Sophos XG Reviews

Most of our clients are primarily using the solution for the network protection it offers them.

The most valuable aspects of the solution are the web-filtering and the application control.

The solution is stable.

We've had good experiences with technical support.

The product is scalable.

The solution could be improved if it offered more documentation or at least provided more information about the products themselves. If there was a virtual assistant of some kind that would help clients familiarize themselves with everything, that would be very helpful.

It would be helpful to get some insights into new features so that we are able to relay information to clients effectively.

I've been using the solution technically since 2019, however, I haven't really been able to focus on it too much. Right now, I am refreshing my knowledge on Sophos XG.

The solution is very stable. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable overall.

We have clients from various sized companies, and the solution works well with all of them.

There seems to be pretty good scalability potential, at least up to a point.

We've been in touch with technical support and found them to be very accommodating. We are very satisfied with eh level of support they provide to us.

While I may have other colleagues on different solutions, my main focus is Sophos at the moment.

When we're talking about the initial setup for the Sophos XG it can either be simple or complex. It will depend mostly on the infrastructure of the client.

Deployment times also vary, according to the complexity.

Typically, the client handles the maintenance process themselves.

We handle the implementation process for our clients.

We have a platinum partnership with Sophos at this time.

I'm more on the technical side. I don't really have any insights into licensing and pricing as it's not an aspect of the solution I directly deal with on a regular basis.

I'd advise those considering any solution to really take the time to study the product and understand different aspects of it. Every solution is different, and therefore it's important to be able to navigate them. Doing some extra research at the outset will ensure you don't purchase the wrong firewall, which can be a waste of time and money.

I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We're quite happy with the product so far.

We're using the latest version of the solution at this time.

We're integrators and resellers.

We primarily use the solution internally in our company and we also deploy it for our customers.

We have many Sophos solutions that we use together. We use Sophos UPM and Sophos XG. Next, there are just firewalls. The Sophos UPM is the basic firewall; Sophos XG is a mix of Cyberoam and Surface (Sophos acquired Cyberoam three years ago). We use all the features within these solutions and we have a full set of licenses. They offer IPS, IBS, BPM, web publishing, web protection, etc. We're using everything. 

They should expand their DDoS feature. It's basic. They need to enhance it.

Technical support needs to be improved.

The solution needs a mobile application for the administrator. Today, as an administrator, you cannot manage the solution from your tablet or from your mobile. You can only go through a web console. Other vendors have mobile apps. Some vendors also have the ability to manage and check the chart report and change some settings from a mobile application. This would be an excellent add-on for administrators who are traveling. It could help a lot. 

For the past seven years, we haven't had any issues with the hardware or software. It's stable. If a customer misconfigured it, they might face issues. Out of the box, however, it's stable; it is an appliance that customers can depend on.

The solution is scalable. Sophos has plans for customers who want to upgrade or add another appliance in the same environment. As a customer, I've deployed to as many as 300 users or as few as 30.

Technical support isn't as good as it needs to be. In most cases, these days, the partner has to work hard to support the customer. The response time and the experience of the support team are not as expected. As a partner, we've never opened a case. Our customers, however, have told us they have had issues.

The solution is straightforward. Deployment took about 30 minutes.

Price-wise the solution offers acceptable rates. You can find cheaper solutions on the market, but when you go cheaper you have fewer features. Today, based on iQuate market the price is very reasonable and affordable, and it's good if you get a good discount. Discounts can be offered by the vendor. If it's a competitive upgrade which means the customer is upgrading from another vendor, Sophos provides extra discounts so they can win the deal. In general, it is a good price.

We are a Sophos partner. We both use the solution and recommend it to clients.

Compared to other competitors, I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. However, for very large enterprises, the largest firewall appliance from Sophos might not be enough for thousands of users. If I was rating the solution for enterprises, I would rate it eight out of ten because of this. 

I would recommend the solution, however. We often recommend the solution to our clients and it works very well for them.

Network Security

Performance has been as per expectations and productivity has greatly improved as there are no downtimes experienced.

All of Sophos XG's features are valuable.

Sometimes when you roll out a new firmware, you find that the rules you already have in place are broken, so it's difficult to migrate to a new firmware without going through release notes and user reviews. That's the only downside I've experienced in Sophos.

I've been using Sophos XG for about four years now.

So far, so good. Sophos XG has been stable, and we have not had any challenges.

I find Sophos XG to be scalable. I only have one site, so I still see room for that kind of deployment. I don't see a challenge when it comes to the scale. I have around 150 users.

I rate Sophos support 10 out of 10. When my device was freezing, I contacted them, and they sent me a replacement. I didn't have a redundant device, so it was urgent. It only took a couple of days for Sophos to ship the device to Kenya. 

Positive

I rate Sophos UTM eight out of 10 for ease of deployment. We didn't have any serious issues. The only challenge we had was migrating from Sophos UTM to XG. There was no direct migration, so we had to do a manual configuration. 

After deployment, the solution doesn't require much maintenance. So as long as my connections are up and running, I don't need to do any maintenance. All the updates are automatic.

Both teams were involved. The in-house team was more familiar with the network environment and requirements. I would rate the vendor team's expertise 8 out of 10.

Sophos XG's price is affordable for most organizations, so I rate it six out of 10 for affordability.

We looked at FortiGate to see how it performs compared to Sophos. I wouldn't speak for the other vendors because I'm mainly using XG, so I will praise Sophos.

I rate Sophos XG eight out of 10. I recommend Sophos XG. If you subscribe to the enhanced support, you get 24/7 customer service, so you can get help any time you need it. I wouldn't hesitate to advise people to implement Sophos.

Firewall is not our expertise, but we do sell it as per the requirement of the customer or if they ask for it. 

Most of the firewalls are on-prem. What we deliver is the hardware. It is appliance-based.

Sophos firewalls are scalable. They are pretty strong in security. So, when they provide any kind of firewall, they provide all the features such as anti-spam, antivirus, etc.

Its price should be improved. Its features are pretty okay, but the price is the area where we have to fight more. They should do something about the price structure.

It has been a couple of years.

It is stable. Its performance is very good. They have now stopped calling it a firewall. They're calling it a Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution.

It is scalable in the sense that if they are using a small model or a small box of firewall and there is an increase in their network and the number of users, they can move that small box to a bigger model. So, if they are using a firewall and they want to scale it up, they can go to the next model.

Sophos has more than 1,000 customers.

Our clients have a good system of support over here. They have full support. They get support from the distributors, from the partners, and then directly from Sophos.

We are a partner of Sophos and Fortinet. We work with Sophos much more than we work with Fortinet.

If it is a small model and a small network, it takes about two days. You need at least two people for its deployment and maintenance.

Its price should be better. Initially, the clients have to pay for the appliance. Then, they have to pay for the software that is installed on the appliance. Depending on whether they have a one-year, two-year, or three-year license, they just have to renew the license of the software after it expires. They don't have to renew the appliance license. So, they have to pay for the appliance only once, and after that, they just renew the software license. That's all.

I would definitely recommend Sophos to others. I would rate it a nine out of 10.

We implement different security solutions. We also integrate the different environments and secure them, based on the customer's needs.

Our customers are from banking or financial institutions, insurance institutions, telecommunication companies, advocacy companies, construction companies, and retail companies.

The most valuable feature of this solution is that the license offers everything. You don't have to purchase a license for the VPN, or the mobile VPN, or for any other features that the firewall works with. That is the best thing about Sophos. 

They include everything on the firewall as a base and if you want other exclusive services or to add more security to your service, you would have to purchase the full license.

To me, the cost benefits are the best.

They can improve all indicators, all KPIs, all the scores, the consoles, and the monitors. These are all areas that need improvement.

These areas need to be more clear for the customers. You have to have good experience working with Sophos to know how to get to the forums and to get to the information that you want from the beginning.

It is complicated to get the reports if you are not experienced with Sophos. For example, if you want to get a report on what the firewall is doing, you have to be a very experienced engineer.

We have been using Sophos XG for three years.

The version we use is up to the customer and their environment's needs. For example, if the customer has a small infrastructure, we implement a small firewall, which could be an XG 115 or an XG 125.

For larger companies, we implement an XG 450 or XG 500.

The stability is very good. Stability is the main reason we use Sophos.

We have no complaints about the reliability, performance, or stability. It's a very strong product.

We are currently building the security architecture and we are trying to build according to the customer's requirements. The plan is for 35% growth in the next three years.

Our clients are usually medium to large-sized businesses. 

We currently have 23 engineers to maintain this solution.

Depending on the firewall that you are using, or that you purchase with the biggest supply end, you can add other cards that can grow with some other services.

We provide technical support to the customers. We provide our own SOC to support the security solution and we complement the Sophos support plan.

Their technical support is fair, as well as the forums. Today there are only webinars, but we are trying to keep up with the latest technologies and trends.

We are also trying to keep up on how the hackers work because we are working with different associations of security worldwide that way we know the best way to protect our customers and what we need to sell to our customers.

We work with several brands. Sophos is in the top sales.

Previous to Sophos XG, we were working with Sophos and Cyberoam.

The initial setup is straightforward. It's easy, using the wizard.

If you go outside the wizard and you are not an experienced engineer, it could get a little tricky.

Our implementation strategy is to have clear communication with the customer. Implementation is based on 99% of the information that the customer is providing to your other anything else.

It can take five days to deploy.

The license includes most of the features that are necessary, but the basis of the firewall does not include everything, which helps us to continue to sell.

When comparing with Palo Alto and Cisco, Sophos is cheaper.

The top three solutions that we sell and that the customers consider are Sophos, Palo Alto, and Cisco.

The main difference is the pricing.

We try to sell some cloud services but in Mexico, customers are not familiar with the cloud services yet. We are starting to grow, but it is very common that customers prefer services on-premises.

We do not only plan for the sales, but we also plan with the customers and their growth, and how we are going to increase their services. We also consider what will be selling to the customers in the next three years. We plan with the customer, as well.

When we sell a firewall, it is not for sale for right now, it's for sale for long-term use. We build long-term relationships with our clients.

My suggestion to others who are interested in using this solution is to try it. The only way to know how well it works is to try it.

Sophos XG is an excellent solution and I would rate it an eight out of ten.

The most valuable feature, according to the setup we have at our work place here, is the flexibility of the system or the firmware that's running the appliance. It's so flexible, performing multiple rules with different configurations. According to the set up here, we need to implement several firewalls with different access levels, because we have a variety of users. For this requirement, it's very flexible and very easy to use.

It is performing well. However, the only challenges that we are facing are the effectiveness with blocking the proxy and tuneling applications, aside from  proxy and similar applications. So the application filter on the product is not really performing 100%. Every now and then there are some updates that are happening on such applications, and it takes time until it gets the appropriate updates and becomes capable of capturing such applications and blocking them.

A new feature I would really like to see would be some sort of an enhanced application filter with greater efficiency when it comes to the applications that can bypass firewall policies. These applications are really a nightmare. Once they are on the network and not detected, or the appliance is not really successful in capturing them and unblocking them, the bandwidth gets wasted all the time.

It's stable. So far we haven't experienced any instability issues with. 

As for scalability, I think it is a bit limited. We did a sizing exercise before the purchase. But that was just to fit our current needs. There was no room for having an option to upgrade the device. The only option that we have if we are grow in the near future, is to go for another model with higher specs, which is actually more expensive. In other words it doesn't have that modularity feature. 

From time to time I use technical support provided by the seller and sometimes I use the online support, but not that much actually. It has only been for a very few issues. And the support I have received is not bad.

Before Sophos there was mix of various legacy solutions that were not really considered firewall grade. The only specific thing that was used was a software-based firewall, but it was used on a very limited scale and only temporarily.

It was very straightforward. 

The other vendors on the list were Fortinet and Palo Alto. Although it was really great with outstanding features, Palo Alto was far beyond our budget. And as for Fortinet, I was not really happy with the ease of use of the firewall and the features that were coming with it. Sophos was better compared to Fortinet.

When it comes to selecting a vendor I think the most important thing would be the level of support and how fast they can respond in critical cases.

I would rate Sophos at eight out of 10. I cannot give it the best rating because there are the issues that I mentioned, and I believe there are other products on the market that are much better, like Palo Alto. And there is another product that I've come across recently, which is called Clavister. It's a Swedish product, if I'm not mistaken. They are current with features and have more stability. So for Sophos, it would be the appropriate rating for the time being, unless they come up with some new features and add some enhancements.

There is no straightforward advice in this case because there are many factors that may limit the person who wants the solution. Budget is an issue. If you don't have any budget limitations I would recommend going for Palo Alto. If not, consider Sophos or Clavister.

The tool's most valuable feature is threat protection and DLP features. So far, basic DLP features like content protection and blocking. Furthermore, for remote users, features such as back filtering and application control are available, allowing for command and control from our side. It is very easy to understand policy applications. 

It has multi-console features, where you can designate administrators or super admins. There's also a read-only feature available. Visibility features are included in XDR. This provides information on user impact, potential threats on specific machines, source and destination IPs, setup firewall details, and unique identifiers for each machine. Another notable feature is network isolation, ensuring that data remains secure by isolating affected machines from others.

Sophos XG offers visibility into network information, sources, destinations, and threats. Depending on the policies applied, users may monitor specific issues without blocking them. However, policies that block threats should be applied.

One feature I would like to add is remote wipeout capability. This would be useful in cases where a user leaves the organization and fails to return their laptop. Remote wipeout would allow for the deletion of data from the device with a single command. Regarding technical support from Sophos XG, it's generally satisfactory. However, the response time could be improved. It takes around one hour to receive assistance, but reducing this to 30-45 minutes would benefit us.

The tool has only a base DLP feature. It needs to have a full DLP feature with additional licensing. 

I have been working with the product for ten years. 

I rate the tool's stability an eight point five out of ten. 

I rate the solution's scalability a seven point five out of ten. 

The tool's installment is easy. 

The tool's pricing is cheaper compared to other alternative products. 

Sophos XG has a lab center where they analyze signatures and automatically update them on the product. This eliminates the need for manual updates on individual machines or centers. Additionally, it has features like MDR and management response features. So, Sophos XG seems to have a roadmap in place.

I would recommend the product based on the situation. Cortex, a next-generation antivirus for larger enterprises, would likely provide sufficient coverage. It's also known for its scalability and visibility features, including root cause analysis and terminology features.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten. 

We use it for the protection of our network. We also have a product from Sophos for ransomware protection using which we are able to protect our network from ransomware. All of our solutions are from Sophos, and we have everything integrated. 

We can define which systems can be accessed from outside of our company. We can define the connection rules for inside and outside of the company. It is easy to implement or modify rules.

It is very easy to use. You can configure and monitor everything from one unique dashboard. It is also easy to install.

Its price should be improved. It should be cheaper. 

In terms of features, I am happy, and I don't need more features. The firewall is perfect, but the antivirus could be better. It would be useful if the antivirus was less heavy and had better performance.

I have been using this solution for two years.

It is stable. We receive the updates online. They provide the updates at a good frequency. 

It is scalable to a limit. If the size of the network grows, you will have to buy new equipment. If you need just a few more connections, you will able to work with the existing system.

Currently, we have 16 users who are using it. We don't have any plans to increase its usage because our company is in liquidation. If the government decides, we can have more projects, but, as of now, we are in liquidation. We are keeping things working for now, and we plan to keep using this solution, but there are no investments.

We have support from the supplier of our firewall, and if needed, we also get support from the people who develop our software.

It is easy to install. Our company is at three locations. It takes two days to install it at all locations. It takes one day for one location and another day for the other two locations.

For the first installation, we took the help of the supplier. Since then, we do it ourselves. We don't have teams attached directly to the system. We have two or three IT guys who work with this system, but we can have support from the maintenance team.

Currently, we have a contract for three years. It would be good if its price is reduced before we renew the contract. We will buy the equipment if it is cheaper.

I'm happy with what I am getting. I haven't faced any problems. Everything is integrated, and it is easy to install and easy to control. 

I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten. I am very satisfied with this solution.