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GlobalNe150a - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Network Security Admin at a consumer goods company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
It can identify threats quickly, then find the affected devices and quarantine them
Pros and Cons
  • "It has helped by identifying threats within the company. If there are computers or servers that are compromised, then we are able to identify them right away in the system."
  • "The technical support only communicates via email. I would prefer to communicate directly with someone."

What is our primary use case?

I am using it for security, antivirus, and malware detection.

How has it helped my organization?

It has helped by identifying threats within the company. If there are computers or servers that are compromised, then we are able to identify them right away in the system.

What is most valuable?

It can identify threats quickly, then find the affected devices and quarantine them.

It ease of use: The GUI is easy to maneuver through; it is not complicated.

What needs improvement?

The support needs improvement.

Buyer's Guide
Sophos UTM
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos UTM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has been stable. We haven't had issues. It does what it is supposed to do.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Since it is cloud-based, scalability works great. We have around 300 users in our environment.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support only communicates via email. I would prefer to communicate directly with someone.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also considered Symantec and McAfee. We did not chose them because we had experience with both of them and were not happy with their platforms.

We chose Sophos for its ease of use and it detects malware and viruses that other companies can't detect.

What other advice do I have?

The product works. It helps you identify threats within the environment.

We were able to integrate it with different devices and the installation is straightforward.

We are using the cloud-based version, but it is through Sophos directly. We are not using AWS. A lot of this stuff is also on-premise.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Todd285 - PeerSpot reviewer
Unified Communications Specialist at Agentra
Real User
We have a better level of protection and we have the ability for our devices to be more of a self-sustained type of resource.
Pros and Cons
  • "I have no problem with the cost or licensing of this solution. This is a primary reason whay I wanted this solution. It does the same thing cheaper than other name brands."
  • "The memory and processing were problematic. The interface could be better."

What is our primary use case?

My primary use case is as a VPN, a firewall and a web filter.

How has it helped my organization?

We have a better level of protection and we have the ability for our devices to be more of a self-sustained type of resource.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are:

  • Firewall protection
  • Intrusion detection

What needs improvement?

The memory and processing were problematic. The interface could be better.

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

I have no problem with the cost or licensing of this solution. This is a primary reason whay I wanted this solution. It does the same thing cheaper than other name brands.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Sophos UTM
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos UTM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Quality Officer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Consultant
I know I am secure against threats from the internet

What is most valuable?

The IPS and endpoint protection function.

A standard Firewall of an access router, monitoring up to OSI level 4, is unacceptable anymore these days. The endpoint protection solution is integrated, thus running along with the notification function.

How has it helped my organization?

All the necessary functions being incorporated into one solution with notifications configured, I know I am secure against threats from the internet. (Up to the limits of the solution in the constantly evolving and dangerous Internet).

What needs improvement?

  • A cleaning up function to remove unused references.
  • A dashboard to show that the various parts of the solution really do their tasks and not only have been activated or configured (e.g., From the live log of the IPS function it is difficult to understand if the solution (snort) is running or experiences a problem and has stopped working.
  • The possibility to add the sandbox (and possible future) function, paid for, to the free Home version.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used this solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Some with the IPS function (snort).

In my case, when restarting the system (because of an update), I doubt that snort starts correctly and do a manual restart of the IPS function (see my answer for 'Room for Improvement').

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No, I use the solution in a VMware environment with Intel Network interface cards.

How are customer service and technical support?

As a free home user, I have not used the support services up until now.

Once, I did upload an Office document that appeared to give a false positive, but never got a notification. I understand this because of the priorities that have to be given, but I would have liked to receive a (even small) reaction.

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

I did take a look at other open source solutions, but found the Sophos UTM, being the best professional free for Home UTM solutions, full blown, and updated daily, to be the best solution.

How was the initial setup?

The setup wizard provided me with just enough insight into the basics of the solution -- to be able to start using the solution fully after some self-study and exploration of the various knowledge bases and forums.

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

I looked at some open source variants but being able to use the best professional (free for the home version) product with regular updates -- convinced me to use the Sophos UTM solution at Home.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The instability and best effort service of a community of the open source solution did not give the right trust to depend on in the battle against the negative sides of the worldwide internet

What other advice do I have?

Start simple and step-by-step, and start using the product fully.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Assistant Manager IT Zircon Technology at Zircon Techonolgy
Real User
Offers strong network security and the option for remote deployment, with good configuration options and easy handling
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to handle and configure."
  • "The reporting could be a lot better."

What is our primary use case?

We use this product for network security and implement using a Sophos SD-RED device. 

What is most valuable?

The solution is easy to handle and configure. 

The product also offers remote deployment capability with a Sophos SD-RED device. 

What needs improvement?

The reporting could be a lot better and technical support could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for two 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 relatively scalable, we have over 500 users in our company and use three people for maintenance. 

How are customer service and support?

In our experience it has been hard to get to customer support, even premium support doesn't offer much availability.  

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite simple. 

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

The price is comparable to other products of this kind. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We considered implementing a SonicWall product, but went with Sophos UTM because it is easier to handle and configure.  

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

We are satisfied with Sophos UTM and will continue implementing it for the foreseeable future. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1190760 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Director at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Good firewall applications, easy to setup, responsive technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of this solution are the firewall application and application control."
  • "Monitoring and reporting are areas that need improvement."
  • "Monitoring and reporting are areas that need improvement."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of this solution are the firewall application and application control.

What needs improvement?

Monitoring and reporting are areas that need improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos UTM for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution for 90% of the time.

There are some things that are not quite 100% and it could be improved.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is very responsive.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

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

It's reasonably priced.

What other advice do I have?

This is a good product but 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?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Senior IT Support Engineer at a religious institution with 51-200 employees
Vendor
The email alert on event triggers is a valuable feature. The ability to disconnect the VPN connection needs to improve.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are:

  • Ease of configuration of the firewall rules and routing.

  • The email alert on event triggers.

  • Internal storage for logging, as you do not have to get another server to store the logs.

What needs improvement?

The ability to disconnect the VPN connection needs to improve. Currently, in order to disconnect an existing VPN connection of a device, the admin needs to change the password of the user.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for two and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We encountered stability issues more on the Web Filtering feature where certain valid websites are blocked or the video cannot be played and it requires extra exceptional configuration.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There were no scalability issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate the technical support a 8/10.

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

Previously, we were using WatchGuard UTM. The pricing and ease of use of the configuration were the reasons as to why we moved over to this solution.

How was the initial setup?

Setup is straightforward.

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

From time to time, there is a promotion and it is more cost effective to get the 3 years subscription licensing upfront.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at Fortinet.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user472113 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systemadministrator at MCON Group GmbH
Real User
It is for beginners and hardcore professionals.

What is most valuable?

All the features are similar; we are real, hardcore users of the Sophos UTMs.

How has it helped my organization?

This product is for beginners and for hardcore professionals; beginners can get their feet wet and professionals can easily look into the product.

What needs improvement?

Certificate Management should be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution since 2014, i.e. for around three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have over 30 Sophos UTMs running. There are some that are not stable, because of the bridges used or ISP used (Cisco vPCs/Dell MLAGs etc.).

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The Sophos UTM Internal DB sometimes has problems which affect its scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is very good, but only to the distributor. Support is poor if the distributor escalates to the vendor or we complain directly to the vendor.

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

It was not a change; in general, we have used many firewall vendors, but no one is as good as Sophos UTM.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy.

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

Unfortunately, the pricing is very expensive, but for licensing, there are some "cheap" options for some scenarios.

What other advice do I have?

If you'd like to look into a system which is very robust and hardcore, then select Sophos UTM.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1420764 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Easy to manage but five-factor authentication needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "It is easy to manage."
  • "The five-factor authentication needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for email security, malware protection, IPS, and filtering.

What is most valuable?

It is easy to manage. 

What needs improvement?

The five-factor authentication needs improvement. 

It needs central management. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos UTM for a few years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have around 400 users. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We offer certified support. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. We had a problem with the multi-factor authentication.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Sophos, it is easy besides for the five-factor authentication. It is good for my needs. 

I would rate it a seven 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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos UTM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos UTM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.