Sophos Firewall Reviews

We use Sophos XG in our organization for security purposes, managing around three hundred fifty computers and eighty servers.

The threat detection engine is good, with features like heartbeating between the endpoint and firewall, which provides synchronized security. The anti-ransomware functionality is effective, and the recent addition of Deep Learning, EDR, and XDR works fine. Having an appliance that combines the analyzer and firewall saves costs. Sophos Central is a good idea, although it could be easier to use.

Sophos XG is not easy to navigate and to use, and the integration capabilities are lacking. It cannot integrate properly with solutions like Darktrace. The VPN client on mobiles, especially Android phones, has issues. It is resource-greedy, causing performance problems even on new computers. Improvements are needed in resource management and integration with other security solutions.

I have been a Sophos customer since 2016.

Sophos XG is resource-greedy, affecting performance even on newer computers. It requires more resources due to recent updates, leading to performance issues on computers like Core i5, 13th Gen.

I have not encountered any scalability issues.

The technical support from Sophos is good. They usually respond on time, and the support technicians are experienced. I've had around four or five big cases over seven years, and they provided effective assistance.

Before Sophos, we used Bitdefender and Kaspersky. Sophos offered a cloud-based solution which connected frequently to Sophos Labs for analysis. It provided better features in some aspects compared to Bitdefender.

The initial setup of Sophos XG was smooth. The support was good at that time, and the installation process was straightforward because I installed everything in a clean environment while setting up the network from scratch.

Sophos supported us during the initial setup.

Pricing-wise, Sophos offers high value compared to other solutions. However, I discovered that SentinelOne is thirty percent cheaper, likely due to aggressive discounts.

I evaluated SentinelOne, which offers competitive pricing.

I would recommend Sophos XG due to its good value for money, despite its integration issues. I rate the overall solution between 7.5 and 8 out of 10.

Public Cloud

We use the product for traffic and security control. 

We currently have multiple clients, and many users are working remotely. We need antivirus protection to guard against malware introduced from public networks. One of the most beneficial features of Sophos XG is its integration with Sophos Central. If any file is detected as malicious on any endpoint or firewall, Sophos Central immediately identifies the threat and publishes the information across all endpoints and firewalls. If a single system gets infected, the threat is communicated and addressed across the entire network, including all sites and remote users.

One drawback I've noticed with Sophos XG is that sometimes, the platform can become unresponsive. I've observed that it occasionally hangs, causing traffic to get stuck. During these times, users cannot access the internet or any services routed through the Sophos Firewall. This issue happens randomly and isn't something we've encountered with other firewalls like FortiGate, which we used in the past.

Dealing with licensing has been a big challenge for us. Despite our efforts to resolve issues through our sales contact, we've faced limitations. After confirming our purchase orders, we had to escalate the issue. We were ready to extend our licenses for two or three months.

I have been working with the product for a year. 

We haven't seen any major issues with customer support from Sophos. We have faced some problems, but we understand that the support team can sometimes be unresponsive.

Positive

When comparing FortiGate to Sophos XG, I would say that if I'm working on large-scale asset monitoring and security purposes, especially if I have a data center that requires firewall security, then FortiGate would be my choice. It's faster and more responsive than Sophos XG support. 

The tool's deployment takes two to three hours to complete. It doesn't require any maintenance. You would need one engineer to handle one application. 

I can say there has been some return on investment. It's good, but I would still say it's higher by about 10-15 percent compared to other market products with similar configurations.

The tool's pricing and licensing are very complex. As a developing company, we need approvals from management to make a purchase, which can take time. We asked Sophos XG to renew our current firewall license for one or two months while we plan to accommodate our increasing IT assets.

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten. 

We don't have remote workers, so Sophos XG is only used for our in-house applications and users within the same building. For remote access, we use the Sophos free firewall home edition to connect to the Sophos XG 450, so there was no problem when the license was still activated. We experienced problems currently since the license is no longer activated.

The user interface of Sophos XG enhances our administrative tasks because it is intuitive and easy to navigate.

We find the network security, protection, and web features most effective for threat prevention.

Sophos XG has facilitated better traffic management because the model we purchased is only utilizing resources at 40%. We have no bottlenecks, unlike the previous Cyber Room model that we purchased, which was at 85% resource utilization, causing traffic problems. With 40% resource utilization, we don't experience problems with all the features of the base firewall, such as IPS.

They could change their licensing model, simplify it, and make it more available to upgrade. We are looking into upgrading or refreshing these firewalls since they will be end of life. We are looking to replace it with another firewall with a five-year license, at least, so that we can survive.

I have been working with Sophos XG since 2020.

I am struggling with the licensing model of Sophos XG because we don't have a license. Our licenses expired and we're not supposed to renew the licenses at this time.

We are looking into other brands, including FortiGate because it's closer to Sophos XG. I'm also looking at Sangfor because they say it has better web and network protection. Our objective is to find a solution that is price-wise and affordable for us, with longer coverage and good web application firewall features and network protection for five years license.

I haven't concluded my research on the advantages Sangfor has over Sophos XG yet, but Sangfor has better pricing and states that if the license expires, all the features until the day subscribed prior to termination of the license remain active. This is appealing for us to explore, and we will be asking for a model or POC for that product in the next few weeks. FortiGate comes with an appliance and is somewhat expensive. We're considering Sangfor, Sophos XG, and FortiGate because these are the appliances that we think are affordable for us.

Sophos XG Firewall has improved our network security posture only partially because we don't have the license, so it's just the base license that we are using currently. When we had the license activated, there was no problem, but now that we don't have a license, it reverts back to the base license features only.

We are not so much concerned about the reporting and analytics tools in Sophos XG. I have seen that of Sophos XG 450; it's not comprehensive. I hope Sophos XG 4300 will be better with updated features for reporting because we had problems with minimal reports for the Sophos XG 450. I haven't seen the material white paper on Sophos XG 4300 on the reporting feature yet, but from what I've read, it's still not on par with FortiGate. I don't know about Sangfor yet, so we still have to check on that.

I would still recommend the Sophos XG firewall to others, particularly the Sophos XG 4300, depending on the price. I would also recommend some other vendors when it comes to firewall.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Sophos XG an 8 out of 10.

On-premises

We primarily use Sophos XG as edge routers and edge firewalls, also known as border firewalls. We configure rules where specific users are allowed internet access and use rules for policy routing. We also control traffic for specific services, such as directing emails to one service provider while normal internet usage goes to another.

Sophos XG has helped us reduce virus and malware attacks. This allows our IT team to spend less time on troubleshooting and more on productive work. The ability to control what comes into and goes out of the network improves overall efficiency.

Sophos XG's most effective features for threat detection and management are its UTM components, which are useful for malware prevention and intrusion detection.

The firewall could be made more robust, particularly by simplifying two-factor authentication. It should also improve SD WAN capabilities. Additionally, there are issues with site-to-site VPNs dropping connections, which can be frustrating.

We have been using the solution since 2018.

Stability is generally okay. Customers have used the equipment all the way to end of life without major issues.

Scalability is not very flexible. You can't upgrade memory or storage on a specific model, which limits scalability.

The quality of support varies. The team handling application control is very good, but we have had bad experiences with the VPN support team. It all depends on the specific team you are dealing with.

Neutral

The setup is user-friendly and quite straightforward, especially for basic configurations.

Sophos XG reduces virus and malware attacks, addressing network efficiency and cost savings indirectly by minimizing the time spent on troubleshooting.

Pricing is reasonable. You get a perpetual license. That said, you must pay for support and updates. The cost depends on the package you are in, such as full threat management or basic.

We have also worked with Fortinet Firewalls and Palo Alto. Price-wise, Sophos XG is reasonable when comparing similar models.

When recommending Sophos, we consider the customer's specific requirements and infrastructure compatibility. Sophos is user-friendly and suitable for environments without highly technical staff because it is easy to manage.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

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.

The features that I find most effective in enhancing network security include EDR and XDR.

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.

It's been almost four years.

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.

Positive

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.

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.

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.

We can recommend Sophos XGS for industrial software companies, small businesses at the entry-level, as well as enterprise companies. We offer it for a range of customers, from entry-level to high-end.

The reporting in XGS is a major benefit for us. In other platforms, we can't get reports for one or two months. Secondly, it's very easy to handle and understand, and the deployment process helps enhance our skill set. 

The integration with Azure SSO and IPsec is also great. I like the remote access feature, and I would like to see IPS included as well, where we get more detailed reports and can identify and block issues from a single source.

There are a lot more features I haven't explored yet. We just implemented it based on our colleagues' recommendations and are currently working through the support checklist.

Migration and support processes are improving. Even people new to Sophos are finding it easier to manage now.

A lot of training is required. When I train our engineers, they aren’t able to get sufficient training from Sophos-hosted sessions. We only find textbooks and some videos on Sophos portal. 

More live sessions or time-bound training would help us understand how to pitch the firewall or use specific features, like advanced photo settings or integration with SD-WAN. 

We need to know which feature is suited to different environments. Right now, that knowledge gap makes us more dependent on OEM support, which could be reduced by up to 40% if more training was available.

For me, reporting is a major area for improvement. Detailed reports help pinpoint issues like usage bottlenecks or abnormal activities, allowing us to fine-tune the firewall. IPS in XGS is great because it provides timely attack reports we can present to management. Integration with Active Directory could also be better. Sophos Central integration is good, but the firewall’s performance is slow when accessed through Sophos Central. Our clients also experience slow access when using their credentials. That’s a bottleneck I’d like to see resolved.

I have been using it for the last three years.  

The customer service and support have been very good. It's much better now than it was a year ago. Back then, responses were slower, but now their technical support is good. However, RMAs (Return Merchandise Authorization) can still take a while. For instance, recently it took two days to analyze a faulty box. 

Maybe it was due to the weekend, but after I raised the request on a Friday, the replacement box only arrived by Thursday. This caused a delay, and we didn't have any alternatives for providing Internet services to our clients during that period. It takes longer with XGS devices. So, I would deduct points for the delays in RMA and pricing.

Positive

Along with XGS, we push antivirus with laptop encryption, and also Sophos Intercept X for endpoint protection. We push all these products, along with the red devices (hardware appliances).

We're not pushing Sophos MDR because of the pricing. Clients aren't accepting it because competitors offer lower prices, and clients don't fully understand the additional features of MDR. 

For endpoint protection, I only push Sophos antivirus with all the compliance features, like web filtering, data encryption for laptops, and protection for remote users. For MDR, we focus on larger companies.

We deal with corporate offices. For those types of clients, we push for MDR/XDR. However, they are also checking out other features and platforms because we've had some large opportunities. 

Compared to other products [like Fortigate, SonicWall and Palo Alto], Sophos's pricing is a little higher. 

The second thing is that support is very good, but we're having more issues getting pricing for the Sophos device on time from our vendors. Whenever we request pricing, we simply drop an email. 

We create comparison sheets for Sophos XGS when pitching to our clients. We highlight the benchmarks and advanced features, like reporting, that aren't available in other products. We emphasize the value of the bundle that comes with the firewall role. This is a major factor in convincing clients to choose Sophos XGS. The reporting capabilities and overall features are good.

I would recommend using Sophos. We push Sophos to most of our clients. Almost 99% of them use it. Only a few clients prefer FortiGate due to company policies, and some use Check Point, but we mostly recommend Sophos XGS.

Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

When compared to older versions, after the 2021 update, there have been significant improvements. Routing has become easier, and integration with third-party platforms like Azure and IPsec is seamless. Creating policies for different VLAN compliance requirements is also simpler, and the flexibility now is much better than earlier versions.

I am using the Sophos firewall, such as the XG series 2300. Some other branches have Sophos and Fortinet. There is an additional failover feature for site to site vpn in Sophos.

Sophos firewall has failover facilities for site to site vpn. When one active tunnel goes down, backup tunnel goes up automatically. It helps my organization to keep the service up always.

Sophos has a centralized management system where I can manage and control all the Sophos firewalls at the same time. They have introduced MDA threats in their latest version. Sophos firewall is a little bit cheaper than Fortinet. Some features are free. There is a central management system, which is a free service from Sophos.

There is no option for right-clicking on any feature after logging into the firewall. I am unable to open a feature in a new tab. In FortiGate, I can do it; in Sophos, I cannot.

I have been working with Sophos for around one and a half years.

When Sophos introduced firmware version twenty, there was a bug in DHCP server. Later, they removed it, and a bug-fix firmware was introduced. Now, the latest firmware version of the firewall is stable

I am satisfied with the support team.

Positive

Before using Sophos, I was working with Cisco ASA Firewall and Fortinet.

It's really easy to configure the firewall.

I will recommend both Sophos and Fortinet. 

Overall, I rate Sophos firewall nine out of ten. There is no option for right-clicking on any feature after logging into the firewall. It would be helpful if there is right-click option here.

I am using Prisma Access browser, but the terms are different in Palo Alto, as every firewall has different functions and names for the access browser.

Regarding the firewall itself, I work with Palo Alto VM-Series firewall, which is very good compared to others; its rating is very good.

We are using the Cortex series.

I use Cortex XSOAR mainly for XDR, Cortex XDR. I specifically use XDR for extended detection and response.

The security orchestration, automation, and response features of Cortex XSOAR are very advanced, and the functions are rated highly compared to others.

Currently, we are not using Cortex XSOAR for SOAR functionality. Because we have not been using it for a long time, our option is based on our organization needs; we are not a big organization with a total of 150 plus users, and the option we use currently is enough for our network, so we are not using DNS Security and other options.

Palo Alto Threat Intelligence Management is a main function of Palo Alto.

The Palo Alto solution is very useful in our environment, as the pricing from the Palo Alto team working in Pakistan is also very competitive compared to Sophos XG and Fortinet.

We are not using Palo Alto Threat Intelligence Management for a long time, but it is very effective.

The reporting and visibility of the network were low.

There are many problems, but compared to pricing, Sophos XG is good.

We need better reporting and a clear vision of the network, and Sophos XG does not provide that.

I have been using Cortex XSOAR for only 3 months.

There were no limitations regarding the scalability of Sophos XG.

I stopped using Sophos XG around 3 months ago.

I used Sophos XG, the XGS version, which is friendly with the current version of XGS. I have around 10 years of experience using Sophos XG as my main gateway device.

Sophos XG is a friendly-use firewall that is very good for small environments and small to medium businesses; its functions are great, and I am very satisfied with UTM. I have been using it for 10 years with no threats in my network, no ransomware attacks, and no VPN issues. It works very well in my environment, as my network is not as crucial as a financial institution's.

Installation is very easy. The installation of Sophos XG was easily completed with our local vendor.

My job title is Assistant Manager IT.

This review will be published on peerspot.com, in written or audio format, and it can be available to other people, but I can stay anonymous if I wish. I will get notifications, and the use of this review is subject to PeerSpot's terms of use, which I can access at peerspot.com/tos.

I do not use AutoFocus.

I appreciate the contribution and pleasant discussion.

My rating for this solution is 10 points out of 10.

On-premises

Other

I use Sophos XG for security products and have two lower sites. One is for production, and one is for security. I use it for security. For our management team, I will use it for production in the future. We focus on network security, and for threat protection, customers also use other products like Bitdefender and Kaspersky on their workstations and servers.

For network security, I use Sophos XG for entire network protection. The AI-enhanced security features are important to me, as they provide enhanced features for business reporting and automation. Our customers are also happy because of its AI capabilities, which satisfy them in terms of security features. Sophos XG focuses on network security, a crucial aspect for me.

The main improvement needed is in the pricing. It is a little higher when compared to competitors like Huawei. There are many Chinese products in Myanmar, and their prices are more competitive. Sometimes, for budgets with limitations, I offer Chinese products like Huawei. Additionally, Sophos XG's response time is sometimes delayed due to time zone differences in customer support.

I have been using Sophos XG for one year.

I rate the stability of Sophos XG as eight out of ten because there are sometimes delays in response, likely due to time zone differences.

I have tried Sophos's technical support, and it's okay. If I rate it, I would give it an eight out of ten.

Positive

It's not difficult for me and my team to install, but technicians need experience.

Three to five engineers usually take part from our side in maintenance.

The pricing is a little higher compared to Chinese products like Huawei. For those on a limited budget, I sometimes prefer Huawei. However, if the customer focuses on security features and reliability, I don't use Chinese products.

Comparisons were made with competitors like Huawei, Fortinet, and other Chinese products.

I recommend Sophos XG to other customers. For overall reliability, network security, threat protection, and everything, I rate it nine out of ten. The AI-enhanced security features are significant and satisfying. Reporting and automation features are valuable. Sometimes, there are delays in customer support responses due to time zone differences. Overall, I rate the solution nine out of ten.

On-premises

Sophos XGS is primarily used for similar use cases as Fortinet. It is utilized for network security, with a focus on cost-effectiveness in comparison to Fortinet.

Sophos offers a centralized system available to everyone, even for their smaller models, which is an advantage over Fortinet, which requires separate purchases for similar services.

Some of the most critical features for enhancing network security with Sophos XGS include their centralized management system, vulnerability system, and integrated IDS. Additionally, Sophos offers a centralized system available to everyone, even for their smaller models, which is an advantage over Fortinet, which requires separate purchases for similar services.

Hardware stability needs improvement. I have experienced multiple hardware complaints, particularly during firmware updates that sometimes cause crashes. Improvements to the hardware would be a critical enhancement.

I have been working with Sophos for more than three years.

While the software and policy implementations are stable, hardware can be critical, reflecting in a rating of seven point five out of ten.

In terms of scalability, Sophos XGS can be improved due to hardware faults, reflected in a rating of seven point five out of ten.

Sophos has a good technical support team, with a rating of nine out of ten.

Positive

We are working with both Fortinet and Sophos, deploying solutions based on customers' needs.

The initial setup of Sophos XGS is user-friendly and can be done within a few hours.

We have eight network security engineers in our team, and the number involved in deploying Sophos varies depending on the complexity of the task.

As for the commercials, they are cost-effective, and the price is justified by the overall results.

The pricing is justified, and the solution is considered budget-friendly compared to other vendors.

We have evaluated solutions from Fortinet and other vendors to address different customer needs.

The overall rating for Sophos XGS is eight out of ten. It is a good option for a budget-friendly environment, despite hardware issues.

On-premises