People use Sophos XGS because the overall channel support is very good, so they don't face issues. Additionally, it is competitive in pricing against Fortinet in some cases, especially when considering high availability, email subscriptions, and gateways.
Sophos Cloud Firewall (PAYG)
SophosExternal reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
Has provided stability, security, ease of management, and better reporting options
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Sophos XGS has provided stability, security, and ease of management. It also offers better reporting options.
What is most valuable?
Sophos XGS has very good reporting capabilities and effective IPS signatures based on the latest versions. The threat detection capabilities are effective, especially against CNC and certain viruses not coming through emails.
What needs improvement?
In previous versions, NAT rules were easier to create. After version 18.5, creating a NAT rule has become more complex, requiring the creation of a separate policy and an additional component.
Reducing the complexity of creating rules would make it easier for administrators, especially when troubleshooting and managing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XGS since it was released, approximately for the last three years. Additionally, I have been working with Sophos for six to seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Sophos XGS is very high. It is rated at nine out of ten for stability and is very reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Sophos XGS is rated eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The response time from Sophos technical support can be slow in most cases, which can be challenging. However, in some cases, they perform well.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward, simple, and easy to understand. It clearly defines outgoing policies, sources, and destinations while applying web controls or IPS rules.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
On the pricing side, pricing is rated eight out of ten, indicating that it may be relatively expensive.
What other advice do I have?
Based on my experience, I would definitely recommend Sophos XGS to others.
I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.
Has rules and intelligence to scan all vulnerabilities in our network
What is our primary use case?
We use Sophos XGS primarily for VPN and security with clients and supplies.
How has it helped my organization?
Sophos XGS has some rules and intelligence to scan all vulnerabilities in our network.
What is most valuable?
The most effective feature in enhancing our network security is the threat intelligence capability.
What needs improvement?
The technical support could be improved as it is currently not competent and pretty slow.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Sophos XGS for three years.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is rated three out of ten, indicating it needs significant improvement.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Negative
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of Sophos XGS is okay. It is approximately two thousand and a half per year.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it an eight out of ten.
Effective, powerful network security features with room for improved support
What is our primary use case?
We work with the entire portfolio of Sophos as we are a Sophos partner. We always wish to sell Sophos's entire portfolio to the client.
What is most valuable?
The features that I find most effective in enhancing network security include EDR and XDR.
What needs improvement?
Sophos needs to do a lot of roadshows to attract enterprise customers. Their marketing strategy is quite low, and they need to enhance engagement with partners. There's room for improvement in their response time for technical support.
For how long have I used the solution?
It's been almost four years.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good enough. That said, since the changeover of their ERP system, they are facing problems, and the partners are also facing problems in the portal. The response time should be improved.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are dealing with other vendors like Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Check Point. When the client uptake is known for Sophos, then we try to pitch Fortinet.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When it comes to email security and endpoint securities, Sophos pricing is higher than other vendors when compared competitively. For firewalls, to some extent, it is okay. People don't consider Sophos as an enterprise product; they consider it as an SME product.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Sophos Next. Js to others. But when people don't consider Sophos as an enterprise product, we try to pitch Fortinet.
I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.
Unified network and web protection enhanced with application control
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XGS is a unified threat management solution that combines features such as routing, access management, firewall, threat management, and URL filtering for sandboxing. It serves as a security appliance with multiple capabilities.
What is most valuable?
The valuable features of Sophos XGS include network protection, web protection, application control, intrusion detection, and iCentral orchestration. These features are beneficial for the product's security posture.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by using fewer hardware resources compared to other products like Palo Alto, which has better performance.
Additionally, better integration of AI and machine learning for predictive analysis of potential threats could be beneficial.
The technical support also needs improvement, including a better ticketing system and faster response times.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XGS firewall for more than 15 years, with approximately twelve years of precise usage.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Sophos XGS as a six out of ten. There have been observations of downtimes compared to other devices, and it doesn't perform as well as competitors like Palo Alto or Check Point.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos XGS has scalability issues as it doesn't have features like cascading. Instead, it requires new devices to scale, unlike Palo Alto which allows adding devices to a pool.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is quite poor and needs significant improvements in response time and quality, especially for medium and small enterprises. It seems other brands face similar issues, but the costs rise for premium support, which is challenging for smaller entities.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Sophos XGS is simple compared to other firewalls.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing for Sophos products is considered high. The pricing model needs to be more flexible, catering differently to sectors like education, which might not require as high a price point.
What other advice do I have?
I can recommend Sophos XGS for small to medium companies and the education sector. It is less ideal for enterprises with very high-security needs. Organizations with sensitive data should consider alternatives like Palo Alto or Fortinet.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Sophos Firewall Review
User friendly but tight in security
Good AI, threat intelligence, and security
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case is for cybersecurity strategies. Sophos XGS is used for its strong features like IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) and application control.
How has it helped my organization?
Threat intelligence of Sophos benefits by providing site intelligence and integration of AI helps with security.
What is most valuable?
Sophos offers strong features such as IPS and application control that are particularly valuable.
What needs improvement?
Some features need remuneration and there are performance improvements required.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution for more than a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the stability as an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I consider the scalability to be sufficient.
How are customer service and support?
Support could be improved as they sometimes respond slowly and are not very knowledgeable. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the customer service at an eight.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
The previous product used was FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment had some complexities.
What about the implementation team?
I managed the deployment alone with some help.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the pricing of Sophos XGS at an eight out of ten. Cost and pricing of the product were aspects I considered.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Only Fortinet was evaluated.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.
Enhanced security with synchronized functionality and excellent technical support
What is our primary use case?
We give both endpoint and firewall together.
How has it helped my organization?
We have a set of customers who understand Sophos very well. Once they achieve all the security functions and parameters they want, they are more secure. Many customers who previously used different endpoint and firewall solutions now benefit from synchronized functionality with the complete Sophos suite. So, they become more secure, which is more important.
What is most valuable?
The security heartbeat feature and MDR are the best for customer security.
What needs improvement?
The functionality of SD-WAN compared to other boxes is lacking. Certain aspects need improvement, particularly enhancing capabilities like SD-WAN. We should also focus on enhancing XDR and NDR functionality in the firewall boxes and provide more threat protection alerts to users.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with Sophos for more than 15 years.
How are customer service and support?
The technical team never disappoints us in providing solutions. They give us timely and nice follow-up.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Many of them were using a different endpoint security and a different firewall. But now, with Sophos, they have better security.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is competitive, and it's a win-win situation for both partners and customers.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
In the financial market and banks, other security appliances are more popular than Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
We highly recommend Sophos XGS.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Enhanced threat management, good filtering, and helpful support
What is our primary use case?
Sophos XGS is deployed as a gateway firewall with VPN in our network environment, excluding the web server feature and the email filtration feature.
How has it helped my organization?
Sophos XGS has been helping us manage the threats specific to our industry, although we have yet to fully utilize its AI capabilities. Its deployment has been pretty good, enhancing the clarity of filtration systems and reducing security costs.
What is most valuable?
The only filtration works quite nicely. Sophos XGS has been really better, providing clearer filtrations than its predecessor. It is extremely easy to deploy and fast to learn.
What needs improvement?
The interface is really showing up on the edge now. It needs to be more modern and faster, with more rules visible on a single screen for better details rather than just six rules. The threat detection system could be more GUI-based or provide templates for common threats. We also need more updated version 20 study materials.
For how long have I used the solution?
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos XGS has worked well in terms of stability, with no significant issues reported.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support from Sophos have been quite good, with timely and effective responses. Although we rarely need support, when required, it has been prompt.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously worked with SonicWall but switched to Sophos because it was found to be pretty fast. We also briefly considered Palo Alto, which offered great machine and filter systems but had concerns with the support in India at that time.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward and not problematic, as we could deploy it by ourselves without needing external support.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We usually go for three-year subscriptions. For the data center, we deployed units in dual mode and failover mode, which involved significant costs estimated at six lakh rupees.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Palo Alto but ultimately chose Sophos due to concerns about Palo Alto's support in India. However, Palo Alto XGS has improved in terms of security and support.
What other advice do I have?
The antivirus aspect of Sophos needs improvement as the current solutions don't complete the job adequately in today's market. There should be templates to address repeated attack modes, saving time instead of relying heavily on detailed engineer setups.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Advanced threat prevention with efficient network security and an improved security posture
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Sophos has greatly improved our network's security posture. In terms of network security and user activity reporting, it has helped us to manage and analyze the activities of the users. From the reporting, we can now see areas where we need improvements, such as blocking certain sites from users.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are its protection capabilities like threat prevention, malware security, web protection, and web security. The security features are very good.
What needs improvement?
There should be a workaround in case of equipment breakdown, like a stopgap measure while the equipment is being returned or replaced. An improvement in the product's pricing would also be beneficial so that more people can afford it.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Sophos XG since 2018.
How are customer service and support?
Sophos' technical support is very prompt and efficient. For instance, when our equipment failed to reboot, their team was quick to diagnose and resolve the problem by exchanging the equipment within two weeks.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used another firewall before Sophos.
What was our ROI?
Having a Unified Threat Management system like Sophos XG has helped us spend less on network security, thus providing a good return on investment by managing our income effectively.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is reasonable, but if reduced, it could become accessible to more people. Currently, it costs about four million shillings in Kenya.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before using Sophos, we used another firewall.
What other advice do I have?
Regular prompts from Sophos to the users for instant reporting of any challenges would be very beneficial. Including more YouTube videos, webinars, and other educational content would also help users understand and utilize the product more effectively.
I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.