I've been involved in installing and supporting Sophos Central for customers, particularly focusing on server security.
External reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
Comprehensive security with advanced features such as threat detection and response, but faces challenges including a shortage of local engineers and limitations in after-sales support
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
I have experience using Sophos Central for endpoint security management, particularly in two major companies: Dunkin' Brothers and Shop Up Limited. Dunkin' Brothers has approximately 500 support center users, while Shop Up Limited has around 700 users. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate my experience with Sophos Central as a six or seven at most, with six being the average.
We've observed significant improvements in threat detection and response capabilities since implementing Sophos Central, especially when compared to other endpoint solutions like Fortinet. This enhanced capability has made Sophos Central a highly sought-after solution in Bangladesh. Customers appreciate the effectiveness and efficiency of Sophos Central's threat response compared to other options in the market. One notable example is a client of ours who experienced attempted hacking. Sophos Central promptly detected and blocked the intrusion, alerting our client to the potential threat. Our client appreciated the proactive response and effective blocking of the hacker, highlighting the superior quality of support provided by Sophos Central.
Sophos Central's automated threat response played a crucial role in mitigating security risks, as exemplified in a recent case at Popular Pharmaceutical Limited. With nearly 300 users relying on endpoint security with threat response and managed detection, they detected suspicious activity indicating potential hacking attempts from external networks. Thanks to Sophos Central's automated response, the malicious traffic was promptly blocked, and the IT team was alerted to the suspicious behavior. Additionally, when a ransomware attack occurred on one system, Sophos Central's support center swiftly isolated the affected system, preventing the further spread of the attack.
Sophos Central's reporting and analytics capabilities greatly contribute to providing actionable insights to our customers. I genuinely appreciate the effectiveness of Sophos in generating comprehensive reports, which cover all aspects efficiently. I would rate this feature as an eight out of ten for its robustness and usability.
The interface of Sophos Central has significantly contributed to the ease of managing security policies and procedures. In my experience, I've found it to be highly efficient, especially when compared to other solutions like Fortinet. The features such as system heartbeat and automatic system updates are particularly commendable.
What is most valuable?
One of the significant advantages of Sophos is its affordability compared to other technologies like Check Point and Fortinet. This makes it a preferred choice for businesses, especially government and smaller operations.
The most popular features of Sophos Central are its heartbeat functionality, threat response and detection capabilities, and its rule management system. Notably, the rule management system is not limited to servers but extends to client systems as well. These three components are highly valued for their effectiveness. Additionally, the ability to manage rules through a drag-and-drop system adds further convenience to our administration tasks.
One feature that I find particularly valuable for maintaining our cybersecurity posture is the automatic update functionality. This feature ensures that our systems are consistently up to date with the latest security patches and enhancements. Additionally, the ability to push updates to every software center by default is highly convenient and efficient in ensuring that all endpoints are properly secured.
What needs improvement?
Although Sophos Central is well-established, there's a shortage of engineers available locally, which has hindered our ability to effectively support and implement solutions. I believe there's room for improvement, especially in terms of traffic monitoring. If Sophos Central could provide detailed traffic monitoring based on user counts, similar to what is available in Fortinet, it would enhance the overall value proposition for our customers. Sophos could potentially provide more detailed insights into user activity, such as the number of users currently logged into the system and those already under protection. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have visibility into network traffic, including guest networks, and identify any suspicious activities or attempts to access unauthorized resources. The main drawback lies in the weak after-sales support system.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with it for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I find Sophos to be quite stable, especially considering its widespread usage in Bangladesh, with approximately 1.8 million devices currently relying on it. This stability is particularly beneficial for small businesses or offices seeking security solutions.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It provides good scalability capabilities.
How was the initial setup?
The installation process in Sophos Central is significantly easier compared to other solutions. It's straightforward and hassle-free – we can simply download the necessary plugins from the Central warehouse and install them with ease.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment time for Sophos Central varies depending on factors such as the number of users, desktops, or nodes being connected. For smaller deployments involving around ten or twenty users connecting to Sophos Central, the process typically takes a maximum of two to two and a half hours. During this time, the network may need to be disconnected temporarily. Once logged into Sophos, the license can be installed, and then the PCs will automatically receive installation prompts via email. Each computer usually requires around fifteen to twenty minutes to complete the installation of Sophos Central nodes.
During our previous deployment, there were three of us, including myself, working as senior system engineers. Both of my colleagues had approximately two years of experience with Sophos. With such expertise within our team, deployment tasks were typically straightforward and didn't require much effort. However, when faced with customer requests for complex rules or configurations beyond our capabilities, we would engage with our local vendor and service partners for assistance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of Sophos is quite reasonable and generally cheaper compared to competitors like Fortinet and Check Point. However, it's important to note that certain licenses may come with higher costs, which can be a drawback.
What other advice do I have?
I believe incorporating Sophos Central into security infrastructure could further enhance the defenses. However, considering customers' perspectives and budget constraints, particularly for small and medium-sized organizations, it's essential to ensure cost-effectiveness. In Bangladesh, there's a growing preference for Sophos due to its suitability for various environments and budget scales. Therefore, I suggest focusing on improving sales and after-sales support to meet the increasing demand and effectively deploy Sophos solutions across Bangladesh. Overall, I would rate it six out of ten.
A tool with an easy-to-setup phase that offers endpoint security to users
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution in my company for endpoint security of our servers, especially in our workspaces where we have many devices, like laptops and PCs. Basically, my company's customer uses Sophos Central for endpoint security in their company, where I manage and install the tool to support around 1000 to 2000 laptop pieces in Indonesia.
What is most valuable?
I think that in Indonesia, many companies don't use cloud services because there are problems with the internet connections. Sophos Central is a product that is available on the cloud, so it is safer than the on-premises version. When it comes to the on-premises version of the product, users may have to face a lot of scenarios where they have to deal with damaged computers and server crashes. My company can shift access with the help of a phone or laptop from anywhere or any location with Sophos Central's cloud version, allowing everyone to access the servers centrally, but it is not something that is possible with the on-premises version. For me, the product is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
Sophos Central is not available in small packages in Indonesia. I think Sophos Central needs to be made available in a smaller package because the problem in Indonesia is that there is no good internet connectivity.
I have so much trouble with the tool in Indonesia since the internet connection is bad, so it is difficult to reach the Sophos Central server or get connected to the server. Sophos Central can give better features to help establish a better connection between the server and a client.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos Central for around five years. My company has a partnership with Sophos. I work as a distributor of the product in Indonesia.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In Indonesia, Sophos Central is the first choice that comes to my mind if my customers need an endpoint security product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The tool is deployed on 2000 devices.
I deal with my companies where the employee count ranges from 1000 to 4000
How are customer service and support?
I have experience with the product support team in Indonesia. The solution's technical support was very good and communicative, which were factors that helped me resolve my problems.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was easy.
In one of the cases where I had to take care of around 1000 installations, I initially built a dummy for the on-premises version, after which I collected updates on the on-premises version, post which the PCs and laptops can download or update it from the main server, which is an easy process.
The solution is deployed on a private cloud.
The solution can be deployed in an hour or two. The problem during the deployment phase can only arise due to some internet connectivity issues. If a company has a good internet connection, then the deployment process takes less time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In my opinion, it is not a very pricey product. The product is not expensive.
What other advice do I have?
The tool has improved our company's ability to monitor network health and security.
I recommend the solution to others who plan to use it because it is one of the best and the point security solutions available on the cloud for me. The product is also easy to use, install, control, and manage.
I have used the product's automated threat response feature. With the help of the automated threat response feature, I can get a report and track malware and services.
I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
Scalable product, integration of artificial intelligence improves security posture but not easy to push global policies and support needs improvement
What is our primary use case?
I use Sophos Central to manage both our endpoint protection and firewalls.
It's a great solution. For our customers and us, the endpoint solution works well. The technology itself is good, no problem with the security.
How has it helped my organization?
The integration of artificial intelligence improves security posture. When we don't identify or are exposed in the sandbox environment, AI is interesting for that.
It is easy to save time using the Sophos Central centralized dashboard. It's definitely easier because you're in one place with all the products. But when connecting to a public IP address for a firewall, for example, it's faster to access directly than going through Sophos Central. For files and endpoints, though, Central is easier and faster to use.
What is most valuable?
The feature we use in Sophos Central is very interesting to us. It is synchronized security.
When the endpoint detects a user trying to use an app, it sends information to the firewall, and the firewall can create rules to temporarily stop or allow the network connection. It's very interesting.
What needs improvement?
There's an issue with Sophos France, where their policies differ from Sophos Global. For example, we're a customer in China.
For years, I've tried contacting resellers in China or Sophos China to deploy firewalls there. It's impossible to do business with Sophos when they don't answer our questions. That's the situation.
We simply can't have a proper conversation with Sophos China. They seem uninterested in international exchange.
Pushing global rules and policies to all devices from Central isn't easy. You can do it for all endpoints, which is fine. But you can't do the same with firewalls.
Firewall management with Central is very limited. You can connect one firewall to another and tell it, "I want one policy for all my customer's firewalls," but that's not possible. For a customer with multiple firewalls, you can't say, "This works for France, Great Britain, Canada," and push it. It's not possible.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
We have small and medium-level businesses as our customers.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support used to be good. Right now, it is okay.
In France, many technicians have lost jobs, and new ones are coming, but they are not knowledgeable. There's a problem of human interference in India. We need English support to solve product issues.
Worldwide support is needed because French support doesn't understand. They say, "Okay, report to legal, stage two." It's not good. We have ten years' experience. We don't need to explain every time. We call support because we're important. We need a response. Not, "I'll take the question to another level."
How would you rate customer service and support?
Negative
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
For all types of endpoints: Windows, macOS, Linux. We used Sophos Intercept X but recently made the decision to switch to ESET Endpoint Security, a European security solution.
ESET has more main functions than regular performance. We can do much more with it to match the PC, to match the OS. We can do a lot of customization with ESET.
We're planning to switch both our endpoint and firewall solutions.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. After ten years of experience, I can do it in 15 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
I deployed it myself. One person is enough for the deployment.
However, maintenance is hard. It's hard because changing or replacing hardware is very difficult with Sophos due to license terms. This is especially true with High Availability firewalls, where you have one active and two on standby. Taking out the new firewall and making it work isn't straightforward. It requires a lot of maintenance to get the solution back in a good state.
What was our ROI?
It's very difficult for us to see an ROI because our customers don't see it as an investment. It's like insurance. They pay for good work, but for them, having no security issues isn't the main concern.
Our customers don't have any IT personnel and they don't care about security.
Most of our clients don't want to be interested in security because it's too difficult for them.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is not cheap, it is expensive. The price is too much.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I do currently use Sophos, and I was looking into potentially switching our customers to PFSense or OpenSense for endpoint protection. I wanted to research and understand if it would be a beneficial move.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a five out of ten. It is not easy to push global policies and support needs improvement.
Comprehensive security management with seamless deployment, efficient maintenance and excellent value for money
What is our primary use case?
The Central manager oversees multiple client sites, with one of them being located in Colombo. Once accessed, this entry point enables management of both virtual and physical environments across all three sites from a single interface.
How has it helped my organization?
Utilizing Sophos Central for endpoint security management for our customers, we've installed it for a client with three sites. Within this client, there are four companies under the same group. With Sophos Central, we can seamlessly communicate between the separate locations of these companies, such as Company 1, Company 2, and so forth.
Sophos Central has enhanced our client's organization's threat detection and response capabilities significantly. The solution requires minimal resources, with very low data usage, ensuring minimal impact on daily operations. It swiftly identifies advanced threats, with zero data loss during testing, and enables easy deduction of other potential threats.\
The Central interface greatly simplifies the management of our security policies and procedures. It's remarkably straightforward and intuitive, making it easy to understand and navigate quickly. I've personally noticed this simplicity reflected in the ease with which others grasp it. Once guided through the initial steps, users can comfortably navigate and continue managing tasks with little to no difficulty.
I find the biggest advantage of Sophos Central is the absence of physical hardware requirements, which alleviates the headache associated with managing server rooms, PCs, and other hardware. This eliminates any potential issues related to maintenance and upkeep. Additionally, in terms of cost, Sophos Central is competitively priced compared to alternatives like CrowdStrike and SandBlast by Checkpoint.
Sophos Central Reporting and Analytics are highly effective in delivering quick and valuable insights. However, one area that requires improvement is in addressing the increasing frequency of yearly attacks. Apart from that, the signature detection methods and other aspects function seamlessly.
What is most valuable?
There's no need for any upfront hardware costs with Sophos Central. By leveraging cloud-based solutions, we can significantly reduce expenses.
One of the most valuable features of Sophos Central for maintaining our cybersecurity posture is its ease of use. In my experience, managing Central is simple and can be done from anywhere, at any time. This accessibility is crucial for administrators, as it facilitates seamless communication and control.
What needs improvement?
In terms of improvement, there are several areas to focus on. Firstly, addressing market perception issues is crucial. From a technical perspective, one key area for improvement is strengthening its defense against zero-day attacks. Having and option for endpoint security on mobile devices, it would be advantageous.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with it for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It provides good stability capabilities.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Regarding technical support in my region, there are two separate entities, one being Indian-based. Unfortunately, the quality of support from the Indian region is lacking, although I have worked with other providers such as Check Point. In comparison, the support provided by Check Point surpasses that of the Indian-based support. Locally, we have two distributors available, but we currently only collaborate with one. While we generally find satisfaction with their services at the local level, there are occasions when issues arise that they cannot resolve on their own, particularly with Sophos Central. During these times, we encounter significant challenges, often experiencing prolonged wait times for responses and resolution. I would rate it four out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used CheckPoint. When comparing Sophos with other solutions, one significant advantage is that they offer similar features for the same price.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
Initially, we begin with a Proof of Concept phase, followed by a one-month trial period using the free license. If the results are satisfactory, we proceed to purchase the EDR solution from the distributor. Once purchased, we simply update the license using the provided link. Deployment time varies depending on the size of the company. For instance, in a company with a thousand users spread across three locations, deployment typically takes less than two hours if there are no issues with endpoint communication and the network has a high bandwidth internet connection. Maintenance is straightforward.
What was our ROI?
Our customers find Sophos Central to offer excellent value for money, and they are highly satisfied with the service it provides.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.
A tool that offers easy-to-understand features for blocking dangerous websites
What is our primary use case?
In my company, the solution is used for the firewall. The tool is used to monitor and create firewalls for the organization's internet since the company's network is on the internet.
What is most valuable?
Sophos Central Identity Integration Pack is a very accommodating and easy-to-understand feature for blocking other websites, especially the social media website. The features of the tool are good for protecting our organization from websites like social media websites or social engineering websites. I find the ability to use the product to test websites to be useful for our organization's network.
What needs improvement?
The high price of the tool is a drawback that can be considered for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos Central for two months. I am a customer of the solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are around 20 users of the solution in my organization.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I use Sophos Central and the Sophos Firewall XG Series.
How was the initial setup?
When I joined the organization, I found Sophos Central already installed in the company's environment. Considering the installation of the product was easily done on an on-premises version, the hardware components from Sophos were connected to the network cables of the organization, and it was easy to understand everything when I saw it for the first time.
The product's installation phase was easy.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is an expensive tool.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Based on the advancement in technologies, security reasons, and cybersecurity, my organization wanted a tool that ensured us a more secure environment.
What other advice do I have?
The tool does work in managing security for multiple devices since the product is available at multiple prices and there are multiple licensing models. In my organization, the tool is used to manage around 30 devices easily.
I rate the overall tool a ten out of ten.
Helps to monitor application status but gives false positives
What is most valuable?
It is very useful to deploy policies centrally and monitor the status of our appliances, especially given that we are the main branches. With Sophos Central, you can centrally manage and deploy security policies and updates, saving time and eliminating the need for the technical team to travel to each branch individually.
What needs improvement?
The product needs to improve monitoring since it gives false positives. It needs also to improve pricing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos Central is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos Central is scalable. My company has 300-400 users.
How are customer service and support?
We contact our partner for support.
How was the initial setup?
Sophos Central's deployment is easy and takes one month to complete.
What about the implementation team?
Our three in-house resources and one partner resource managed the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is on a device basis.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Sophos Central
A user-friendly tool that needs low-cost maintenance
What is our primary use case?
My organization uses the solution because it is user-friendly, available at a low cost, and needs low-cost maintenance for the company's customers to use and modify a single console in different branch locations so that you can handle many branches with a single sign-in on the tool.
What is most valuable?
The product's best features are its antivirus scanning, vulnerability scanning, web filtering, and application control, including the tool's ability to offer characteristics like peripheral device control. The product has many features to protect our organization's sensitive details.
What needs improvement?
I did not find any particular area where improvements are required in the product. Improvements are needed in Sophos Central from the agent side, especially in the area of tokens when selling and uninstalling during a change of products owing to security reasons. The ability to randomly use the initial passcode provided by Sophos Central needs changes. The tamper protection password is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required. If users forget the tamper protection password, then it is not possible to uninstall the agent, after which they have to use the removal tool from the agent side, during which I do not have the ability to create another setup.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos Central for five years. I am an end-user of the tool.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't faced any issues with the product during the five years that I have used it. The product is good, and I would recommend it to my organization's customers or vendors. My company can synchronize the antivirus and firewall we use with Sophos Central and use it globally from wherever we want since it offers its users a centralized console and cloud console.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Previously, I worked in a product support company where we supported each product our clients preferred, starting from installation, organization, and implementation, and troubleshooting at an L1 and L2 level with the help of Sophos Central.
How are customer service and support?
I contacted the product's technical support for some of the organization's issues. Once, a person who was taking care of the Sophos Central console completely changed the console's password, so I contacted the tool's technical team to change the administrator passcode, which took around three to four working days. When my company faced the aforementioned issue related to passwords, Sophos Central was not able to change the password immediately. As a customer, if someone has hacked my console's password, then I won't be able to log in to the cloud of Sophos Central, especially in cases where it shows a different email address and the registered user's email address is different. The priority has to be to ensure that my organization changes the email address and the phone number in the product to the ones that were used when we obtained the licenses, which can be re-registered later if needed. The main issue revolves around the fact that Sophos Central takes around three days to register the new email address and to create a new password ID at a channel account manager level.
I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase is easy and user-friendly. There is nothing difficult when it comes to Sophos Central because it is a completely user-friendly product with a user-centric GUI mode that allows users to configure anything in the solution easily.
The solution is deployed on the cloud and on an on-premises model.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Though I don't know the exact price of the product, I know that the tool is worth the money.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The security part offered by the product is strong, especially when compared to other products like Trend Micro or CrowdStrike. Sophos Central is a very helpful tool since users can't delete or modify agents without administrator permission. With the product, when there are constant changes in the tamper protection password, some users are unable to uninstall the agent from the users' end. Sophos Central's console can be configured from anywhere, especially in the cloud. On an on-premises model or in the cloud, users can use the synchronization capabilities of the tool.
I have five years of experience with the product, and I haven't seen any compromises made in the product's quality.
I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten.
Protects my IT infrastructure from attacks
What is our primary use case?
The solution is used to create intelligent policies and users, and to manage bandwidth. You can also use it to deploy wireless access points. I use it to deploy the access points and also control them, linking it with my active directory for authentication purposes.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is that it protects my IT infrastructure from attacks.
What needs improvement?
SSID authentication has to be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos Central since 2021.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a highly stable solution. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good. Ninety users are using the solution. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is an affordable solution.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.
A flexible solution that provides reports on downloads and malware
What is our primary use case?
We use the product to protect endpoints and emails.
What is most valuable?
Sophos Central provides reports on downloads. It alerts the admin when users use their personal computers. The product is also flexible.
What needs improvement?
The tool needs to improve its pricing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for one and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sophos Central is stable. It never breaks down.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company has 170 users for the product.
How are customer service and support?
The technical team is very flexible and responds fast. I encountered an issue when my CEO wanted me to have admin access with a simple, one-time, secure code. They needed to repair my account and provide a new secure code to achieve this. I contacted Sophos support in the UK, and they responded promptly. The entire process was completed within two hours.
How was the initial setup?
Sophos Central's deployment is easy. When you sign in with your domain, you create a user associated with your domain name. The license package is then purchased from Sophos under your domain name. If you install the application on your laptop, the organization can access it because the domain is for the organization.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is expensive. However, you can get discounts for over 100 users.
What other advice do I have?
For anyone looking to use the solution, I would first ask the desired level of security. Do you want high control over your users and employees, monitoring their downloads and internet access, or are you simply looking to scan files for malware? Depending on their security needs, I would recommend Sophos Central, especially if they want security, including email protection software.
I rate it a ten out of ten.