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Pre-sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
Reseller
Top 20
A comprehensive solution which makes available heartbeat security
Pros and Cons
  • "Sophos is a comrehensive solution which allows me to configure all the attendant products, such as Sophos' firewall, Endpoint and Encryption features."
  • "The response time could stand improvement."

What is most valuable?

Sophos is a comprehensive solution which allows me to configure all the attendant products, such as Sophos' firewall, Endpoint and Encryption features. 

A nice feature of Sophos is that it offers in sync and heartbeat security. When my clients have a perimeter involving Sophos firewall and endpoints with Sophos Endpoint, they can communicate with each other. 

Heartbeat security is a great feature. 

What needs improvement?

In light of all the firmware upgrades, maintenance, feature and general releases of firmware, I really appreciate the support offered by Sophos. It is really good. 

However, the response time could stand improvement, as I do not benefit from immediate support. There is a delay involved. This can be problematic when I need urgent support, such as when my device is in a production environment. 

How are customer service and support?

The support is really good. With all the firmware upgrades, maintenance, feature and general firmware releases which occur nowadays, I really appreciate Sophos support. It is really good. 

This said, it could be faster, as it is not immediate. This can be problematic when I require urgent support, such as when my device is in a production environment. 

How was the initial setup?

When it comes to the firewall, everything hinges on the configuration. Every firewall is good, but one can see the importance of the configuration in the firewalls of Sophos and SonicWall. This is the most important thing, since users occcasionally disable the app control, IPS or anti-spyware features. They do this out of a lack of familiarity with the security, something which allows attacks to occur. Therefore, the configuration is key. I configure every firewall I employ, be it Sophos, SonicWall or Fortinet. 

I have not encountered any issues when it comes to the configuration. 

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

I was a gold partner with Sophos XG. As such, I make suggestions about the appropriate model in line with my customer's requirements. Essentially, over the last two years of the COVID-19 crises, most users required an SSL VPN license, something for which SonicWall charges but which Sophos offers for free. 

SSL VPN involves two factor authentication. This is free of charge. Both email and key OTP are options. While SonicWall also offers SSL VPN capabilities, it is problematic. When I needed a license, I purchased an additional perpetual SSL VPN license. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

SonicWall makes available all the different models, such as TZ and NSA. I am familiar with all the models. Sophos only has an entry-level model, which is actually 87, 107 and 116. 

Fortinet offers the Forti ATF model. 

What other advice do I have?

I recommend the solution to other clients, but make certain to first understand their individual needs. I would be doing them a disservice were it otherwise.

I really like Sophos.

In the past, when Sophos employed XG firewall, I was forced to deal with a slow GUI. This is because its back-end kernel is Linux. Now that XGS is provided, many changes can be seen in the hardware appliance. The hardware has been upgraded. The XGS firewall is faster than the XG series, so the problem has been resolved. 

While I rate Fortinet as a nine out of ten, I give Sophos XG a rating of eight. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1680258 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Security Engineer | Project Manager at a consumer goods company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Simple to use, easy installation, and performs well
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has good performance and is easy to use."
  • "The solution could be more secure."

What is our primary use case?

We use Sophos XG for network threat protection in our data center.

What is most valuable?

The solution has good performance and is easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The solution could be more secure.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos XG for a few years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately 100 users using this solution.

How was the initial setup?

The installation of Sophos XG is easy.

What about the implementation team?

 We have four technical engineers for installation and administrators for this equipment.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have evaluated Palo Alto and FortiGate.

What other advice do I have?

We have replaced some of our hardware with Palo Alto and FortiGate solutions.

I am satisfied with this solution.

I 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
Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
861,490 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1231140 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT support officer at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
Real User
Performs well, the firewall and threat management are good
Pros and Cons
  • "So far, I'm happy that they have recently added a firewall role, so I feel a little more comfortable with the security. The threat management is good."
  • "For the moment, managing the Sophos interface is a little bit challenging."

What is our primary use case?

There are about 100 people using Sophos at our office. We have two ISPs, so we have to have access to our internet providers. We also need security to deploy our network. Also, our home and external users need to be able to log in. So we use Sophos XG to build our deployment. Sophos is more than just a firewall. It analyzes security effects, so it's a firewall for the future. It's more than just a hardware firewall. There are also some paid options, so we do not have to have the main server inside our office here. We use Office 365. And although we use five servers at our location, not everything is in the cloud yet. 

What is most valuable?

We haven't used it for very long, so I have not analyzed the main features deeply. So far, I'm happy that they have recently added a firewall role, so I feel a little more comfortable with the security. The threat management is good. Also, the graphics and the throughput of our internet access are better than before, so it's the Sophos anti-threat device that we have. 

What needs improvement?

For the moment, managing the Sophos interface is a little bit challenging. We have an external partner that helps me to comprehend. But it's new. It has to keep up with the market, and I understand that. But that's my personal problem at the moment. High-availability clusters have not been implemented, so we have only one firewall and one device. So should this device go down, there's no more internet access. But so far, we haven't had any problems. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've only been using Sophos XG for three months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sophos is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sophos XG is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

I used Sophos tech support for the previous solution because Sophos sold that as well. Now, we only work with the external partners. So for the moment, I haven't had to send questions directly to Sophos. But my past experience with Sophos support was good. It was very professional and easy. We stay with Sophos software because of the technical support.

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

We had Cyberoam. That brand that doesn't exist anymore, so we had to change.

How was the initial setup?

I contacted the external partner, and the setup was easy. It took about two or three days. Some little pictures were difficult for us to find, but that's normal. We could not make a one-to-one copy of the older one, so we had to search for some little personal configurations here. Now that everything is configured right, we are happy to have it. 

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

Because Sophos is sold by the brand that we had before that and Cyberoam does not exist anymore, it costs less because we stayed within the older firewalls. The price was also very good. It was not expensive before because of their value at the time. I think it's not cheap but not very expensive, either. It's in the middle. 

What other advice do I have?

Based on what I know from using it so far, I would recommend Sophos. I rate it eight out of 10.

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
Muhammad_Irfan - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at ACMC
Real User
Top 5
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
reviewer1621608 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Manager at a recruiting/HR firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
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 ARENTIA S.A.
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,

reviewer1053252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Presales Consultant/ Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
MSP
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
Information Technology Support Manager at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
An inexpensive and stable solution with good functionality and user interface, but should offer an antivirus feature
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the functionality and the user interface."
  • "I wish to see an antivirus feature added to the solution."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the solution internally for policy purposes in our data center. We use the firewall for certain routes for client connectivity. 

What is most valuable?

I like the functionality and the user interface. The solution has a better graphic interface than that of Cisco. 

What needs improvement?

I wish to see an antivirus feature added to the solution. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I believe we have been using Sophos XG for more than three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has better stability than Cisco, which is why I prefer it over other firewalls. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not had need for technical support. Mostly, I find what I am looking for on the internet. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy.

What about the implementation team?

I handled the implementation by myself.

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

The solution is not expensive since one pays as he goes. He pays just for the functionality he requires, meaning there is no need to pay for all that Sophos offers. If a person needs email protection, he will pay just for this. The same holds true if he needs web filtering. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The solution is more stable than Cisco, which is why I like it better than the other firewalls.

What other advice do I have?

The firewall does not connect to the internet. It is not firewall edge. We use the solution as a data center firewall. 

I would recommend the solution because it provides the greatest firewall protection. 

I rate Sophos XG as a seven out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
Head of ICT Infrastructure and Security at City of Harare
Real User
Leaderboard
Easy to set up with great protection features and excellent documentation
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is very straightforward and the solution is extremely user-friendly."
  • "I'd like the dashboard to be improved. It could be a bit more customizable."

What is our primary use case?

We use Sophos Firewall for our environment.

The Sophos Firewall, from our interaction and the way we are using it, is a very effective network security solution that basically protects our infrastructure, identifies any infections or any network security threats that actually may happen within our environment. We also are able to manage our users in terms of bandwidth usage and the allocation of bandwidth, whereby we give our users restricted access for use during working hours and they are supposed to utilize the bandwidth and make sure that we optimize and prioritize the applications able to get the necessary bandwidth. We do use it to manage our bandwidth. We do use it as well to make sure that our environment is secure against any possible threats.

What is most valuable?

In terms of the Sophos XG Firewall, what really excites us is basically the issue of intrusion detection and the intrusion prevention features. Those are both very, very good. 

The issue of sandboxing as well is something that is very useful. It's able to protect our environment quite well. 

Email protection is something that we are basically using all the time and it protects our environment which has more than 2000 users. 

All of the protection features are great in terms of securing our environment.

Sophos is way ahead of a number of other products in terms of the enhancements and upgrades they offer.

Sophos offers a great centralized dashboard that makes it easy to see what's happening on your network. 

The initial setup is very straightforward and the solution is extremely user-friendly.

The documentation is very, very good.

What needs improvement?

In terms of the product, from the way that we have been utilizing it, we have noticed that the vendor has been able to continuously upgrade and upgrade and update the product with new features. You'd find that all the time a new release has come out, and we're actually happy with that. We don't find it inconvenient that we are constantly upgrading. 

I can't think of any downsides in terms of the features on offer.

I'd like the dashboard to be improved. It could be a bit more customizable. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have about five years of experience with the product.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We are very satisfied with the functionality. We are very satisfied with the way that it is securing our environment. The stability has been excellent.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 2,000 users on the solution currently.

The solution is very scalable. We basically started with about 900 users. We went up to about 1,300. As we went up, as our users increased, we also scaled it up in terms of protection. Sophos was able to scale up easily and protect all our end users as well as our environment. It's been great overall.

We do plan to increase usage. Our employee base is about 10,000. We have 2,000 networked employees and we are planning to add another 1,000 users by the end of the year.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support has been great. All of our technical staff have been certified as Sophos administrators. They were able to offer us the training to make sure that all of the support staff are familiar with the functionality of the product. Then, in terms of technical support that we may need, when we call the Sophos team, they are usually very available and they are even able to support us remotely if there is a need to do that. We are extremely satisfied overall.

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

I also often work with Cisco's ASA Firewall as well as Nagios. We bought Sophos to complement the ASA firewall.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very, very straightforward. You find that we did not even require a lot of external help from the vendor. It's so straightforward. The documentation is quite comprehensive and it takes the user through a step-by-step process, It's very user-friendly.

For the firewall as well as deployment of the end-user, the email protection as well as the sandbox, and the like, it took us approximately three days to finalize everything for our entire environment. We had over a hundred network sites, which are dotted through the city of Harare, therefore, we knew that we had to make sure that deployment was done fully throughout the entire environment.

What about the implementation team?

There was very minimal, minimal assistance from the vendor. The vendor, here and there, would assist if we requested their help. However, you'd find that in most of the installations we did in-house, we didn't need the vendor to do anything. We knew that the installation process was very user-friendly.

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

The cost of procuring this product is very reasonable and it's very affordable for most organizations.

What other advice do I have?

We're a customer and an end-user.

We use the latest version of the product.

I'd advise those considering the solution that Sophos' security solution is highly synchronized, very secure, and provides comprehensive security. I'd like them to know that it has enhanced and very detailed and sophisticated functionality, which is really easy to use, easy to deploy, and very user-friendly. It is a product that I would highly recommend for any organization that needs to comprehensively secure its infrastructure.

I'd rate the solution at a nine 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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos XG Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos XG Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.