21T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Alex Clerici from
Integrates well with other Sophos solutions, efficient, and is reasonably priced
What is our primary use case?
This solution is used by both us and our customers.
What is most valuable?
As this product has recently changed, we are learning about the features of Sophos XG one step at a time.
Sophos began with a basic version and evolved into something more efficient in terms of performance.
It integrates well with other Sophos products, such as the Sophos Firewall, Sophos Endpoint, and other features in a cloud platform, to help the customer better manage security on their site.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have a more efficient logging process & real time analisys. The logging, expecially with EDR subscription, is something that needs improvement.
I would like to see email management improved to have more features and options for integrating with other solutions, expecially cloud based.
For how long have I used the solution?
We started working with Sophos XG when it was known as Astaro AG. I have been working with this solution for more than 10 years.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is always an issue, not just with Sophos but also with other brands. It is extremely difficult to interact with support within the time frame that the customer expects.
In general, it takes more time to solve a problem, and better independent actions are required.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup can be difficult. You should be familiar with Sophos or have prior knowledge of it, as it requires concepts from older versions of Sophos, the Sophos SG, the Cyberoam environment, and everything that has recently been introduced.
It is better to have some training before using this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is reasonable in my opinion.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I began looking into Fortinet solutions simply to compare some features.
What other advice do I have?
I would always recommend conducting a thorough analysis before deciding on a solution because Sophos may have some oversight for some of the tasks. It is beneficial to examine the environment that the Sophos product will be used, considering the integration with other features.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-11-07T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Vuli Moyo from
Useful dashboards, good graphical interface, and scalable
What is our primary use case?
I am using Sophos XG for network security.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the reporting, dashboards, and graphical user interface. It gives a good overall picture of what is happening over the network.
What needs improvement?
There have been some issues when upgrading. For some reason, parts of the configuration become unconfigured, I then have to reconfigure it. I should not need to keep reconfiguring it after upgrades.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
There needs to be more tutorials and documentation. I have not done a lot of configuration because I need more training.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were previously using Cyberoam.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not difficult to complete. I have not been trained as a Sophos administrator and it would have been easier if I had training.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-08-13T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1053252 from
Good security, easy to use, and has a simple installation
What is our primary use case?
The solution is primarily used to secure networks, just like PSF, but much better. Sophos XG has a UTM, which is much more security inclusive than a firewall, as it takes a look at the threat management landscape from a unified point of view. They have a firewall and they have an IPS inside the same box. They have a sandbox, they have a web filter, they have a web application firewall, they have a mail gateway, and they have a DMP. These are all inside one box. It's excellent at protecting networks from security threats as well.
What is most valuable?
The solution offers everything in one product.
It's excellent at protecting networks from malicious threats.
The solution is very easy to use and straightforward.
Once you get past the license activation, the installation is easy.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see the technical support improve. They have the worst technical support I have ever seen in my whole life.
The initial setup, specifically when activating the license, is a nightmare and is quite difficult.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for five years now. It's been a while.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We're a distributor, however, the company is still quite new. At my last company, I had 150 clients on Sophos.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is just awful. They are not helpful or responsive. We are not satisfied with the level of support on offer. They need to improve this aspect. They simply do not reply.
They have very bad response times. It's very strange. Before, when I was dealing with Cyberoam, before Cyberoam was acquired by Sophos, it was good. Now, it's Sophos XG, and, while Cyberoam support was amazing, Sophos support has just gone down the drain. I don't know why.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is a nightmare. The installation, getting the box to get up and running, is a hectic process, due to the fact that the box basically would not activate any feature unless the license is activated. And the license is only activated with the cloud. When you are doing that, it's just a sort of a nightmare. Now they have a new feature in which you can just create a license and you can activate the license on the appliance. However, generally speaking, it's one of those appliances that, if it's not registered on the portal online, won't even start. It can be a nightmare sometimes. That said, after the license is activated, it's just plain simple and easy.
What about the implementation team?
I previously was an implementor and would set up the solution for clients.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You need to pay for the license. You need to pay for the hardware as well. The cost depends on the model of the hardware and on which license. They have different editions, and licenses you're going to go with. They have different modules, and the cost depends on which modules you'd like to activate for security features. Not everyone will buy Sophos to utilize all the features. Usually, it's just the firewall, and IPS, sandbox, and the web filter that people are looking for. Not many people have Sophos or VM servers on-prem to protect them.
What other advice do I have?
We use both cloud and on-premises deployment models.
Now, I am using the solution personally at home, however, before, where I was working, I used the solution for three years, specifically implementing Sophos XG for customers.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies. For small and medium businesses, Sophos is a good security vendor.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-08-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Tijoy CI from
A good price for a manageable solution, but we have encountered bugs
What is our primary use case?
The solution acts as a filter.
What is most valuable?
A valuable feature involves the solution's manageability.
What needs improvement?
Even though things work on the back end, we have encountered bugs in the solution.
User interface and integration can stand improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XG for two or three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Owing to the fast and adequate response time we get, we do not have complaints about the stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is not an issue for us, as we are getting the requisite support, with fast response time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is good for the moment.
What other advice do I have?
We are a provider of services to our customers.
I would recommend this product to others.
I rate Sophos XG as a seven out of ten, owing to the bugs we have come across.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-08-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Nitesh Sharma from
Scalable, simple the set up and easy to understand
What is our primary use case?
The solution is mostly used for setting up a firewall and policies.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very easy to understand.
It's simple to set up the firewall and policies. Setting rules is very easy on Sophos as compared to other solutions.
The product offers many great features.
Technical support is very good.
The initial setup is easy.
We have found the solution to be very stable.
A company can easily scale the product if they need to.
What needs improvement?
When upgrading the firewalls, the process could be easier.
While we do have network control, we don't have network monitoring. If I have 200 nodes and I want to see what's happening, I don't have visibility, especially if people are working remotely.
If we could control roaming users through the firewalls and make it so that it's more of a complete security solution, which we prefer, that would be ideal. If we have to install some clients on these machines, that's fine. The only concern is the DLP. We want to protect our data from being stolen. We'd also like to monitor activities from the perspective of productivity. We want to be able to track and calculate what users are doing on their machines.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for more than ten years.
Earlier, Sophos was known as Cyberoam, Before that, I use Cyberoam and now this has turned into Sophos.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is very good. It does not crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches. the solution is reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The level of scalability depends on the box. We do have the option to scale if we need to.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have found the technical support to be very helpful and responsive. I am pleased with the level of support I can get. They always provide proper solutions to all issues, whatever we face.
How was the initial setup?
It is not difficult to set up the solution. One ISP, internet service provider, is required, and that is sufficient. If you do have a landline, some switches are available, and we can add to that a firewall. That is secondary. However, the initial requirement is nothing. It is just a plug-and-play setup that is very straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We had a vendor assist us with the installation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There's no additional cost for installation. The provider from which we purchased, the vendor, himself arranged all installation and configuration. They helped us. However, even through customer care, a company can ask for assistance.
What other advice do I have?
I'm not providing any services. I'm using the product as a customer only. The company, one day, would like to become a partner, however.
I would recommend the solution to other companies.
I would rate the solution at a seven out of ten, specifically if I compare it to other options on the market. It's pretty good.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-08-15T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Cameron Andrews from
Easy control management, easy setup, and reliant support
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use it for web content filtering, spam filtering, and VPN.
What is most valuable?
The setup and the control management are easy enough. For the most part, the features that it offers work well.
Web filtering is easy enough to deploy, manage, or make exceptions to.
What needs improvement?
The logging side of it could definitely be better. Some of the logging lacks, and the information that they provide you, especially in the spam filtering section, could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
We're going into our third year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For what we use it for, it does what we need to do with little to no issue. It is not overly complex for us to be able to deploy what we need.
We're a school. We have 150 staff and 700 to 800 students.
How are customer service and technical support?
I haven't had any problems with their technical support. Every time we've had to call them, they have been fairly reliant. They have been able to solve the issue or the question that we had.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've been through a few.
How was the initial setup?
Its setup is easy enough.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Because we're in education, Sophos gives us a very competitive price for it.
What other advice do I have?
When we first got it, we were on version 17. We have now upgraded to version 18. There was a significant change between versions 17 and 18. Once you get your head around those differences, it is not that complex. Now, version 18 does some stuff that some of my older firewalls used to out of the box. So, that in itself was more of a nicety. It makes things a lot easier.
I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of 10.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-07-31T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
KhalidMohamed from
A firewall solution with many good features
What is most valuable?
I like the web filter, application filter, and VBA. There are so many good features. The most powerful thing is clearly the software. I can easily do whatever I want.
What needs improvement?
Their updates can be faster and more regular. Right now, it's updated monthly. When I need to update the firmware, I want it done within weeks, not months. There are also some changes in version 18, like rules, that aren't needed.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a very powerful and stable solution. It's more stable than Cyberoam.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good and easy to deal with. If I have a problem, I open the ticket, and I call, and the problem's solved automatically by them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Cyberoam ten years ago and then transferred to Sophos. We switched because it was the latest technology.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very easy because you can follow the manuals, follow your past experiences, and so on. We also need about three to six people a day to maintain this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
At first, I thought the price was very high. But when I read about the machine's features, we decided to go with it. Now I think the price is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Sophos XG a nine.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-02-21T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Antony Muturi from
A stable and seamless solution with good support and useful VPN and filtering features
What is our primary use case?
We use it for VPN and for filtering direct traffic. We are using XG50.
What is most valuable?
The VPN feature is the most valuable. It has come in handy during this period when people are working from home.
The filtering feature is also valuable because you can easily filter the sites that you don't want to visit. You can also set timely surfing quotas.
What needs improvement?
They made some changes to the firmware update sometime last year, which moved some of the policies from where they were before. Some of the policies, such as NAS policies, were separated, which made it a bit hard for people to trace the policies they had configured.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has been very stable. We haven't had any outages. It has been seamless.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I am not quite sure about that. In terms of the number of nodes, we have around 200 nodes. All the internet traffic has to go through Sophos XG. In terms of the number of people who handle the support, we have two people.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is good. Whenever I have contacted them, they have given us support. They have been quite fast.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using Cyberoam. When they were acquired, we just upgraded to Sophos because, at that time, they were providing the hardware and support to transfer your configs to Sophos.
What about the implementation team?
Its initial setup was done by a contractor. We just maintain it. We have an expert, and we also have access to an IT department.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In terms of price, it is a mid-range product.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-02-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1509573 from
Easy to deploy and configure, good documentation, and works as advertised
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for our VPN and firewall. It acts as our firewall for the external portal into our network.
What is most valuable?
It is very easy to configure and straightforward. The firewall rules are straightforward.
It works great out of the box. It has been working as advertised, and I haven't had any issues with it.
What needs improvement?
Its user interface is a little bit slow.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for a couple of weeks.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has been up and running for probably three weeks and hasn't had any issues. I didn't have a lot of time on it yet to make a good call about that, but so far, so good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It scales for our purposes. We're a very small office. We have 25 users on the system. We're an engineering consulting company, so all remote users are accessing our network
It is being used quite heavily, and I don't see any need to increase its usage at all at this point.
How are customer service and technical support?
I didn't have any direct interaction with Sophos. Their online documentation is very good. It is much better than Cisco.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
It was a replacement for Cisco ASA Firewall. Our Cisco licensing had expired, and it was very expensive. Sophos XG is a lower-cost solution for the same thing. It was also easier to configure.
How was the initial setup?
It was very simple. It took a couple of hours.
What about the implementation team?
We had a partner, and they did the initial setup and walked us through it. Our experience was very good.
Its maintenance is very simple. You need less than one administrator for its maintenance.
What was our ROI?
I expect to see ROI in a year or two.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its licensing cost is around 700 bucks a year or something like that. It is 100 bucks a month at the most. It seems to be standard licensing with no additional costs.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise others to go through the Sophos demos. They are very good, and they walk you through configuration and use cases. Their online documentation is very helpful in not only configuring it but also selecting a proper model to deploy.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten for ease of use and cost.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-03-31T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1535100 from
Makes it easy to manage multiple endpoints in a centralized platform, but data traffic analysis could be better
What is most valuable?
I like how you can integrate with other endpoints and Intercept X in one central management platform. I think it's a perfect solution. Sophos will manage everything in one container. You can manage many firewalls or endpoints within one panel.
What needs improvement?
Data traffic analysis could be better. I think Fortinet products like FortiAnalyzer are very effective in analyzing data traffic. I think it's better than Sophos. It could also be more stable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for more than two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think Sophos has to concentrate on the latest firmware's stability because we have version 18, and we have many problems with our customers who have this version. I think Sophos has to thoroughly test the firmware before launching it. When you get any update on any hardware device, you get many problems. It's not good.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Sophos XG a seven.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-03-31T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1229574 from
A stable firewall solution, but the GUI and support could be better
What is our primary use case?
We use the SRX from Juniper as the second firewall, and Sophos is useful as a first firewall facing the internet edge. We also use it as an SD-WAN, and we're going to use it as a load balancer instead of a BIG F5 load balancer. All of the things like web filtering and internal email filtering will be inside Sophos XG.
What is most valuable?
Sophos is a stable solution, and we haven't had any bugs or limitations.
What needs improvement?
The GUI and support could be better. I think there are other products that we are going to deploy instead of Sophos. We have already upgraded a month ago because the interfaces and support for Sophos are really weak. But other products like Juniper, Cisco, or FortiGate are better than Sophos. It's also complicated, and the end-user or client does not understand it.
The interfaces and the GUI design are not easy, and when you do something, unrelated things are in the same configuration site. There are different sites to visit to configure Sophos. This is even more than other products. Many features can be improved, especially the VPN and web filtering features.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for about five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is stable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support could be better. I already opened a ticket three days ago, but they are not interested or have not cooperated with the end customer. But Juniper and Cisco are fast to respond compared to Sophos. Sophos is really complicated, and it's not fair to buy the annual support when they don't provide any support quickly when you request it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is fair.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise potential users not to use Sophos if they are not buying the appliance. They should use another product like FortiGate, Check Point, or Palo Alto.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Sophos XG a six.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-04-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1494156 from
Stable with good web-filtering and the application control
What is our primary use case?
Most of our clients are primarily using the solution for the network protection it offers them.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable aspects of the solution are the web-filtering and the application control.
The solution is stable.
We've had good experiences with technical support.
The product is scalable.
What needs improvement?
The solution could be improved if it offered more documentation or at least provided more information about the products themselves. If there was a virtual assistant of some kind that would help clients familiarize themselves with everything, that would be very helpful.
It would be helpful to get some insights into new features so that we are able to relay information to clients effectively.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution technically since 2019, however, I haven't really been able to focus on it too much. Right now, I am refreshing my knowledge on Sophos XG.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable overall.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have clients from various sized companies, and the solution works well with all of them.
There seems to be pretty good scalability potential, at least up to a point.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've been in touch with technical support and found them to be very accommodating. We are very satisfied with eh level of support they provide to us.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
While I may have other colleagues on different solutions, my main focus is Sophos at the moment.
How was the initial setup?
When we're talking about the initial setup for the Sophos XG it can either be simple or complex. It will depend mostly on the infrastructure of the client.
Deployment times also vary, according to the complexity.
Typically, the client handles the maintenance process themselves.
What about the implementation team?
We handle the implementation process for our clients.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have a platinum partnership with Sophos at this time.
I'm more on the technical side. I don't really have any insights into licensing and pricing as it's not an aspect of the solution I directly deal with on a regular basis.
I'd advise those considering any solution to really take the time to study the product and understand different aspects of it. Every solution is different, and therefore it's important to be able to navigate them. Doing some extra research at the outset will ensure you don't purchase the wrong firewall, which can be a waste of time and money.
I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We're quite happy with the product so far.
What other advice do I have?
We're using the latest version of the solution at this time.
We're integrators and resellers.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-02-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Sherwin Saavedra from
A fast, agile, and stable solution that is easy to deploy and manage
What is most valuable?
Orchestration of the firewall is the most valuable feature. It is a fast and agile solution. It is good with protection. It is also very easy to deploy and manage, and its user interface is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
They can lower its price. It is very expensive. We are looking for a less expensive solution depending on our budget. They can also improve it in terms of firewall protection.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very agile.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't have any other similar solution previously.
How was the initial setup?
It is very easy to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is very expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-01-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1096965 from
Very solid and stable, although there are some ADL bugs that require enhancing
What is our primary use case?
This solution is generally used for environment protection, using the ADR and MTL features. I'm a system administrator and team leader and we are customers of Sophos.
What is most valuable?
It is a stable product because it's on the central cloud so there's no management required.
What needs improvement?
The MTR feature has to be enhanced. There are some bugs on the ADL which need enhancing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Because this is a cloud portal, scalability isn't an issue. It's fully managed by the vendor, we just login to the portal and check the logs and check the updates.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have Sophos firewalls and were planning to do a full integration with XG, but unfortunately this did not happen.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is carried out on the portal so you need to work on the configuration with the respective partner and have the portal accessing all of the environment. It's a simple setup. We have deployed this solution on around 200 machines.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay an annual license.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution a seven out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-01-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Hermann Potgieter from
Easy to set up, offers central management, the support is good, and it handles endpoint security
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and this is one of the security solutions that we implement for our clients. The primary use for Sophos XG is to secure the internet for an organization. It does a bit of antivirus scanning, application filtering, web filtering, and normal firewalling. Security, obviously.
Some of our clients also have Sophos UAP and access points are also included in Sophos, which is the same with FortiGate.
What is most valuable?
Sophos XG is easy to manage. You've got the cloud logging and you can manage all of your Sophos firewalls from one cloud, the Sophos Central Portal.
The most valuable feature is endpoint security. If you want to install antivirus and firewalling on endpoints, then Sophos is the best option.
What needs improvement?
What I don't like about Sophos is that applying policies can sometimes take longer, and there can even be a bit of a network interruption. With FortiGate, it's just one click and then you go, but with Sophos, sometimes the wheel keeps spinning for several seconds.
The SD-WAN capability is not as good as it is in FortiGate, and is something that should be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XG for approximately two and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, it's almost as good as FortiGate.
I've been selling FortiGate for 10 years and Sophos for two and a half years. I think that Sophos is just about on par with FortiGate. We just had a small thing with a client, but I don't know if that's really going to be reason enough. In terms of stability, I think they are quite good. The issue we had was the locks, and it was causing slowness or interruptions, but that was really not an issue. It's a small thing.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is very scalable. You can go from small to large-sized use cases.
How are customer service and technical support?
I think that the technical support is very good, and similar to FortiGate,
I actually dealt directly with a Sophos engineer and I must admit, they've been very fortunate that the guy can help even on the weekends and so forth. I'm very impressed with that.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I primarily work with FortiGate, but I am currently dabbling in OPNSense to see if I can learn it. I've also installed Cisco in the past, as well as Sophos.
Although about 80% of our clients ask for FortiGate, some of our clients ask for Sophos instead. For example, there are some banks and commercial institutions that ask for Sophos.
Sophos is better than FortiGate with respect to endpoint protection.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is as easy as it is with FortiGate. These products are definitely easier to install than a solution like OPNsense because it is just a hardware appliance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of this solution is mid-range. Obviously, it will never beat OPNsense because that product is available free of charge. Sophos XG is not expensive for a firewall, especially when you compare it with Check Point. Check Point is a really expensive product.
Sophos XG is a bit more expensive than companies like BitDefender and Kaspersky, but their endpoint software is very good.
What other advice do I have?
The suitability of this product depends on the use case. If somebody wants to have full endpoint protection then Sophos is the best choice. If they just want a normal UTM without endpoint software, then FortiGate is slightly better, but only slightly because of the SD-WAN capabilities.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-01-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1461726 from
Quick to install and configure with proactive support, but updates often cause problems
What is our primary use case?
This product serves as our current firewall solution, which is a network protection gateway.
What is most valuable?
This is a very simple solution.
It integrates well with Sophos Endpoint Protection, and we use the two of them to form a holistic security perimeter control.
What needs improvement?
Software updates always come with issues. For example, I just upgraded to the next version, 80.5, and it came with VPN issues. It started dropping my VPN users. So, I had to roll back to before the software update. I think that the main area for improvement is the quality assurance of the updates.
The management console is a little bit rigid.
Scalability can be improved.
I think that it performs a little bit slow when it comes to connectivity, and having the speed increased would be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for the past four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a very stable platform. In the four years that we have had it, it's never gone down.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is not a very scalable product. I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten because where you order it, it comes with prefixed ports. You will only have perhaps two for the WAN, and then maybe four LAN ports, and one console. In this regard, it's not scalable.
When you buy it, you can't change the port configuration. In order to get more ports, you may have to upgrade to a bigger firewall.
We have about 130 accounts for approximately 80 employees.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support for Sophos is very good and they have a big presence in South Africa. It uses something called Sophos Central, where support can fix the problem before you, as the user, actually finds it.
How was the initial setup?
It is a very simple and very quick initial setup and configuration. Because it is a next-generation firewall, it does most of the rule development in the background. You just need to set up the basics and start it up.
What was our ROI?
For what you are buying, it's good value for the money.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sophos is very good when it comes to pricing. A firewall has a lot of things to look for when you're buying it, including throughput and its features. When we purchased this product, Sophos was the best on the market.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
In addition to Sophos, we looked at FortiGate, SonicWall, and Cisco. We were looking for a next-generation firewall, and Cisco was out of range because it was too expensive. We settled on Sophos because we already had the endpoint solution in our environment, and the price was very good as well.
What other advice do I have?
Sophos XG is a firewall that I recommend because it's a very simple firewall. It's not complicated, and a LAN expert can just start using it and learn very quickly. Definitely, its usability is very good, and it's a very robust firewall.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-01-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1199082 from
A stable, flexible, and easy-to-use solution that works well and comes with a web management portal that can be accessed from anywhere
What is our primary use case?
It can be used as a firewall, SD-WAN enabler, and secure web gateway. You can also use it for unified threat management, email detection, mobile device management, and wireless management. I use it in the cloud and on-premises, and I have its latest version.
What is most valuable?
It is stable, flexible, and easy to use. It has got a web management portal that can be accessed from anywhere.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have more artificial intelligence in the web monitoring service that comes with it. It should alert us when particular events happen. It has already got some of that. I know that it is more of a service, and Sophos is already looking at it. It is called SIEM.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for a few years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have roughly 700 users who use this firewall.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have interacted with them a few times. I am very satisfied with their technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to install. I have done the installation in less than a day.
What about the implementation team?
We did it ourselves. We have two people for its deployment. We have one engineer and one admin.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is not that expensive compared to the other solutions. It is about the same price range as Fortigate, which we used previously. Licensing is on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. We're very happy with the product. It works very well, and we don't have too many issues.
I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-01-13T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Devanand PR from
A stable and economical solution but there's room for a more customizable graphical interface
What is our primary use case?
Our main use case of this solution is to support internal clients with virus scanning on laptops and on critical processors.
What needs improvement?
An area of improvement would be the reporting as diagnostic graphs take a long time to load and refresh. If there could be an option to show only select graphs, it may speed up the graphics.
Most of the time we don't use the disk usage, memory or CPU graphs. The main graph we watch is the bandwidth usage.
Additionally, their previous update contained many bugs. They need to ensure that, before releasing a new version, there are not so many bugs.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Caveo Systems, but that was about 10 years ago.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy. The licensing and setting up of firewall rules takes some time, but the full deployment took about an hour.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is economical.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend the solution due to its ease of use and pricing.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-01-24T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Shah Abdul Manap from
User-friendly and easy to explore with many good features
What is most valuable?
Overall, everything about the solution works well. We haven't had any issues at all.
The features on offer are great. It has pretty much everything we need.
The solution is very user-friendly.
The product is very easy to explore. It has a very good layout.
What needs improvement?
I need to do a bit more research on the product. I can't think of any features that are missing.
The solution is tied to the US dollar. You need to pay whatever the equivalent is in your own currency, and, if the exchange is bad, it can really add to the cost.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using the solution for three years. It hasn't been an extremely long amount of time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is great. We don't have any issues. I haven't come across bugs or glitches. There isn't crashing or freezing. It's reliable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is quite good. That said, we really haven't had any issues with the product itself.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used to use Fortinet. That was at a different company, however.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is very straightforward to set up. It's not too complex. Sophos Endpoint is similar in that respect. It's easy to implement.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is a bit expensive. That is mostly due to the US exchange. If the exchange is bad, it's quite an expensive option for us.
What other advice do I have?
We are Sophos customers. We're just end-users.
We also use Sophos Intercept X and Sophos Endpoint as well.
It's a good option. It's easy to explore and to use. Everything is pretty straightforward, especially if you compare it to other firewalls.
Overall, I would rate it at a nine out of ten. We've been very happy with it in general.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-28T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Mohamed Abdel Hassanein from
Straightforward to set up, stable, and is well-suited to SMB
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and Sophos XG is one of the security products that we implement for our customers. We always provide them with the latest version.
What needs improvement?
The number of ports, especially on the entry-level appliances, should be increased.
The price of adding ports should be reduced to make it more competitive.
The vendor needs to create materials to show the differences between Sophos products and those from other vendors.
Network management needs to be included in the package.
As it is now, it only supports ten multiple users, which is something that should be increased.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XG for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable product and we have approximately 150 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We get our support from the local distributor.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to Sophos XG, we used products from Fortinet and Forcepoint.
The Forcepoint product is doing well. We have a different perimeter firewall for our data center that uses it because we use different vendors for different sites.
How was the initial setup?
This is an on-premises appliance and the installation is straightforward. It can be deployed in less than an hour. However, according to the number of users and the number of ports that will be connected, the design may vary. This makes it difficult to estimate the time required to do a full implementation of the product.
What about the implementation team?
We have four people in charge of maintenance, although they do not work exclusively with Sophos. We have another appliance from another vendor. The entire team, including their manager, is about 10 people.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is in the mid-range and it is very good for small to medium-sized businesses. One license opens everything.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, this is a good product and I would recommend it for small to mid-sized customers.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-12-28T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1463193 from
User authentication rules are helpful, but the URL filtering is not good, and it suffers from instability
What is our primary use case?
We use the Sophos XG firewall as part of our network security solution.
What is most valuable?
The user authentication rules are very useful.
What needs improvement?
Sophos needs improvements made to the console, such as host entry or defining rules directly from it.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for the past five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I do not feel that this is a stable product. URL filtering is not good.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not had any experience with technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It took a week to deploy.
What other advice do I have?
This is not a product that I can recommend to anybody who wants to implement a firewall.
I would rate this solution a four out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1462965 from
It is user friendly and reliable, but it needs granular control over the traffic
What is most valuable?
It is very user friendly and easy to manage from the administrative point of view. It is good, reliable, and easy to implement.
What needs improvement?
It is a very basic and entry-level firewall. It doesn't give very granular control over the traffic. It should have more granular control over the traffic. This feature should be there similar to Palo Alto and Cisco. It should have such advanced features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for the last two years. We are using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability and reliability are fine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
If you want to have multiple firewall rules, it has this type of scalability. When I compare it with some other products, such as Palo Alto, I can't find similar scalability in Sophos XG. In Palo Alto, we can have rules based on applications or app IDs, and we can create multiple rules for a single ID. We can create a single user or single IP, but such options are not there in Sophos XG. Granular level scalability should be there in Sophos, and they should do better.
How are customer service and technical support?
I appreciate their support. Their support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also use Palo Alto. Palo Alto provides application IDs, which is a very powerful feature. Sophos XG is a very normal next-generation firewall with URL filtering, application filtering, and all such features. It is not something extraordinary. It is a very normal next-generation firewall.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It is a single day task to do the initial configuration and move the traffic over there. The firewall hardening, of course, will take some time depending upon the traffic, but the initial setup is a single day task.
What other advice do I have?
It is a normal firewall. All the basic features are there. However, it is not as advanced as some of the other solutions, such as Palo Alto. As we have more security threats, we need more granular control, but these features are not available in Sophos XG.
I would rate Sophos XG a five out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Unmesh Deshpande from
The great interface and security are key features
What is our primary use case?
I'm the CTO of our company and we are customers of Sophos.
What is most valuable?
I've found that the valuable features are the interface and the security, both are really great.
What needs improvement?
The security of the solution could be improved by making it more intuitive and it should have a background reputation service for classification of websites for content filtering. It's a service which defines the type of websites enabling me to do my content filtering in a much more effective and efficient way.
They really need to include some kind of a client app for mobiles so that firewalls and all the metrics can be accessed directly on the phone; some kind of administrative application on the phone, maybe on an iOS or Android.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for over four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution, it's a nice robust firewall. We love using it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable, we have around 700 end users and 10 technical people on staff.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are satisfied with the technical support but having said that, we didn't need much support because the menus and all the online documentation is self-explanatory. There was no failure so we didn't have to actually log a call with Sophos.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't previously use another solution before implementing Sophos. We chose it by specification and the reputation it has in the market.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was a little complex because of the kind of configuration that we were looking at, the way the firewall had to be configured was slightly complex. We carried out the implementation ourselves and it took a maximum two days.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution but would suggest that before buying any firewall, it's important to assess your expectations and then match it with the specification. You will not be disappointed if you do this.
I would rate this solution a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-21T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1429977 from
Reasonably-priced and straightforward to set up, but instability has caused problems and customer support should be improved
What is our primary use case?
We use the Sophos XG firewall as part of our security solution.
What needs improvement?
The first area that needs to be improved is customer support.
If I'm implementing a connection on the DMZ or WAN, I should be able to dive deep into the implementation, specifying what needs to be implemented or not. For example, I should be able to configure specific details for the DMZ, and not have to follow the templates that they provide.
We have had problems with the stability that affected business operations.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The issue of stability is the reason that I'm trying to move away from using Sophos as our firewall. There were times where Sophos randomly cut some users off of the internet, which adversely affected business operations. It is important because our business relies on throughput and service, like the uptime of e-commerce servers.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability depends on the specifications during the time of order, prior to first implementing the firewall. With respect to my organization, scalability has been okay. It comes down to the amount of money that is spent.
We have 1,200 users in the company.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer support needs to be improved. The time they take to resolve issues is too long.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It took us less than 30 minutes. Normally, it depends on the size of your organization, so for mine, the installation was less than 15 minutes. By 30 minutes I was finished even with the setup and configuration.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
For our company, the price was reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
We are now thinking about incorporating the Fortinet next-generation firewall.
My advice for anybody who is considering Sophos is that a business with a lot of throughput and data traffic should look for another firewall.
I would rate this solution a six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-01-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1477533 from
Ability to be managed by all users; unfortunately there is no tracking
What is our primary use case?
We are customers of Sophos and I'm the company IT security manager.
What is most valuable?
I like that each user has the ability to manage the solution.
What needs improvement?
It's a problem that we are not able to investigate incidents, there is no tracking. Security is also lacking in this product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is good, no problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is fine.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support could be improved, it's not great.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is good, it's not an expensive product.
What other advice do I have?
I would not recommend this firewall to others.
I would rate this product a seven out of 10.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-01-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Adedayo Williams from
Seamless VPN connection that is easy to manage and reasonably priced
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the VPN aspect. It has been beneficial for my users who work from home. Connectivity and from a security aspect. The security aspect of this is quite good. It measures up to the standard that I expect.
From a Firewall perspective and then user management, easy to manage and the user experience, profile, are giving me what I am expecting.
During this COVID era, the VPN has really been helpful. We can seamlessly connect to the applications remotely and work from home.
What needs improvement?
In the Firewall, the Intrusion Prevention System can be improved. Now because COVID has come to stay, people tend to work from home, and cybersecurity has been on the high side.
It can improve more on the security aspect of this so that it can combat any major threat or common bug. I am not saying that the security has become compromised, as it is usually active, but they can improve on it.
Local and technical support can be improved.
When firmware updates are complete, there were issues with connectivity and VPN users. Recently, I stopped updating the firmware because I didn't want to obstruct the connectivity of the staff working remotely at different locations.
I have stopped doing any updates until the issue can be addressed.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately 12 months.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When you compare with Barracuda, Sophos is quite a bit cheaper.
With Sophos, you can upgrade on what you need and upgrade as time goes on. I think that it's relatively open, compared to other products.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-29T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Rmegio Lawag from
Has good VPN features and capabilities
What is our primary use case?
We use it for monitoring our web access, providing authentication and for security purposes.
What is most valuable?
We get good usage out of the VPN features and its capability; it is a great feature.
What needs improvement?
In terms of improvement, one of the features we are having a hard time getting a hang of is MAC addressing, like when we assign IP addresses to a specific MAC address. That is something that can be improved. For the next release, I think, it should have better feature integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. We use the product for around 70 to 100 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support that we used was great.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was pretty straightforward. The setup took around one to two weeks.
What about the implementation team?
We did all of the deployment by ourselves and we use one person for maintenance.
What was our ROI?
I think, for the XG, I think the MAC addressing. We were having a very hard time assigning MAC addresses with specific IP.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We haven't chosen any other product, besides Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-12-09T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
RafatJuneidi from
Offers good security for SMBs
What is our primary use case?
I use it for one of our universities in Palestine. It's an Arabic university and there were about more than 10,000 students. So, our user base ranges from 1 to 10,000. I use it as the main firewall. I use it for High Availability (HA). That's the main use case why we use Sophos XG. We do intend to keep using it.
What is most valuable?
As a security solution, it's a very good security solution.
What needs improvement?
Some features are not available on the graphical interface. So you need to return to the command line to solve some issues that are faced by the customer. I used it for enterprise networks, I decided that it is not very good for enterprise networks. There is some issue with its hardware. I have faced two problems and that were resolved by Sophos earlier. They changed the appliance. In other products, I have not seen such problems in the hardware. So I think that the hardware is not heavy duty. You can say it's not heavy duty like other vendors. The performance is not as it says on the datasheet. They should improve the hardware. If they can do that, it would be a very good product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I am using the appliance from XG 110. We use versions 105 TO 370. I use more than one product for small to medium size businesses. We also use Intercept X firewalls. We deploy Sophos XG on-premise.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable for some things. It can have an extendable host. The appliance can be customized for more than one connection point. You can put it in the same fibre and DSL connection.
How are customer service and technical support?
They have proper support in the technical point of view, and their English language is not clear. You know that they are not native English speakers. That's one of the things that I faced. But they have very good knowledge.
How was the initial setup?
The installation of Sophos is very easy and straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's not very expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend it for small to medium businesses, not for enterprise businesses. I'll rate it 8 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-12-09T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Samir Shah from
Stable product with easy setup well recommended, customer support and fiber options on smaller models could be improved
What is our primary use case?
We were able to integrate the solution using existing infrastructure installed, such as different firewalls and security software. We have integrated the solution in multiple sectors, for example, the education and banking sectors.
How has it helped my organization?
UTM appliances have generally improved organization networks and given away to multiple link management, identity management, and easy firewall options. SOPHOS has a better GUI and dashboard which can be easily understood and managed in an organization.
What is most valuable?
The solution was able to be integrated well with exciting hardware and software and in multiple business sectors.
What needs improvement?
With the proliferation of fiber connectivity becoming available at our homes, consumers should not have to go and buy another module for fiber to ethernet converters or another device to get the fiber options. I understand all UTM models should have direct SFP ports available so that FFTH is directly terminated to UTM for better management and uptime.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for the past five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found it to be a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I can say it is more stable rather than scalable. I do not think they have the ability for scalability with the options currently included esp in SMB segment. However, if they did have better options then I believe the product would have better scalability.
Some of our clients have been enterprise and SMB customers. Overall the range of our clients has been between medium and enterprise clients.
How are customer service and technical support?
The customer support is not that good. We found the support to be extremely slow in response.
I rate Sophos XG support a three out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used other products as well and we understand those products work well which has better and local support. In addition, it depends on the company's focus. SOPHOS has focused on small to enterprise customers but support needs improvement to be in the market. SOPHOS channel partnership program needs also improvement and commitment so that System Integrators and partners are able to pitch the products well in the market.
How was the initial setup?
Setup is good and the integration is very easy. The technology creates several good products.
What about the implementation team?
We do the deployment and implementation of the solutions.
What was our ROI?
They should include fiber SFP ports on smaller product models as well and the tools should be improved for scalability.
What other advice do I have?
I can definitely recommend the product because it is good. There is no doubt.
I rate Sophos XG a 6 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Channel Partner and Consultant to various Customers.
Date published: 2020-12-13T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer797910 from
Friendly, dependable, scalable, and simple to migrate
What is most valuable?
Sophos XG is very good.
It's very friendly.
The performance is good.
What needs improvement?
The reporting could be improved.
Many other firewalls give you the option to disconnect a user. For example, if an end-user is using too much bandwidth, you could right-click to disconnect this user, but Sophos XG does not support this feature.
Sophos XG does not have the ability to disconnect a user.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for one and a half years.
We are using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Sophos XG is great!
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is scalable.
We have approximately 120 users in our organization who are using this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have never contacted the technical support for Sophos. Once or twice we called the local support but not for Sophos.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously we used Cyberoam. When they announced the end of life we switched to Sophos XG.
It was upgraded because it had reached the end of its life. We only had one option for upgrading to Sophos XG. They gave us the option to upgrade and provided us with the hardware for free.
How was the initial setup?
We migrated from Cyberoam. The migration went very well.
The migration process did not require a lot of configuration.
It took a few days to complete the migration and the testing.
This solution is being managed by myself and a colleague. We are a team of two.
What about the implementation team?
We were able to complete the migration ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
They have different options for the license.
We paid for three years which included the migration and the free hardware.
In most cases, I believe that the licensing is paid yearly.
What other advice do I have?
I don't have any issues with this solution. I would recommend this solution for others who are interested in using it.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-09-27T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1625292 from
Scalable and stable
What needs improvement?
The solution is very slow in comparison with SonicWall and FortiGate. It should have faster performance.
The installation could be faster and is longer than that of other solutions, lasting more than a month instead of five minutes.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Sophos XG for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
When compared with other firewalls, such as that of SonicWall, we have had no issues with the solution's stability. It works very well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Sophos does not provide immediate support, such as SonicWall does with its toll free number. This may take an hour or two, although I suppose things would be different were we to raise a critical ticket.
I have been in contact with tech support within the last week or so.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
SonicWall has a toll-free number which can be reached for immediate support, something which is unique, although Sophos may take an hour or two to respond. I suppose this would be different were a person to raise a critical ticket.
How was the initial setup?
Sophos XG has a longer installation period than other firewalls, occupying in excess of a month instead of five minutes.
What about the implementation team?
I am the technical person. Installation can be handled independently. We do the configuration of the firewall.
We have two teams that are responsible for the deployment, a firewall and a network one. We can handle the implementation using both teams.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't believe we have a license for this product.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
SonicWall and FortiGate provide considerably faster performance than Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is deployed both on-premises and on the cloud.
We have a data center which contains multiple firewalls. If our clients ask about a certain firewall expert, we simply implement the Sophos firewall, clientele. We have created certain IP sectors like this, in which case we provide multiple firewalls in clientele.
We have around 150 clients making use of the firewall.
We would recommend the solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG as a ten out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Implementer
Date published: 2021-09-13T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Nadeem Syed from
Strong in security, scalable, and good performance
What is our primary use case?
Firewall is not our expertise, but we do sell it as per the requirement of the customer or if they ask for it.
Most of the firewalls are on-prem. What we deliver is the hardware. It is appliance-based.
What is most valuable?
Sophos firewalls are scalable. They are pretty strong in security. So, when they provide any kind of firewall, they provide all the features such as anti-spam, antivirus, etc.
What needs improvement?
Its price should be improved. Its features are pretty okay, but the price is the area where we have to fight more. They should do something about the price structure.
For how long have I used the solution?
It has been a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. Its performance is very good. They have now stopped calling it a firewall. They're calling it a Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable in the sense that if they are using a small model or a small box of firewall and there is an increase in their network and the number of users, they can move that small box to a bigger model. So, if they are using a firewall and they want to scale it up, they can go to the next model.
Sophos has more than 1,000 customers.
How are customer service and technical support?
Our clients have a good system of support over here. They have full support. They get support from the distributors, from the partners, and then directly from Sophos.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are a partner of Sophos and Fortinet. We work with Sophos much more than we work with Fortinet.
How was the initial setup?
If it is a small model and a small network, it takes about two days. You need at least two people for its deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price should be better. Initially, the clients have to pay for the appliance. Then, they have to pay for the software that is installed on the appliance. Depending on whether they have a one-year, two-year, or three-year license, they just have to renew the license of the software after it expires. They don't have to renew the appliance license. So, they have to pay for the appliance only once, and after that, they just renew the software license. That's all.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend Sophos to others. I would rate it a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-09-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Benjamin Bodenehim from
Simple to set up with a good GUI, but lacks features
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use the solution as a firewall. It's running on our data centers and all of our offices.
What is most valuable?
It has a simple GUI, which is good.
The initial setup is pretty simple.
What needs improvement?
Unfortunately, there are quite a few negatives with them.
Their tech support is not great.
The features on offer are lacking.
Basically what they don't have is proper bandwidth management for multiple WAN ports and multiple WAN ports to multiple VPN WANs. Meaning, if I have it on both sides on both the main side and on the secondary side, two internet connections, I can't bond the two of them together into a single VPN and have bandwidth managed between the two of them.
If I want to go ahead and make a VPN, right now, I have two internet connections on each side. I have to make a failover a group of four VPNs for it to go ahead and failover between them.
You're getting into a lot of rules. It's a lot of extra rules, et cetera, that has to be done. They don't have simple pointing systems where you could go ahead and make rules saying, "Hey, here's the route". They're not fully route-based VPN rules yet. You literally have to take down all the routes all over the place in order to make updates. It's tedious.
Basically, we had the problem where we moved certain ranges from one data center to another data center. It took us about an hour of downtime to do that. We had to go ahead and we had to reset VLANs and we had re-setup all the VPNs in all the different places we reconnected. We don't have two sites, we have 25 sites. It was a lot of work.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for about three years at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has its bugs and we can't get answers due to the fact that technical support is outsourced. There are some bugs that we keep running into that tech support can't figure out what to do. The bigger problem is the log systems aren't big enough for them to actually capture all the logs that happen.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is an issue. About six months after we bought it to a year after we bought it, they outsourced all their tech support to India. Literally beforehand, they were an American-based tech support company and they actually had full product knowledge. The Indian-based tech support doesn't have the product knowledge and there was a language barrier. They could speak English, however, they didn't understand us very well.
We were told that they stopped doing outsource and they are rehiring their own internal staff again for tech support. We're hoping that we're going to be able to get better tech support again.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward and simple. It's not overly difficult. I don't consider it to be complex.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We bought it as is. We bought it with four years of support. However, I can't speak to how much it costs.
What other advice do I have?
I'd advise users considering the solution that, if you have quite a bit of sites, it's going to get a lot of work to do, to fix things up. It makes more sense if you have minimal sites.
I'd rate the solution at a six out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-09-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1509228 from
Protects our network but has a limited range of IP addresses
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XG protects our network from advanced threats.
What is most valuable?
VPN client list has a secondary client, so we need to use it without specific software for Sophos Connect client. I am using the VPN client list and it works fine.
What needs improvement?
There's an IP address delivery for our VPN client and a limited range of IP addresses. So this is a problem in the latest firmware release, but rather than using homework scenarios, we need a lot of VPN clients.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for a couple of years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's important to put together the VPN client features and others because we need to use this to improve the scenario and implement the IP address delivered to the VPN client. With another point of sale there, I believe that incorporating the two solutions is important to make the VPN client work.
How are customer service and technical support?
We offer contact center services and have a channel to reach the product support team, and they are ready to help when needed.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-04-11T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Pol Balaguer from
Good reporting and scalability with great anti-spam capabilities
What is our primary use case?
We are primarily using Sophos XG for the identity base, policies, load balancing, and SD-WAN. Right now we have separate, different branches, therefore, we need to integrate it with SD-WAN. Of course, with SD-WAN, we need to do the load balancing, the VPN failovers, and also watch the connectivity. We are more particular on the link, and also the implementation of user policies.
What is most valuable?
The Multi-Link, or the Multi-Wan, SD-WAN, is extremely valuable to our organization.
The Anti-Spam and the Gateway Anti-Virus capabilities have been very useful.
The solution offers a very good Network Ring, QRS, and landing management.
We've found that the reporting is very good overall.
They really work scalability into the solution at the outset.
What needs improvement?
The SD-WAN could be improved. It is not yet full-blown; it's only basic, really. They need to move on with the algorithm on how the SD-WAN works, and how it works in comparison to other brands of SD-WAN. Sophos should study those algorithms on how they do the SD-WAN to learn a few things that may help them build out their own solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution and various other Sophos solutions for a while.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
If you do the right planning, most of the time Sophos is good for five years. It depends on the recommendations as well. Sometimes the Sophos team or supplier will show you the number of users or number of networks and they'll illustrate to you a plan most suited to what you have and what you might have. They assess everything and give you a five-year plan. That way, if you need to expand, they've already taken that into consideration at the outset and there's room to scale.
We have about 100 users.
Due to the pandemic, we don't really have any plans to expand. We may be downsizing a bit. We'll see.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've been satisfied with Sophos' technical support. They are very helpful and responsive. Their staff is quite knowledgeable.
How was the initial setup?
I've worked with Sophos previously and we had a different setup. In terms of implementation, sometimes there are complex setups and sometimes the setup s are more basic. Right now, we have a complex setup. We need to ensure interconnectivity between our branches. We'll have different networks, different sites, and a lot of complexity.
It doesn't really take too long to deploy, however. The support from the supplier is good. They're always available to assist. They are well-trained and they are already familiar with the setups and configuration so they're doing a pretty good job in terms of helping us.
What about the implementation team?
The supplier, the reseller, the partner of Sophos, is doing the change for the end-users. Most of the basic configuration has already been already done by us, however, for more complex areas, we could ask them, and they could come to us to configure it for us.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is based on the acquisition cost.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have evaluated a few different solutions. We've looked at Palo Alto and FortiGate products. In terms of our end-point security, we've also looked at Trend Micro and a few others.
What other advice do I have?
We are just a customer and an end-user.
We are using the latest version of the solution.
ON a scale from one to ten, I would rate this solution at an eight.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-04-11T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1513272 from
Reliable, easy to install, reasonably-priced, with good management control
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution as a firewall, and for remote login during the lockdown period.
We have used Sophos client, which is connected to the firewall to help our users to log in remotely.
How has it helped my organization?
We have always used firewalls, this is just a different one that we have deployed. It allowed our clients to log in remotely.
It has also helped us with outbound and inbound account management.
We have used it to manage the usage of the sites and helping to control the internet usage during productive hours.
What is most valuable?
I like the dashboard, the interface, the management console, and the remote login.
What needs improvement?
I would like to explore network access control. I haven't seen that it is clearly deployed.
It might be something that is already in place, or if it is available on another device.
I would want the level of integration to have another device on your network that is also reliable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable. It has never given us any problems.
When there are power failures, we have to reboot the network.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not tested the scalability. Our users are below 100, and from the time that we got it, our number of users has not gone above that original 100.
From what I have read, it's scalable and we have plans to increase our usage. For example, we are not using the Intrusion section, which is an area that we want to use.
We also plan to install the Sophos endpoint.
We are looking at integrating the two solutions and seeing how they work.
We have been using a different antivirus for our endpoints.
How are customer service and technical support?
I haven't used technical support from Sophos. I have not required it. It's been easy for me to sort out myself.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Sophos was our first physical firewall device on our network.
Before that, we were using Linux-based open-source software firewalls.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy to install.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price for the firewall is reasonable.
The endpoint, however, is expensive. The price is not very standard, considering where we are coming from.
What other advice do I have?
We are considering Sophos endpoint and should have it next month.
I would recommend Sophos XGto others.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-03-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1140534 from
Good support, easy to set up, and the VPN helps ensure secure connections for people working remotely
What is our primary use case?
We are using this product as the firewall for our head office, so any connections going outside of the office go through it. We are also using VPN clients and especially during the lockdown, it was very helpful.
What is most valuable?
The feature that we find most valuable is the VPN, which ensures that people working remotely have a secure connection.
The email security and other security-related features are useful.
What needs improvement?
We feel that the GUI can be improved a bit because it has a lot of information and looks a bit outdated.
Nowadays, you hear a lot about next-generation firewalls, so some additional features can be added from an EI perspective. Products like FortiGate, for example, have a lot of features apart from the basic firewall.
We would like to see integration with existing IPAM and IDAM products.
In the future, I would like to see new kinds of automations, as well as the inclusion of artificial intelligence-related features. A lot of other firewalls already have these now.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not had many issues, perhaps two or three of them, when using Sophos XG.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability-wise, they have different models. With the requirements that we have, this firewall did a good job. It's still doing a good job in terms of performance. For a larger enterprise with a higher number of users, they can recommend other models.
Currently, we have approximately 100 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have received good support. For the small number of issues that we have had, we received help from IT. This included assistance with configuring some additional policies. Whenever we reached out to them, they were very prompt in terms of responding to us.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to Sophos XG, we were using a firewall by Palo Alto. The major reason we began looking for a different one was that the support was not very good. The firewall was pretty decent but whenever we wanted some help, it was a bit difficult to reach out to them. To summarize, it was not very prompt.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was simple. Within one to two hours, we were done. This was not just the installation, but the complete configuration.
What about the implementation team?
We performed the deployment with the Sophos team guiding us over the phone. It was not complex. There was one person from Sophos who was coordinating it, and it was done by our internal IT manager.
What other advice do I have?
For the most part, I can say that we plan to continue using this product. However, we would like to see if they have come up with new models and what additional features have they been incorporating. With cybersecurity, I know there have been a lot of threats of late, so we would like to see some new technologies or new features being incorporated.
This is a product that I can recommend. My advice for anybody who is implementing it is to first try to understand what the major use cases are. People need to know that there are quite a few options, such as Fortinet, and all of them have different advantages. Sophos fits perfectly for a smaller group of users, with perhaps between a hundred and two hundred people. For larger enterprises, I recommend that they implement Fortinet or Check Point.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-11-21T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Ndabe Mpofu from
Easy to set up, good support, and the display of bandwidth usage statistics is interesting. There is a drill down menu showing bandwidth usage for each application. Easy to configure e-mail rules.
What is our primary use case?
Right now, we are using this product as a perimeter firewall just to deal with emails and to protect servers, as well as other equipment that is on the network.
What is most valuable?
What we found valuable is the way they deal with emails, as well as the way the bandwidth usage is shown. I find this information to be very interesting.
What needs improvement?
We are having challenges with social media because ever since this issue of COVID-19 came into existence, the idea of using online discussions has become relevant. Before this, they were not made the priority because they were not considered to be important. Now, we've discovered that we need to use a lot of these online applications.
We are having challenges when using Zoom with Sophos XG deployed. Our wireless network is not stable through the connection. More work needs to be done there, since the FW is doubling up as a wireless controller.
I would like to see improvements made to the display and visibility. I'm also using Sophos XG firewall as our wireless controller, but as it is now, I can't see my access points on the firewall. My wish is to see the Wireless network and reports also on this firewall cum- controller.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for almost three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is stable and we have no problems with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I think there is a limitation on the issue of scalability, and it is related to the interfaces that we bought. Right now, all of the employees are using it. The traffic that passes through it covers close to 2,000 users.
For us, our bandwidth is growing so we may have to scale further, in terms of the hardware networking components.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are constantly in touch with the distributor in Zimbabwe and they are excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to Sophos XG, we were using Cyberoam for our firewall. We switched because Cyberoam was acquired by Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple. It takes perhaps an hour to complete, which included importing rules from Cyberoam.
What about the implementation team?
We completed some certifications for using this product, but for the implementation, we were assisted by IDSS. In some instances, we are doing the maintenance on our own. When we have a challenge, on a case-by-case basis, we might contact the vendor and may require them to come in and assist.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The issue of a recurring license is a hassle because every year, we have to subscribe. It causes us problems in our organization.
What other advice do I have?
We are expanding and setting up a new data center, and I want to put a new firewall in. We have an interest in diversifying, in terms of vendors, so that we do not create a single point of failure in case one product fails. Ideally, we want to have different products.
This is a product that I can recommend for anybody who is looking for a firewall.
I would rate this solution a eight point six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2020-11-21T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Alex Clerici from
Very good at web and application filtering with a great GUI
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution as a comprehensive security device.
What is most valuable?
The VPN capabilities are quite good.
The solution is very good at web and application filtering.
It's quite a comprehensive security solution.
The performance the solution offers is excellent. Compared to the older solution, and especially on the cloud, it can reach very good performance. It depends on the licenses, of course.
The graphical user interface is excellent.
The intrusion protection module is very useful.
You can easily connect the solution to cloud management.
The stability has been excellent.
What needs improvement?
Technical support could be improved. They aren't as responsive as they could be.
It would be ideal if we could have a more populated and detailed knowledge base. Generally, the new features must be tested before applying them to the production side. I would like to see more case studies, more application notes, and so on.
We would like to see an improvement in mail management. When passing from FG Series to XG Series, some mail features have been lost. We would like to regain them.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used the solution for many years - before it was even Sophos. Sophos, some years ago, was Astaro AG. Sophos acquired Astaro AG. We have at least ten years of experience with the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've found the stability to be very good. It doesn't crash or freeze. There are no glitches. The performance and reliability are excellent.
Occasionally, we do have to do a debug, however, that's typical of all firewall solutions.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is very good overall. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so.
We have about 200 people using the solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
The reaction times of technical support are slow. They should be more responsive. We're not completely satisfied with the way they handle it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In the past, I've had some experience with SonicWall, Fortinet, and with a Linux solution. However, compared to other solutions, we prefer Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
It's better to be certified to install in a good manner. You need to understand what you are doing. Sophos offers the chance to certify at different levels. There are commercial levels and technical levels.
The time it takes to deploy depends on the complexity of the setup and environment. It can take a few hours or a few days. It can even take a week if the architecture is very advanced.
Generally, you need to be an engineer to handle maintenance. We have three people at our office that can handle implementation and setup as well as maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You need a license to use the solution. We offer the license as a box license, or we can offer a license like an MSP, as a service provider. We often acquire the licenses and we give them to our customers as an MSP.
What other advice do I have?
We are an authorized partner for Sophos.
We're using the latest version of the solution.
I'd recommend the solution, especially over, for example, Cisco.
I'd rate the solution ten out often. It's really worked well for us.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-02-28T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1496412 from
Easy to use, scalable, and fairly stable, but needs simplified interface and better security
What is our primary use case?
We are using it at a gateway level. We are using Sophos XG Series 135.
What is most valuable?
We find it easy to use. Its internal configuration is very easy. It is not complicated in terms of use and configuration.
It has been fairly stable, and it is also scalable.
What needs improvement?
They can simplify its interface so that it is mostly drag-and-drop. There was an SQL injection attack on some Sophos devices. They just need to harden their devices a little bit so that they can't be hacked very easily.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has been fairly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. We had scaled it for the number of users that we have, and it has worked fine for us. We have around 40 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We rarely contact their technical support. There was a time when our head office contacted their technical support. It was an issue in 2008, and they provided a patch.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Cisco ASA five or six years ago.
How was the initial setup?
We found it easy to install. Its installation took around one to one and a half hours.
What about the implementation team?
I did it myself. I have had some training on the product. In terms of support, we have just two guys who handle the support. Two people are enough for its deployment and maintenance.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. It is a fairly stable and good solution. We will keep on using it.
I would rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-02-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Gonzalo Moreno from
A firewall solution with a valuable VPN feature
What is our primary use case?
We use Sophos XG for a central firewall, with some branches making a VPN, but that's the normal deployment. Some clients use it as a proxy, but most of my clients use it as a gateway. We use Sophos to configure policies, work filters, application filters, and the SSL VPN and IPSec VPNs.
What is most valuable?
Because of the pandemic, the VPN is the most valuable feature. In Bolivia, the clients normally asked for an appliance with a web protection license or network protection and web protection license. These are the most common features demanded by our customers.
Some clients are also using the wireless solution and using XG firewall as a wireless controller. For those clients, this feature is a very important.
What needs improvement?
I used to work with Fortinet, and sometimes I see that the SD-WAN feature could be better because it's much easier in Fortinet. That area could be improved in Sophos XG as it's too complicated right now.
For example, I remember a case where the routers had to be configured by commands. It's not hard, but you have to read and investigate how to do that. The XG firewall works fine, but you have to read, and it takes some time to do it.
Sophos XG could also improve the floating area. I have more features in Fortinet, more visibility of the networking table, and the networking area. But in Sophos, you have to enter the CLA and display it. It'll also help if they offered more toll booths for VPN like Fortinet.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with Sophos XG for around five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have no issues with the stability. No reboots are needed, and there hasn't been a problem with that.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The new enterprise models are scalable, and we don't have problems. I think it's fine.
How are customer service and technical support?
I like their technical support. With Cyberoam, I remember the technical support used to work closely with us. They used to configure some features for us and help us resolve problems, but not just by email. They used to work with us and show us how to do it. I think that was nice, but in Sophos, they give us instructions and help us, but by email.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup and configuration was very easy for us. I think it's easier than the other options in the marketplace. The deployment time is relative. For example, if you're deploying for a client who has another firewall and have to integrate it, it'll take around two or three days. But if it's a new environment, you can deploy the firewall within two hours.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Normally, my clients look at Fortinet. Both have similar features, and sometimes Sophos is more expensive, or FortiGate is more expensive. It depends. But normally, I have clients that migrate from Fortinet to Sophos. They are used to working with FortiGate without a problem, but the main difference in our case is the support. Because as a company, SUPERNOVATEL, has more experience with Sophos to help our clients immediately. That makes the difference.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Sophos XG a nine.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-02-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1390431 from
Plenty of features, easy to use and simple install
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution as our HQ main firewall.
What is most valuable?
In my experience, the solution was easy to use, has lots of features, and is easy to configure.
What needs improvement?
There are issues with electricity with this solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability could be better. We have 500 to 1000 users using the solution at my company.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is easy.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment only took an hour for one person to do it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The hardware is inexpensive but the license is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I am going to continue using this product and I recommend this product to others.
I rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-02-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
AnkitMittal from
Stable, scalable, with a good central dashboard, and good technical support
What is our primary use case?
We are integrators. We integrate solutions for other our client's companies.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the central dashboard. It provides us with good performance.
What needs improvement?
When you utilize the processors, the device hangs. Many firewalls hang because of the high volume of loads.
If we are using the HP policy and the user policy at the same time, the firewall gets hung and it means that we cannot get clear reports.
We have mitigated the firewall with Palo Alto because Palo Alto is working on multiple environments.
I would like to see the performance improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XG for three years.
Currently, we are using the MR4 v18.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This product is scalable. I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.
So far we use this solution for SMB and enterprise companies.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are also working with Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls.
Palo Alto is the best product from a compliance point of view, and security. Fortinet is the second and the last is Sophos XG.
How was the initial setup?
I have installed Sophos XG in multiple organizations.
The initial setup is very easy.
It took less than 10 minutes to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sophos is very good for small companies because of the cost of the product compared to other solutions.
The price is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I prefer Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls to Sophos. Palo Alto is very good and the customers are happy. The hardware is customizable with multiple firewalls. I think that it is the best.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-01-31T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Nidhal Ben Jeddou from
An inexpensive and stable solution with good functionality and user interface, but should offer an antivirus feature
What is our primary use case?
We are using the solution internally for policy purposes in our data center. We use the firewall for certain routes for client connectivity.
What is most valuable?
I like the functionality and the user interface. The solution has a better graphic interface than that of Cisco.
What needs improvement?
I wish to see an antivirus feature added to the solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I believe we have been using Sophos XG for more than three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has better stability than Cisco, which is why I prefer it over other firewalls.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not had need for technical support. Mostly, I find what I am looking for on the internet.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation by myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is not expensive since one pays as he goes. He pays just for the functionality he requires, meaning there is no need to pay for all that Sophos offers. If a person needs email protection, he will pay just for this. The same holds true if he needs web filtering.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
The solution is more stable than Cisco, which is why I like it better than the other firewalls.
What other advice do I have?
The firewall does not connect to the internet. It is not firewall edge. We use the solution as a data center firewall.
I would recommend the solution because it provides the greatest firewall protection.
I rate Sophos XG as a seven out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-07-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
SuveeshKesavan from
Enhanced security features, easy to use for all users, and has informative reports
What is our primary use case?
We are an IT solution company and we provide network security. This solution is used for securing your network.
What is most valuable?
The solution has very good security features, is easy to use for administrators and users, and has informative reports.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see in future releases a tool to scan for malicious packets and give the location of where they are coming from. Nowadays all over the world is suffering from ransomware threats. If they could map where those packets are coming from and make the packet monitoring more efficient it will be helpful to prevent more of these kinds of threats.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has been highly stable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used SonicWall and Fortinet in the past.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is very easy for anyone. The configuration is straightforward, all the information is available through a quick Google search.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price can be a bit steep but for the number of features, it is worth it. Additionally, the enterprise version of this solution is priced well for all the features that you receive.
If you are thinking about implementing Fortinet, SonicWall, or any other product you will pay extra for additional security features and might need to purchase additional licenses. If they just spend a little more on this solution they will get the extra features for the same amount.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
This solution has security features that in other solution you have to purchase them as add-ons, such as malware and email filters. Comparing this solution overall to competitors it is by far the best.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-04-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Thameem Ansari from
Suitable for any environment, plenty of features, and strong protection capabilities
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for typical perimeters a firewall is used for. Recently they have added some more additional security such as web application firewalls and email security as part of their offering.
What is most valuable?
The solution has all the security features you would need for any type of environment. I have found the protection capabilities and email security protection most valuable.
What needs improvement?
In feature releases of the solution, I would like there to be an increase in the detection capability. The detection is low compared to the other solution available in the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has been stable. However, two years ago there were some issues causing stability concerns.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have found the technical support could be more knowledgeable and faster in the future.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was very easy. When comparing the installation to other firewalls it takes approximately the same amount of time. We were able to complete the migration from our old firewall in one day. In terms of migration downtime, it is in the average range compared to other solutions. The rolling out of the policies time depends on the existing environment.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment and maintenance of the solution can be done by one technician, it is very simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is no license required to use this solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2021-04-21T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Mr. Antonio Damian from
Stable with a good cloud-based console and great for enterprise-level organizations
What is most valuable?
The product has a console that is based in the cloud for all their products. In this console, they have email security, firewall security, endpoint security, et cetera. All of the products on offer in the console are very useful for us.
The solution is stable.
The solution works well for enterprises and large-scale organizations.
What needs improvement?
The manuals or guides we are given are too simple. When we are implementing the product, it is difficult for us as we don't have more detailed information.
The technical support on offer is slow. When I have questions, they answer me very slowly. Sometimes within 24 hours, I have a response. However, it can be longer. In Mexico, Sophos doesn't have technical support locally. It's in Argentina or in other countries. It would be nice if support was available in the country.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is okay. That said, as an enterprise solution, it can be a bit unstable during the initial implementation.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution works well for enterprise-level organizations.
How are customer service and technical support?
We're not overly satisfied with technical support. We'd like to see local support, from within our country. Due to the fact that it is coming from outside, the response is very slow. We'd like it to be faster. We aren't completely satisfied with the level of service we get.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is difficult in that there isn't enough documentation available to walk a user through the process. It can cause some issues. It's not exactly straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
Sometimes we need to work with other resellers. We don't always implement the solution by ourselves.
What other advice do I have?
We are partners with Sophos.
We are using the 130-type of solution.
We take a hybrid approach to deployment. Some servers are on-premise and some servers are in-cloud.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-04-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Arvind Gupta from
Good content filtering and intrusion prevention, but needs better quality checks for firmware upgrades and better support
What is our primary use case?
I'm providing services to my customers. They are using Sophos firewalls, and a few of them are also using antivirus.
What is most valuable?
Content filtering and intrusion prevention are most valuable. Our customers are fully satisfied with the performance of Sophos. It has all the features that they require in a firewall.
What needs improvement?
They need to do more quality checks before they release firmware upgrades. Currently, a few Cyberoam firewall customers are facing some issues while upgrading the Cyberoam firmware to Sophos. After the new firmware is installed, they are seeing some performance issues, which require some bug fixes. The performance is fine after getting the required support. Customers who are already using Sophos hardware are quite satisfied with this solution.
Their support should also be improved. We are facing difficulties getting support on time through email or phone.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three to four years.
How are customer service and technical support?
I regularly contact them. Connecting Sophos support is quite a difficult task during the pandemic. We are facing difficulties getting support on time through email or phone. Sometimes when a problem comes, it has to be sorted for the customer quickly, but it is taking time. One of the customers has just upgraded a firewall from Cyberoam firmware to Sophos, and it took them around ten days to get that firewall upgraded from Sophos.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Most of the customers compare Sophos with Fortinet. In comparison to Fortinet, people are more satisfied with Sophos. Sophos has a big customer base in India. Therefore, they are good in terms of performance and customer satisfaction.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten. We are satisfied with its performance.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-04-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Vipin Garg from
A reliable product that provides remote VPN capability and multifactor authentication
What is our primary use case?
We are using Sophos XG for remote two-factor authentication. We manage the web and application access, as well as the traffic. We also used it for remote, site-to-site VPNs.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the remote VPN.
The multifactor authentication is helpful because whenever the user wants to connect to the firewall, they have to use the authenticator before they can access it.
The LAN traffic management features such as implicit denial are very good.
What needs improvement?
Technical support can be slow to respond, which is something that should be improved.
In the future, I would like to see the addition of artificial intelligence for identifying and controlling traffic.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for the past year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a reliable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This product is scalable. We have approximately 400 users, spread across different departments. As our production increases and we onboard more users, we will extend the use of Sophos XG.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support team is good but sometimes, there is a large delay in answering the phones.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We had assistance from the vendor during the onboarding process when the system was being set up. They spotted a lot of things during the implementation, which helped.
What was our ROI?
We get a return on this investment because the inbuilt two-factor authentication means that we don't need to purchase a third-party tool for this security feature.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is good and licensing fees are billed on a yearly basis.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Cisco Firepower but we found that Sophos XG was more efficient in terms of cost. As such, we implemented XG.
What other advice do I have?
This is a product that I can recommend for organizations with a medium-level or large-level infrastructure.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Implementer
Date published: 2021-05-14T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1567812 from
Reliable and easy to install, but the policies should be upgraded
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution as a firewall for everyone to connect to the internet.
We protect ourself and we use it as a VPN to connect to the internal network.
How has it helped my organization?
It is improved significantly.
What is most valuable?
It is simple to use.
What needs improvement?
The interface should be changed. It should be more user-friendly.
They should also update the policies and statistics because Fortinet is better, but Sophos could grow.
In the next release, I would like to see improvements to simplify the interface and more policy deployments.
For how long have I used the solution?
It was Cyberoam and we upgraded to Sophos XG. We have been using Cyberoam for more than 10 years and more than one year with Sophos XG.
We were on version 17 and have just upgraded to version 18.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. We have no problem at all with stability or with Sophos XG.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Its high availability is fine, it's good. It's scalable as well.
We have approximately 500 employees using this solution.
We will continue and increase our usage of this product.
How are customer service and technical support?
We had one issue with Cyberoam, but it was upgraded with Sophos. They helped us, but it takes a bit of time to resolve it but it's fine.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use Fortinet FortiGate for large locations. The Fortinet usage is completely different than Sophos. Sophos is simple, but I prefer Fortinet.
How was the initial setup?
It's easy to install.
It takes the team one hour to launch it.
We have a team of 15 people to deploy and maintain this solution.
What about the implementation team?
We completed the installation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We purchased the technical appliances for on-premises.
We have our license for three years.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes. Fortinet. However the price is much better to Fortinet.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Sophos XG to others, but it would depend on their capacity.
I would rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-05-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Percy Bloomfield from
Provides quality threat protection
What is our primary use case?
Our clients from the governmental and enterprise sectors have multiple use cases for this product.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this product is threat protection. Filtering and web protection are important as well.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG's web server protection and log viewer could improve. They should also introduce sandboxing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have about five years of experience with this solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution's stability is fine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There is not much flexibility or scalability with this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
The Sophos XG technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
Sophos XG deployment is easy and rapid.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Most of our clients that end up choosing Sophos XG also consider Fortinet. However, Sophos XG has a better user interface. It is also better with managing users, updates, and integrating with Active Directory.
What other advice do I have?
Before deciding on this product, it's important to evaluate the price of the network.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2021-03-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Gonzalo Diaz from
Management centralized, highly scalable, and technical support helpful
What is our primary use case?
We are using the solution as a firewall to protect all the computers in our financial organization, we did not have one before.
What is most valuable?
I have found the feature allowing you to manage everything from a centralized location beneficial.
What needs improvement?
I am using the Azure Active Directory in my company and it was complicated to integrate this solution with Azure. I had to use an internal VPN and had to do many configurations to get it operating. This process should be easier to implement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for the past six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has been stable in my experience.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One of the main reason I chose this solution was great scalability. I have approximately 150 people using this solution in my company.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is very good. Two months ago we needed help with implementation and they helped us with the configuration of Azure and this solution. You are able to find everything in the documents for the solution, it comes with easy to follow information with photos.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I was using Cisco products before and we decided to switch to this solution because of Sophos Central and it is easier to manage.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was easy to manage for this solution.
What about the implementation team?
It has taken us six months to implement the solution and I am still deploying my system. We used another company to help us do the deployment and maintenance is done by a team of three.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I paid for a license for the solution for three years costing approximately $11,000. Additionally, I received the Web Appliance fee for paying for the full license.
What other advice do I have?
All my experience with this solution has been good. I would recommend this to others and already have.
I rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-03-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Marco-VIVALDELLI from
Light and stable with excellent real-time control
What is our primary use case?
I'm using the solution mainly for its firewall application and to prevent intrusion in the system. The XG platform is very powerful from the perspective of identification and to prevent potential attacks on the system due to its the capacity to predict and to anticipate the potential damage on the system.
It's integrated inside the system, meaning that it can control all the endpoints in the system and talk with them and identify any potential situation. It can also isolate one area inside the system without compromising the entire system. This allows you to isolate the initial problem without involving the entire infrastructure.
You have real-time control of all your infrastructure. It is integrated with the hardware and offers good performance alongside the hardware and by the firmware, and these work together to control the entire infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
The real-time control on offer is excellent.
We really appreciate that you can segment and quarantine certain sections of your system without having to shut down the entire operation.
The product has artificial intelligence that has the capability to quickly identify which could be the potential risk mainly for intrusions like ransomware or a new kind of typology of attacks that are in place right now.
The idea is to mainly prevent the condition and not to manage the situation, as, if that happens, in many ways, it's already too late. It's to identify the condition that can help the company to prevent or mainly to reduce the risk of an intrusion. In that sense, its performance is excellent.
The product is doing it job without affecting the system with a heavy load. The activity on offer is very light in terms of resources that are required by the system. It does not require a lot of resources in terms of memory, et cetera. There is no performance impact on the system. The customer doesn't detect its presence on the system when it's working, and yet they still get all of the great benefits of protection.
The solution has been quite stable.
It's a product that is in continuous improvement and is following what the customer is asking. They are taking inputs and designing new releases specifically according to the client and their needs.
It's one of the best products on the market as it really understands where the market is moving and iterates based on the future. It's constantly improving. It does a great job at keeping confidentiality while guaranteeing security.
The solution doesn't just offer theoretical security, it really does offer very good, real-time security and delivers on its promise to the client.
What needs improvement?
There is no specific features request right now really. I see that all the features that Sophos is implementing and is proposing on the market follow exactly what the market is asking. It's difficult to identify something that is missing compared with what the market can ask as one of the most important things that Sophos does is have the capability to anticipate in a certain way what the market expects. As a leader on the market, they tend to have the solution just before the market is asking them for it.
The solution could offer a bit more integration with other systems, with other platforms - just to be able to extend the capability and to interface with other kinds of platforms or systems that I can find on the market as it gives the possibility to improve the level of integration.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is quite scalable. You have to consider that all Sophos products are scalable. This is one of the main characteristics of the system. It means that you can start with a base solution that is very simple and improve this step by step without losing what you have done in the past. It's scalable in the sense that you have a different layout that you can cover, however, you don't have to dismiss what you have done in the past. You have just to integrate. In this way, if you consider the cost of implementation for the company, it has the possibility to optimize the cost because the company has the possibility to appreciate the system initially, and then improve the system step by step without losing what has been done in the past.
This means the company has the possibility to distribute the cost if you're in a certain period of growth. Normally some companies start to say, "I want to guarantee to control to the outside with a certificate and give the possibility to access my data in a controlled way. After that, I want to extend the security on the email that is managed by the company. I want to encrypt the data on the server and so on." All these features can be approached in a step-by-step manner instead of all at once, and you can implement them on the system in different ways and at different times.
We normally have about 50 users and around five technicians.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also currently use Cisco products alongside Sophos.
However, we did not previously use a solution that was different from Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not so complicated. The system is not complicated to understand and also in can be installed without a very high level of expertise. Of course, if you have this kind of expertise, you can obtain from the system the maximum performance that the system can do, however, it means that you are not obliged to be a guru to be able to use these kinds of products. You can use these kinds of products just as an IT manager inside the company without having or needing special knowledge.
Otherwise, you can leave to Sophos with the capability of doing something like a close box. You are sure that Sophos is able to guarantee the level of security that you are expecting. You can have it be automatic, or you can choose to go more manual in its operations. For example, if you were a professional photographer, you'd probably like a manual experience, as it would allow you more leeway with your craft, and if you were an amateur, you 'ld likely prefer an automatic camera that handles the heavy lifting for you. Sophos, in that sense, is the same. If you want, you can configure single parameters, or you can leave it to Sophos to give you something out-of-the-box.
In any case, if you stay on the automatic configuration, you are guaranteed that the system can provide the correct level of service that you want. It means that it's not required to have an expert. That said, you need of course to have a minimum level of knowledge, as it's clear that you need to know what you are managing. Starting from that, you can obtain what you need without moving into an advanced configuration.
Typically, a configuration takes about half a day or so, if you go that route. It doesn't take long, as those who would handle it would know what they are doing.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the implementation ourselves, in-house. We did not need the assistance of an implementor or consultant. I have enough knowledge on the solution to manage it myself.
What other advice do I have?
I'm mainly a user. Sometimes I handle installations.
I'm using the latest version of the solution. I don't have the version number on-hand.
We do plan on continuing to use the solution. I've been quite please with it overall.
I would recommend the solution to others. It's worked quite well so far and really leads the market.
I would rate the solution at a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-03-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Manojkumar Deshmukh from
A stable firewall solution with a useful tunneling feature.
What is our primary use case?
We use Sophos XG for the firewall.
What is most valuable?
I like the tunneling part which we are using for the VOIP. We have various other sites where we connect via tunneling. The tunneling part is very fast and easy to implement.
The deployment is very easy for my network team, and it is very easy to implement policies. The support that Sophos provides for the upgrade of new features and their interaction with the customer is very good.
Customer engagement is what I like about the product. We are very well informed about what is going on and new best practices. If anything new has gone wrong or anything in the world of cybersecurity we should know about, they will let us know.
Any firewall is dependent on how you use it. It's also on the user, how you configure it, what you allow, and what you don't allow, and so on. The ease of defining policies and the customer connect is what I appreciate about Sophos.
What needs improvement?
It would be better if they made their own hardware like Palo Alto and Fortinet. They use their own ASICs and claim it is more secure.
The SD-WAN can be improved. The traffic optimization somehow needs to be improved, or there is a scope for improvement in Sophos XG.
It would be better if they moved towards the cloud side of things. Now a lot of things are moving on to the cloud.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The Sophos forum and Sophos direct support are excellent.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Sophos support a ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We had Cyberoam, which Sophos took over.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward and took us about a week to deploy.
What about the implementation team?
An internal team made up of two people implemented Sophos XG.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We generally buy it for a three-year license.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Sophos XG to potential users.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Sophos XG an eight.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-03-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1499802 from
Dual antivirus sets solution apart from other vendors
What is our primary use case?
We do not have a primary use case for this solution. We are using Sophos XG to configure wireless networks. Some of our clients have Sophos XG integrations and we are using the MAC filtering on it.
We also use the Sophos XG antivirus, content filtering, and as a secure email gateway.
We have a bundled license with an email security subscription. We also use the free Sophos XG VPN.
What sets Sophos XG apart from other vendors is the solution's dual antivirus. We enabled the Security Heartbeat feature, which synchs endpoints with the network layer antivirus; they work as a single unit. If there is a virus attack from outside world, the firewall handles it. If a virus comes when the network layer is idle, the endpoint protection takes care of it, which is why we are using this solution in our office scenario.
What is most valuable?
The solution is not vulnerable and that is the most important aspect of it for me. We deployed the Sophos XG firewall on the Edge browser and everything that comes in from the outside world as a potential threat is handled by the firewall.
I'm satisfied with the user interface and the solution's security level. They have a sandboxing solution for zero-day threats and a real-time cloud solution with millions of tags. I think the number at this point is four million tags. This is a good features in Sophos XG; it provides more security against new attacks, which are generated every day.
What needs improvement?
I don't see any drawbacks to this solution at the moment. I know of other products that have more features and are more advanced stages, but ultimately, an organization's choice of software depends on its budget. If you have a small amount of money and you want to secure your network, Sophos XG can provide you with network security. Sophos ZG is a mid-range solution. There are solutions that are above it in terms of features on the market, but they cost more money.
They could work on their technical support to make it more productive for the end customer. Some of my friends and colleagues have had unfavorable experiences with the tech support taking too long to close their ticket. However, I opened two cases this week and both have been resolved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My impressions of the solution's scalability is that it varies depending on the model or capability of the box. When we have clients that want to deploy a small box on 200 or 150 users, we suggest that they get a box that's better able to cater to problems and their traffic. If a customer has 35 or 50 users, we will propose just a small box.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are facing some technical issues with Sophos XG right now. We have already escalated this issue with the Sophos technical support. They seem to be working on it.
We are satisfied with the technical support. They reply quickly to our queries, but sometimes take time upgrading their systems.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not complex. I was new to the solution when I deployed it and I didn't face any problems; it wasn't a hassle or challenging for me.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did not evaluate any other options.
What other advice do I have?
This is a mature product. It has a good Gartner rating. It is best for the enterprise level, for the SMBs. Anyone can deploy according to the needs of their customers.
Sophos CG is cost-effective, which makes it really suitable for SMB. If you want basic security and more embedded features, go with Sophos XG.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2021-03-09T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Debendra Chaudhary from
Offers up-to-date security updates
What is most valuable?
The solution is a next generation firewall and we have gotten good customer feedback. It is a very good appliance. The daily, up-to-date security features of the solution's updates and device answer customer IT needs concerning security, network and web protection and new protections, such as those concerning data.
What needs improvement?
The box needs to be fixed
Moreover,the bugs need fixing. I also think that SD-WAN features should be added. The intelligence feature should be improved and Sophos needs upgrading and updating.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Sophos XG since 2015.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
Both Sophos XG and XGS offer a host of cloud-based security features.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable.
Our IT-related infrastructure allows us to scale up. This is a good feature of SD-WAN, which affords easy scalability to modern networks and many data center advances. The SD-WAN features are the most important part of Sophos XG's scalability. When it comes to the scanning power requirements, we have the ability to scale over it.
How was the initial setup?
While the solution proved to be user-friendly and to offer an easy deployment we faced many issues involving its registration. This posed an issue when it came to scaling. However, we found it to be easy to configure and implement.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is more cost-effective than FortiGate, Cisco and Palo Alto, which have very expensive licenses.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is very user-friendly.
I would recommend the solution to my customers because it costs a fraction of its previous price and most of them cannot afford an expensive EDR backup.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-06-20T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Daniel Alorwu from
Is scalable and has an intrusion detection feature, but reporting needs improvement
What is most valuable?
I like their firewall and the intrusion detection feature. This is also a scalable solution.
What needs improvement?
Their reporting needs to be improved.
The initial setup is not straightforward.
Technical support could be improved as well.
Integration to the cloud is also a challenge. It's not straightforward, especially while I move my mail from on-premises to cloud 365. I had to go to the cloud to research certain routes with it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using it for five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. We have over 500 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
My experience with technical support has been poor because I have not had any support. When I have had issues, I have gone to their help files but have not had any technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not straightforward. You have to do a lot of reading to do something new. So, you have to really understand it or have prior knowledge to be able to find your own way out to whatever you want to do.
We currently have two people who manage this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost could be lower especially if you want to add other features. For example, if I want to activate the advanced threats feature in Sophos Central, there will be an additional cost. There are features that I wish I could have, but because of the cost, I currently don't have them.
What other advice do I have?
I think technical competence is much needed, so if you are not familiar with Sophos firewalls, you would need to be trained. You need to have knowledge to be able to work with this solution. It's not straightforward like other firewalls. It's not easy; you may understand the concept, but you need to have technical knowledge regarding the interface and the movement.
So, I would rate Sophos XG at seven on a scale from one to ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-07-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Chris Booyens from
A rock-solid and sensible product that works very well, comes at a fair price, and requires minimal handling
What is our primary use case?
We use it for firewalling. Lately, we are also using it for remote access or VPN access for the users to the firewall and then onto the local network for people working from home. We've seen a huge jump in work from home. Everybody is working from home, so we need a secure connection to the office.
I am not using its latest version. I normally wait for a couple of months before upgrading the unit to make sure there are no bugs or issues. I check on the forums to see what other people are saying and whether there are any issues.
What is most valuable?
There are many features. VPN, firewalling, and intrusion detection are the main features that are most useful for us at this time.
What needs improvement?
Their support is fairly good, and they come back to me. I've had an issue once or twice where I couldn't understand what the support person was saying because those calls were probably routed to India. They were a bit difficult to understand, but it is generally not an issue.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. We've been dealing with it for such a long time. We know exactly how to set it up. Sometimes, clients have got funny ideas, and I just say to them, "You tell me what you need, and I'll do the config and set it up." I've got two clients who have got technical skills. One of them is fairly proficient on Sophos, so he does the work as well, but for most of our other clients, we set it up, and there are no issues. It just works.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable provided you purchase the correct product. We do a bit of homework. We don't just sell you the first device on the list because that's not always suitable. We do a scope of the client's business. They may be a startup with just five users, but they might have a plan to have 100 or 200 users. We need to just size according to what they anticipate to be. It is no good if we sell them an entry-level device now, and two months later, it is too small. We purchase according to a client's requirements.
We've got clients with four users, and the number can go up to hundreds. I'm currently busy setting one up for 150 users, and obviously, there is much more work involved in doing the remote VPN setups.
How are customer service and technical support?
I use the local support in South Africa. If they can't help me, then I log a case with their international support. They're fairly good, and they come back to me.
I've had an issue once or twice where I couldn't understand what the support person was saying because those calls were probably routed to India. They were a bit difficult to understand. They spoke so fast, and I could not hear what they were saying, but it is generally not an issue. It is not a showstopper, and we manage to work. If I don't understand, I say to them, "Can we rather chat by email?", which makes it a lot easier.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
There some other firewalls that my company is using, but they're way below in terms of specs and what they can do. Sophos XG is a layer 7 firewall, and most of the others are only layer 2 firewalls. Sophos is far superior.
I do not have any knowledge about Cisco, Juniper, or other firewalls. I don't really use them. I use some open-source firewalls, but they're also a lot lighter. I've got one or two very small clients or non-profits where we run an open-source firewall, but the feature set is way limited compared to Sophos.
Sophos XG comes in at a fair price as compared to some of the other products out there. Its learning curve wasn't that steep. It makes sense, and it is a sensible product. It is not like some of the other products.
How was the initial setup?
It is simple for me. I've done so many setups. I can probably do these things in my sleep. In fact, I have got one in front of me now that I need to configure and install. I'm fairly proficient in the use of these devices. I'm happy with it.
The deployment duration depends on the setup. Some simple setups can be up and running within two hours. Complex ones most probably will take four to six hours. It also depends on the client's needs. Some of them have simple requirements, and they just want firewalling and one or two remote-access VPNs. Others have got a complex setup where we need to set up cameras and VoIP telephone systems. It all depends on a client's requirements.
It doesn't require any maintenance because the definitions are auto-updated. I've got a dashboard where I can manage all of the firewall devices from one dashboard. If I want to upgrade the software on 20 of them, I'll log onto the dashboard and upgrade the software just by selecting it and saying upgrade the software, and it is done. It requires very minimal handling on a day-to-day basis. Antivirus definitions, scanning definitions, and all those things are auto-updated anyway.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It comes at a fair price as compared to some of the other products out there. Its price is in the middle. It is not the cheapest, and it is also not as expensive as Juniper, Check Point, and definitely Cisco. Nowadays, everybody is very cost-sensitive, and people don't want to spend unnecessary money, but even before that, it was a fairly priced product.
You've got your choice of what license you want. There are basically two types of licenses, and it depends on what you need to do, and everything is included in that license. There is no cost for VPN and DMZ. You purchase the license, and you know upfront what you're getting or what you're not getting, and that's it. It is one license fee and done and dusted.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend this solution to others. I recommend it to all my clients. I'm using it at home as well, and it works great. I'm fairly proficient in it, so I'm very confident. I can recommend it to anybody and everybody. It is a great product, and I've got no issue with it.
I would rate Sophos XG a ten out of ten. It is a rock-solid product that works. We've so many deployments of this solution. I'm just happy with it.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-06-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
WilliamMugobogobo from
Easy to set up with great protection features and excellent documentation
What is our primary use case?
We use Sophos Firewall for our environment.
The Sophos Firewall, from our interaction and the way we are using it, is a very effective network security solution that basically protects our infrastructure, identifies any infections or any network security threats that actually may happen within our environment. We also are able to manage our users in terms of bandwidth usage and the allocation of bandwidth, whereby we give our users restricted access for use during working hours and they are supposed to utilize the bandwidth and make sure that we optimize and prioritize the applications able to get the necessary bandwidth. We do use it to manage our bandwidth. We do use it as well to make sure that our environment is secure against any possible threats.
What is most valuable?
In terms of the Sophos XG Firewall, what really excites us is basically the issue of intrusion detection and the intrusion prevention features. Those are both very, very good.
The issue of sandboxing as well is something that is very useful. It's able to protect our environment quite well.
Email protection is something that we are basically using all the time and it protects our environment which has more than 2000 users.
All of the protection features are great in terms of securing our environment.
Sophos is way ahead of a number of other products in terms of the enhancements and upgrades they offer.
Sophos offers a great centralized dashboard that makes it easy to see what's happening on your network.
The initial setup is very straightforward and the solution is extremely user-friendly.
The documentation is very, very good.
What needs improvement?
In terms of the product, from the way that we have been utilizing it, we have noticed that the vendor has been able to continuously upgrade and upgrade and update the product with new features. You'd find that all the time a new release has come out, and we're actually happy with that. We don't find it inconvenient that we are constantly upgrading.
I can't think of any downsides in terms of the features on offer.
I'd like the dashboard to be improved. It could be a bit more customizable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have about five years of experience with the product.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We are very satisfied with the functionality. We are very satisfied with the way that it is securing our environment. The stability has been excellent.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 2,000 users on the solution currently.
The solution is very scalable. We basically started with about 900 users. We went up to about 1,300. As we went up, as our users increased, we also scaled it up in terms of protection. Sophos was able to scale up easily and protect all our end users as well as our environment. It's been great overall.
We do plan to increase usage. Our employee base is about 10,000. We have 2,000 networked employees and we are planning to add another 1,000 users by the end of the year.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support has been great. All of our technical staff have been certified as Sophos administrators. They were able to offer us the training to make sure that all of the support staff are familiar with the functionality of the product. Then, in terms of technical support that we may need, when we call the Sophos team, they are usually very available and they are even able to support us remotely if there is a need to do that. We are extremely satisfied overall.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also often work with Cisco's ASA Firewall as well as Nagios. We bought Sophos to complement the ASA firewall.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very, very straightforward. You find that we did not even require a lot of external help from the vendor. It's so straightforward. The documentation is quite comprehensive and it takes the user through a step-by-step process, It's very user-friendly.
For the firewall as well as deployment of the end-user, the email protection as well as the sandbox, and the like, it took us approximately three days to finalize everything for our entire environment. We had over a hundred network sites, which are dotted through the city of Harare, therefore, we knew that we had to make sure that deployment was done fully throughout the entire environment.
What about the implementation team?
There was very minimal, minimal assistance from the vendor. The vendor, here and there, would assist if we requested their help. However, you'd find that in most of the installations we did in-house, we didn't need the vendor to do anything. We knew that the installation process was very user-friendly.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost of procuring this product is very reasonable and it's very affordable for most organizations.
What other advice do I have?
We're a customer and an end-user.
We use the latest version of the product.
I'd advise those considering the solution that Sophos' security solution is highly synchronized, very secure, and provides comprehensive security. I'd like them to know that it has enhanced and very detailed and sophisticated functionality, which is really easy to use, easy to deploy, and very user-friendly. It is a product that I would highly recommend for any organization that needs to comprehensively secure its infrastructure.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-06-07T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Milos Tolpa from
User-friendly and helpful interface with good support that responds quickly
What is our primary use case?
For the primary use cases, we use SSL VPN access for rolling remote access. We use web filtering and we use the intrusion prevention that comes with network protection.
What is most valuable?
The user interface is very user-friendly and very helpful.
The VPN access for users is also a great thing, especially nowadays when working from home.
What needs improvement?
Categorization or uncategorized websites is an area that needs improvement.
Having a web portal where you could make requests for the categorization of non-categorized items, would be beneficial.
The DLP rules don't cover countries such as Serbia. You cannot make custom rules. That could be added so that we could detect content that is not supposed to leave the company via email, and so that the rules could be customized by the clients.
We only have predefined rules and most of them are not for Serbia or countries from the Region.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos from the time they acquired Astaro, before that it was UTM, then they released the XG firewall.
We are using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution. We have not experienced any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable product. In the office, we have four users in our organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
Our experience with technical support has been positive.
We have support from the local distributor. We have rarely had the need to contact technical support but when we have, we have had quick responses from them.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward and the implementation takes a relatively short amount of time. The fine-tuning takes a little bit more time but in general, it can be deployed and implemented quickly.
Also, the upgrades, backups, and recovery are very easy.
What about the implementation team?
We are Sophos partners, we sell them and implement them ourselves.
We only need one engineer to deploy and maintain this solution. If you have a bigger deployment then you need two engineers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing fees are on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I can recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2020-12-31T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Sayem Abdullah Rihan from
Synchronized security centrally monitors endpoints in real-time
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use this solution for bandwidth control, intrusion prevention, and network security.
How has it helped my organization?
We now have visibility into our network.
What is most valuable?
Sophos operates using a Synchronized Security in its XG platform. It is facilitated by an active connection with all of the network endpoints. This connection operates like a heartbeat, notifying the firewall instinctively when an endpoint has been infected or compromised. The firewall then quarantines the problem area and provides detailed information on how the endpoint was compromised. This kind of strategic technology makes it much easier to remove malware and address vulnerabilities quickly.
What needs improvement?
It would be great if the user can have a portal to check on activities related to their account.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos SG for two years.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2019-12-21T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
KhalidOmer from
Good pricing, has helpful technical support, and offers good stability
What is most valuable?
The solution has a variety of very good, very useful features. We take advantage of a lot of them.
The initial setup isn't overly difficult.
The stability is good.
We found the initial setup to be straightforward.
Technical support is helpful.
The pricing is reasonable.
What needs improvement?
The VPN device could be improved upon.
The firewalls could be strengthened.
The solution could be more scalable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with the solution for four or five years or so at this point. It's been a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. We haven't dealt with bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. It's pretty reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I wouldn't describe the solution as overly scalable. It's limited.
We have 100 to 150 users on the product currently.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support has been oaky. When we have needed them, they have been helpful and responsive. We're satisfied with the level of support we receive.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was okay. It wasn't too complicated or difficult. It was pretty straightforward overall.
We have ten to 20 people on staff that can handle deployment and maintenance. We look at the solution monthly to see if there's anything we have to do.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We find the pricing to be reasonable. It's not too expensive.
We purchase a new license every three years.
I can't speak to the exact pricing of the product, however.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We're satisfied with this solution currently. We aren't evaluating any others or looking for a replacement.
What other advice do I have?
We're a customer and an end-user. We don't have a business relationship with Sophos.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.
I prefer the advanced Sophos models. they are reliable and work well for us.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-07-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
ChristopherMonsini from
Extremely intuitive, user friendly with a great reporting feature and excellent technical support
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case of this solution is to protect the perimeter, the edge of the network, as well as providing anti-virus protection. There are also RED devices that can be deployed and connect to Sophos and they go back to VPN connectivity. We've mainly worked with schools which is different to working with companies because they have particular guidelines to follow. I'm an engineer/revenue development manager and we partner with Sophos.
What is most valuable?
In terms of hardware, I think Sophos is definitely the easiest to work with. It's very intuitive and easy to learn how to use. The reporting feature is great and they have great customer support.
What needs improvement?
In terms of improvement, I think the UI could be faster. Sometimes the system freezes and there's a lag. It seems there were some issues with the firmware but it's not a big problem. The user interface could also be improved. It would be great if they could include a little bit more bandwidth management. If they would integrate FatPipe into their product, it would be closer to what Fortinet does.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for 12 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos has different size appliances, so they're scalable regardless of whether you have 10,000 workstation nodes to any device down to the 1/10, which will provide up to 100 nodes. It's very scalable. I have implemented this mainly in K through 12 educational institutions and some other types of accounting businesses as well as in a wide variety of organizations and companies. In terms of physical maintenance it's a matter of once every six months blowing out the fans. The rest is done for you with Up2Date, which carries out all the firmware upgrades, and rolls it back if there's a problem. Once in a while, an update will get stuck and you'll have to manually push the update.
How are customer service and technical support?
Dealing with Sophos technical support is a very easy process, from the regional business directors all the way up to the president. They have very good people and their customer support is amazing. That's one of the big things I love about Sophos. Their customer support and the group of people that run that company are amazing people, great people. I've never seen the support on any other platform that I've seen with Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straightforward. They give you an 800 number to call. The licensing portal has improved greatly over the years. So Sophos now has a new license platform which makes things a lot easier than previously and you can now buy individual licensing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I haven't evaluated other options but I know that Fortinet does much more in terms of protection and uses AI. They do a lot more now they have another platform that sits in the cloud and provides clients with AI, whereas Sophos only recently implemented AI. Fortinet has a much better reporting function, but Sophos has stepped up and is now providing the customer with the information they need to feel secure in the product.
What other advice do I have?
My advice would be to download the VMware and get to know the interface because running one of these devices is probably not as difficult as you'd think. If you have an onsite level one user, YouTube has online training and Sophos support will help you through it. It's a very easy device for a level one engineer to manage. My advice is to download the free VMware for 30 days and then either buy the platform or install the VMware product.
I rate this solution a 10 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-06-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Arun Hoodi from
Useful reporting function, priced well, but configuration complex
What is our primary use case?
We manage other companies' IT infrastructure and some of them use this network solution.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature I have found to be the reporting function.
What needs improvement?
Some of the firewall rules are complicated for us to understand, they should be simplified.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have used many different versions. In some of the older versions, the refreshing time took approximately 20 min which is too long, and in other versions, we experienced other stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. We have approximately 25 clients using this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support was very good before. However, now it is very difficult for us to reach them. There are crucial times when we need to speak to support but they take up to three hours to resolve or to address the issue. Sometimes it takes them 45 minutes to answer the call. When you are with a client you cannot wait this long.
The technical support needs to improve their response time in answering the calls and finding a solution.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is easy. However, configuring the permissions or rules in the new version is difficult and in the older version, it was simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is reasonable when comparing it to other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:partner
Date published: 2021-06-10T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Spiros Konstantinou from
Stable, with easy integration and good VPN logging, monitoring and notifications
What is our primary use case?
We use the latest version.
What is most valuable?
We are very familiar with the solution. It's pretty straightforward, our personnel is properly trained and we use it efficiently. The solution integrates very easily with other brands. I've done VPN tunnels with other brands, and that was fine as well. The solution is quite stable and we don't have any issues with it. The VPN is easy and has good logging, monitoring and notifications.
When compared with Sophos XG, Fortinet lacks the notifications and reporting features.
What needs improvement?
When it comes to improvements that the vendor can make, we see that the cloud integration for managing all the firewalls is essentially a replacement of the on-prem version we had. It's not mature yet, being still in its infancy stage. That would require some improvement. As I have many firewalls, having the ability to delegate access to use, such as exists with Microsoft CSP or other services, would be a nice feature to see.
Also, as a tech person, I know that executives do not wish to receive complicated reports, so a simplified executive report for executives would be a nice improvement. This would save us from having to explain issues which are beyond the scope of their knowledge.
For how long have I used the solution?
Sophos XG is basically a mix of UTM9, Checkpoint and several other technologies. It is essentially a merging of technologies. We've been using it since version UTM9, at which point we switched to Sophos XG..
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable, but an organization should assess in advance its size based needs. Say, for example, a company utilizes the XG 125 version, but grows rapidly. At this point it may need to switch to the 210 version. Yet, switching from one version to another would not really present an issue. One can restore the backup configuration version on the new hardware and be up and running.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is pretty good, although I did have some issues with its availability during the COVID-19 pandemic, even though this seems to have been a challenge faced by all major support companies. There were delay issues owing to their teleworking, but the support they offer is quite supportive and they have all the necessary documentation. The truth is that I have a need for many cases, although the ones I require have to do with things that are out of my control, such as licensing or the occasion of a new app that failed to show up in the console. I have many sub-sites and I did face a serious issue. Technical support was pretty helpful even though I had to redesign the typology of one of my sites. They actually tried assisting me with the original design and I found them to be quite helpful and to possess a good base of knowledge on the site.
What other advice do I have?
It is important for a person to properly learn the features of any product so that he can optimize its utilization. The setup of the solution is pretty straightforward. What is truly important for a person with only a basic network background is to undergo proper training, so that he may learn about all the features and how to configure them.
For any product a person uses, it is a good idea to do a test run. Sophos allows for its product to be evaluated without any financial commitment. It offers a free virtual machine for home use testing of the features.
At present, Fortinet seems to have a slightly higher rating than Sophos XG, so if it were also to turn out to be more cost effective this would affect my rating of it. The reason is that this factor does have an impact on the decisions reached by CEOs when it comes to cost-benefit analysis.
This said, I rate Sophos XG as a nine out of ten, because we are very happy with it and don't really have any issues. We have actually been replacing Cisco normal routers, not sets, with Sophos and we're very happy with them.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-06-10T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Hariram Ale from
Features a great firewall but better solutions exist regarding email security
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution as our main firewall. We also use it for email security purposes. Within our organization, there are roughly eight employees using this solution.
What is most valuable?
The user interface is very good. As we've been using Sophos for four years now, we're very comfortable with the GUI interface. In addition, the IPS is quite good.
What needs improvement?
We recently updated our previous version; now, the security licensing fee is quite high. I don't know if it's a bug in the OS, but it's not been very stable after we upgraded to the latest version.
For how long have I used the solution?
we have been using Sophos for XG for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos is quite stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's not that scalable but it's good enough for us.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are not very happy with the customer support they provide — it's quite slow.
A year ago, we contacted technical support regarding the high security licensing fees but they still haven't gotten back to us; they're still analyzing the log.
Support-wise, I would only give Sophos a rating of three to four out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
For us, the installation was very straightforward. We deal with a local vendor and they guide us through the installation process. We haven't experienced any issues setting up this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Sophos is reasonable. It's not too expensive — I think it's worth it. Price-wise, I'd give Sophos a rating of eight out of ten.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before Sophos, we were using Fortinet. Fortinet was also a good solution but Sophos was equipped with more features that we needed.
What other advice do I have?
Feature-wise, I would give Sophos a rating of seven out of ten.
They need to improve their support, overall customer care, and lower the security licensing fees. If they improved these issues, I would give them a higher rating.
Before upgrading any Sophos firmware, be sure to contact the Sophos team and upgrade it according to their advice. Without their advice, I wouldn't recommend performing an upgrade.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-05-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Kamlesh Rikibe from
Reporting provides a lot of detail, dashboard is easy to use; technical support needs improvement
What is our primary use case?
I generally use Sophos for the firewall and also for endpoint protection.
What is most valuable?
The dashboard is easy to use and quite sensitive, I like it. The reporting offers a lot of detail and that's good.
What needs improvement?
The technical support they offer is difficult to access. There is no direct number to call and when you do get hold of them and have confirmation, it takes a while to get a response.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Sophos XG for about seven months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't had any issues with stability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Dealing with technical support is not simple.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I know a little about Cisco which is less complicated than Sophos, but I prefer the Sophos dashboard.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution, the only issue is that it's not suitable for enterprise size companies.
I rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Integrator
Date published: 2021-05-11T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Neil Noronha from
User-friendly, easy to configure, and stable
What is our primary use case?
We are using a basic model for its security features. We are in the hospitality industry and it has all of the features that we need.
What is most valuable?
The interface is user-friendly and the product is easy to configure.
What needs improvement?
Support for this product is something that is really important, and it needs to improve.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for almost eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution has been stable so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable product and we have about 45 people using it.
Only one person is required for maintenance.
How are customer service and technical support?
Before the current pandemic, technical support was good, but it is becoming worse.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In the past, I have worked with SonicWall and Fortinet products.
I prefer Sophos because of the user-friendly configuration and stability.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is a budget-friendly product with reasonable pricing.
What other advice do I have?
In summary, this is a good product and other than the support, I don't think that there is anything else that will improve it for us.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-05-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1452045 from
Secure, reliable access, with good support that responds promptly
What is our primary use case?
We use Sophos XG to provide access to our internal environment, to our infrastructure for our clients.
What is most valuable?
It is easy to implement.
It is very secure, which is why we have chosen it.
What needs improvement?
It is already secure but it could be better in terms of other breaches that may occur.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the latest version of Sophos XG for a few months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is scalable.
This solution is being used by approximately 800 to 1,000 people.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is very good. They are very prompt.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not used any other solutions before using Sophos XG.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy to install and it only took a few hours to do.
You only need one person to maintain this solution.
What about the implementation team?
We have an in-house team to install and deploy the solution. We did not use an integrator.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay our licensing fees yearly.
I don't think that it is expensive when you compare it with other solutions available on the market.
What other advice do I have?
We have not had any issues with this solution. I would recommend it and my advice is that people should definitely try it out.
I would rate Sophos XG a nine or a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-06-01T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Walter Gamero from
Synchronized security with Sophos endpoints, easy to configure, and easy to deploy
What is our primary use case?
Most of the clients use it for web filtering, application control, SSL inspection, and VPN. We have on-premise and cloud or virtual environment deployments. On the cloud, Sophos XG is on Azure or OVH.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable is the synchronized security between Sophos XG and Sophos endpoint because it provides a lot of visibility about unknown applications. The endpoint shares the information of unknown applications, and you can learn about those applications and create policies to allow or block those applications.
What needs improvement?
Everything is working as expected at this moment, but the anti-spam solution in Sophos XG needs to be improved. It needs more granular features and more stability. The anti-spam solution currently doesn't have many features, and we would like to have more features. At this moment, there is no expression filter for anti-spam. We need something to be able to filter subjects or attachments in emails based on the keyword. Sometimes, there is an issue with anti-spam, and Sophos XG suddenly stops processing incoming or outgoing emails. The only solution for this issue is to restart the appliance.
Their support should be improved. It takes a long time to escalate a support case from level one to level two.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable, but sometimes, there is an issue with anti-spam, and Sophos XG suddenly stops processing incoming or outgoing emails. This is the only issue that I have with the anti-spam solution on Sophos XG.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. Most of our clients are small enterprises. We also have some medium enterprises.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support should be improved. When we open a support case on their support portal, it first goes to their tier-one support. When an issue is complex, it takes a long time to escalate a support case to a level-two engineer, which is frustrating. Their response time is slow.
How was the initial setup?
Its deployment and setup are very easy. It is not at all complex to set up. The deployment duration varies. It can take around three days for a deployment with anti-spam, application control, IPS, and VPN with filtering.
What about the implementation team?
For its deployment and maintenance, usually, there are two of us, but sometimes, there is just one person.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Most of the customers here evaluate FortiGate against Sophos XG. Some of them also evaluate WatchGuard Firebox. In the past, FortiGate had the advantage of having an SD-WAN solution, but now Sophos also has an SD-WAN solution with a graphical user interface.
Sophos XG is very easy to follow and easy to configure, which is something very valuable for me and our customers. It is also very easy to use a site-to-site VPN with certificates, which is another pro. SD-RED devices are one more advantage that Sophos has over other vendors. These devices are very useful for those customers who don't have IT personnel in branch offices. With SD-RED devices, they can connect to the central site. The connection is automatically established with Sophos XG on the site. There is no need to have an IT person on the site.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution because it is really easy to implement. Sophos XG is very focused on cybersecurity. Its ability to synchronize information with Sophos endpoint is a very good feature when you are concerned about security. Other vendors or firewalls are more focused on establishing the connection and policies.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten. It is very good, but it could be better.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-05-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Tarun Panchal from
Overall work well, reliable, but reporting needs more information
What is most valuable?
Overall the solution works well.
What needs improvement?
The reporting could be improved in this solution by adding more details.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There used to be problems with the stability of the solution a few years ago but now the solution is stable and reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 400 users using this solution in my company and we plan to increase usage in the future.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support has been good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial installation is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is priced well.
What other advice do I have?
I am satisfied with the solution.
I rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-05-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Dare Oshodi from
A stable and easy-to-deploy solution with a fair price and useful IPS and ATP features
What is our primary use case?
It is a firewall. It is used in my defense line. It provides defense and a form of security for my internal network.
What is most valuable?
IPS and advanced threat protection (ATP) are the most valuable features. I am able to segment my network traffic and block incoming connections. It is also easy to use.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have better SSL decryption and HTTPS decryption. There should be filtering of SSL and HTTPS traffic.
Sophos XG consumes a lot of endpoint resources. It consumes a lot of RAM and CPU resources, and they should look into this.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Its scalability is fine. We have about 40 users. We don't have any plan to increase its usage at the moment. However, it depends on recruitments and other things. If required, my company would change my box to a bigger one for better processing speed.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is okay. Sometimes, during the webinars, when I have some questions, they respond to them, but sometimes, I don't get any response.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked with Check Point before. Check Point is very expensive. At this time, we are not thinking of switching to another solution. If we were switching, Cisco Firepower would have been an option, but my colleagues, who have good experience with such solutions, would prefer to stay with Sophos XG. Cisco Firepower is a little bit complicated to use. It is also expensive. Cisco and Check Point have different boxes for different things, whereas Sophos brings everything into one box.
How was the initial setup?
It was straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price is fair. It is cheaper and way better than others.
What other advice do I have?
I like this solution. I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-05-20T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Pretty Varughese from
After four years, we've never had a complaint from a customer
What is our primary use case?
We mainly use this solution for team meetings. We also implemented the LAN control for Sophos XG.
How has it helped my organization?
We have been dealing with this solution for the past four years and we haven't had any challenges or complaints from any of our clients.
What is most valuable?
We created and configured a VPN for connecting our remote sites to make them more secure and reliable. We also like its two-factor authentication features.
What needs improvement?
The support service level agreement in regard to the amount of time needed to upgrade things is too low. It should be higher.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for roughly four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is both stable and secure.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is good enough.
What other advice do I have?
I would absolutely recommend this solution to others. It's far better than other solutions available on the market right now. This solution could benefit any organization.
Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of nine.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-05-24T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1453809 from
Easy to use, easy to install, and easy to monitor
What is our primary use case?
We use it for the protection of our network. We also have a product from Sophos for ransomware protection using which we are able to protect our network from ransomware. All of our solutions are from Sophos, and we have everything integrated.
What is most valuable?
We can define which systems can be accessed from outside of our company. We can define the connection rules for inside and outside of the company. It is easy to implement or modify rules.
It is very easy to use. You can configure and monitor everything from one unique dashboard. It is also easy to install.
What needs improvement?
Its price should be improved. It should be cheaper.
In terms of features, I am happy, and I don't need more features. The firewall is perfect, but the antivirus could be better. It would be useful if the antivirus was less heavy and had better performance.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. We receive the updates online. They provide the updates at a good frequency.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable to a limit. If the size of the network grows, you will have to buy new equipment. If you need just a few more connections, you will able to work with the existing system.
Currently, we have 16 users who are using it. We don't have any plans to increase its usage because our company is in liquidation. If the government decides, we can have more projects, but, as of now, we are in liquidation. We are keeping things working for now, and we plan to keep using this solution, but there are no investments.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have support from the supplier of our firewall, and if needed, we also get support from the people who develop our software.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to install. Our company is at three locations. It takes two days to install it at all locations. It takes one day for one location and another day for the other two locations.
What about the implementation team?
For the first installation, we took the help of the supplier. Since then, we do it ourselves. We don't have teams attached directly to the system. We have two or three IT guys who work with this system, but we can have support from the maintenance team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Currently, we have a contract for three years. It would be good if its price is reduced before we renew the contract. We will buy the equipment if it is cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
I'm happy with what I am getting. I haven't faced any problems. Everything is integrated, and it is easy to install and easy to control.
I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten. I am very satisfied with this solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2021-06-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
FlorianBUIS from
Fully integrated, easy to use, and scalable
What is most valuable?
I have found the solution easy to use and fully integrated.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by having better security.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for one year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In my experience, I have found it to be scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The installation took approximately one day to complete.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation of the solution and we used a team of two.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2021-05-27T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
MohamedAdly from
Good load-balancing features, monitoring done from a single control panel, and controls access to our resources
What is our primary use case?
This product is our firewall that protects our connections from the internet. It controls access for our employees when they want to access streaming media websites such as YouTube.
It controls the connection to our resources that originate from outside of our infrastructure.
We use it to monitor users and their activity including which websites they visit and what portals they use.
How has it helped my organization?
This product is compatible with my business and our market.
What is most valuable?
This Sophos product has a lot of features included.
This product does load-balancing between our connections. This is helpful because our infrastructure in Egypt is not stable and it requires several connections to achieve the required performance.
Sophos Control Center is a good feature. We can monitor everything from the control panel.
It can be used to create a VPN connection between users and our server.
The performance and speed of the appliance are good. I have also tried the software deployment, without the appliance, and it was also good.
What needs improvement?
The VPN features can be improved. Due to covid-19, we have a lot of employees that work from home and we need better VPN capabilities.
We would like to be able to override policies set by the country. For example, VPN is banned in Egypt. If we could bypass this then it would be helpful because it would allow us to distribute our connections, or services, to other sites.
After upgrading from version 17 to 18, not everything is in the same place in the interface. For example, the firewall rules are in a different place. Consequently, my IT team department cannot understand the portal and find it not user-friendly. They were used to the previous version.
Better training should be available because there is nothing on the Sophos website to assist with setting up VPN connections or VPN SSL certificates. For instance, there is nothing to explain how to configure the DDNS.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG for between six and seven years, since 2015.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This product is usually stable. In the past few days, I have found problems where some services are not stable. This is something that I have used the portal to submit a ticket for.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 90 people working on the network concurrently. Combined, they have between 300 and 350 open sessions.
When the size of our staff increased, we purchase another appliance to expand our infrastructure. Beyond that, I haven't been able to test scalability.
How are customer service and support?
In addition to the recent ticket I created for technical support, I keep in touch with them. The support is okay.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used the Microsoft TMG firewall, and I have also used Cisco ASA.
I already had some experience with Sophos and firewalls. The first time I attended a Sophos event, I made a deal with Sophos and they helped me learn how to transition from TMG.
The user interface with Sophos is easier to use. For example, Sophos makes it is easier to create firewall rules for a VPN connection to the outside. With the other vendors such as Cisco, the process is more complex.
Fortinet is also a top firewall provider but I recommend Sophos because it is more stable. I have limited experience with FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy. It was not complex for our IT department but you need some technical knowledge to do things such as creating a VPN connection between two endpoints, either site-to-site or site-to-client. You should also be familiar with SSL certificates.
The setup took between two and three hours, and after that, we had to prepare our network connections. It took two days in total.
No maintenance is required for the appliance.
What about the implementation team?
We used a system integrator to assist us with the transition from TMG to Sophos.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay licensing fees of approximately $2,000. We have a contract for three years.
What other advice do I have?
The vendor is very professional when it comes to firewall products. Aside from the issues with the VPN, It has all of the features that we need.
My advice for anybody considering this product is that the result depends on your country. In my country, there are a lot of problems with ransomware and viruses. Sophos has already helped to mitigate and stop issues such as these on our network. It is the best firewall on the market.
I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-11T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1749918 from
Robust and feature-rich solution.
What is our primary use case?
We use and implement Sophos XG for our customers for border security, just to make sure that nobody gets in and that everybody who tries to get out will have some kind of filter or protection.
How has it helped my organization?
I can say that it has not exactly improved how our the organization functions, but on the security side it makes everything much more secure, especially for the users. They can't surf the web without some kind of protection for safety and control, and we are alerted if somebody is trying to access some strange websites or trying to access something the company does not allow.
What is most valuable?
The features that I have found most valuable are first the Web Filter and the Web Application Firewall SD-Wan on Version 18. Additionally, RED Tunnels allows a Sophos vital to speak to another Sophos vital in headquarters.
What needs improvement?
The main problem with Sophos XG today is that it doesn't have a feature where you actually know the quality of an international link, which would allow us to we know if the link is operational or not. We need more information. It's losing packets on the network. It's high latency. So, we need more information to know if the link is really bad or really good, and today, we only know if it's working and this just isn't enough.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for about six, seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is really robust because of all the implementations you currently have active. We don't have problems on the hardware or a bug on the software or anything like that. It's really, really rare. Most of the problems are from requests for our customers asking to make a particular website available for some parts of the company and things like this. Just some little configurations on the web filter.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We actually do studies to already know before implementation which firewall will be able to handle all the operations. It is really rare to need to change the firewall or to miss a configuration and put in equipment that can't handle the network. We have never had a case where we had to replace a hardware because it couldn't handle the network. It has always been easy to make a survey to get the right equipment for the right amount of people, and every time we need to make a new implementation we have the study making scalability easy, because each hardware is for a specific customer.
How are customer service and support?
If I were to rate support from zero to 10, I would say about six or seven. The Portuguese Support is really bad. It's really not good. Every time you have an issue that's a little bit more complex, it's better to speak to the Global Support than the Latin American Support.
How was the initial setup?
Today the initial setup is simple since we have been using it for a long time and have implemented it for several customers. So now it is really easy for us.
What about the implementation team?
We are the resellers.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to anyone considering Sophos XG is that it has a good cost-benefit. Let's just put it that it does the job right.
On a scale of one to ten, I would say Sophos XG is a nine.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1740045 from
Good filtering and application control features, but the bandwidth could be more effective
What is our primary use case?
We provide Sophos XG to customers. We work at deploying this solution from scratch to the customer, from unboxing, racking, or stacking, and doing licensing and upgrades for the box. Then we establish the process and security profiles that the customer requires.
This solution is deployed on-prem.
What is most valuable?
Some of the most valuable features are filtering and application control. The DDoS detection also shows traffic jamming and traffic shaping.
What needs improvement?
This solution could be improved with more effective bandwidth. I found that when I enable DDoS detection for our clients, bandwidth is reduced. If DDoS detection is disabled, the bandwidth will be high, but it isn't secure. We recommend that customers enable DDoS detection, but if they need high bandwidth, we recommend Palo Alto and FortiGate instead of Sophos.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for about six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is not as stable as other products. In terms of stability, our number one recommendation is Palo Alto, number two is FortiGate, and number three is Sophos.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos is scalable, but not enough.
How are customer service and support?
Sophos technical support is effective.
How was the initial setup?
The installation takes two days. It is easy to deploy, and not as complicated as Palo Alto or FortiGate. We make it in our company labs and, for deployment and maintenance, we recommend one or two people.
What about the implementation team?
We provide and implement this solution for customers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing for Sophos XG is based on the number of users, so I get the module from the sizing of the customer.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also recommend that customers use FortiGate and Palo Alto, since these solutions are more stable and have more effective bandwidth.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten. I would recommend it to others, based on their needs, but the stability could be better.
We have five to seven customers who are using Sophos XG.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:Partner
Date published: 2022-01-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Ricardo Quintero from
The price is right and it's easy to manage, so it's a good fit for our current needs
What is our primary use case?
We're using Sophos XG within one business unit for security. We use it for the firewall and mapping some services.
What is most valuable?
Sophos XG's price is right, and it's easy to manage. It's a good fit for our current needs at the moment.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG's user interface has some room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
We started using Sophos XG in June of this year, so it has only been a few months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think Sophos XG is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XG is scalable. We have about 600 users here in Mexico, and everyone is behind this solution. I think it's possible we might increase usage, and we've discussed this with our corporate office in Germany. We could decide to go with another product, but we might expand Sophos if it performs well.
How are customer service and support?
Support is one area where I have some issues. Sophos support isn't that good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In some companies where I've worked, I used Fortinet and ASA with FirePOWER from Cisco. In some places, I used Meraki with the MX and the Advance Security licensing. I have some issues with other technologies. Last year, they had Sophos UTM on the devices, but there was an opportunity was to switch our clients to Sophos XG and try out the solution.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Sophos XG is too easy. It took about two hours. The only part of the solution that I deployed was the firewalls. It's something I do all the time in my business unit, so it was quick. We have two people responsible for deployment and maintenance, including me.
What about the implementation team?
I had some support from a partner.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
A Sophos XG license costs approximately $45,000
What other advice do I have?
I rate Sophos XG nine out of 10. Our experience so far has been good, but maybe we'll come across another solution that's at the same or a higher level.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Asma Tabassum from
Reliable and flexible for small and large companies, but has some feature issues to resolve
What is our primary use case?
You can use Sophos XG in small or large companies. In a small company we are using it as a router and firewall. In larger company, like in the Bangladesh government, they are using Sophos Firewall in various sites, including the Bangladesh Navy. Many of the sites are using Sophos Firewall as a router and firewall and also for security purposes.
How has it helped my organization?
Sophos XG Firewall is for security purposes and we are also using it as a router. Wherever we are deploying it as a router we are mapping and also port forwarding. More clients take it as a router and also a firewall.
What is most valuable?
Sophos XG Firewall is very usable, very easy to install, and very user friendly.
The features that I have found most valuable are the infiltration prevention and data protection. We provide immune security. There are also many features on the VPN. We provide a social VPN. We deployed so many features.
What needs improvement?
We are facing some problems on this firmware version, version 18, that require improvement. We want to improve the email security because it doesn't give proper security with the data protection. Also, our clients are facing some problems where most of the sites which they're accessing are getting blocked. I want to improve those sites, that email security, and the data protection on the Firmware version 18. Also, sometimes it gets frozen and we cannot access it. After we shut it down and restart, then it's perfect. That's a point that we want to improve.
In the next release, I want them to please improve version 18 so that it has more features and is more user friendly and it should have a VRF option.
For how long have I used the solution?
We are using Sophos XG for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is stable.
Maintenance, once it is established on the network, requires about two to three people dedicated to Sophos Firewall. We have to give about two to three days monthly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is good.
We have about a thousand or more users and have plans to increase usage of this product.
How are customer service and support?
The Sophos support team is good now.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup is easy. It took about one hour to do the initial setup.
What about the implementation team?
I am an implementer so I deployed it by myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sophos XG is on a subscription basis. We can take a one year or two year subscription.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale of one to ten, I will give Sophos XG a seven.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-12T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of
5 by
reviewer1142115 from
Useful VPN, helpful vendor implementation, and quick support
What is our primary use case?
We use Sophos XG to protect our perimeter network and internet access.
What is most valuable?
One of the most valuable features is the VPN.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG should improve on the GDPR features involving data protection and encryption. Security regarding data protection is important.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG since they bought Astaro, and it has been for approximately 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is stable. We've been using it for a long time. We had a lot of proposals from other vendors, but we decided to stick with Sophos.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found Sophos XG to be scalable.
We have approximately 150 people using the solution which includes people that do not know they are using it, collaborators, and administrators that work on it.
How are customer service and support?
We had to use support a few times and the answers we received were straightforward and in a timely manner.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using other solutions previously. However, Sophos bought the companies that created them. We kept using the same solution but the name has changed.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation of Sophos XG is not as straightforward as we would expect in the latest versions.
What about the implementation team?
We used a company to do the implementation of Sophos XG. The process did not take very long, it took them approximately two weeks. It did not seem that difficult. Our experience with the vendor's support was very good.
We have a team of four that work on the Sophos XG for maintenance. They are not working on it full-time but they are all skilled to intervene if needed, and the first line of support for the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sophos XG is a very good solution, and it's cheaper than most of the other vendors. It is really affordable.
We are on a three-year license to use the solution.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have evaluated other solutions, such as Check Point.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to those wanting to implement this solution would be training is required for the implementation.
I rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
I'm aware that there are other solutions that are probably better than Sophos XG, such as Check Point. However, I still find that it's a very good solution for small to mid-size companies.
Disclaimer: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Date published: 2022-01-12T00:00:00-05:00