Sophos XGS Reviews

We use Sophos XGS in 15 locations with 15 firewalls for the XG. We dedicate one person to maintain the solution.

The most valuable feature of Sophos is the VPN solution. I also value their threat management, IPS, IDS, and login features with single sign-on.

Sophos XGS needs improvement with the threshold values. Other solutions have the capacity to handle more users.

I would like to see virtualization security included in the next release.

We have been using Sophos XGS for more than two years.

Sophos XGS is stable as long as the capacity is not exceeded, then it becomes slow.

Scalability needs to be improved by increasing the threshold value. The bulk capacity can handle 300 users, if you have more users, it does not work well.

Technical support is okay. They are responsive but limited with knowledge and need to escalate to the upper levels. It takes time to resolve issues.

Positive

The initial setup of the solution was straightforward. It is easy to use and convenient.

The license for Sophos XGS is for three years, paid on a yearly basis. Everything is included with the license; there are no additional fees.

Sophos SGS is a nice solution. I would rate this solution an 8 out of 10.

We give both endpoint and firewall together.

We have a set of customers who understand Sophos very well. Once they achieve all the security functions and parameters they want, they are more secure. Many customers who previously used different endpoint and firewall solutions now benefit from synchronized functionality with the complete Sophos suite. So, they become more secure, which is more important.

The security heartbeat feature and MDR are the best for customer security.

The functionality of SD-WAN compared to other boxes is lacking. Certain aspects need improvement, particularly enhancing capabilities like SD-WAN. We should also focus on enhancing XDR and NDR functionality in the firewall boxes and provide more threat protection alerts to users.

I've been working with Sophos for more than 15 years.

The technical team never disappoints us in providing solutions. They give us timely and nice follow-up.

Positive

Many of them were using a different endpoint security and a different firewall. But now, with Sophos, they have better security.

The pricing is competitive, and it's a win-win situation for both partners and customers.

In the financial market and banks, other security appliances are more popular than Sophos.

We highly recommend Sophos XGS.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

The solution provides firewall protection.

The solution is easy to use and configure, once you know how to apply the policies.

The customer service response time can be improved.

I am currently using the solution.

The stability is good. I have not had any problems with it.

The scalability of the solution is good.

The customer service response time is slow and could use improvement.

The setup is straightforward if you know how to do iOS.

The cost is around $50 per endpoint, and there is a one-time purchase fee for the firewalls of $2,500, plus services. It is roughly around $4,000.

I am currently evaluating CrowdStrike. I like it better.

I give this solution seven out of ten.

If you are looking for a low-cost solution, cheaper than Cisco I recommend this solution. You should also look at Fortinet.

The interface is great.

It's a very easy-to-use product.

The product was easy for us to install. 

The pricing is okay. 

We've had many problems lately. We're having issues with its firmware, now, and we are trying to fix it with the supplier, the Sophos supplier in Turkey. 

It has recently started to suddenly block and crash. We don't know what will happen. We're not sure if it is the device or something else. We're trying to fix the problem with Sophos. 

It's not extremely scalable. 

I've been using the solution for six months. 

I'm not sure what the issue is, however, it has been crashing and we're trying to find a fix or a solution. 

I don't find the solution to be very scalable. 

We have 300 people using it right now. 

We're working with a Sophos supplier in Turkey. When we run into issues, we reach out to them. We're dealing with them right now. 

The installation process was very simple and straightforward. It wasn't overly complex or difficult. For us, the deployment took about two days. 

You only need two people to maintain the product. It's not labor-intensive. 

I'm not sure of the exact amount we paid, however, compared to other firewalls, the pricing isn't too bad. 

I'm a customer and an end-user. 

We bought three devices from Sophos. We're just dealing with some issues with crashing right now.

I'd rate the solution five out of ten. 

Potential new users should clearly investigate other firewall models. They need to be sure of what they pick before they pay for any solution.

Sophos XGS is a unified threat management solution that combines features such as routing, access management, firewall, threat management, and URL filtering for sandboxing. It serves as a security appliance with multiple capabilities.

The valuable features of Sophos XGS include network protection, web protection, application control, intrusion detection, and iCentral orchestration. These features are beneficial for the product's security posture.

The solution could improve by using fewer hardware resources compared to other products like Palo Alto, which has better performance. 

Additionally, better integration of AI and machine learning for predictive analysis of potential threats could be beneficial. 

The technical support also needs improvement, including a better ticketing system and faster response times.

I have been using Sophos XGS firewall for more than 15 years, with approximately twelve years of precise usage.

I would rate the stability of Sophos XGS as a six out of ten. There have been observations of downtimes compared to other devices, and it doesn't perform as well as competitors like Palo Alto or Check Point.

Sophos XGS has scalability issues as it doesn't have features like cascading. Instead, it requires new devices to scale, unlike Palo Alto which allows adding devices to a pool.

The technical support is quite poor and needs significant improvements in response time and quality, especially for medium and small enterprises. It seems other brands face similar issues, but the costs rise for premium support, which is challenging for smaller entities.

Neutral

The initial setup of Sophos XGS is simple compared to other firewalls.

The pricing for Sophos products is considered high. The pricing model needs to be more flexible, catering differently to sectors like education, which might not require as high a price point.

I can recommend Sophos XGS for small to medium companies and the education sector. It is less ideal for enterprises with very high-security needs. Organizations with sensitive data should consider alternatives like Palo Alto or Fortinet.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

In some instances, we are using it in a virtual appliance in a VMware environment.

I will not rely on Sophos to build my infrastructure. For that, I will go to Fortinet or Palo Alto. However, from an end-user management perspective and the granular control and the reporting stuff, I still prefer Sophos. 

We are using Sophos as our internet gateway for specific sites that don't have to do with the backend tunneling and the infrastructure and all that stuff.

I have found some difficulties in other products, like in Fortinet, where there is no end-user visibility in a presentable form that non-technical people can interpret. I'm talking more specifically about non-technical management. You have to present something. Apart from that, the end-user integration is fine if you are using it for NCL and or as an internet gateway. Sophos allows for more visibility.

However, as far as infrastructure is concerned, if I have to apply this as a device in my data center or at any critical point, this device fails to perform. The hardware is not up to par. Even if I answered from proxy to transparent, transparent proxy to the full proxy mode, there are some hardware difficulties.

The centralized security is very good. 

The heartbeat system, the reporting management, and the electoral control that is achieved when the Sophos XGS is integrated with the Sophos endpoint is great.

It's close to the top of the line, alongside Trend Micro in terms of security reporting.

It is easy to set up.

I have observed that there are some reliability issues with these products in regard to the hardware performance and RMS.

I've witnessed many devices go down - even three on the same day. I've never seen that, for example, with Fortinet.

The stability could be a bit better.

I would like to have a proper SD-WAN orchestration solution. They are working on it. However, it still needs some improvement. Apart from that, it would be better if they provide the email gateway and the WAF not as a feature in the existing XG but as a dedicated appliance. Barracuda and Fortinet, for example, are providing dedicated services for the WAF and email gateway. Compared to that, Sophos is not up to the same level.

I've used the solution for around five years.

While their endpoint is a stable solution, their firewall needs to be improved in regard to integration with other products. I have specifically witnessed a case where we tried to integrate Sophos XG with the DLP product by Force Point. That wasn't supported right away. FortiGate was supporting that particular model.

I would like to have scalable products, however, normally what I have witnessed is that every new product that they push out or any additional feature that they push out in a new VMware version or specifically for the firewall may have some stability issues. So scalability at the cost of stability is not an option for me.

We have about 250 to 300 users. We have multiple branches that use this product. Usually, it's the development team, and hardware and software users. 

We may expand usage. It will depend on the additional sites we may operationalize soon.

I've had some direct escalation experiences with the country manager and their technical lead. I tend to get a good response.

While in general technical support can be better sometimes, as far as their resolutions are concerned, the team is providing us with technical assistance, and their approach to resolutions can be a bit tricky. Normally they try to avoid dealing with the solution so you have to dig it out and you have to work on it yourself, or you have to push them that there must be a solution.

Neutral

I have some expertise in Sophos and Fortinet; I'm not so sure about Cisco. We are also using Palo Alto.

We had some granular control in Sophos that was a bit advantageous to us. That's why switched. Also, the reporting, AD integration and the Sophos endpoint integration were key drivers in making the change.

The solution is simple to set up. It's not overly complex. It only takes a couple of minutes. 

YOu only need one person to handle maintenance. 

I handled the initial setup myself. 

We pay for the solution on a yearly basis, and it is fine. The renewal costs are typically reasonable. If you compare the general cost to Fortinet or Palo Alto, it's lower and more affordable. YOu can also pay for extra support.

We are a Sophos end-user.

For small enterprises or even for some enterprises that do not require large infrastructure, I would recommend Sophos right away. In Pakistan, we have to present something to the management and most of the time the management of the company is non-technical. So the presentability factor and the users' granular control and integration factor, make it attractive. This product can be used as an internet gateway. I have already recommended it to multiple users not for the infrastructure but for the internet gateway or as a proxy service.

I'd rate the solution a seven out of ten. Some features still need improvement or to be built out, like  proper orchestrations or dedicated services.

We primarily use the solution as a firewall.

The most valuable features are the Sophos management or the central management, including the reporting and managing of multiple firewalls using Sophos Central.

The synchronized security, which also integrates with the Sophos endpoint, is great. That's one of a few of the main features which is beneficial with Sophos XGS.

The solution is stable.

The setup is simple.

There were certain lacking capabilities, for example, the searching of its settings et cetera, previously in Sophos XG. There have been some features that were not visible or unavailable compared to the one here on Sophos XGS. Right now, Sophos XGS is stable with its current firmware and hardware versions. It’s gotten better.

I can’t speak to which features could be added.

As long as they just maintain the stability of the firmware version, we will remain happy.

Support is great, however, it can always be improved.

I’ve been working with the solution for one year. We’ve used it since 2021.

We’ve found the product to be stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn’t crash or freeze. It’s reliable and the performance is good.

In general, the solution is scalable.

Its features and configuration can expand. As long as the engineer or the implementer knows which policies are needed, the Sophos firewall integrator can also help with that. If he or she does not know any complicated solution, Sophos support is also there to help.

I’ve had interactions with Sophos support.

They are actually quite responsive with their cases, as long as the open cases is properly informed or properly included with the right information.

They could always improve support a little bit.

Positive

The initial setup is just a simple set of options. Sophos also provides a lot of data sheets and tutorials online. During the initial setup, there is a guide, which the user can just follow as long as he or she knows their internal network. It’s pretty straightforward.

The maintenance isn’t too intense. However, it is on a case-by-case basis and depends on the complexity of the environment and size.

I really don't have visibility with the pricing. However, the price depends on the size of the box, which indicates that the more users you have, the bigger the box, the higher the price you have to pay.

I haven't had the opportunity to work with other solutions. There are a lot, like Palo Alto, which, in terms of security, are much better than Sophos, as people say. However, Sophos can also work well. It just depends on the company's complexity or preference in the firewall.

I'm currently an agent and a Sophos engineer here in the Philippines. We’re partners.

While we work primarily with on-premises deployments, it is also available on the cloud.

I’d rate the solution eight out of ten.

We use it to secure the enterprise endpoint devices, whether they are servers, laptops, or mobile phones.

Security synchronization is one of the best features because it integrates the firewall with the endpoint devices.

It would be nice to have features like the network access control (NAC) that Cisco has for Identity Services Engine.

In the next release, I would also like to see an increase in the performance of the processing units.

I've been using Sophos XGS for about four years now.

The technical support is good. They have a support portal where you can log in a case and have direct support from one of the experts.

They are responsive and follow up closely, so I would give them a ten out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup is very user-friendly because they have graphical user interface options and command line interface options. I would give the initial setup a rating of five out of five.

It has three modes of deployment. You can have it deployed as physical hardware, as a virtual machine, or as software in the cloud.

We implemented it through an in-house team.

The pricing for Sophos is much better compared to that of Fortinet and Check Point. On a scale from one to five with one being expensive and five being competitive, I would rate Sophos' pricing at four.

The pricing can be for the hardware appliance and the license, or it can be subscription-based. It can be around 3000 USD up to 25,000 USD per year depending on the model or series of the hardware you choose to buy.

Sophos XGS is suitable for enterprise customers and SMBs.

Overall, I would rate Sophos XGS at eight out of ten.