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reviewer1166514 - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder and Managing Partner at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Powerful, simple implementation, useful update scheduling
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "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."

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.

Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
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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.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Pre-sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
Reseller
A comprehensive solution which makes available heartbeat security
Pros and Cons
  • "Sophos is a comrehensive solution which allows me to configure all the attendant products, such as Sophos' firewall, Endpoint and Encryption features."
  • "The response time could stand improvement."

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. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
842,690 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1680258 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Security Engineer | Project Manager at a consumer goods company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Simple to use, easy installation, and performs well
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has good performance and is easy to use."
  • "The solution could be more secure."

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
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Creative Head/Director at WitBuz
Real User
Scalable and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is scalable."
  • "The installation could be faster and is longer than that of other solutions, lasting more than a month instead of five minutes."

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. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
PeerSpot user
reviewer1229574 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Network Department at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
A stable firewall solution, but the GUI and support could be better
Pros and Cons
  • "Sophos is a stable solution, and we haven't had any bugs or limitations."
  • "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."

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.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
ICT/HMIS Supervisor at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
A stable and seamless solution with good support and useful VPN and filtering features
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "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."

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
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user1429977 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Administrator at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Reasonably-priced and straightforward to set up, but instability has caused problems and customer support should be improved
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup was straightforward."
  • "The first area that needs to be improved is customer support."

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
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Stelios Georgiou - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Specialist at stelios@biolandenergy.com
Real User
Top 5
A stable and scalable firewall solution that provides effective threat prevention
Pros and Cons
  • "The firewall feature of Sophos XG has been the most effective for threat prevention."
  • "The solution’s reporting could be improved."

What is most valuable?

The firewall feature of Sophos XG has been the most effective for threat prevention.

What needs improvement?

The solution’s reporting could be improved.

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?

I rate the solution an eight out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Around 200 users are using the solution daily in our organization.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten for scalability.

How was the initial setup?

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a nine out of ten.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution through an in-house team in half an hour. One person was involved in the solution’s deployment.

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

On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

Sophos XG has sufficiently improved the security of our network. We found the solution's user interface very user-friendly for our daily operations.

Overall, I rate the solution 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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos XG Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
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Buyer's Guide
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