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Manager IT and Security at Health Street
Real User
Enables us to fully isolate an infected server or workstation with the click of a button
Pros and Cons
  • "The isolation of infected machines is a big feature. Also, the ability to detect external sources that change files on a file server is really big."
  • "It does have built-in policies, which enable you to disable USB devices, etc. It would be nice if they had more policies because there are not that many of them."

What is our primary use case?

Threat management for servers is our primary use case. We're not using it on all workstations, just a few. We're primarily using it on servers.

The version we're using is fully in the cloud, not on-prem.

How has it helped my organization?

We don't have to worry about viruses anymore. Before Sophos, we didn't have anti-virus at all because we're a newer company and we're just now starting to get into business-level stuff. When we installed it on a few of the users' machines, we saw that they did have very minor infections - they downloaded something they shouldn't have, something that could have hurt the computer. We were able say, "Well, we're glad they didn't click on that."

What is most valuable?

The isolation of infected machines is a big feature. Also, the ability to detect external sources that change files on a file server is really big.

The third key feature is something called EDR. It's a type of advanced file analysis. If you aren't sure what a file is you can click on it and it will upload a sample to Sophos and it will respond saying, "That's malicious," or "Not malicious." You can see every individual file and registry key that that file has ever interacted with, and what they did. It will show you every single thing it's done to the machine so you can clean up everything or check everything that it has ever touched. You don't have to worry about, "Oh, did I clean everything up?"

What needs improvement?

It does have built-in policies which enable you to disable USB devices, etc. It would be nice if they had more policies because there are not that many of them.

Buyer's Guide
Sophos UTM
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Sophos UTM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In terms of stability, it's definitely top-notch, a market leader. The ability to do things and the availability of it being online aren't an issue.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It seems very scalable. All you do is install the client, and it pulls it in. You don't have to actually have more Sophos servers running. It all goes back to their central, cloud-based platform, which is nice.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't had to use Sophos' technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial integration and configuration of Sophos in our AWS environment was incredibly easy. They give you a license key and a file. You download that file on the operating system type that you're trying to install it on. Install it and it's done. There's nothing else at all to do. It gets auto-configured for you.

What was our ROI?

We haven't seen ROI because we just got it two or three months ago. Over time we will.

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

The biggest issue with Sophos is the pricing. It's definitely more expensive. We looked at Webroot, which is a big alternative, and Sophos was almost three times the price of Webroot. That's a pretty big difference.

We actually went with both Webroot and Sophos. We went with Webroot for most of the client machines. We're only using Sophos for the servers and the really important client machines, like the ones the managers use. That way, we can split our cost up a little bit.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at Webroot, primarily. That was pretty much the only one we evaluated that was even close to being a competitor. We did look at a few others, but we didn't even do the trials because \Webroot and Sophos offered so much more.

Webroot seemed really nice for Windows, but we have a lot of Macs. Our servers are Windows, and we definitely went with Sophos for the servers because it has a little bit more capability with Webroot.

An example would be that if you have a file server, it will actually detect if a source is changing stuff on the file server. Suppose that a client was connected to them. That client wouldn't even need protection. Sophos is smart enough to understand, "Hey, a client just uploaded this virus." Webroot wouldn't do that. Sophos also lets us do full isolations of the servers or workstations. So if something gets infected, we can isolate that machine with the click of a button, clean it up, and then release it back into the network. That's not something Webroot was capable of handling either. Those were two big things to us because both of those features stop viruses from spreading.

Everyone's going to get infected at some point. We just want to stop the spread as soon as possible.

What other advice do I have?

If you're running a full Windows-based shop you're going to have a lot more options, so make sure you shop around. If you're running a Mac-based shop like we are, Sophos is definitely the way to go. Just make sure you can afford it.

Regarding how well Sophos integrates with other products, so far we haven't integrated it with anything. We have it on the servers and we have it scanning our Amazon accounts, but that's it. The integration with Amazon is cool. Maybe they could work on that because it seems like a newer feature. You can see what's available but not really do anything yet.

For the features, how well it works, and how easy it is to use, I would give Sophos a ten out of ten. Overall, I would give it a nine because it is very costly compared to all competitors.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
Head of IT at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Simple to install, reliable, and easy to configure
Pros and Cons
  • "The management suite is easy and the agent is easy to develop."
  • "The management suite is easy and the agent is easy to develop."

What is our primary use case?

We use Sophos UTM for endpoint antivirus.

What is most valuable?

The management suite is easy and the agent is easy to develop.

What needs improvement?

At the very least, keep existing. I will continue to use Sophos. If Sophos maintains its current ease of management, I believe I will continue to use it.

I would like them to keep the features as they are.

The GUI can be improved. It is not as good as Trend Micro, but I still like it.

The GUI could be more user-friendly.

Now, they offer a SaaS product in comparison to XDR and, TRM, which stands for automatic analysis of virus behavior or deadline. Currently, for example, when there is a threat, we analyze it ourselves, but now they offer automatic analysis because Sophos' XDR is based on cloud PCS.

I would like them to include automatic analysis for virus behavior and also cloud PCS.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started using Sophos UTM in 2005.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sophos UTM is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sophos UTM is scalable.

The endpoint will be decommissioned next year, but we intend to continue using the Sophos XDR.

How are customer service and support?

Because it is in Indonesia, technical support is only available via email and on the website. There does not appear to be enough technical advice available from support.

The support does not appear to be developed, and they lack expertise.

We are able to manage ourselves.

We have documentation available online

I would rate the technical support a two out of five. Technical support could be improved.

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

When compared to Trend Micro has a compact and bundle layer, whereas Sophos allows us to select the module. The module layer can be separated. For Trend Micro, we buy as a bundle purchase and they will give us everything.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy to set up and configure.

I would rate the initial setup a four out of five.

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

When compared to Trend Micro, the price is currently competitive.

The pricing is nearly the same. Implying that each endpoint costs approximately one million rupees.

It will cost approximately $67 US per device. We have 300 devices in our organization.

I would rate the pricing a three out of five.

The price could be improved. In my opinion, we could get a discount. We have already contacted Asia Pacific sellers, and they have agreed to keep the reduced price if we upgrade in March 2023.

What other advice do I have?

For the time being, it is enough for us. As I previously stated, some companies that use Sophos may be unfamiliar with the full range of Sophos protocol offerings.

Before you start implementing Sophos UTM  be aware of the protocols.

I would rate Sophos UTM an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Sophos UTM
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Sophos UTM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
IT Engineer at Wise Communication
Real User
The graphics are very intuitive and the log provides a lot of information
Pros and Cons
  • "An easy solution to learn because the graphics are very intuitive."
  • "Doesn't provide antivirus for individual computers."

What is our primary use case?

We mostly use UTM for the protection of our network and the web. Some of our customers use it for email protection. We work mainly with governmental organizations. Our company was initially a distributor of the forerunner to UTM, a company called Astaro. We provide UTM to our customers and we are now partners with Sophos. 

What is most valuable?

It's an easy solution to learn because the graphics are very intuitive. I really like the log because of the amount of information it provides.

What needs improvement?

Sophos' new generation firewall is missing the link that provides antivirus for each computer. It would be helpful if they could add that element. The technical support used to be excellent but recently they don't seem to be able to solve our problems. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for 20 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 although we generally work with smaller organizations. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support used to be excellent but it's no longer as good as it was and we've had some problems getting solutions to the issues that we're having.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. We provide one or two engineers for implementation as well as ongoing support following deployment. 

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

Licensing can be purchased for one, two, or three years but I'm unaware of the cost. The solution can be downloaded for free if it's for home use which is a good way of testing before implementation.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend testing this product before purchase. It's a good solution and I rate it 10 out of 10. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
IT Manager at Manual Workers Union
Real User
Great features with easy centralized reporting and good performance
Pros and Cons
  • "So far, the solution has been problem-free."
  • "We'd like to see them offer their services on mobile devices like tablets. I'm not sure if that's an option or not."

What is our primary use case?

The features that we're currently using are mainly just for the endpoint protection, which is for the service and the workstations. We basically use it for the servers, the main servers, and then from there for the client, which is basically the laptops and the PCs.

How has it helped my organization?

The fact that it's not heavy on the machines has really helped. It's basically lightweight. One advantage is that we, having a cloud solution, do not require a physical machine that we have to administer on our network.

What is most valuable?

The fact that it's on the cloud means we don't have to administer it on our network or deal with a physical machine, which saves us money.

The solution has many great features.

From the console, we can start different scannings on different machines. We enjoy the centralized reporting part of it. 

The initial setup is simple.

We enjoy its general stability.

The solution can scale.

So far, the solution has been problem-free.

What needs improvement?

We don't need any extra features. We only use it for the servers and the workstations. We'd like to see them offer their services on mobile devices like tablets. I'm not sure if that's an option or not.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for over a year now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's been very stable. In fact, we haven't had any complaints or any issues with it. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. The performance is great.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is quite good.

Right now, we have 40 users.

We will definitely scale in the future. As we get new employees, we just request additional licenses.

How are customer service and support?

I've never had any issues.

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

I also use FortiGate.

How was the initial setup?

The implementation process was straightforward. What basically happens is that you just have to pick that certain client from the console and then you just install it on the machines. From there, of course, you handle connectivity after that. It's pretty straightforward.

A full deployment on one machine took less than 20 minutes. The thing is, if you have fast internet, it can even be much less.

Maintenance is very simple. Support is inbuilt from the manufacturer's side. Therefore, internally, if there are any issues on the client machine, you just reinstall it. There isn't much to do really, in terms of maintenance, except maybe the licenses. It's hosted on the cloud and updates are automatic, and are available from the portal.

What about the implementation team?

We did not need a reseller or consultant's assistance. It was all handled internally.

What was our ROI?

I haven't really explored ROI. I only have worked with it for slightly over a year. Maybe we need to start looking at it. 

That said, so far, we are protected and we haven't been hit so far. We're getting the returns from it in that sense.

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

Having a cloud option is a real cost saving. 

In terms of licensing, we pay on yearly basis. From there, what happens, in the last month, we request a quotation for renewal, and then from there we just pay through the local reseller. 

We're thinking of maybe dealing with the supplier, the manufacturer, directly, however, right now, we're still using the local supplier for licensing and payments. 

What other advice do I have?

We are on the latest version of the solution.

We are customers.

I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We are very happy with it. I would recommend it to others.

I'd advise new users that, if they are going to go with the cloud option, that issues related to maintenance is actually handled within the cloud. The rollout is pretty smooth.

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
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Pre-sales manager at National Information Technology Company
Real User
Top 20
Has a solid state hard drive and can boot in less than sixty seconds
Pros and Cons
  • "Sophos UTM has improved the porting section. It has improved security by seeing the gaps. For example, when you discover that an entry has been using a certain application, with Sophos UTM acting as a Layer 7 firewall, you can block the application, not the port."
  • "With Sophos UTM, there is a general rule in the firewall when the country blocking can block some countries from accessing your data. In the current version, you still need to add it by putting in the IP range. This feature would be helpful for administrators and it gives them the advantage to block stuff in less time."

What is our primary use case?

We are partners with Palo Alto and several IT certificate vendors, like Sophos. We deploy Sophos UTM for customers.

Internally we use Sophos, but we deploy solutions including both Sophos and Palo Alto Networks to our customers. We are an IT integration company. Our services include the deployment of security appliances.

Our environment includes Sophos UTM for internal use, which means it is protecting the network. It is protecting our environment.

We publish our services like the help desk, mail server, and other servers. Sophos UTM offers us protection for publishing and the VPN.

How has it helped my organization?

When we started with Sophos UTM, we were using Microsoft Threat Management Gateway (TMG) which formed part of the firewall. It's not anymore there, it has been discontinued. 

Sophos UTM is an SSD appliance. It has a solid state hard drive and can boot in less than sixty seconds. It is an appliance that has more stability than software solutions. It all depends on which hardware you have installed.

Sophos UTM has improved the porting section. It has improved security by seeing the gaps. For example, when you discover that an entry has been using a certain application, with Sophos UTM acting as a Layer 7 firewall, you can block the application, not the port.

In the application firewall, you can block the next update for Bitcoin or for Facebook. It has settings to block a port or wifi or just block the application and firewall. Sophos UTM will be able to detect the application type and filter network users.

Sophos UTM did help us a lot on the throughput of the internet because at that time we were using ADSL. Now it is fiber, which means we are able to manage the throughput of the firewall by also putting the quality of service first. 

For example, we are able to configure 2MB for YouTube or 5MB are guaranteed for the service which is published. In the past, with TMG you had to buy third-party tools that also did not have the same functionality.

Currently, Sophos UTM and XG are helping our customers. The features available in the UTM and XG are a combination of all the firewalls in the market which means all the features.

The IT Admin or IT Security in any organization would like to have Sophos UTM because it is full of all the features you think about for enterprise. 

Sophos UTM normally will deploy a batch or an upgrade and add more features, every six to eight months based on the RMD.

What is most valuable?

To be quite honest, from my personal experience all the features of Sophos UTM are useful, which includes publishing templates and the ease of publishing any servicing needs. 

From the VPN side, all the VPN protocols are available so you can choose from SSVPN to PPTP to other versions of VPN, and it's easy to deploy within minutes.

The firewall includes very good logging where you can see what's hacking your network. The IDS and IPS settings are based on your reliance and also alerts you if there is an attack. 

We're happy with Sophos and we also have an XG version being used for other services, because we are a company that provides services. We have two versions, we have the XG and the latest one. 

The Sophos UTM which is the previous version but still being in production is our main firewall for the company.

We happy with all the features, we have no negative comments on any of the features except that the XG has more ability to block based on countries.

On the previous model, the blocking of countries we had a problem with, i.e. if you use the NAT feature, you can't block countries. You have to enter the IP network. 

With the XG version, you can just select when you publish via NAT not via WAF. You can select the countries. 

That is the only difference between XG and the UTM which we did not really like, but other than that its all cool.

What needs improvement?

There is definitely room for improvement with Sophos UTM. For the SG version of Sophos UTM, they can add blocking of countries in the NAT section, not only in the firewall section. 

When you are mapping, they should also add the ability to block countries in that section. That's not available right now. It's only available in the firewall if you want to block incoming traffic.

With Sophos UTM, there is a general rule in the firewall when the country blocking can block some countries from accessing your data. In the current version, you still need to add it by putting in the IP range. 

This feature would be helpful for administrators and it gives them the advantage to block stuff in less time. 

The web filter needs additional enhancement but that's the point of the XG upgrade. If they're going to continue with the production of the XG, then they will not add the same features to the basic version of Sophos UTM.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

With the ability of the hardware, we haven't experienced any problems with Sophos UTM so far. Neither have our customers. 

At the beginning of the XG version, three years back, they had hardware issues. After that Sophos deployed division two, three, and four as hardware appliances.

Sophos fixed the hardware issue for the lower models, i.e. the 525, the XG 125, and the XG 85. All of the larger Sophos UTM models were fine.

Now, all are stable, all are fine. We haven't seen any crash. One of our customers had a DDoS attack. Since he had the proper rules, we did not record any incident. 

Sophos UTM blocked the DDoS. Although it is not a dedicated anti-DDoS solution, Sophos UTM has the features. 

Sophos UTM is stable. I haven't seen any claims or issue tickets from our customers regarding stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sophos UTM has different aspects. If you have an HA distribution, high availability, you can scale up.

When you go and purchase Sophos UTM, you have to plan and say what the environment is. This planning has to be done before buying. If you buy a small appliance and after two years, you are 50 or 70 employees there are upgrade options. 

It should be between you and Sophos. They can give you a free appliance if you subscribe for three years on subscription, for example.

If you have an existing subscription and you want to have HA, this means another device has to be set as redundant. The only downside is that it has to be the same version and the same model. 

In my company, we have around 35 loyal customers. These customers have purchased and are redeeming Sophos UTM with us. Altogether, we are 55 employees. Most of them are at the office. Concurrently around 35 others are on site at other clients. We have around 35 servers. 

We have the published Sophos UTM on the main server, help desk, share point, etc. We've got around nine published services, plus 10 VPNs running concurrently for our support engineers to connect and work on our internal infrastructure for the allotment servers. 

We have 50 Sophos UTM installations at least that are actively browsing, downloading, and being protected by the web filter and other features there.

It depends on the organization, but for us we only require one person to manage this solution, even working remotely at home.

How are customer service and technical support?

We don't have much need to speak with the vendor because we are educated and experienced with Sophos UTM. We are an integrator company.

For our customers, in the beginning, we give them training. After a week we do expect to have some calls because they are not yet educated or they're not yet used to it. 

After that, that's it. They already told us if they are ready or not. Sophos' support is better than others because Sophos also can sell endpoint solutions.

If one of our customers has an issue and Sophos did support and send their team for the investigation it could be conflicting.

For example, one of our customers had an endpoint which is an antivirus and they had an issue. We have teams that were actively taking care of the customer based on our relationship with the client and their Sophos UTM device license.

We have no comment on the Sophos UTM support which we have seen at our customer sites because it was only with a government customer. 

The customer told us that the Sophos UTM representative mentioned that they wanted to have the vendor take care of this issue.

Other than that, I have had no negative experiences with Sophos' technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Sophos UTM is straightforward for both versions, the XG & UTM. In addition, they both provide a proper manual.

In the beginning, seven years back, Sophos UTM wasn't straightforward for beginners. You had to be already excellent in security. Now, it is very easy because you install the IP address, you log in, and you do the initial setup by routine. 

These days its much easier than in the past but not everyone that has a firewall is secured. If you do it properly by choosing the right network, the right topology, and the right firewall rules, Sophos UTM will work.

There are orders for most of the rules. For example, if you put a deny rule below an allow rule, you are not going to have the proper result. 

Sophos UTM requires knowledge. It's easy to deploy but also there is a responsibility on the person who is deploying to understand. 

You must have the knowledge of security and networking, to make sure that the solution is working properly. Sophos UTM is very easy compared to other vendors somehow.

In our environment, we have defined previously the VLAN rules on our sheets because we had another firewall. In the beginning, we just copied the current rules and then enhanced them slowly so deployment took place quickly.

After fixing the appliance physically on the rack, it took one hour to be up and running and ready based on the rules. If you are a small environment that would take you less than 20 minutes. 

It all depends on how many rules you have, how many demands, how many users, and public services. For example: if you have five websites, the main server, and a starter business, you might need more time because you would need to define the rules properly. 

It all depends on how complex your environment is. Sophos UTM is easy and straightforward for me and for somebody who is certified on security levels.

What about the implementation team?

We haven't opened a ticket with Sophos for 60 days, but we still have support. All our customers use us as the first level of support, even if they have to chase it. 

Sophos UTM comes with a license. We are very aware and updated on Sophos solutions. We have good experience with it.

Although we sell other solutions, we are looking forward to building, selling, and integrating Sophos XG/UTM versus other vendors because of the ease of use.

We are more focused now. Our entire team is certified in Sophos Enterprise, while other vendors would likely still have just one or two members who are certified.

We feel more comfortable using Sophos equipment and solutions.

What was our ROI?

I can't mention anything on ROI because I'm more focused on the technical part. I'm not needed in the financial part. In our company, we have saved bandwidth and lots of network hardware waste. 

The Sophos UTM solution did help us because we were depending on a software base from Microsoft. Microsoft is a great company but they are not great for our security. Now they have improved. When you go out and buy something, buy it from the specialists.

For example, if you go for virtualization, VMware is a company that only does virtualization. Go for specialized people. Don't go for people who are doing everything at once. 

It's like when you go to a physician or a doctor and you have a problem with certain things. i.e you have a problem with the bones. Go to the doctor that is specialized in the bones, not a general doctor. 

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

The Sophos UTM license is annual or you have a choice for a two or three-year term.

The Sophos UTM licensing is based on if you have an appliance. There are several layers of subscription you can take:

  • Sophos UTM Full Guard includes everything but a few features.
  • Sophos UTM Full Guard Plus includes all the most used features, i.e Wifi, ITF, ITS, web publishing WAF, etc. 

There is a huge price list. The prices in the MENA area (the Middle East and North Africa) is completely different than North America.

The products are completely different in the MENA area from the United States. Each region has its own scheme of pricing based on the VAT and the tax refund. 

The price might be different for the people who are in the United States and the UK.

After you select the level of subscription, you pay once.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We tried and tested Fortigate from Fortinet. We tested several appliances about six years back. Not Palo Alto at that time, only Fortinet. 

We evaluated other open-source Linux software but not appliances. We decided to go with Sophos UTM based on several factors related to the tests we did at that time.

Evaluation is very important so that you can see what are you buying and what you are going to face in the future.

What other advice do I have?

My recommendation is that businesses should go for the XG version, not the SG because the XG version of Sophos offers next-generation firewall support and has more improvements.

Sophos XG is the next generation firewall that is not available on the UTM version. The difference is in the features between the two and how you deploy them. 

Sophos XG version covers what is in the SG version plus additional bonuses: the dashboard, the heartbeat between the firewall and the input, etc. 

I advise first evaluate, know your network, know your needs, and plan for the upcoming two or three years before you purchase. 

Get in touch with the vendors because these days every vendor wants to sell. They are willing to help the customers and willing to show them what they will get. 

Make sure you evaluate properly many platforms. Don't just go with one vendor. Go with two or three vendors. Evaluate and then short-list and choose the best for you.

The rating has to have criteria: 

  • On performance, I would give Sophos UTM a 10 out of 10 rating. 
  • On price, it is a long discussion because you can get a discounted price if you are an integrator. 
  • As a user and a customer, I would give Sophos UTM a 9 out of 10 rating.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Head of Data Link at Telecom Egypt
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Easy to use but isn't scalable and reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to use."
  • "I didn't like it much. It suits only small businesses. It isn't scalable and reliable. There is a very critical issue with the power supply."

What is most valuable?

It's easy to use.

What needs improvement?

I didn't like it much. It suits only small businesses. It isn't scalable and reliable. There is a very critical issue with the power supply.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its stability is very bad. It needs to be improved. The power supply issue that I faced is a very critical one.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I feel that the hardware itself needs to be improved. We have about 50 users. 

How are customer service and support?

Their support is very bad. They don't respond at all.

How was the initial setup?

It's easy to set up. One day is enough for its full implementation.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it in-house. We had two administrators for its implementation.

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

It's expensive. It has a yearly license.

What other advice do I have?

I'd not recommend this solution. I'd rate it a four 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
PeerSpot user
CEO, Technologist with 51-200 employees
Vendor
Comprehensive UTM Product, scale-able, fast, understandable user interface

What is most valuable?

Proven UTM technology, excellent security and threat management are valuable features. The fact that I can provide scalable solutions for a SoHo environment on a small appliance, run on my own PC/server or even a virtualized environment allows me to accommodate almost any business, regardless of size. The software works in the same way across all the models. I have managed all my clients via the Sophos UTM Manager, a centralized console. I am a MSP, so having a centralized system to managed and maintain all of my client UTM firewalls is just gravy.

Customers appreciate the extensive built in reporting, rock solid IPS and security features. Coupled with a centralized Wireless and Remote Ethernet Device (RED) Device extends my service offerings. Lastly, the Total Protect bundle offers an affordable, comprehensive solution for the SMB market.

How has it helped my organization?

Using the SUM (Sophos UTM Manager) Central Console, each client UTM is configured to report to my RMM and CRM system for monitoring, SLA, ticketing, and support. We can administer a majority of our management such as firmware updates from our Sophos UTM manager. With many other products, this needs to be done and case by case basis.

We also schedule weekly automatic backups of the clients UTM configuration. These backups are emailed to our support portal and preserved. We keep spare/loaner equipment in stock so if a client’s UTM has a catastrophic failure, we prep a spare unit, apply their most recent configuration, and within 5 minutes have a functioning loaner unit we can deliver while their warranty replacement is processed. A simple drive to the client’s location and a swap out is done which gets them back in business on the same day. You can also get a 30 day full trial license for appliance or software. My sales staff can place a 30 day trial of fully functional unit as part of a proof of concept.

What needs improvement?

The unit offers great failover and load balancing features that can be complex to understand, some streamlining of the process would help. More predefined port rules would help the novice user/technician as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been a Sophos/Astaro Partner for over 10 years. I started with Astaro v6 and have continued with them following their acquisition by Sophos a few years ago. The product keep getting better and better. I have over 200 units I have installed and managed. I am currently selling the SG Series with UTM v9.309. The SG series have models that fit small business up to large enterprise environments.

Alongside the hardware versions, we also use a virtualized version running UTM 9.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

The only issues I have, have been due to human error.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable if you size the unit to the environment. An SG125 is great for a 25 person office with web, email filtering, application control, etc. but it would not work well in a 100 person office. You need to know the proper sizing prior to deployment.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

As stated, unit needs to be scaled to the environment. So if I don’t do my job of understanding the client's environment, it is possible to undersize the unit just like every other product. For clients who are planning major growth, we tend to sell either a virtualized UTM or software base unit. Then it is simply a matter of adding license capacity, RAM, CPU, etc. when needed.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

They have a great account team and customer service is solid. 85% of the time the issues are resolved on the same day, and 97% by the next business day.

Technical Support:

They have excellent technical support. I can submit a ticket request via their portal, with a call, etc. I can get someone 24/7 and usually within an hour. They also have a great escalation procedure.

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

I have used many, such as SonicWALL, Cisco, Juniper, WatchGuard, and FortiGate. Sophos is consistent and deep in their solutions and I like a consistent platform and support.

How was the initial setup?

Simple small offices are a breeze. We have some template configurations, which only require us to stage and activate a license(s), install a basic template and modify the interfaces to meet client specifics and then add the unique definitions. More complex setups start with a basic template which even my technicians can load, and then require an engineer or security specialist to finish off.

What about the implementation team?

We are a managed service provider (MSP) so we do it in-house for clients. We provide our customers with basic training and complete documentation package.

What was our ROI?

As with most hardware, margins could always be better. I can get competitive pricing on larger deals. Our biggest ROI is the monthly management fee, which is very reasonable for our clients. Since we do all of our management (updates, reports, etc.) from the SUM we spend very little time on this and a technician can do it. It has a very good economy scaling and the annual subscription renewals are pretty standard with not much of a margin. This solution fits the MSP model very well due to it being a centralized control/management solution.

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

A SoHo setup takes about an hour, which is US$125 and the monthly management/maintenance is US$30, but it all adds up.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have evaluated many

  • WatchGuard
  • SonicWALL
  • Cisco
  • FortiGate
  • Smoothwall, etc.

What other advice do I have?

The product has a shallow and a deep end. Getting a small business/SoHo running up quickly and reliably is straight forward, but the deep end takes some technical skills, just like any solution. What I really like is that my Tier One guys can get a quick status update, have a look very quickly, and then resolve most basic issues. Tiers two and three are not as involved unless there is a major issue or complexity. Also, when buying the product, get the audit/chance tracking built in too!

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: My company is a business partner.
PeerSpot user
CEO at Tomans Consulting
Real User
Seamless scalability, robust, and flexible
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability of Sophos UTM is very good. The solution has been stable since Sophos took over Cyberoam which was the original company providing this solution."
  • "The initial setup was straightforward. The full deployment takes approximately two days which could be simplified to reduce the time. The major part of the process is the configuration and the policy setup."

What is our primary use case?

We use Sophos UTM as a firewall and access control. The firewall has web filtering and anti-fishing tools. We synced Sophos UTM with our Microsoft Windows Active Directory.

What is most valuable?

Sophos UTM is a robust solution and it provides flexibility.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos UTM for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Sophos UTM is very good. The solution has been stable since Sophos took over Cyberoam which was the original company providing this solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Sophos UTM is seamless if you have the right UTM device. However, for every device there are limitations, we have 150 users on it at this time.

How are customer service and support?

The support from Sophos is very helpful. We raise a support ticket on the portal and we receive a response.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. The full deployment takes approximately two days which could be simplified to reduce the time. The major part of the process is the configuration and the policy setup.

What about the implementation team?

We did the implementation of Sophos UTM using our internal team. We have certified engineers that can handle the process. If there are any issues we can reach out to the support of Sophos.

We have two people that handle the maintenance for the solutions.

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

There is a license for the device and for the software. We pay annually for the solution and the cost is competitive.

What other advice do I have?

Sophos has an aggressive 360-degree security deployment. They are securing your mobile phone and data, both data security and also device security. They're on the cloud too, if you look at the company they really working hard on a 360 approach for security. The coverages they offer makes them robust. You can always start from somewhere, and then you scale up. You can start with their device management solution, or with their firewall, and then you begin to scale up with other features seamlessly. The flexibility they provide is also very good with Sophos, I can recommend Sophos confidently.

I rate Sophos UTM a nine 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: October 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos UTM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.