Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud vs Sophos Central comparison

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud vs. Sophos Central

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Apache Kafka on Confluent C...

Ranking in AWS Marketplace

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sophos Central

Ranking in AWS Marketplace

8th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the AWS Marketplace category, the mindshare of Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is 0.8%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Central is 0.3%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

AWS Marketplace

Featured Reviews

Ritik Varshney

Scholar Trainee/Project Engineer at Wipro Limited

Enhanced data streaming with reliable features and good analytics

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud provides an enhanced level of reliability and resources compared to Apache Kafka alone. It offers more features which are beneficial for our clients, including cluster linking, schema registry, error handling, and dead-letter queues. It significantly improves customer and publisher satisfaction, especially with topic integration and data streaming.

Read full review

Sandeepraj Gatla

SOC Analyst at Wydur

Cost-effective security management with a user-friendly interface, efficient resource utilization, and rapid response capabilities

While Sophos Central has demonstrated commendable functionality, there is room for improvement in the realm of automation. Specifically, addressing ransomware attacks often requires leveraging external tools, deploying virtual machines, and utilizing supplementary tools like Caliper Analytics for operations and security communication. The integration of these essential functionalities directly into the software would represent a significant enhancement, streamlining the incident response process and bolstering the platform's comprehensive threat mitigation capabilities. Furthermore, a valuable addition to future releases could involve augmenting the new screen component with advanced capabilities such as XML utilization and rule integration. This enhancement, especially pertinent to tools involved in sandboxing and virtual machines within the investigation process, would greatly streamline the analysis of logs and reports. This would prove particularly beneficial in the context of email analysis, spam attack detection, and other critical security aspects. By incorporating these features, Sophos Central could further elevate its utility in facilitating in-depth security analyses and response strategies.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The state-saving feature is very much appreciated. It allows me to rewind a certain process if I see an error and then reprocess it."

"The product's installation phase is pretty straightforward for us since we know how to use it."

"Kafka provides handy properties that allow us to directly configure the data, whether to keep it or discard it after use."

"Overall, I think it's a good experience. Apache Kafka can be quite complex and difficult to maintain on your own, so using Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud makes it much easier to use it without worrying about setup and maintenance."

"Kafka and Confluent Cloud have proven to be cost-effective, especially when compared to other tools. In a recent BI integration program over the past year, we assessed multiple use cases spanning ship-to-shore and various Azure integrations. Our findings revealed that Confluent Kafka performed exceptionally well, standing out alongside Genesys and Azure Event Hubs. While these three are top contenders, the choice among other tools depends on the specific use case and project requirements. The customer initially used tools like SMQs, FITRA, and Stream for real-time data processing. However, after our recommendation, Confluent Cloud proved to be a superior choice, capable of replacing these three tools and simplifying their data infrastructure. This shift to a single tool, Confluent Cloud, streamlined their operations, making maintenance and management more efficient for their internal projects."

"Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is more reliable and frequent to use compared to Apache Kafka."

"Confluent Cloud handles data volume pretty well."

"In case of huge transactions on the web or mobile apps, it helps you capture real-time data and analyze it."

"Sophos Central is cloud-based, which allows the administrator to control everything from anywhere. It is free for most of the products except the firewall."

"The most valuable feature of Sophos Central is its visibility."

"It is easy to manage and configure."

"The user interface of Sophos Central is excellent. One standout feature is the ease of identifying endpoints. Another noteworthy aspect is the real-time visibility into malware threats. The solution is stable. I contacted the support team two or three times, and they responded promptly each time. They addressed my queries and concerns quickly. The initial setup was straightforward."

"The interface, especially when using the software center, is quite user-friendly and easy to navigate."

"The most valuable features of Sophos Central are total threat hunting and detection response."

"The standout feature is its focus on indexing, primarily designed for managing reports and logs from 500 to 1,000 endpoints, including Windows 10 hosts within the network."

"The primary benefits include complete control over hardware devices and the valuable assistance provided in log shipment."

More Sophos Central pros

Cons

"There could be an in-built feature for data analysis."

"The solution is expensive."

"Some areas for improvement in Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud include issues faced during migration with Kubernetes pods."

"Maybe in terms of Apache Kafka's integration with other Microsoft tools, our company faced some challenges."

"There's one thing that's a common use case, but I don't know why it's not covered in Kafka. When a message comes in, and another message with the same key arrives, the first version should be deleted automatically."

"The administration port could be more extensive."

"There are some premium connectors, for example, available in Confluent, which you cannot access in the marketplace, so there are some limitations."

"Regarding real-time data usage, there were challenges with CDC (Change Data Capture) integrations. Specifically, with PyTRAN, we encountered difficulties. We recommended using our on-premises Kaspersky as an alternative to PyTRAN for that specific use case due to issues with CDC store configuration and log reading challenges with the iton components."

"Whenever a customer installs a Sophos Central agent on the end-user system, their system becomes slow."

"The current service level is not as efficient as desired, but we acknowledge that it presents an area for improvement, particularly in terms of support concentration."

"The high price of the tool is a drawback that can be considered for improvement."

"The solution must provide a separate app for Tamper Protection."

"Improving the response time of the customer support team would be beneficial."

"The product needs to improve monitoring since it gives false positives. It needs also to improve pricing."

"The product does not have a dedicated MFA."

"Vulnerability protection and monitoring any changes are crucial aspects that require attention."

More Sophos Central cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think the pricing is fair, but Confluent requires a little bit more thinking because the price can go up really quickly when it comes to premium connectors."

"I consider that the product's price falls under the middle range category."

"Regarding pricing, Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud is not a cheap tool. The right use case would justify the cost. It might make sense if you have a high volume of data that you can leverage to generate value for the business. But if you don't have those requirements, there are likely cheaper solutions you could use instead."

"The product is inexpensive."

"The product is not expensive."

"It is not cheap, it is expensive. The price is too much."

"When compared to the market, it's relatively more cost-effective."

"Though I don't know the exact price of the product, I know that the tool is worth the money."

"The pricing of Sophos is quite reasonable and generally cheaper compared to competitors like Fortinet and Check Point."

"It is an expensive tool."

"Sophos is more cost-effective than other vendors."

More Sophos Central pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Transportation Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?

Kafka and Confluent Cloud have proven to be cost-effective, especially when compared to other tools. In a recent BI integration program over the past year, we assessed multiple use cases spanning s...

What needs improvement with Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?

The ability to implement request-response communication on Apache Kafka ( /products/apache-kafka-reviews ) needs improvement. The schema registry is a bit misleading in terms of its location and ho...

What is your primary use case for Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud?

We send events to Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud ( /products/apache-kafka-on-confluent-cloud-reviews ) for microservices and in an event-driven system. We are building an event-driven system, and ...

What do you like most about Sophos Central?

One of the significant advantages of Sophos is its affordability compared to other technologies like Check Point and Fortinet.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Central?

The product has a reasonable price considering the cybersecurity services it offers.

What needs improvement with Sophos Central?

The firewall capabilities of Sophos Central need improvement. I have found it somewhat limited, and I prefer to work directly on the device for firewall management.

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Product Reports

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud

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Sophos Central

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Overview

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud enables organizations to perform real-time data streaming and processing, integrating user data, and managing large transaction volumes efficiently.

Organizations leverage Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud for several applications such as capturing change data, handling IoT workloads, and fostering data migration and microservices. It is instrumental in publishing and managing data across multiple platforms, ensuring both high throughput and seamless log management. Confluent Cloud's features like scalability, efficient transaction management, and cost-effectiveness, combined with seamless integration with multiple data tools, make it a preferred choice for real-time data processing tasks.

What are the key features?

Scalability: Easily scale up or down based on demand.
Efficient transaction management: Manage transactions smoothly.
Cost-effectiveness: Optimize costs without compromising performance.
Real-time data capture: Capture data in real-time with ease.
State-saving: Save states efficiently to support various processes.
Message processing speed: Fast processing of messages ensures quick data handling.
Topic flexibility: Flexibility in managing topics caters to different data needs.

What benefits and ROI should you look for?

Seamless integration: Integrate effortlessly with major data tools.
Streamlined operations: Reduce the number of tools required for data processing and streamline maintenance.
High throughput: Maintain high throughput across platforms.
Seamless log management: Effective management of logs ensures operational efficiency.

In specific industries, such as finance, real-time data processing is crucial for handling high volumes of transactions and location tracking. In retail, it integrates user data and manages inventory systems efficiently. IoT applications benefit from Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud by capturing and processing massive data streams from connected devices in real-time.

Confluent

Sophos Central allows you to manage our award-winning Synchronized Security platform. Advanced attacks are more coordinated than ever before. Now, your defenses are too. Our revolutionary Security Heartbeat™ ensures your endpoint protection and firewall are talking to each other. It’s a simple yet effective idea that means you get better protection against advanced threats and spend less time responding to incidents. It’s so simple, it makes you wonder why nobody did it before.

Sophos

Apache Kafka on Confluent Cloud vs. Sophos Central