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Technical Operation Head at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 10
Helps to monitor application status but gives false positives
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very useful to deploy policies centrally and monitor the status of our appliances, especially given that we are the main branches. With Sophos Central, you can centrally manage and deploy security policies and updates, saving time and eliminating the need for the technical team to travel to each branch individually."
  • "The product needs to improve monitoring since it gives false positives. It needs also to improve pricing."

What is most valuable?

It is very useful to deploy policies centrally and monitor the status of our appliances, especially given that we are the main branches. With Sophos Central, you can centrally manage and deploy security policies and updates, saving time and eliminating the need for the technical team to travel to each branch individually.

What needs improvement?

The product needs to improve monitoring since it gives false positives. It needs also to improve pricing. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product for four years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sophos Central is stable. 

Buyer's Guide
Sophos Central
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos Central. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,651 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sophos Central is scalable. My company has 300-400 users. 

How are customer service and support?

We contact our partner for support. 

How was the initial setup?

Sophos Central's deployment is easy and takes one month to complete. 

What about the implementation team?

Our three in-house resources and one partner resource managed the deployment. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing is on a device basis. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Partner at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 20
Comprehensive cybersecurity solution with user-friendly centralized management, competitive pricing and robust features
Pros and Cons
  • "The primary benefits include complete control over hardware devices and the valuable assistance provided in log shipment."
  • "There were challenges we faced with generating reports for the physical firewall in certain instances."

What is our primary use case?

We use it to centralize, manage, and upgrade our security infrastructure. This includes applying policies, revoking access, and working within established guidelines, all without the need for physical access.

How has it helped my organization?

It streamlines our operations, allowing us to remotely handle tasks, saving time and eliminating the need for running around to different locations.

What is most valuable?

The primary benefits include complete control over hardware devices and the valuable assistance provided in log shipment. Additionally, the analytics tools proved instrumental in effectively utilizing and interpreting data related to these aspects.

What needs improvement?

There were challenges we faced with generating reports for the physical firewall in certain instances. Despite escalating the issue through tickets, we haven't received a fully satisfactory resolution. Additionally, accessing user logs on the central platform is not as straightforward as we'd prefer.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't encountered any significant downtime while working, ensuring a stable experience.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate its scalability capabilities nine out of ten. Currently, there are five individuals responsible for overseeing and managing approximately twenty-five to twenty-eight firewalls.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support in India is somewhat slow. They often require a considerable amount of time, and contacting them sometimes involves odd hours, which can be challenging, especially when it falls outside regular business hours.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We collaborate with two other vendors, Fortinet and Palo Alto. We recently adopted Palo Alto about a year ago, and while they make promising claims, we are still in the process of familiarizing ourselves with their offerings. Fortinet, on the other hand, has been part of our operations for the past two years, with our team gaining experience and expertise. Among the three, Sophos is the longest-standing partner.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward and user-friendly.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It offers the most competitive pricing compared to other vendors. When considering security effectiveness, Sophos stands out as a cost-effective choice, especially in comparison to other prominent solutions available in the Indian market. It provides a comprehensive package that includes most features, making it more scalable and accessible for security needs in smaller organizations like ours. I would rate it one out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Sophos Central
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos Central. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,651 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Technical Architect-Cyber Security at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
MSP
Top 20
A comprehensive and continuously evolving security solution with user-friendly interface, robust endpoint protection, seamless scalability, and versatile features
Pros and Cons
  • "The level of protection offered by this antivirus product is highly commendable."
  • "Additionally, Sophos Central can be resource-intensive, demanding servers with a minimum of eight gigabytes of RAM, which may pose considerations for larger organizations dealing with legacy applications tied to specific OS and hardware configurations."

What is our primary use case?

While the platform offers a comprehensive suite of security features, its central role in our scenario revolves around safeguarding our extensive network of endpoints.

How has it helped my organization?

It is a cloud-based security solution with a flexible deployment that accommodates local servers and updates caches for minimized internet traffic. The user-friendly interface simplifies tasks like configuring exclusions and root cause analysis. The product goes beyond antivirus, offering granular control over peripheral devices, application management, data loss prevention, web filtering, and updates. It ensures a phased update rollout and provides Extended Detection and Response functionality, including a cloud-based data lake for threat hunting. Sophos Central also manages Sophos firewalls, aiming to be a comprehensive security solution with a single-pane-of-glass approach.

What is most valuable?

The level of protection offered by this antivirus product is highly commendable. One notable aspect is its innovative approach to file scanning, utilizing intelligent HTTPS mechanisms for real-time insights into files. This next-gen antivirus product stands out by eschewing reliance solely on static properties or files, a departure from traditional antivirus models that relied heavily on signatures. The product ensures constant communication with Sophos labs, providing the latest intelligence about files through a feature called "Live Protection." This real-time connection, coupled with the integration of artificial intelligence, specifically deep learning, enhances its effectiveness. Moreover, the ability to export this information into a CSV file, detailing all the relevant files, processes, and other executable-related information, adds a layer of sophistication.

What needs improvement?

I've encountered minor challenges in grouping endpoints for policy applications. It currently lacks synchronization with centralized identity management platforms, but users can request features, and integration is reportedly in progress. Additionally, Sophos Central can be resource-intensive, demanding servers with a minimum of eight gigabytes of RAM, which may pose considerations for larger organizations dealing with legacy applications tied to specific OS and hardware configurations.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for four years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is generally stable, with very rare issues. In my four years of directly managing it, I can't recall a significant instance where we were unable to access the console or modify settings. If there were any such occurrences, they were likely brief, and Sophos provides a dedicated Sophos Central status page for users to check the infrastructure's status. However, I must be honest about recent experiences—we've encountered some bugs, particularly with threat alerts, such as unknown threats, and we've communicated these issues directly to Sophos. While these bugs are typically version-specific and resolved with upgrades, there has been an uptick in such issues recently, which has been reported to the development team.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is highly scalable, allowing easy expansion as needed. Creating different service states and consoles is straightforward, and establishing the relationship between a console and its assigned endpoints is simple. The ease of deployment ensures endpoints are efficiently placed in the correct groups, crucial for applying the right policies promptly.

How are customer service and support?

When seeking technical support for Sophos Central, initial interactions typically involve level-one engineers, and may sometimes take time to reach the right experts. There are instances where I proactively provide comprehensive details, yet initial responses request information already shared. Despite such minor issues, specifying the priority of the problem helps streamline the process. If you can connect with the right people promptly, support is generally good. To refine the rating, considering level-one engineers, I would rate the support experience at around seven out of ten.

What about the implementation team?

Deployment in our environment is streamlined through a single source using a compact file. This file is shared with our deployment team for execution. The deployment team requires either internet access, access to the Sophos portal, or an in-house setup for update caching, also known as message relay in certain network configurations. In cases where the network is restricted and lacks internet access, the deployment team utilizes message relay, functioning as a proxy between the endpoints and the Sophos cloud. This deployment approach is flexible, accommodating both on-premises and cloud components. Essentially, we initiate the installation with a small local installer file, and the subsequent files are retrieved either from an update cache or directly from the internet, making it a seamless process for our large-scale deployments. The process is adaptable and caters to various business functions through dedicated consoles. Using a scripted "blank installation" method, deployment is tailored to specific service states, ensuring endpoints align with the correct policies. Policy management during deployment is efficient, allowing for seamless assignment to relevant groups. The maintenance is straightforward due to its cloud-based nature, minimizing on-premises infrastructure needs. Periodic checks and verifications within the console simplify the process, making it hassle-free, especially when no specific network architectures require on-premises components.

What other advice do I have?

Meticulous planning is essential before onboarding devices onto Sophos Central, involving careful grouping and allocation to dedicated consoles or sub-states. Migration from another product requires precise policy migration, facilitated by Sophos's CRT. Mass deployment is streamlined, especially if the old product's central protection is disabled. Sophos Central extends beyond antivirus, offering cloud security and XDR functionalities, seamlessly integrating with SOC teams for effective EDR and XDR. The platform, known for scalability and user-friendliness, supports advanced features like threat hunting and live response. Continuously evolving, it consistently introduces new features through ongoing development. Overall, I would rare it eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Azeez Afolabi - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Support at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 5
Prevents malicious attacks from mails
Pros and Cons
  • "We used to get malicious attacks from mail before using the solution."
  • "The program slows down when you try to control or visualize multiple systems."

What is our primary use case?

We use Sophos Central for security. 

How has it helped my organization?

We used to get malicious attacks from mail before using the solution. 

What is most valuable?

Sophos Central helps us against intrusions and security. 

What needs improvement?

The program slows down when you try to control or visualize multiple systems. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the product an eight out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2314347 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network & Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 10
A cloud-based product that allows the administrator to control Sophos products from anywhere
Pros and Cons
  • "Sophos Central is cloud-based, which allows the administrator to control everything from anywhere. It is free for most of the products except the firewall."
  • "The tool is slow in the Middle East region. It should also integrate custom reporting."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product as a management console to manage Sophos products such as firewalls and WAP. It is a reporting tool that offers centralized reporting for your products. 

What is most valuable?

Sophos Central is cloud-based, which allows the administrator to control everything from anywhere. It is free for most of the products except the firewall. 

What needs improvement?

The tool is slow in the Middle East region. It should also integrate custom reporting. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for four years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sophos Central is mature and effective in capturing malware. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is scalable. 

How are customer service and support?

Sophos Central is good and available 24/7. 

How was the initial setup?

Sophos Central's deployment is easy if you have the internet. It takes two to three minutes to complete. You can schedule the maintenance updates. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The tool's pricing is good. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Sophos Central an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
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Updated: March 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos Central Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.