For one, its ease of use is the most valuable feature. It's very easy to look at the logs and troubleshoot issues as they arise. Things just make sense and it is a very intuitive interface.
Lead NOC Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees
Has an intuitive interface. Easy to look at the logs and troubleshoot issues.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
It is easier to use than Cisco ASA, so it has reduced our SLAs by a considerable margin.
What needs improvement?
The VPN and central management need to be improved, but that's being nit-picky.
The IPsec VPNs are a little on the buggy side and you sometimes have to jump through hoops to get it to work. When I looked at them last, they were still in development for the centralized management of the firewalls, so when I saw it, it was very much in its infancy.
One more thing to add to what they can improve is the firewall policy presentation, they have their own special way of doing it which takes time for some to get used to, especially if you’re used to Cisco ASA.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for about a year.
Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There were no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There were no scalability issues, it is very scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the technical support a 10/10; they are very professional. I know a couple of those guys over there on a first name basis.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we were using another solution. However, we switched as we needed to upgrade our infrastructure.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was pretty straightforward. They had someone come in, walk us through it and train us on the platform.
What other advice do I have?
Get the professional support contract; it is well-worth it and those guys know their product very very well.
It is a very solid product, easy to use and implement.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Branch Manager at Shakti Foundation
Helpful support, secure, and user-friendly
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Sophos XG are user-friendliness and it is highly secure."
- "Sophos XG could improve by making the remote access and VPN better."
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Sophos XG are user-friendliness and it is highly secure.
What needs improvement?
Sophos XG could improve by making the remote access and VPN better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Sophos XG within the last 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is good. We have approximately 4,000 concurrent users.
How are customer service and support?
The Sophos XG technical support we receive from our local vendor, they are very helpful.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. I have recommended it to many organizations already. I have had a very good experience with the Sophos XG.
I rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Owner at InternetWorld Solutions Sdn Bhd
Functionality is straightforward, but tech support could be improved
Pros and Cons
- "In terms of the functionality, I think it's pretty straightforward. It's easy to pick up. It's also user-friendly."
- "Support could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
The firewall is used to maintain security. Basically, it's used to make sure that our clients' corporate network is secure. We want to make sure that their email is scanned, protected, and so on.
What is most valuable?
In terms of the functionality, I think it's pretty straightforward. It's easy to pick up. It's also user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
Support could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been selling Sophos XG for two years. It is deployed on-premise.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
When it comes to scalability, of course we can upgrade. A lot of firewalls don't allow upgrades. An upgrade would mean changing the box. For our customers, a lot of the functions of the firewall don't reduce. We just need to make sure they enable the security, and then make sure it's giving the protection to the client.
For scalability when it comes to the server, I can add the RAM, the hard disc, and the CPU to boost up the performance.
How are customer service and support?
The principal tech support is not very present in Malaysia. We are relying on the distributor. Most of the technical things we can handle on our own, like when it comes to setup. When it comes to the issues related to product hardware or software bugs, we will reach out to them. But the response is from the distributor.
The support could be a bit better.
How was the initial setup?
Installation for each version, like Fortinet and Next Generation Firewall, is simple. Based on how familiar we are with the client, it can take a day or two.
We only need one or two people for deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
For every firewall, you will need to pay the license for the following year. If they don't pay for the license renewal, they basically won't get the support from Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
They do have their own integration, so I don't really have much to comment about Sophos because we basically just maintain the Sophos Firewall that we supply. We don't do a lot of fancy design work.
We are currently still evaluating the solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Senior Manager, Information Technology at a university with 201-500 employees
Reliable and easy to install, but the policies should be upgraded
Pros and Cons
- "It is simple to use."
- "In the next release, I would like to see improvements to simplify the interface and more policy deployments."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution as a firewall for everyone to connect to the internet.
We protect ourself and we use it as a VPN to connect to the internal network.
How has it helped my organization?
It is improved significantly.
What is most valuable?
It is simple to use.
What needs improvement?
The interface should be changed. It should be more user-friendly.
They should also update the policies and statistics because Fortinet is better, but Sophos could grow.
In the next release, I would like to see improvements to simplify the interface and more policy deployments.
For how long have I used the solution?
It was Cyberoam and we upgraded to Sophos XG. We have been using Cyberoam for more than 10 years and more than one year with Sophos XG.
We were on version 17 and have just upgraded to version 18.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. We have no problem at all with stability or with Sophos XG.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Its high availability is fine, it's good. It's scalable as well.
We have approximately 500 employees using this solution.
We will continue and increase our usage of this product.
How are customer service and technical support?
We had one issue with Cyberoam, but it was upgraded with Sophos. They helped us, but it takes a bit of time to resolve it but it's fine.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use Fortinet FortiGate for large locations. The Fortinet usage is completely different than Sophos. Sophos is simple, but I prefer Fortinet.
How was the initial setup?
It's easy to install.
It takes the team one hour to launch it.
We have a team of 15 people to deploy and maintain this solution.
What about the implementation team?
We completed the installation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We purchased the technical appliances for on-premises.
We have our license for three years.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes. Fortinet. However the price is much better to Fortinet.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Sophos XG to others, but it would depend on their capacity.
I would rate Sophos XG 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.
Senior IT Manager at a agriculture with 11-50 employees
A stable, flexible, and easy-to-use solution that works well and comes with a web management portal that can be accessed from anywhere
Pros and Cons
- "It is stable, flexible, and easy to use. It has got a web management portal that can be accessed from anywhere."
- "I would like to have more artificial intelligence in the web monitoring service that comes with it. It should alert us when particular events happen. It has already got some of that. I know that it is more of a service, and Sophos is already looking at it. It is called SIEM."
What is our primary use case?
It can be used as a firewall, SD-WAN enabler, and secure web gateway. You can also use it for unified threat management, email detection, mobile device management, and wireless management. I use it in the cloud and on-premises, and I have its latest version.
What is most valuable?
It is stable, flexible, and easy to use. It has got a web management portal that can be accessed from anywhere.
What needs improvement?
I would like to have more artificial intelligence in the web monitoring service that comes with it. It should alert us when particular events happen. It has already got some of that. I know that it is more of a service, and Sophos is already looking at it. It is called SIEM.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for a few years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have roughly 700 users who use this firewall.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have interacted with them a few times. I am very satisfied with their technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to install. I have done the installation in less than a day.
What about the implementation team?
We did it ourselves. We have two people for its deployment. We have one engineer and one admin.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is not that expensive compared to the other solutions. It is about the same price range as Fortigate, which we used previously. Licensing is on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. We're very happy with the product. It works very well, and we don't have too many issues.
I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Engineer at Spectrum Engineering Consortium Ltd.
Reliable and flexible for small and large companies, but has some feature issues to resolve
Pros and Cons
- "Sophos XG Firewall is very usable, very easy to install, and very user friendly."
- "We are facing some problems on this firmware version, version 18, that require improvement. We want to improve the email security because it doesn't give proper security with the data protection. Also, our clients are facing some problems where most of the sites which they're accessing are getting blocked. I want to improve those sites, that email security, and the data protection on the Firmware version 18."
What is our primary use case?
You can use Sophos XG in small or large companies. In a small company we are using it as a router and firewall. In larger company, like in the Bangladesh government, they are using Sophos Firewall in various sites, including the Bangladesh Navy. Many of the sites are using Sophos Firewall as a router and firewall and also for security purposes.
How has it helped my organization?
Sophos XG Firewall is for security purposes and we are also using it as a router. Wherever we are deploying it as a router we are mapping and also port forwarding. More clients take it as a router and also a firewall.
What is most valuable?
Sophos XG Firewall is very usable, very easy to install, and very user friendly.
The features that I have found most valuable are the infiltration prevention and data protection. We provide immune security. There are also many features on the VPN. We provide a social VPN. We deployed so many features.
What needs improvement?
We are facing some problems on this firmware version, version 18, that require improvement. We want to improve the email security because it doesn't give proper security with the data protection. Also, our clients are facing some problems where most of the sites which they're accessing are getting blocked. I want to improve those sites, that email security, and the data protection on the Firmware version 18. Also, sometimes it gets frozen and we cannot access it. After we shut it down and restart, then it's perfect. That's a point that we want to improve.
In the next release, I want them to please improve version 18 so that it has more features and is more user friendly and it should have a VRF option.
For how long have I used the solution?
We are using Sophos XG for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is stable.
Maintenance, once it is established on the network, requires about two to three people dedicated to Sophos Firewall. We have to give about two to three days monthly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is good.
We have about a thousand or more users and have plans to increase usage of this product.
How are customer service and support?
The Sophos support team is good now.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup is easy. It took about one hour to do the initial setup.
What about the implementation team?
I am an implementer so I deployed it by myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Sophos XG is on a subscription basis. We can take a one year or two year subscription.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale of one to ten, I will give Sophos XG a seven.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
CEO at Tawassul Technology
Secure, affordable, scales well, and simple to install
Pros and Cons
- "Sophos is easy to use."
- "Some businesses require Dynamic IP. This feature would be useful if it worked."
What is our primary use case?
We are resellers. We provide solutions to our clients.
What is most valuable?
I like the connectivity and the security.
Sophos is easy to use.
The GUI is very simple.
What needs improvement?
Some businesses require Dynamic IP. This feature would be useful if it worked.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XG for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XG is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is easy to scale with Sophos XG.
Our customers have medium sized businesses
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is okay.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have also worked with Fortinet and one other solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy.
It can take one to two hours to install.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is reasonable. It's not as expensive as other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
It's good, I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Synchronized security with Sophos endpoints, easy to configure, and easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable is the synchronized security between Sophos XG and Sophos endpoint because it provides a lot of visibility about unknown applications. The endpoint shares the information of unknown applications, and you can learn about those applications and create policies to allow or block those applications."
- "Everything is working as expected at this moment, but the anti-spam solution in Sophos XG needs to be improved. It needs more granular features and more stability. The anti-spam solution currently doesn't have many features, and we would like to have more features. At this moment, there is no expression filter for anti-spam. We need something to be able to filter subjects or attachments in emails based on the keyword. Sometimes, there is an issue with anti-spam, and Sophos XG suddenly stops processing incoming or outgoing emails. The only solution for this issue is to restart the appliance. Their support should be improved. It takes a long time to escalate a support case from level one to level two."
What is our primary use case?
Most of the clients use it for web filtering, application control, SSL inspection, and VPN. We have on-premise and cloud or virtual environment deployments. On the cloud, Sophos XG is on Azure or OVH.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable is the synchronized security between Sophos XG and Sophos endpoint because it provides a lot of visibility about unknown applications. The endpoint shares the information of unknown applications, and you can learn about those applications and create policies to allow or block those applications.
What needs improvement?
Everything is working as expected at this moment, but the anti-spam solution in Sophos XG needs to be improved. It needs more granular features and more stability. The anti-spam solution currently doesn't have many features, and we would like to have more features. At this moment, there is no expression filter for anti-spam. We need something to be able to filter subjects or attachments in emails based on the keyword. Sometimes, there is an issue with anti-spam, and Sophos XG suddenly stops processing incoming or outgoing emails. The only solution for this issue is to restart the appliance.
Their support should be improved. It takes a long time to escalate a support case from level one to level two.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable, but sometimes, there is an issue with anti-spam, and Sophos XG suddenly stops processing incoming or outgoing emails. This is the only issue that I have with the anti-spam solution on Sophos XG.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. Most of our clients are small enterprises. We also have some medium enterprises.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support should be improved. When we open a support case on their support portal, it first goes to their tier-one support. When an issue is complex, it takes a long time to escalate a support case to a level-two engineer, which is frustrating. Their response time is slow.
How was the initial setup?
Its deployment and setup are very easy. It is not at all complex to set up. The deployment duration varies. It can take around three days for a deployment with anti-spam, application control, IPS, and VPN with filtering.
What about the implementation team?
For its deployment and maintenance, usually, there are two of us, but sometimes, there is just one person.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Most of the customers here evaluate FortiGate against Sophos XG. Some of them also evaluate WatchGuard Firebox. In the past, FortiGate had the advantage of having an SD-WAN solution, but now Sophos also has an SD-WAN solution with a graphical user interface.
Sophos XG is very easy to follow and easy to configure, which is something very valuable for me and our customers. It is also very easy to use a site-to-site VPN with certificates, which is another pro. SD-RED devices are one more advantage that Sophos has over other vendors. These devices are very useful for those customers who don't have IT personnel in branch offices. With SD-RED devices, they can connect to the central site. The connection is automatically established with Sophos XG on the site. There is no need to have an IT person on the site.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution because it is really easy to implement. Sophos XG is very focused on cybersecurity. Its ability to synchronize information with Sophos endpoint is a very good feature when you are concerned about security. Other vendors or firewalls are more focused on establishing the connection and policies.
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten. It is very good, but it could be better.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Thanks Sean, a very informative review. I am seriously considering the XG125 but slightly concerned about the VPN aspect as VPNs are used predominantly in our network. Also considering the Fortigate 60E.