We compared Sophos XG and Sophos XGS based on our user's reviews in several parameters.
These include the need for more intuitive user-friendliness, clearer interface, enhanced stability, and improved alert management. Users suggested improvements such as easier navigation, better display of options, and more efficient alert handling. Some users also reported occasional performance issues and system crashes, indicating areas that can be refined for a more reliable user experience.
Features: Sophos XG is known for its advanced threat protection capabilities, seamless integration with security tools, and exceptional technical support, while Sophos XGS focuses on robust security measures, comprehensive network visibility, and efficient performance.
Pricing and ROI: The setup cost for Sophos XG product varies depending on user feedback. Customers have emphasized the overall cost of implementation, the initial investment required, and the licensing arrangements. On the other hand, feedback on Sophos XGS suggests that some users find the product competitively priced and of good value, but there are concerns about significant setup costs and complexities in licensing. Experiences with setup costs differ among users for both products., The Sophos XG product offers positive ROI with its effective protection and simplified network management. On the other hand, Sophos XGS provides a significant increase in ROI by improving security infrastructure and streamlining security operations.
Room for Improvement: Sophos XG has room for improvement in user-friendliness, interface clarity, and stability. Users desire more intuitive navigation, clearer options, and improved alert handling. Performance issues and system crashes are also a concern. Meanwhile, there are areas of opportunity for improvement in Sophos XGS according to user feedback.
Deployment and customer support: The reviews for Sophos XG and Sophos XGS show that the duration required for deployment, setup, and implementation phases varies among users. Some users reported longer deployment duration for XG compared to XGS, while others mentioned similar timeframes for both products. Context is important in understanding the differences., Users have reported positive experiences with the customer service and support provided by both Sophos XG and Sophos XGS. They appreciate the expertise, prompt responsiveness, and willingness to address concerns shown by both teams.
The summary above is based on 79 interviews we conducted recently with Sophos XG and Sophos XGS users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"The main benefit is the grouping of our security monitoring."
"It is a safe product."
"The most valuable feature is the web filter."
"The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was straightforward."
"The most valuable features are the policies, filtering, and configuration."
"I like how we can achieve total integration."
"FortiGate has a very strong unified threat management system."
"Advanced routing (RIP, OSPF, BGP, PBR). It gives you a seamless and simple integration into a large network."
"The solution is easy to set up and configure."
"It is feature-rich, I like the server authentication, and the reports are good."
"The solution was able to be integrated well with exciting hardware and software and in multiple business sectors."
"Overall, this is a good product and I would recommend it for small to mid-sized customers."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that the license offers everything."
"The most valuable feature, according to the setup we have at our work place here, is the flexibility of the system or the firmware that's running the appliance. It's so flexible, performing multiple rules with different configurations. According to the set up here, we need to implement several firewalls with different access levels, because we have a variety of users. For this requirement, it's very flexible and very easy to use."
"I like the tunneling part which we are using for the VOIP. We have various other sites where we connect via tunneling. The tunneling part is very fast and easy to implement."
"I rate Sophos support 10 out of 10. When my device was freezing, I contacted them, and sent me a replacement. It only took a couple of days for Sophos to ship the device to Kenya. I didn't have a redundant device, so it was urgent."
"Sophos XGS is profound as a firewall and security product."
"Sophos XGS's best features are its VPN and ATPR1 cert protection."
"The solution is stable."
"The solution is scalable."
"The feature that I find most valuable is the synchronized security option where the endpoint talks to the firewall."
"XGS' most valuable feature is ransomware protection."
"The VPN is the best feature."
"The most valuable feature of Sophos XGS is the application control."
"There are some license issues. Not every feature must have a separate license. There must be some of kind synergy between the license so we don't have to pay for every individual license that we would like to have."
"If they had better integration with security products, such as Cisco ISE or Rapid Threat Containment, then it would be an improvement."
"It should have a better pricing plan. It is too expensive. It should also have a more granular view of the attack. I don't have FortiAnalyzer, and it is difficult for me to have a complete view when there is an attack on my server."
"I would like to see improvements made to the dashboard and UI, as well as to the reporting."
"It could use better throughput on some of the smaller boxes for the branch offices."
"The initial setup and configuration are not intuitive and require training."
"There are some complex administration tasks in their administration portal. That needs to be improved."
"Fortinet should focus on enhancing the capabilities of FortiGate by consolidating its various products, such as FortiGate Cloud, FortiManager, and FortiAnalyzer."
"It is performing well. However, the only challenges that we are facing are the effectiveness with blocking the proxy and tuneling applications, aside from proxy and similar applications. So the application filter on the product is not really performing 100%. Every now and then there are some updates that are happening on such applications, and it takes time until it gets the appropriate updates and becomes capable of capturing such applications and blocking them. A new feature I would really like to see would be some sort of an enhanced application filter with greater efficiency when it comes to the applications that can bypass firewall policies. These applications are really a nightmare. Once they are on the network and not detected, or the appliance is not really successful in capturing them and unblocking them, the bandwidth gets wasted all the time."
"Inability to investigate incidents, there is no tracking."
"The product's user interface has certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"The interface of Sophos XG could be improved. I would prefer the Sophos XG to have an interface for the technician who is setting it up similar to the Sophos SG. I felt the Sophos SG user interface was superior. however, in terms of the functionality of the product, Sophos XG is in many ways more powerful than the Sophos SG. I have no complaints about the quality of the product or the end result. For someone who has used both, I preferred the old interface to the new one."
"The support service level agreement in regard to the amount of time needed to upgrade things is too low. It should be higher."
"Technical support is difficult to access."
"The solution could improve by having better security."
"In the product, the area revolving around SD-WAN has certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"The application is a little slow; it takes five to ten seconds to respond to every click when configuring. If we need to do significant configuration, it can take a lot of time. This might be because we have a low-end machine, and it could be faster with a high-end one."
"The stability could be a bit better."
"The configurations can be a bit complex."
"Level one technical support is not good at all and needs to be improved."
"It has recently started to suddenly block and crash."
"We'd like an interface that can monitor everything."
"The solution could be easier to manage and configure."
"Sophos XGS could improve by having a Network Access Control(NAC). This feature is a basic function in other firewalls and should be added, such as Palo Alto."
Sophos XG is ranked 7th in Firewalls with 192 reviews while Sophos XGS is ranked 17th in Firewalls with 58 reviews. Sophos XG is rated 8.2, while Sophos XGS is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Sophos XG writes "Easy to use and deploy with an improved pricing structure in place". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sophos XGS writes "Easy to use, simple to learn, and offers great reporting". Sophos XG is most compared with Netgate pfSense, OPNsense, SonicWall TZ, Meraki MX and Sophos UTM, whereas Sophos XGS is most compared with OPNsense, Netgate pfSense, WatchGuard Firebox, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and Meraki MX. See our Sophos XG vs. Sophos XGS report.
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