Sophos Firewall Reviews

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

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

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

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

To me, the cost benefits are the best.

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

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

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

We have been using Sophos XG for three years.

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

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

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

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

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

Our clients are usually medium to large-sized businesses. 

We currently have 23 engineers to maintain this solution.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It can take five days to deploy.

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

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

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

The main difference is the pricing.

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

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

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

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

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

I like the web filter, application filter, and VBA. There are so many good features. The most powerful thing is clearly the software. I can easily do whatever I want.

Their updates can be faster and more regular. Right now, it's updated monthly. When I need to update the firmware, I want it done within weeks, not months. There are also some changes in version 18, like rules, that aren't needed.

Sophos XG is a very powerful and stable solution. It's more stable than Cyberoam.

Sophos XG is scalable.

Technical support is good and easy to deal with. If I have a problem, I open the ticket, and I call, and the problem's solved automatically by them.

We used Cyberoam ten years ago and then transferred to Sophos. We switched because it was the latest technology.

The initial setup was very easy because you can follow the manuals, follow your past experiences, and so on. We also need about three to six people a day to maintain this solution.

At first, I thought the price was very high. But when I read about the machine's features, we decided to go with it. Now I think the price is reasonable.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Sophos XG a nine.

We use it for VPN and for filtering direct traffic. We are using XG50.

The VPN feature is the most valuable. It has come in handy during this period when people are working from home.

The filtering feature is also valuable because you can easily filter the sites that you don't want to visit. You can also set timely surfing quotas.

They made some changes to the firmware update sometime last year, which moved some of the policies from where they were before. Some of the policies, such as NAS policies, were separated, which made it a bit hard for people to trace the policies they had configured.

I have been using this solution for three years.

It has been very stable. We haven't had any outages. It has been seamless.

I am not quite sure about that. In terms of the number of nodes, we have around 200 nodes. All the internet traffic has to go through Sophos XG. In terms of the number of people who handle the support, we have two people.

Their technical support is good. Whenever I have contacted them, they have given us support. They have been quite fast.

We were using Cyberoam. When they were acquired, we just upgraded to Sophos because, at that time, they were providing the hardware and support to transfer your configs to Sophos.

Its initial setup was done by a contractor. We just maintain it. We have an expert, and we also have access to an IT department.

In terms of price, it is a mid-range product.

I would recommend this solution. I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.

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

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

The solution is stable.

We've had good experiences with technical support.

The product is scalable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deployment times also vary, according to the complexity.

Typically, the client handles the maintenance process themselves.

We handle the implementation process for our clients.

We have a platinum partnership with Sophos at this time.

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

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

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

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

We're integrators and resellers.

We are using it at a gateway level. We are using Sophos XG Series 135. 

We find it easy to use. Its internal configuration is very easy. It is not complicated in terms of use and configuration.

It has been fairly stable, and it is also scalable.

They can simplify its interface so that it is mostly drag-and-drop. There was an SQL injection attack on some Sophos devices. They just need to harden their devices a little bit so that they can't be hacked very easily.

I have been using this solution for three years. 

It has been fairly stable.

It is scalable. We had scaled it for the number of users that we have, and it has worked fine for us. We have around 40 users.

We rarely contact their technical support. There was a time when our head office contacted their technical support. It was an issue in 2008, and they provided a patch.

We used Cisco ASA five or six years ago.

We found it easy to install. Its installation took around one to one and a half hours.

I did it myself. I have had some training on the product. In terms of support, we have just two guys who handle the support. Two people are enough for its deployment and maintenance.

I would recommend this solution. It is a fairly stable and good solution. We will keep on using it.

I would rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten.

We use Sophos XG for a central firewall, with some branches making a VPN, but that's the normal deployment. Some clients use it as a proxy, but most of my clients use it as a gateway. We use Sophos to configure policies, work filters, application filters, and the SSL VPN and IPSec VPNs.

Because of the pandemic, the VPN is the most valuable feature. In Bolivia, the clients normally asked for an appliance with a web protection license or network protection and web protection license. These are the most common features demanded by our customers.

Some clients are also using the wireless solution and using XG firewall as a wireless controller. For those clients, this feature is a very important.

I used to work with Fortinet, and sometimes I see that the SD-WAN feature could be better because it's much easier in Fortinet. That area could be improved in Sophos XG as it's too complicated right now.

For example, I remember a case where the routers had to be configured by commands. It's not hard, but you have to read and investigate how to do that. The XG firewall works fine, but you have to read, and it takes some time to do it.

Sophos XG could also improve the floating area. I have more features in Fortinet, more visibility of the networking table, and the networking area. But in Sophos, you have to enter the CLA and display it. It'll also help if they offered more toll booths for VPN like Fortinet.

I've been working with Sophos XG for around five years.

I have no issues with the stability. No reboots are needed, and there hasn't been a problem with that.

The new enterprise models are scalable, and we don't have problems. I think it's fine.

I like their technical support. With Cyberoam, I remember the technical support used to work closely with us. They used to configure some features for us and help us resolve problems, but not just by email. They used to work with us and show us how to do it. I think that was nice, but in Sophos, they give us instructions and help us, but by email.

The initial setup and configuration was very easy for us. I think it's easier than the other options in the marketplace. The deployment time is relative. For example, if you're deploying for a client who has another firewall and have to integrate it, it'll take around two or three days. But if it's a new environment, you can deploy the firewall within two hours.

Normally, my clients look at Fortinet. Both have similar features, and sometimes Sophos is more expensive, or FortiGate is more expensive. It depends. But normally, I have clients that migrate from Fortinet to Sophos. They are used to working with FortiGate without a problem, but the main difference in our case is the support. Because as a company, SUPERNOVATEL, has more experience with Sophos to help our clients immediately. That makes the difference.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Sophos XG a nine.

We are integrators. We integrate solutions for other our client's companies.

The most valuable feature is the central dashboard. It provides us with good performance.

When you utilize the processors, the device hangs. Many firewalls hang because of the high volume of loads.

If we are using the HP policy and the user policy at the same time, the firewall gets hung and it means that we cannot get clear reports.

We have mitigated the firewall with Palo Alto because Palo Alto is working on multiple environments. 

I would like to see the performance improved.

I have been working with Sophos XG for three years.

Currently, we are using the MR4 v18.

It's a stable solution.

This product is scalable. I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

So far we use this solution for SMB and enterprise companies.

Technical support is very good.

We are also working with Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls.

Palo Alto is the best product from a compliance point of view, and security. Fortinet is the second and the last is Sophos XG.

I have installed Sophos XG in multiple organizations.

The initial setup is very easy.

It took less than 10 minutes to deploy.

Sophos is very good for small companies because of the cost of the product compared to other solutions.

The price is reasonable.

I prefer Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls to Sophos. Palo Alto is very good and the customers are happy. The hardware is customizable with multiple firewalls. I think that it is the best.

I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.

We are a solution provider and this is one of the security solutions that we implement for our clients. The primary use for Sophos XG is to secure the internet for an organization. It does a bit of antivirus scanning, application filtering, web filtering, and normal firewalling. Security, obviously.

Some of our clients also have Sophos UAP and access points are also included in Sophos, which is the same with FortiGate.

Sophos XG is easy to manage. You've got the cloud logging and you can manage all of your Sophos firewalls from one cloud, the Sophos Central Portal.

The most valuable feature is endpoint security. If you want to install antivirus and firewalling on endpoints, then Sophos is the best option.

What I don't like about Sophos is that applying policies can sometimes take longer, and there can even be a bit of a network interruption. With FortiGate, it's just one click and then you go, but with Sophos, sometimes the wheel keeps spinning for several seconds.

The SD-WAN capability is not as good as it is in FortiGate, and is something that should be improved.

I have been working with Sophos XG for approximately two and a half years.

Stability-wise, it's almost as good as FortiGate.

I've been selling FortiGate for 10 years and Sophos for two and a half years. I think that Sophos is just about on par with FortiGate. We just had a small thing with a client, but I don't know if that's really going to be reason enough. In terms of stability, I think they are quite good. The issue we had was the locks, and it was causing slowness or interruptions, but that was really not an issue. It's a small thing.

Sophos XG is very scalable. You can go from small to large-sized use cases.

I think that the technical support is very good, and similar to FortiGate,

I actually dealt directly with a Sophos engineer and I must admit, they've been very fortunate that the guy can help even on the weekends and so forth. I'm very impressed with that.

I primarily work with FortiGate, but I am currently dabbling in OPNSense to see if I can learn it. I've also installed Cisco in the past, as well as Sophos.

Although about 80% of our clients ask for FortiGate, some of our clients ask for Sophos instead. For example, there are some banks and commercial institutions that ask for Sophos.

Sophos is better than FortiGate with respect to endpoint protection.

The initial setup is as easy as it is with FortiGate. These products are definitely easier to install than a solution like OPNsense because it is just a hardware appliance.

The price of this solution is mid-range. Obviously, it will never beat OPNsense because that product is available free of charge. Sophos XG is not expensive for a firewall, especially when you compare it with Check Point. Check Point is a really expensive product.

Sophos XG is a bit more expensive than companies like BitDefender and Kaspersky, but their endpoint software is very good.

The suitability of this product depends on the use case. If somebody wants to have full endpoint protection then Sophos is the best choice. If they just want a normal UTM without endpoint software, then FortiGate is slightly better, but only slightly because of the SD-WAN capabilities. 

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.