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Pre-sales at ITCG Solutions Pvt Ltd
Real User
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. 

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

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
reviewer1597347 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Software department & Head of Security department at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Reseller
Offers good integrated security but failover management is lacking
Pros and Cons
  • "The most useful aspect of the solution is the concept of integrated security."
  • "The management console could be improved and the solution lacks good technical support."

What is our primary use case?

We generally deploy this solution for our clients for its basic functionality; our clients generally don't have sophisticated requirements. The solution is used for the firewall rules and the VPN rules, as well as the WAF functionality. We are silver resellers of this product and I'm head of the software department. 

What is most valuable?

The most useful aspect of the solution is the concept of integrated security which is why I use and recommended this firewall to clients. However, given that we never use endpoint protection, there is less incentive for us to continue using it. Initially it provided a specificity which enabled one kind of endpoint protection managed through the appliance together with the WIFI integrated within the firewall, managing all basic security aspects for TPD. However, because the endpoint protection is not that good and there are problems with malware and we can't prioritize facility management over security of the finances, we can't continue to work this way.

What needs improvement?

I think the management console could be improved. I also find the partner portal difficult to work with because it never functions correctly and it's exhausting to deal with. They should also improve the failover management and the reliability of failover, and there are sometimes issues with the WAF functionality, whereby a number of applications can't be used correctly. Finally, I think the support could be improved because when you open a ticket, there's a long wait time for a response. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is quite good there are no major vulnerabilities. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is a real weakness but that seems to always be the case. Sophos has improved over the last couple of years. It's better than before but it's still not good.  

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

I find the solution too expensive, to be honest. It's one of the reasons I'm looking for an alternative. It's overpriced for what they offer.  When you buy a commercial appliance, the only thing you really need is good support, and they don't provide that, so the cost for hardware and software is too expensive. If the support was responsive, I'd be happy to pay. Now I'd prefer to acquire my own hardware and install pfSense and spend the money helping technicians and engineers gain good skills and improve our own support. We'd have the same level of protection at a lower cost. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution a seven out of 10. 

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: reseller
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
IT Manager at a hospitality company with 51-200 employees
Real User
User-friendly, easy to configure, and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface is user-friendly and the product is easy to configure."
  • "Support for this product is something that is really important, and it needs to improve."

What is our primary use case?

We are using a basic model for its security features. We are in the hospitality industry and it has all of the features that we need.

What is most valuable?

The interface is user-friendly and the product is easy to configure.

What needs improvement?

Support for this product is something that is really important, and it needs to improve.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos XG for almost eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution has been stable so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable product and we have about 45 people using it.

Only one person is required for maintenance.

How are customer service and technical support?

Before the current pandemic, technical support was good, but it is becoming worse.

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

In the past, I have worked with SonicWall and Fortinet products.

I prefer Sophos because of the user-friendly configuration and stability.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy.

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

This is a budget-friendly product with reasonable pricing.

What other advice do I have?

In summary, this is a good product and other than the support, I don't think that there is anything else that will improve it for us.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1567812 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager, Information Technology at a university with 201-500 employees
Real User
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.
PeerSpot user
AdemolaOlamide - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Development Manager at Computer Learning centre
Real User
Secure, highly reliable, and good online support
Pros and Cons
  • "The security of Sophos XG is very good."
  • "Sophos XG could improve by coming out with more innovative feature developments."

What is our primary use case?

Sophos XG is used as a firewall to manage our WiFi connections.

What is most valuable?

The security of Sophos XG is very good.

What needs improvement?

Sophos XG could improve by coming out with more innovative feature developments.

The solution is secure, but security could always be better, they should work on perfecting the security of Sophos XG.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos XG for approximately a few years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have found Sophos XG to be very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Sophos XG is great.

As our business grows we will increase the users using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

I have not connected the technical support from Sophos XG. I have only used online support from websites which was good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very easy, it took less than one hour.

What about the implementation team?

We used an integrator for the implementation of the solution.

We have two engineers for the deployment and maintenance of Sophos XG.

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

The price of the Sophos XG is very good. There are not any licensing costs, it is a one-time purchase price.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Sophos XG to others. It is a good solution and I am satisfied.

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
reviewer1053252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Presales Consultant/ Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Top 5
Good security, easy to use, and has a simple installation
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is very easy to use and straightforward."
  • "The initial setup, specifically when activating the license, is a nightmare and is quite difficult."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is primarily used to secure networks, just like PSF, but much better. Sophos XG has a UTM, which is much more security inclusive than a firewall, as it takes a look at the threat management landscape from a unified point of view. They have a firewall and they have an IPS inside the same box. They have a sandbox, they have a web filter, they have a web application firewall, they have a mail gateway, and they have a DMP. These are all inside one box. It's excellent at protecting networks from security threats as well.

What is most valuable?

The solution offers everything in one product.

It's excellent at protecting networks from malicious threats.

The solution is very easy to use and straightforward. 

Once you get past the license activation, the installation is easy.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see the technical support improve. They have the worst technical support I have ever seen in my whole life.

The initial setup, specifically when activating the license, is a nightmare and is quite difficult. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for five years now. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We're a distributor, however, the company is still quite new. At my last company, I had 150 clients on Sophos. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is just awful. They are not helpful or responsive. We are not satisfied with the level of support on offer. They need to improve this aspect. They simply do not reply.

They have very bad response times. It's very strange. Before, when I was dealing with Cyberoam, before Cyberoam was acquired by Sophos, it was good. Now, it's Sophos XG, and, while Cyberoam support was amazing, Sophos support has just gone down the drain. I don't know why.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a nightmare. The installation, getting the box to get up and running, is a hectic process, due to the fact that the box basically would not activate any feature unless the license is activated. And the license is only activated with the cloud. When you are doing that, it's just a sort of a nightmare. Now they have a new feature in which you can just create a license and you can activate the license on the appliance. However, generally speaking, it's one of those appliances that, if it's not registered on the portal online, won't even start. It can be a nightmare sometimes. That said, after the license is activated, it's just plain simple and easy.

What about the implementation team?

I previously was an implementor and would set up the solution for clients.

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

You need to pay for the license. You need to pay for the hardware as well. The cost depends on the model of the hardware and on which license. They have different editions, and licenses you're going to go with. They have different modules, and the cost depends on which modules you'd like to activate for security features. Not everyone will buy Sophos to utilize all the features. Usually, it's just the firewall, and IPS, sandbox, and the web filter that people are looking for. Not many people have Sophos or VM servers on-prem to protect them.

What other advice do I have?

We use both cloud and on-premises deployment models. 

Now, I am using the solution personally at home, however, before, where I was working, I used the solution for three years, specifically implementing Sophos XG for customers.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. 

I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies. For small and medium businesses, Sophos is a good security vendor.

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 Manager , SAP HANA Administrator at Tara Paints & Chemicals
Real User
Overall work well, reliable, but reporting needs more information
Pros and Cons
  • "Overall the solution works well."
  • "The reporting could be improved in this solution by adding more details."

What is most valuable?

Overall the solution works well.

What needs improvement?

The reporting could be improved in this solution by adding more details.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There used to be problems with the stability of the solution a few years ago but now the solution is stable and reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately 400 users using this solution in my company and we plan to increase usage in the future.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support has been good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial installation is straightforward.

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

The solution is priced well.

What other advice do I have?

I am satisfied with the solution.

I rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sales Manager at INFOSEC
Real User
Stable with a good cloud-based console and great for enterprise-level organizations
Pros and Cons
  • "The product has a console that is based in the cloud for all their products. In this console, they have email security, firewall security, endpoint security, et cetera. All of the products on offer in the console are very useful for us."
  • "The manuals or guides we are given are too simple. When we are implementing the product, it is difficult for us as we don't have more detailed information."

What is most valuable?

The product has a console that is based in the cloud for all their products. In this console, they have email security, firewall security, endpoint security, et cetera. All of the products on offer in the console are very useful for us.

The solution is stable.

The solution works well for enterprises and large-scale organizations.

What needs improvement?

The manuals or guides we are given are too simple. When we are implementing the product, it is difficult for us as we don't have more detailed information. 

The technical support on offer is slow. When I have questions, they answer me very slowly. Sometimes within 24 hours, I have a response. However, it can be longer. In Mexico, Sophos doesn't have technical support locally. It's in Argentina or in other countries. It would be nice if support was available in the country.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is okay. That said, as an enterprise solution, it can be a bit unstable during the initial implementation.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution works well for enterprise-level organizations.

How are customer service and technical support?

We're not overly satisfied with technical support. We'd like to see local support, from within our country. Due to the fact that it is coming from outside, the response is very slow. We'd like it to be faster. We aren't completely satisfied with the level of service we get. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is difficult in that there isn't enough documentation available to walk a user through the process. It can cause some issues. It's not exactly straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

Sometimes we need to work with other resellers. We don't always implement the solution by ourselves. 

What other advice do I have?

We are partners with Sophos.

We are using the 130-type of solution.

We take a hybrid approach to deployment. Some servers are on-premise and some servers are in-cloud.

I'd rate the solution at 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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos XG Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: October 2024
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos XG Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.