Sophos XG Reviews

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.

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.

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. 

I have about five years of experience with the product.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

We are primarily using Sophos XG for the identity base, policies, load balancing, and SD-WAN. Right now we have separate, different branches, therefore, we need to integrate it with SD-WAN. Of course, with SD-WAN, we need to do the load balancing, the VPN failovers, and also watch the connectivity. We are more particular on the link, and also the implementation of user policies.

The Multi-Link, or the Multi-Wan, SD-WAN, is extremely valuable to our organization.

The Anti-Spam and the Gateway Anti-Virus capabilities have been very useful.

The solution offers a very good Network Ring, QRS, and landing management. 

We've found that the reporting is very good overall.

They really work scalability into the solution at the outset.

The SD-WAN could be improved. It is not yet full-blown; it's only basic, really. They need to move on with the algorithm on how the SD-WAN works, and how it works in comparison to other brands of SD-WAN. Sophos should study those algorithms on how they do the SD-WAN to learn a few things that may help them build out their own solution.

I've been using the solution and various other Sophos solutions for a while.

If you do the right planning, most of the time Sophos is good for five years. It depends on the recommendations as well. Sometimes the Sophos team or supplier will show you the number of users or number of networks and they'll illustrate to you a plan most suited to what you have and what you might have. They assess everything and give you a five-year plan. That way, if you need to expand, they've already taken that into consideration at the outset and there's room to scale.

We have about 100 users.

Due to the pandemic, we don't really have any plans to expand. We may be downsizing a bit. We'll see.

We've been satisfied with Sophos' technical support. They are very helpful and responsive. Their staff is quite knowledgeable.

I've worked with Sophos previously and we had a different setup. In terms of implementation, sometimes there are complex setups and sometimes the setup s are more basic. Right now, we have a complex setup. We need to ensure interconnectivity between our branches. We'll have different networks, different sites, and a lot of complexity. 

It doesn't really take too long to deploy, however. The support from the supplier is good. They're always available to assist. They are well-trained and they are already familiar with the setups and configuration so they're doing a pretty good job in terms of helping us.

The supplier, the reseller, the partner of Sophos, is doing the change for the end-users. Most of the basic configuration has already been already done by us, however, for more complex areas, we could ask them, and they could come to us to configure it for us.

The pricing is based on the acquisition cost.

We have evaluated a few different solutions. We've looked at Palo Alto and FortiGate products. In terms of our end-point security, we've also looked at Trend Micro and a few others.

We are just a customer and an end-user.

We are using the latest version of the solution.

ON a scale from one to ten, I would rate this solution at an eight.

We are using it for our VPN and firewall. It acts as our firewall for the external portal into our network.

It is very easy to configure and straightforward. The firewall rules are straightforward.

It works great out of the box. It has been working as advertised, and I haven't had any issues with it.

Its user interface is a little bit slow.

I have been using this solution for a couple of weeks.

It has been up and running for probably three weeks and hasn't had any issues. I didn't have a lot of time on it yet to make a good call about that, but so far, so good.

It scales for our purposes. We're a very small office. We have 25 users on the system. We're an engineering consulting company, so all remote users are accessing our network

It is being used quite heavily, and I don't see any need to increase its usage at all at this point.

I didn't have any direct interaction with Sophos. Their online documentation is very good. It is much better than Cisco.

It was a replacement for Cisco ASA Firewall. Our Cisco licensing had expired, and it was very expensive. Sophos XG is a lower-cost solution for the same thing. It was also easier to configure.

It was very simple. It took a couple of hours.

We had a partner, and they did the initial setup and walked us through it. Our experience was very good.

Its maintenance is very simple. You need less than one administrator for its maintenance.

I expect to see ROI in a year or two.

Its licensing cost is around 700 bucks a year or something like that. It is 100 bucks a month at the most. It seems to be standard licensing with no additional costs.

I would advise others to go through the Sophos demos. They are very good, and they walk you through configuration and use cases. Their online documentation is very helpful in not only configuring it but also selecting a proper model to deploy.

I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten for ease of use and cost.

I'm using the solution mainly for its firewall application and to prevent intrusion in the system. The XG platform is very powerful from the perspective of identification and to prevent potential attacks on the system due to its the capacity to predict and to anticipate the potential damage on the system.

It's integrated inside the system, meaning that it can control all the endpoints in the system and talk with them and identify any potential situation. It can also isolate one area inside the system without compromising the entire system. This allows you to isolate the initial problem without involving the entire infrastructure. 

You have real-time control of all your infrastructure. It is integrated with the hardware and offers good performance alongside the hardware and by the firmware, and these work together to control the entire infrastructure.

The real-time control on offer is excellent.

We really appreciate that you can segment and quarantine certain sections of your system without having to shut down the entire operation.

The product has artificial intelligence that has the capability to quickly identify which could be the potential risk mainly for intrusions like ransomware or a new kind of typology of attacks that are in place right now. 

The idea is to mainly prevent the condition and not to manage the situation, as, if that happens, in many ways, it's already too late. It's to identify the condition that can help the company to prevent or mainly to reduce the risk of an intrusion. In that sense, its performance is excellent. 

The product is doing it job without affecting the system with a heavy load. The activity on offer is very light in terms of resources that are required by the system. It does not require a lot of resources in terms of memory, et cetera. There is no performance impact on the system. The customer doesn't detect its presence on the system when it's working, and yet they still get all of the great benefits of protection.

The solution has been quite stable. 

It's a product that is in continuous improvement and is following what the customer is asking. They are taking inputs and designing new releases specifically according to the client and their needs.

It's one of the best products on the market as it really understands where the market is moving and iterates based on the future. It's constantly improving. It does a great job at keeping confidentiality while guaranteeing security.

The solution doesn't just offer theoretical security, it really does offer very good, real-time security and delivers on its promise to the client.

There is no specific features request right now really. I see that all the features that Sophos is implementing and is proposing on the market follow exactly what the market is asking. It's difficult to identify something that is missing compared with what the market can ask as one of the most important things that Sophos does is have the capability to anticipate in a certain way what the market expects. As a leader on the market, they tend to have the solution just before the market is asking them for it. 

The solution could offer a bit more integration with other systems, with other platforms - just to be able to extend the capability and to interface with other kinds of platforms or systems that I can find on the market as it gives the possibility to improve the level of integration.

The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable.

The solution is quite scalable. You have to consider that all Sophos products are scalable. This is one of the main characteristics of the system. It means that you can start with a base solution that is very simple and improve this step by step without losing what you have done in the past. It's scalable in the sense that you have a different layout that you can cover, however, you don't have to dismiss what you have done in the past. You have just to integrate. In this way, if you consider the cost of implementation for the company, it has the possibility to optimize the cost because the company has the possibility to appreciate the system initially, and then improve the system step by step without losing what has been done in the past.

This means the company has the possibility to distribute the cost if you're in a certain period of growth. Normally some companies start to say, "I want to guarantee to control to the outside with a certificate and give the possibility to access my data in a controlled way. After that, I want to extend the security on the email that is managed by the company. I want to encrypt the data on the server and so on." All these features can be approached in a step-by-step manner instead of all at once, and you can implement them on the system in different ways and at different times.

We normally have about 50 users and around five technicians.

I also currently use Cisco products alongside Sophos.

However, we did not previously use a solution that was different from Sophos.

The initial setup is not so complicated. The system is not complicated to understand and also in can be installed without a very high level of expertise. Of course, if you have this kind of expertise, you can obtain from the system the maximum performance that the system can do, however, it means that you are not obliged to be a guru to be able to use these kinds of products. You can use these kinds of products just as an IT manager inside the company without having or needing special knowledge. 

Otherwise, you can leave to Sophos with the capability of doing something like a close box. You are sure that Sophos is able to guarantee the level of security that you are expecting. You can have it be automatic, or you can choose to go more manual in its operations. For example, if you were a professional photographer, you'd probably like a manual experience, as it would allow you more leeway with your craft, and if you were an amateur, you 'ld likely prefer an automatic camera that handles the heavy lifting for you. Sophos, in that sense, is the same. If you want, you can configure single parameters, or you can leave it to Sophos to give you something out-of-the-box.

In any case, if you stay on the automatic configuration, you are guaranteed that the system can provide the correct level of service that you want. It means that it's not required to have an expert. That said, you need of course to have a minimum level of knowledge, as it's clear that you need to know what you are managing. Starting from that, you can obtain what you need without moving into an advanced configuration.

Typically, a configuration takes about half a day or so, if you go that route. It doesn't take long, as those who would handle it would know what they are doing.

We handled the implementation ourselves, in-house. We did not need the assistance of an implementor or consultant. I have enough knowledge on the solution to manage it myself.

I'm mainly a user. Sometimes I handle installations.

I'm using the latest version of the solution. I don't have the version number on-hand.

We do plan on continuing to use the solution. I've been quite please with it overall.

I would recommend the solution to others. It's worked quite well so far and really leads the market.

I would rate the solution at a ten out of ten.

I use Sophos XG as a content filtering, web filtering, and application filtering utility, as well as to integrate with the endpoint antivirus software. 

I have Sophos Endpoint Antivirus installed on the user machines as well, i.e. the Central Cloud Management version. That's our main use. 

Sophos XG has cybersecurity. It integrates with the antivirus software.

I have a serious problem because our offices are scattered around the world in very remote areas. We cannot deploy proper branch office guides, active directory sites, and software services. 

It is impossible to apply any sort of group policy on the user machines, which makes it very hard to control issues like USB ports, access to cameras, or access to any preferences on the user machines. 

With the integration between Sophos UTM and the installed endpoint antivirus, you can now manage all those features from your cloud subscription. You can allow and block whatever you want from the cloud. 

You can allow whatever USB ports you want for specific devices with specific IDs, serial numbers or modems. The machine gets updated online or updated from the antivirus settings, i.e. the UTM unit itself.

The UTM unit itself has a cache update on it. Once the clients behind the UTM get updated, they get access or they get denied access to the hardware resources they are applying for. This is a major benefit for us.

The application filters available with Sophos XG are brilliant. The sandboxing and the way the firewall or the UTM integrates with the installed endpoint antivirus clients on the user machines is brilliant. You get the chance to isolate network threats before they become active or become distributed on your network. 

With the cloud version of Sophos XG, you get the proper visibility of your network and the user machines. With the cloud versions of the antivirus, i.e. the cloud central management of the antivirus, you get high visibility.

With the application between the installed Sophos UTM, you get a high level of visibility of what's happening on your network or on your client machines. You get protected against threats. You get proper visibility. That solves a major issue.

There was a big issue with the Cyberoam and with the SG units as well, i.e. the previous Sophos UTM model. With Sophos XG, you get the chance to block what sites operate on SSL or that operate with HTTPS, without the need of extracting and distributing a certificate. 

On older Cyberoam and Sophos SG old versions, if you wanted to block something like YouTube or Facebook or any other websites that operate with HTTPS, you had to extract the certificate. Then you had to export that certificate. Then you had to re-import that certificate in all the user browsers. 

The only problem was if you needed to use an active directory where those certificates would be automatically thrown into the user browsers once they logged in to the domain. 

For a scenario like mine where you don't have a group policy, it is a disaster and ends up with you setting the rules to block certain websites with HTTPS on the firewall, even while they are not being blocked so that the user will still have access to them. This problem is now 100% sorted out with Sophos XG.

Now you can actually block whatever you want, whether it's using HTTPS or HTTP keys from the firewall without the need for extracting certificates. That's a major improvement. That problem with the HTTPS settings was a huge issue. 

I know other people must be enjoying that it's sorted out now. It was a serious and major issue for Sophos. The only issue that Sophos XG now needs to improve is the product's reporting capabilities.

Sophos XG is stable enough for our requirements.

We have about 450 Sophos XG users currently using this edition and 300 for the antivirus platform installed on the machines, plus in-service, around 310. We also have around 15 additional units deployed around the world.

I'll give Sophos XG technical support an eight out of ten for their service.

I used Cyberoam previously, although I always used it as a UTM only. What made me move to Sophos is that they were acquired, i.e. they acquired Cyberoam to start with the development. At that time the software had many features that were not available with FortiGate, in terms of content filtering, and it was an appliance when Websense was the software to be installed on a server. 

There was a problem with our operating system with some of the updates, i.e. with the operating system or the hardware. I moved from Websense to Cyberoam because it wasn't applying properly.

The initial setup is definitely something different than the old Cyberoam and it's a bit complex. If you've been dealing with UTMs and you understand the concept, it is still complex but then I find it enjoyable.

Sophos XG is not hard to configure. Too much detail is always good. 

I required three or four hours for the initial setup. One day for the testing, fine-tuning, optimizing, and categorizing. Three days for the first unit with the initial setup and the customization including testing. Finally, three days for testing all the rules, the QA, and then putting everything live. 

I used to work for an integrator myself years ago, as well as my team. We are all trained. We are all professional in what we are doing. No external help was used.

Our ROI is 100%. I've got the ransomware attacks being blocked. I've got the users' consumed bandwidth by using proxy bypasses and all sorts of applications being blocked now. 

It's saving on the companies and the employees working hours and time. It's saving on minimizing virus infections and applications that the users like to use on their machines in order to bypass blocking USB ports or cameras. 

It is saving the company money by saving bandwidth and saving employees time by not allowing them to access time-wasting websites.

We have the annual license for Sophos XG. It all depends on what you would like to have in the package that you are purchasing.

I evaluated FortiGate but wasn't happy with it. I evaluated another group called WatchGuard. WatchGuard has good features in it, but it's for a smaller business scale than the Sophos clients.

I evaluated Cisco ASA or PIX but now, I use Sophos XG as the firewall. I have confidence in their unit. Before Cyberoam and Sophos, I used FortiGate and Websense for our UTM requirements.

I recommend that everyone should have a proper understanding of new network requirements and then enjoy it. Sophos XG is definitely a good product.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give Sophos XG an eight.

The tool's most valuable feature is threat protection and DLP features. So far, basic DLP features like content protection and blocking. Furthermore, for remote users, features such as back filtering and application control are available, allowing for command and control from our side. It is very easy to understand policy applications. 

It has multi-console features, where you can designate administrators or super admins. There's also a read-only feature available. Visibility features are included in XDR. This provides information on user impact, potential threats on specific machines, source and destination IPs, setup firewall details, and unique identifiers for each machine. Another notable feature is network isolation, ensuring that data remains secure by isolating affected machines from others.

Sophos XG offers visibility into network information, sources, destinations, and threats. Depending on the policies applied, users may monitor specific issues without blocking them. However, policies that block threats should be applied.

One feature I would like to add is remote wipeout capability. This would be useful in cases where a user leaves the organization and fails to return their laptop. Remote wipeout would allow for the deletion of data from the device with a single command. Regarding technical support from Sophos XG, it's generally satisfactory. However, the response time could be improved. It takes around one hour to receive assistance, but reducing this to 30-45 minutes would benefit us.

The tool has only a base DLP feature. It needs to have a full DLP feature with additional licensing. 

I have been working with the product for ten years. 

I rate the tool's stability an eight point five out of ten. 

I rate the solution's scalability a seven point five out of ten. 

The tool's installment is easy. 

The tool's pricing is cheaper compared to other alternative products. 

Sophos XG has a lab center where they analyze signatures and automatically update them on the product. This eliminates the need for manual updates on individual machines or centers. Additionally, it has features like MDR and management response features. So, Sophos XG seems to have a roadmap in place.

I would recommend the product based on the situation. Cortex, a next-generation antivirus for larger enterprises, would likely provide sufficient coverage. It's also known for its scalability and visibility features, including root cause analysis and terminology features.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten. 

I mainly use Sophos XG for network firewall protection and VPN access. It helps secure our internet connection and allows us to manage our network traffic efficiently. Additionally, we use it for monitoring our local network.

Sophos XG has significantly improved our remote workforce security. It effectively safeguards our information systems and data, while also enabling us to restrict access to unauthorized websites. This has been particularly valuable for ensuring productivity and security across all our branches nationwide.

The most valuable features of Sophos XG for our use cases are its firewall capabilities, its ability to connect to wide area and local networks, and its VPN functionality. It effectively protects our information systems while simplifying VPN setup across branches, eliminating the need for additional VPN services from our internet service provider.

One area where Sophos XG could improve is in its patch management system. I encountered an issue where installing a new patch resulted in being locked out of the firewall, which was quite inconvenient. This suggests a vulnerability that needs addressing to ensure administrators can update patches without losing access. Such incidents shouldn't require a complete reconfiguration, so there is definitely room for improvement in this aspect.

One piece of advice I would offer is for Sophos XG to consistently incorporate the latest technologies to stay competitive with other vendors. Ensuring that new features are regularly updated and integrated into future products will enhance the platform's effectiveness and appeal to users.

I have been working with Sophos XG for seven years.

I would rate the stability of the solution as a ten out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of the solution as an eight out of ten. It is highly scalable and capable of covering a growing number of end users. Whether managing a small or large user base, its scalability makes it adaptable to varying network sizes and user demands. In my organization, we have approximately two thousand users across various branches using Sophos XG daily.

I would rate the initial setup of Sophos XG as a solid ten out of ten in terms of ease. With a clear understanding of the process and step-by-step guidance, setting it up was straightforward and hassle-free.

It took me around 30 minutes to deploy Sophos XG. The deployment process involved configuring the LAN, WAN, and VPN settings at each branch. Once connected to the switch and router, it was ready to use, making it a straightforward and quick setup process. 

Maintaining Sophos XG typically requires only one or two people, depending on the size and complexity of the network deployment.

The most effective feature of Sophos XG for threat prevention is its regular patch management system. By consistently updating software and firmware with new patches, it helps prevent attacks by addressing vulnerabilities and staying ahead of emerging threats.

The web filtering capability of Sophos XG has benefited our organization by effectively blocking users from accessing specific websites during office hours and even restricting access to certain sites altogether. This feature has been instrumental in enforcing our web usage policies and ensuring a secure browsing environment.

The performance of Sophos XG's firewall has met our expectations perfectly.

We have integrated Sophos XG with other security equipment such as routers and switches. While we primarily use it as a standalone product, in some branches, we have connected it with other security solutions for enhanced protection.

I would recommend implementing Sophos XG for its effectiveness as a firewall. Before installing it, consider factors like your current network equipment, intended use, user compliance with security controls, and whether your technical staff may need training if they're unfamiliar with Sophos firewall.

Overall, I would rate Sophos XG as a ten out of ten.

Sophos XG has greatly strengthened our network security and threat management. Its integrated EDR capabilities and seamless integration with firewalls, along with additional services like their NOC services, provide a comprehensive solution. With all these features working together, it is a complete package that ensures robust security for our clients.

One feature of Sophos XG that I found incredibly beneficial for threat prevention is its endpoint protection. It monitors all activities on our devices and effectively blocks any harmful files from infecting our machines. It has been a game-changer in preventing troubles for our customers.

While Sophos XG is a great product overall, there could be some room for improvement in its pricing since my clients usually feel like the product is on the expensive side.

I have been working with Sophos XG for five years.

Overall, the solution is stable, and we rarely encounter glitches. Any issues that arise are usually related to Microsoft updates rather than the Sophos software itself.

I would rate the scalability of the solution as an eight out of ten. The clients I work with who use Sophos are typically small enterprises.

I have worked with other firewalls like Cisco and Fortinet over my 20 years of experience. Comparing Sophos to other solutions, I have seen significant improvements over the years. While it may not have been the easiest or best software three years ago, it is continually getting better with updates. Overall, Sophos is moving in the right direction, becoming more competitive with its counterparts.

Installing Sophos XG is straightforward and typically takes around one hour for configuration, excluding the physical setup. Usually, only one person is needed to complete the installation and configuration process. It is quite easy to maintain it.

There was a time when our network faced a sophisticated malware attack that bypassed traditional security measures. However, with Sophos XG in place, it quickly detected and mitigated the threat before it could cause any damage. The seamless integration of software and hardware ensured there were no vulnerabilities or gaps in our defense.

The interface of Sophos XG is user-friendly and suitable for new users. It is continually improving, with updates addressing any issues promptly. 

Deploying Sophos XG has led to noticeable improvements in network performance. 

Overall, I would rate Sophos XG as an eight out of ten.