F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

F5 and Sophos are both solutions in the Network Access Control (NAC) category. F5 is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.1, while Sophos is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3. F5 holds a 1.1% mindshare in NAC, compared to Sophos’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Read 14 F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) reviews

680 Views
549 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Sophos Network Access Control

Read 20 Sophos Network Access Control reviews

1,421 Views
744 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Sophos Network Access Control

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) and Sophos Network Access Control based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Network Access Control (NAC) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control

October 2024

Download the complete report

Helped 814,649 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (20th), SSL VPN (5th), Remote Access (13th), Access Management (10th)

Sophos Network Access Control

Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 1.3%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Access Control (NAC)

Featured Reviews

Ashish Kumar Rai

Associate Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Mar 18, 2024

Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure

The use case depends entirely on the client's specific requirements. We configure the APM accordingly. For instance, in some scenarios, we've used F5 for VPN purposes. In others, we've deployed F5 BIG-IP primarily as a load balancer. The choice depends on the enterprise's needs. They might want…

Read full review

Marco-VIVALDELLI

CEO at MARVIV SRLS

Jan 10, 2023

Reliable with good security capabilities and an easy setup

The user interface, in terms of managing the product, could be better. For example, having some sort of configuration scanner could be useful. I need some sort of base solution that I can provide to the company to set up a first level of service for the company. That way, I can install the product and set up a first level of security. After that, we can run some analysis with the company, with the key manager, and so on, and then customize the product to better suit their needs. It would help us create more tailored policies. That said, we need to have some base configuration that we can use as a kickoff in terms of saying, "Okay, this is a first-level configuration; that is enough to guarantee a correct level of protection from your point of view." And in this way, there is the possibility in the weeks to follow to customize the product better and more effectively over time to introduce a second level of features more specific to a single company. What could be an improvement, and what more competitors are doing, is introducing more advanced features in terms of artificial intelligence. This product needs more AI. It's useful to introduce systems to help prevent problems and better identify issues. The product needs to centralize information from devices and work to create a common database where an AI algorithm could have access to all of the information worldwide and therefore become better at predicting issues and finding problems. They need to widen their vision in the way competitors are to provide a higher level of security going forward.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The portal access was very good."

"The performance of the solution is valuable."

"We have seen a return on investment from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager. It provided access at a time when we didn't have it."

"In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work."

"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."

"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."

"The tool is reliable and easy to configure."

"The solution is stable and reliable."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) pros

"There is really good visibility for the appliance."

"The solution offers very good visibility."

"The installation is very straightforward."

"The wifi control is fantastic and makes it very easy to administer."

"The platform's most valuable features include robust reporting and analytics capabilities, which provide deep insights into our sales performance and customer behavior."

"I am very satisfied with this solution overall. All of the features that we use have been working successfully."

"The pricing is very reasonable and you can negotiate on the price."

"The most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control are the quick response times to threats and reliable security."

More Sophos Network Access Control pros

Cons

"The initial setup was complex."

"I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal."

"The solution is quite costly."

"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."

"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."

"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."

"The solution’s GUI looks very old."

"The technical support’s response time must be improved."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) cons

"It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices."

"The solution can improve the for applying policies. They can be complex depending don't the group they are applied to."

"The difficult thing was finding the metrics."

"The solution could increase the integration with other platforms or other systems. This would be very useful."

"An area that could be improved is the information about licensing, which is fairly confusing at present."

"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."

"I would like to be able to fully customize the reports."

"Sophos Network Access Control requires a lot of resources to work, which is an area for improvement. Pricing could also be improved because it's costly."

More Sophos Network Access Control cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very expensive."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"

"It is quite expensive."

"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."

"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."

"Sophos Network Access Control is costly but has a similar price range as CrowdStrike and Check Point. The product can get more market share if Sophos can play around with Sophos Network Access Control pricing and improve it."

"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."

"Sophos Network Access Control is very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Access Control (NAC) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

10%

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

Regarding price, I'm not directly involved in purchasing, but our CIO thinks the product is very expensive. He's considering moving from the tool to Citrix NetScaler WAF because it's cheaper, and w...

See all answers

What do you like most about Sophos Network Access Control?

Sophos Network Access Control has a useful interface, and I like its dashboard, which is very useful for us to check everything.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Network Access Control?

I am not able to say much on the financial specifics as it pertains to the sales unit.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Network Access Control?

For now, I may not be able to say exactly what needs improvement. However, continuous development in specific areas might be required.

See all answers

Comparisons

Citrix Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 13% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 10% of the time

Ivanti Connect Secure vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 5% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Competitors

Aruba ClearPass vs Sophos Network Access Control

Compared 32% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Sophos Network Access Control

Compared 29% of the time

Fortinet FortiNAC vs Sophos Network Access Control

Compared 19% of the time

Twingate vs Sophos Network Access Control

Compared 11% of the time

Forescout Platform vs Sophos Network Access Control

Compared 9% of the time

More Sophos Network Access Control Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

November 2024

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) report

Download F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Network Access Control

October 2024

Download Sophos Network Access Control product report

Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager

No data available

Learn More

Sophos

Overview

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is an access management proxy solution for managing global access to the enterprise networks, cloud providers, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Through a single management interface, BIG-IP APM consolidates remote, mobile, network, virtual, and web access.

BIG-IP APM can also serve as a bridge between modern and classic authentication and authorization protocols and methods. For applications which are unable to support modern authentication and authorization protocols, like SAML and OAuth with OIDC, but which do support classic authentication methods, BIG-IP APM converts user credentials to the appropriate authentication standard supported by the application.

BIG-IP APM Benefits:

Ease of use
Flexibility
Ability to integrate with other systems
Security features
Granular access control
Responsive and helpful support team

BIG-IP APM Features:

Support for Identity Aware Proxy (IAP) enabling Zero Trust application access
Context-based authorization with dynamic L4/L7 ACLs
Integration with third-party MFA solutions
DTLS 2.0 mode for delivering and securing applications
SAML 2.0 identity federation support
Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol
SSO support for classic authentication (Kerberos, header- based, etc.), credential caching, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and FIDO2 (U2F)
AAA server authentication and high-availability
Integration with leading IAM vendor products (Microsoft, Okta, Ping Identity)
BIG IP Edge Client and F5 Access integrate with VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360
Risk-based access leveraging third-party UEBA and risk engines (HTTP Connector)

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by BIG-IP APM users.

Mahmmoud Rabie, Senior Site Reliability Engineer, writes that BIG-IP APM is "A highly stable solution for load balancing, but the initial setup is complex."

Clyde Livingston, Senior Process Specialist at Telstra, says that BIG-IP APM is "Easy to use, useful access remotely, but lacking stability."

Chris Lam, Senior Solution Consultant at Macroview Telecom Limited, states that BIG-IP APM is "Useful for remote access VPN and VPI integration with VMware.

Sophos NAC Provides comprehensive, easy-to-deploy network access control that protects enterprise networks from the threats posed by non-compliant, compromised, or misconfigured endpoint computers. The software solution is vendor-neutral and works with existing network infrastructure and security applications. Computers are permitted or denied access to the network, based on a centrally defined, policy-driven assessment - and isolated, quarantined for remediation, automatically remediated, or sent alerts. Administrators can define and manage policies uniquely for managed and guest computers, including checking their security status and ensuring that no unwanted applications are run.

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office

Rushmoor Borough Council

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control

October 2024

Free Report: F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control

Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

DOWNLOAD NOW

814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control report.

See our list of best Network Access Control (NAC) vendors.

We monitor all Network Access Control (NAC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.