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PPC at a renewables & environment company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Nov 1, 2021
Offers good traffic control, has an easy setup, and is stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The updates are helpful and add to the solution in a positive way."
  • "The pricing has gotten much higher."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for gateway purposes, in order to provide us with gateway security.

What is most valuable?

The product is good in terms of routing multiple ISP Internet and also it's good in internet traffic control.

The updates are helpful and add to the solution in a positive way.

The initial setup is simple.

The solution is stable.

For the most part, you can easily scale the solution.

What needs improvement?

I'm not seeing any such things that require any improvement. It's good. From time to time, some updates will come through. It's meeting our requirements right now.

The pricing has gotten much higher. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for three years. It's been a while now. 

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability and performance are excellent. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 50 users spread across three devices. 

The solution, in terms of scalability, has its limitations, of course. Scalability in the sense of if I want to add more ISPs all depends upon my port availability. Transitions and migrations are fine and doable. I don't find any challenges there.  

How are customer service and support?

Technical support from Sophos has been brilliant. We deal with them on any L3 issues and they are always helpful. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward and simple. it's not overly complex or difficult. 

The deployment was quick and took maybe one day.

In terms of maintenance requirements, We have an L1 technical person who will take care of all the routine maintenance of the firewall, and we also have L2 support with the vendor. We have an L3 support from the Sophos team itself. 

What about the implementation team?

We did the implementation with the assistance of a vendor. We did not completely handle it ourselves. 

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

While, at first, the pricing was very good, it's since crept up. Now, upon renewal, it's pretty high. They've increased the costs. 

Currently, we have three devices that are similar. Only the capacity varies.

What other advice do I have?

I'm a customer and an end-user. I don't have a business relationship with Sophos. 

I'd recommend the solution to other users and organizations. I'd rate it at a ten out of ten. it's the best. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Senior System & Security Administrator at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 20
Oct 18, 2021
It has a good interface that's very user-friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "I've tried out Sophos XG a little. It has a good interface that's very user-friendly, but I haven't used all of its functions because I'm only configuring and running the system."
  • "I would prefer if Sophos XG were cheaper. A lower price would benefit me as a system provider for the end customer. The cost of the license and renewal for all the software and devices is somewhat high."

What is most valuable?

I've tried out Sophos XG a little. It has a good interface that's very user-friendly, but I haven't used all of its functions because I'm only configuring and running the system.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with Sophos XG for six months. I am not an end-user. I only provide the solution and implementation.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I think Sophos XG is very stable because the users who have installed it never mention any issues. It's very stable and scalable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sophos XG is a scalable solution. Our clients who use Sophos are not big companies. 

How are customer service and support?

I haven't dealt with Sophos support because I'm just doing the basic implementation for the Sophos. But I Sophos support is very experienced and helpful. Sophos has a team for administration and implementation—a good team to improve the application. 

How was the initial setup?

It depends on the implementation and the deployment of systems. In my small company, I have four people on my technical team. Two of them specialize in firewall and security. They're working on Fortinet. They deal with antivirus and security implementation as well as Veeam Backup. The other two handle the administration implementation, including Active Directory and other administration solutions.

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

I would prefer if Sophos XG were cheaper. A lower price would benefit me as a system provider for the end customer. The cost of the license and renewal for all the software and devices is somewhat high. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Sophos XG nine out of 10. I am a Fortinet partner. If a user asks me which solution to buy, I'll tell them Fortinet. But if the customer needs Sophos, I will implement it for him. However, if I had a Sophos partnership, I would recommend it every time.

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. Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Sophos Firewall
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Sophos Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
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Muhammad_Irfan - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 5
Sep 27, 2021
Friendly, dependable, scalable, and simple to migrate
Pros and Cons
  • "The performance is good."
  • "Sophos XG does not have the ability to disconnect a user."

What is most valuable?

Sophos XG is very good.

It's very friendly.

The performance is good.

What needs improvement?

The reporting could be improved.

Many other firewalls give you the option to disconnect a user. For example, if an end-user is using too much bandwidth, you could right-click to disconnect this user, but Sophos XG does not support this feature.

Sophos XG does not have the ability to disconnect a user.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos XG for one and a half years.

We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Sophos XG is great!

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sophos XG is scalable.

We have approximately 120 users in our organization who are using this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have never contacted the technical support for Sophos. Once or twice we called the local support but not for Sophos.

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

Previously we used Cyberoam. When they announced the end of life we switched to Sophos XG.

It was upgraded because it had reached the end of its life. We only had one option for upgrading to Sophos XG. They gave us the option to upgrade and provided us with the hardware for free.

How was the initial setup?

We migrated from Cyberoam. The migration went very well.

The migration process did not require a lot of configuration.

It took a few days to complete the migration and the testing.

This solution is being managed by myself and a colleague. We are a team of two.

What about the implementation team?

We were able to complete the migration ourselves.

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

They have different options for the license.

We paid for three years which included the migration and the free hardware.

In most cases, I believe that the licensing is paid yearly.

What other advice do I have?

I don't have any issues with this solution. I would recommend this solution for others who are interested in using it.

I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Benjamin Bodenehim - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technology Officer at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Leaderboard
Sep 16, 2021
Simple to set up with a good GUI, but lacks features
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is pretty simple."
  • "Their tech support is not great."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use the solution as a firewall. It's running on our data centers and all of our offices.

What is most valuable?

It has a simple GUI, which is good. 

The initial setup is pretty simple.

What needs improvement?

Unfortunately, there are quite a few negatives with them.

Their tech support is not great. 

The features on offer are lacking.

Basically what they don't have is proper bandwidth management for multiple WAN ports and multiple WAN ports to multiple VPN WANs. Meaning, if I have it on both sides on both the main side and on the secondary side, two internet connections, I can't bond the two of them together into a single VPN and have bandwidth managed between the two of them.

If I want to go ahead and make a VPN, right now, I have two internet connections on each side. I have to make a failover a group of four VPNs for it to go ahead and failover between them.

You're getting into a lot of rules. It's a lot of extra rules, et cetera, that has to be done. They don't have simple pointing systems where you could go ahead and make rules saying, "Hey, here's the route". They're not fully route-based VPN rules yet. You literally have to take down all the routes all over the place in order to make updates. It's tedious. 

Basically, we had the problem where we moved certain ranges from one data center to another data center. It took us about an hour of downtime to do that. We had to go ahead and we had to reset VLANs and we had re-setup all the VPNs in all the different places we reconnected. We don't have two sites, we have 25 sites. It was a lot of work.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for about three years at this point. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has its bugs and we can't get answers due to the fact that technical support is outsourced. There are some bugs that we keep running into that tech support can't figure out what to do. The bigger problem is the log systems aren't big enough for them to actually capture all the logs that happen.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is an issue. About six months after we bought it to a year after we bought it, they outsourced all their tech support to India. Literally beforehand, they were an American-based tech support company and they actually had full product knowledge. The Indian-based tech support doesn't have the product knowledge and there was a language barrier. They could speak English, however, they didn't understand us very well.

We were told that they stopped doing outsource and they are rehiring their own internal staff again for tech support. We're hoping that we're going to be able to get better tech support again.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward and simple. It's not overly difficult. I don't consider it to be complex. 

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

We bought it as is. We bought it with four years of support. However, I can't speak to how much it costs. 

What other advice do I have?

I'd advise users considering the solution that, if you have quite a bit of sites, it's going to get a lot of work to do, to fix things up. It makes more sense if you have minimal sites. 

I'd rate the solution at a six out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Nadeem Syed - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Reseller
Top 5Leaderboard
Sep 16, 2021
Strong in security, scalable, and good performance
Pros and Cons
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

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.

What is most valuable?

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.

What needs improvement?

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.

For how long have I used the solution?

It has been a couple of years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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.

What do I think about the scalability of the 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.

How are customer service and technical support?

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.

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

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

How was the initial setup?

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.

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

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.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend Sophos to others. I would rate it a nine 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. Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1621608 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Manager at a recruiting/HR firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
Sep 3, 2021
Easy to use, scalable, and provides good security
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is stable. I've had very few problems with it."
  • "I do prefer when updates come out a bit quicker."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for a firewall. We use it as a security device.

What is most valuable?

The product is very easy to use. We enjoy the ability for it to fit into our high-level security framework. 

It gives us some separation from being on Microsoft tasks. We've got multiple levels of security. We're government contractors. It's great that it's been a separate product that gives us the ability to do the security to a high level without having to resort to needing a big team.

The solution is stable. I've had very few problems with it.

We have found the solution to be scalable. 

What needs improvement?

We're always looking for the best products and the best pricing. Pricing is always a concern for us.

When they do updates, they could handle them a little bit better. We've only had one problem, however, I do prefer when updates come out a bit quicker. We do the patching and updates and different things, however, in terms of the patch and timing and the criticality of it, it could always be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for five or more years at this point. We've used it for a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is reliable and stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product has proven to be scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so.

We have 430 end-users on the product.

How are customer service and technical support?

We're mostly happy with the technical support. It's better than Microsoft. Any issues we have may simply come down to the SLA. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward, and, over the last six years, it's gotten simpler, especially when it comes to cloud products.  A company shouldn't have any issues with the process. 

The deployment was very quick. It does not take long. 

My team is quite small internally. I have five to seven IT staff.  I have many service providers that I outsource a lot of the day-to-day management of the infrastructure to.

What about the implementation team?

Sophos assisted us with training at the outset, which we really appreciated. 

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

We pay annually for the licensing for the overall on-prem solution, however, we also have some Sophos access points at permanent IT sites and different things. I have different Sophos products I may pay a monthly fee for.

What other advice do I have?

We're just customers and end-users.

While this deployment is on-premises, for the cloud, we use Sophos Central.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We're pretty pleased with its protection capabilities. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Alexandre RASTELLO - PeerSpot reviewer
Alexandre RASTELLOSenior IT Consultant - Sophos Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User

Well done! Happy to see it was easy.


Next step is Synchronize Security with Sophos Endpoint (formely Sophos Central), to block "lateral movement"!


https://www.sophos.com/en-us/l...


https://techvids.sophos.com/wa...


Regards,

Cloud Technical Program Manager at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 10
Aug 15, 2021
Scalable, simple the set up and easy to understand
Pros and Cons
  • "The product offers many great features."
  • "When upgrading the firewalls, the process could be easier."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is mostly used for setting up a firewall and policies. 

What is most valuable?

The solution is very easy to understand. 

It's simple to set up the firewall and policies. Setting rules is very easy on Sophos as compared to other solutions. 

The product offers many great features. 

Technical support is very good. 

The initial setup is easy.

We have found the solution to be very stable.

A company can easily scale the product if they need to. 

What needs improvement?

When upgrading the firewalls, the process could be easier. 

While we do have network control, we don't have network monitoring. If I have 200 nodes and I want to see what's happening, I don't have visibility, especially if people are working remotely. 

If we could control roaming users through the firewalls and make it so that it's more of a  complete security solution, which we prefer, that would be ideal. If we have to install some clients on these machines, that's fine. The only concern is the DLP. We want to protect our data from being stolen. We'd also like to monitor activities from the perspective of productivity. We want to be able to track and calculate what users are doing on their machines.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for more than ten years. 

Earlier, Sophos was known as Cyberoam, Before that, I use Cyberoam and now this has turned into Sophos.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is very good. It does not crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches. the solution is reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The level of scalability depends on the box. We do have the option to scale if we need to.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have found the technical support to be very helpful and responsive. I am pleased with the level of support I can get. They always provide proper solutions to all issues, whatever we face.

How was the initial setup?

It is not difficult to set up the solution. One ISP, internet service provider, is required, and that is sufficient. If you do have a landline, some switches are available, and we can add to that a firewall. That is secondary. However, the initial requirement is nothing. It is just a plug-and-play setup that is very straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We had a vendor assist us with the installation. 

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

There's no additional cost for installation. The provider from which we purchased, the vendor, himself arranged all installation and configuration. They helped us. However, even through customer care, a company can ask for assistance. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm not providing any services. I'm using the product as a customer only. The company, one day, would like to become a partner, however. 

I would recommend the solution to other companies. 

I would rate the solution at a seven out of ten, specifically if I compare it to other options on the market. It's pretty good. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1053252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Presales Consultant/ Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Aug 4, 2021
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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2026
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