Sophos Central Reviews

The Central manager oversees multiple client sites, with one of them being located in Colombo. Once accessed, this entry point enables management of both virtual and physical environments across all three sites from a single interface.

Utilizing Sophos Central for endpoint security management for our customers, we've installed it for a client with three sites. Within this client, there are four companies under the same group. With Sophos Central, we can seamlessly communicate between the separate locations of these companies, such as Company 1, Company 2, and so forth.

Sophos Central has enhanced our client's organization's threat detection and response capabilities significantly. The solution requires minimal resources, with very low data usage, ensuring minimal impact on daily operations. It swiftly identifies advanced threats, with zero data loss during testing, and enables easy deduction of other potential threats.\

The Central interface greatly simplifies the management of our security policies and procedures. It's remarkably straightforward and intuitive, making it easy to understand and navigate quickly. I've personally noticed this simplicity reflected in the ease with which others grasp it. Once guided through the initial steps, users can comfortably navigate and continue managing tasks with little to no difficulty.

I find the biggest advantage of Sophos Central is the absence of physical hardware requirements, which alleviates the headache associated with managing server rooms, PCs, and other hardware. This eliminates any potential issues related to maintenance and upkeep. Additionally, in terms of cost, Sophos Central is competitively priced compared to alternatives like CrowdStrike and SandBlast by Checkpoint.

Sophos Central Reporting and Analytics are highly effective in delivering quick and valuable insights. However, one area that requires improvement is in addressing the increasing frequency of yearly attacks. Apart from that, the signature detection methods and other aspects function seamlessly.

There's no need for any upfront hardware costs with Sophos Central. By leveraging cloud-based solutions, we can significantly reduce expenses.

One of the most valuable features of Sophos Central for maintaining our cybersecurity posture is its ease of use. In my experience, managing Central is simple and can be done from anywhere, at any time. This accessibility is crucial for administrators, as it facilitates seamless communication and control.

In terms of improvement, there are several areas to focus on. Firstly, addressing market perception issues is crucial. From a technical perspective, one key area for improvement is strengthening its defense against zero-day attacks. Having and option for endpoint security on mobile devices, it would be advantageous.

I have been working with it for three years.

It provides good stability capabilities.

It is scalable.

Regarding technical support in my region, there are two separate entities, one being Indian-based. Unfortunately, the quality of support from the Indian region is lacking, although I have worked with other providers such as Check Point. In comparison, the support provided by Check Point surpasses that of the Indian-based support. Locally, we have two distributors available, but we currently only collaborate with one. While we generally find satisfaction with their services at the local level, there are occasions when issues arise that they cannot resolve on their own, particularly with Sophos Central. During these times, we encounter significant challenges, often experiencing prolonged wait times for responses and resolution. I would rate it four out of ten.

We used CheckPoint. When comparing Sophos with other solutions, one significant advantage is that they offer similar features for the same price.

The initial setup is straightforward.

Initially, we begin with a Proof of Concept phase, followed by a one-month trial period using the free license. If the results are satisfactory, we proceed to purchase the EDR solution from the distributor. Once purchased, we simply update the license using the provided link. Deployment time varies depending on the size of the company. For instance, in a company with a thousand users spread across three locations, deployment typically takes less than two hours if there are no issues with endpoint communication and the network has a high bandwidth internet connection. Maintenance is straightforward.

Our customers find Sophos Central to offer excellent value for money, and they are highly satisfied with the service it provides.

The price is reasonable.

Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Public Cloud

The solution is used to create intelligent policies and users, and to manage bandwidth. You can also use it to deploy wireless access points. I use it to deploy the access points and also control them, linking it with my active directory for authentication purposes.

The most valuable feature is that it protects my IT infrastructure from attacks.

SSID authentication has to be improved. 

I have been using Sophos Central since 2021. 

It is a highly stable solution. I rate the stability a nine out of ten. 

The scalability is good. Ninety users are using the solution. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. 

The initial setup is easy. 

It is an affordable solution. 

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Public Cloud

We use the product to protect endpoints and emails. 

Sophos Central provides reports on downloads. It alerts the admin when users use their personal computers. The product is also flexible. 

The tool needs to improve its pricing. 

I have been using the product for one and a half years. 

Sophos Central is stable. It never breaks down. 

My company has 170 users for the product. 

The technical team is very flexible and responds fast. I encountered an issue when my CEO wanted me to have admin access with a simple, one-time, secure code. They needed to repair my account and provide a new secure code to achieve this. I contacted Sophos support in the UK, and they responded promptly. The entire process was completed within two hours. 

Sophos Central's deployment is easy. When you sign in with your domain, you create a user associated with your domain name. The license package is then purchased from Sophos under your domain name. If you install the application on your laptop, the organization can access it because the domain is for the organization.

The product is expensive. However, you can get discounts for over 100 users. 

For anyone looking to use the solution, I would first ask the desired level of security. Do you want high control over your users and employees, monitoring their downloads and internet access, or are you simply looking to scan files for malware? Depending on their security needs, I would recommend Sophos Central, especially if they want security, including email protection software.

I rate it a ten out of ten. 

Other

We use Sophos Central for endpoints on Android and iOS, shared endpoint servers, email servers, phishing campaigns, and mobile device management.

Since the last review, Sophos Central has seen significant improvements. The claw back features for email, improved detection systems for phishing and malicious mail, and unique features for compliance assessment have enhanced organizational compliance visibility. Additionally, the anti-virus signatures are regularly updated, ensuring that anti-virus capabilities remain effective.

The phishing campaign training could be more engaging with real-life scenarios. Customization of campaign templates would be beneficial. While Sophos Central excels in detecting malicious attachments, Microsoft offers superior capabilities in this area. Enhancements in email detection would be advantageous, particularly for small to medium industries.

I have been using Sophos Central for over eight years.

The deployment process for Sophos Central is smooth and not complicated. Even without expertise, we have successfully implemented the solution without issues.

I would rate the stability of Sophos Central as nine out of ten, acknowledging room for growth.

I would also rate the scalability of Sophos Central as nine out of ten.

Sophos Central's technical support is excellent, always available, and responsive. The support team is swift in their responses and very helpful.

Positive

While I have worked with other vendors, I have not explored other options in the past eight years due to my satisfaction with Sophos Central.

The initial setup of Sophos Central is straightforward, involving no complicated steps.

Being a not-for-profit organization, we find Sophos Central's pricing reasonable without specific knowledge of the cost.

Customization, particularly in phishing campaigns and training, would enhance the user experience. Outdated training materials should be updated with real-life scenarios to highlight the impacts of phishing campaigns. For the overall solution, I give Sophos Central a rating of nine out of ten.

Public Cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

It is very useful to deploy policies centrally and monitor the status of our appliances, especially given that we are the main branches. With Sophos Central, you can centrally manage and deploy security policies and updates, saving time and eliminating the need for the technical team to travel to each branch individually.

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

I have been using the product for four years. 

Sophos Central is stable. 

Sophos Central is scalable. My company has 300-400 users. 

We contact our partner for support. 

Sophos Central's deployment is easy and takes one month to complete. 

Our three in-house resources and one partner resource managed the deployment. 

Pricing is on a device basis. 

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

We use Sophos Central to manage Sophos Endpoint integration and Sophos Firewall.

The platform provides smart integration between Sophos Endpoint and Firewall. It is easy to manage and configure. We do not require any technical assistance for integration. We can execute the process with the help of activation code.

There could be more integration included in the product.

I rate Sophos Central's stability a ten out of ten.

Sophos has a helpful support team. However, we have never contacted them.

The initial setup process of the cloud solution is easy. It is a two to three-step implementation and takes an hour to complete.

I rate Sophos Central a ten out of ten. I recommend it to others as it enables users to work with Sophos Endpoint and Firewall. We can manage the operation through one dashboard.

For me, it's a great solution for endpoint management features like responding to threats and monitoring.

When I worked with large call centers, the most important thing was the device control feature. It provided reports on which devices were being used in the company area, and it prevented unauthorized devices from connecting to the computers. This was especially helpful because certain devices could be dangerous.

The most important feature is definitely the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) tool. It allows us to track malware and other incidents in our environment.

The product feels very complete in terms of providing information and functionality.

Maybe the license pricing could be improved.

I have been using it for a year and a half. 

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten.

I started with the on-premise version, then I switched to the cloud version when it became available. I've been using the cloud version for a year and a half now, and I much prefer it.

The cloud version is definitely easier to set up. The documentation online is also helpful, so we didn't have any trouble getting it up and running.

It was my first product tested in terms of antivirus and firewall. 

I strongly recommend the usage of this product. Have proper licenses in place. Sophos XG Firewall and Sophos Central because those are good products to use.

Overall, I would rate this solution a ten out of ten. 

My customers choose to use Sophos Central for centralized management of their cybersecurity. A key scenario is combining Sophos Endpoint and Sophos Firewall, using features like Synchronized Security. This ensures that if an endpoint is compromised, the information is quickly shared with the firewall, allowing for automatic protection of both endpoints and the network. The convenience of managing these security aspects together is a major benefit for organizations.

I have noticed a significant improvement in how Sophos Central functions for our organization. With recent upgrades, the automatic synchronization of licenses in firewalls stands out. This eliminates the manual hassle of entering license renewal details, making the process seamless and worry-free for our customers.

One of the most valuable features of Sophos Central is its Synchronized Security.

One area I would like to see improvement in Sophos Central is the multi-factor authentication process. Currently, it involves multiple steps with email, phone, and Sophos Authenticator, which can be cumbersome. I faced issues when I lost my phone, making it challenging to log in. Finding a more user-friendly MFA solution would be great. Overall, apart from that, Sophos Central has made significant improvements in the past year and is now a competitive and reliable product.

I have been working with Sophos Central for a year.

We have not had any stability issues so far.

I find Sophos' technical support to be very good. I would rate it as an eight out of ten.

Positive

Besides Sophos, I have worked with Zoho, Check Point, Kaspersky, ESET, and CrowdStrike.

The initial setup process for Sophos Central is straightforward. You sign up at Central.Sophos.com, confirm via email, and provide the required information. It is a quick and simple process, typically taking about 10 to 15 minutes for the initial account creation. One person is sufficient for deployment, and it doesn't require a lot of time or resources. Maintaining Sophos Central is generally straightforward, requiring about 5% maintenance. This includes monitoring events and addressing issues flagged by Sophos Endpoint. The IT admin may need to manually intervene in cases where the endpoint detects a file it cannot remove independently. Overall, maintenance is minimal but involves occasional attention to ensure optimal security.

No, there are no additional fees for creating a Sophos Central account. It depends on the services needed. We can connect a limited number of firewalls to Sophos Central without extra charges. However, for managed endpoint centers with Cisco, there may be auto-query license fees in some scenarios.

My advice for new users would be that for those managing both endpoints and firewalls, especially in scenarios where comprehensive security is crucial, I strongly recommend Sophos Central. The use of Synchronized Security provides data visibility and protection, ensuring that malicious activities on endpoints are promptly detected and isolated by Sophos firewalls. This significantly reduces the burden on IT admins and enhances overall network security. Overall, I would rate Sophos Central as a seven out of ten.

We use it to centralize, manage, and upgrade our security infrastructure. This includes applying policies, revoking access, and working within established guidelines, all without the need for physical access.

It streamlines our operations, allowing us to remotely handle tasks, saving time and eliminating the need for running around to different locations.

The primary benefits include complete control over hardware devices and the valuable assistance provided in log shipment. Additionally, the analytics tools proved instrumental in effectively utilizing and interpreting data related to these aspects.

There were challenges we faced with generating reports for the physical firewall in certain instances. Despite escalating the issue through tickets, we haven't received a fully satisfactory resolution. Additionally, accessing user logs on the central platform is not as straightforward as we'd prefer.

I have been working with it for approximately five years.

I haven't encountered any significant downtime while working, ensuring a stable experience.

I would rate its scalability capabilities nine out of ten. Currently, there are five individuals responsible for overseeing and managing approximately twenty-five to twenty-eight firewalls.

The technical support in India is somewhat slow. They often require a considerable amount of time, and contacting them sometimes involves odd hours, which can be challenging, especially when it falls outside regular business hours.

We collaborate with two other vendors, Fortinet and Palo Alto. We recently adopted Palo Alto about a year ago, and while they make promising claims, we are still in the process of familiarizing ourselves with their offerings. Fortinet, on the other hand, has been part of our operations for the past two years, with our team gaining experience and expertise. Among the three, Sophos is the longest-standing partner.

The initial setup was straightforward and user-friendly.

It offers the most competitive pricing compared to other vendors. When considering security effectiveness, Sophos stands out as a cost-effective choice, especially in comparison to other prominent solutions available in the Indian market. It provides a comprehensive package that includes most features, making it more scalable and accessible for security needs in smaller organizations like ours. I would rate it one out of ten.

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

Public Cloud

We use the solution primarily as ransomware. It is a good ransomware. Most organizations tend to choose Sophos Intercept X, which is an endpoint security solution.

The tool improves security and saves time. It shortens the time taken for the management of nodes. It also shortens the time taken to respond to incidents.

Sophos Central is a management panel. We use Sophos Intercept X for endpoints and Intercept X Advanced for servers. If we need extended detection and response, we can take it with EDR. The solution provides good management capabilities. It enables us to manage the firewalls and endpoints. We can change the policies from Sophos Central, which reflects on the firewalls and endpoints.

The product does not have a dedicated MFA. It uses third-party authenticators. We will face challenges if we use a mobile phone because there might be issues with the local carrier. So, we have to use Google Authenticator or any other cloud-based authenticator to shorten the authentication time.

I have been using the solution for six years.

The tool is perfectly stable because it is cloud-based.

The tool is scalable.

The technical support is pretty good. The turnaround time is pretty perfect. It is nice.

Positive

I am a service provider. Different clients have different solutions. We propose solutions based on our customer’s environment. Our clients have used solutions like McAfee and Fortinet and have changed to Sophos.

The initial setup is not really difficult. However, the endpoints are challenging. It cannot be done centrally. We have to go to the individual machines or deploy through an AD. The solution is cloud-based. It takes less than five minutes to deploy the tool.

We create accounts and define the policies. Once the policies are defined, we deploy the individual endpoints. It depends on how many nodes we are working with. If we are working with 1000 nodes, it will take time.

The product is expensive compared to other products like Fortinet and Microsoft Defender.

Trend Micro is a competitor.

Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.