Sophos Cyberoam UTM Reviews

I do work with clients that use both Cisco and Sophos products. My work is mostly with firewalls, storages, switches, and routers.

The competitive advantages of Sophos Cyberoam UTM is the unified platform. Beyond the unified platform, their SDM is also functional. The security fire-walling, antivirus, intrusion prevention, everything in one single format, a unified box. Those are the things that I find useful with them.

It's pretty standard when assessing the benefit of its centralized management for multi-appliance handling. Though, at times, there are a couple of errors here and there. But usually if you report it to support, you would get support and it would be resolved.

There is room for improvement when it comes to their features and architectures they're trying to implement that they can't directly help with. But by and large, it's actually relatively good.

More flexibility would make Sophos Cyberoam UTM better. The platform is not entirely flexible as it is. For example, with Cisco ASA and Firepower, you have the command line that can give you more flexibility in terms of the kind of architectures that you can put them in. But for Sophos Cyberoam UTM, you don't really have that access that can give you those network flexibilities that would allow you to do some other types of architectures.

I have been working with Sophos Cyberoam UTM since either 2020 or 2021 till now.

I would give it a seven out of 10.

Neutral

We have some of the older generation Sophos boxes. Nothing new at the moment. Currently, we're using Sophos.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM was taken over by Sophos and we have a few Cyberoams.

We have probably more than 10 units. I don't know when they started, but we've been using them for a long time. I've been using Sophos Cyberoam UTM for over 10 years.

The methodology of the rule sets is perhaps one of the plus points. I think everybody else does it, but the way the rule sets are configured makes it an easily understandable way to manage.

One of my presentations demonstrates appropriate and affordable, comprehensive threat protection with centralized management and improved network security. This describes how firewall and VPN functionalities of this product benefit my organization.

Protection and identity based security are probably the major selling points, with logging and centralized management.

It allows you to identify issues first, and the reporting facilities are there and can be automated. You've got automated reporting that you can set appropriate levels of reporting to management and to the operational team, so they are alerted to what's going on. This describes how Sophos Cyberoam UTM's reporting capability helps in managing our network effectively.

I've been using Sophos Cyberoam UTM for over 10 years.

The deployment was smooth and easy mainly. We do it so often that it's relatively easy. It's more about having the right person with the right skills, and it happens correctly.

The end user could probably install it, but they wouldn't get all the benefits of it.

I personally took part in the deployment process with the previous versions.

Generally, if you understand the network, you can get it up and running in less than an hour. It required generally a few minutes to a few hours to deploy.

There are no issues at all. Overall stability is stable.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM is definitely a scalable solution.

Technical support is effective and responsive.

Because we've been using it for a while, we don't really contact them all that often, but when we've needed to, the support has been what we've needed.

Positive

We've used them historically and have been happy with the product. We've grown from Cyberoam, and we haven't switched to using the new product ranges from Sophos as yet.

We have approximately two or three hundred users for Sophos Cyberoam UTM.

The roles are mostly in the IT department.

We supply mainly to small businesses, essentially the IT department. The IT department would be your team.

The price is appropriate, but if you want the real truth, it's actually quite expensive. The annual software licensing is reasonably pricey, with probably about four years' license annual.

I'm vaguely familiar with pfSense. We haven't used Netgate pfSense. We used pfSense as a software solution previously, and I occasionally work with it.

When we spoke, we had a project coming up with pfSense, but that didn't come to fruition. I'm the wrong person to give a review on Netgate pfSense since we haven't really worked with it enough.

At the moment, nothing immediate but we would generally use Ubiquiti, but not really because we've had some issues recently and we'll probably review and go to Sophos. We are planning on using other solutions in the future.

I don't know OPNsense at all.

We are actually an independent resource. We represent some of the companies and collect reviews for them, so we're in partnerships with Netgate and many others.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM meets the security demands of my specific industry and gives you the appropriate security if you purchase the appropriate device.

I would recommend Sophos Cyberoam UTM to other organizations based on my experience. It's cost effective in terms of what I'm spending.

You've got to pay for what you get. We're happy with what we're currently getting there. It's scalable, and we reach a point where we need to upgrade to a new one.

Mostly I'm working with Sophos, no other vendors.

We support them fully, and when it's necessary we send them off to service if there are hardware issues. I haven't needed to do maintenance for this solution.

I would rate this solution eight and a half or nine out of ten.

I do not use user identity-based policies; it's just global policies that we set, such as access management, firewall, web filtering, and such.

I use metrics to evaluate the security issues mitigation only when a security issue arises; I leave it as is until then, and when something arises, I audit and apply the policies, which include internal policies that aid in restricting social media access to conserve bandwidth and to block gambling and pornographic websites.

No improvements were specified.

The features that I find most valuable in Sophos Cyberoam UTM is the RED, the Sophos RED, which is the SD-WAN, a very welcome feature that has made us fully transition out of the paid MPLS to SD-WANs.

I assess the benefit of Sophos Cyberoam UTM's centralized management for multi-appliance handling as a welcome feature because you can manage all the devices at one location, giving you notifications of downtime and updates without necessarily logging into each appliance, so that central management is a very genius move.

The intuitive web-based interface on management for Sophos Cyberoam UTM is more or less self-explanatory, easy to understand, and not overcomplicated, so navigation is very easy and the user interface is easy to understand.

The real-time dashboard has helped mitigate security issues as the notifications and pop-ups are critical in terms of decision-making and reviews, indicating which ones need to be updated.

As for areas where Sophos Cyberoam UTM can be improved, it's hard to say; I have not at the moment seen anything that I could not get a solution for, but if there's anything, I'll make sure to raise that with the Sophos team.

Regarding the documentation, I find that it is still lacking, although the YouTube videos, user training, and knowledge forum are now better than they were before.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM should move in the direction of AI capabilities, as the world is moving toward AI.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM is not promoted enough. I see FortiGates organizing student competitions and Cisco doing CCNA classes, so Sophos should follow that route as well.

I have been working with the product overall since we migrated from Cyberoam to Sophos, when Sophos bought out Cyberoam.

With the stability, scalability, and interface of Sophos Cyberoam UTM, I am very much satisfied.

With the stability, scalability, and interface of Sophos Cyberoam UTM, I am very much satisfied.

I would rate their technical support a solid nine out of ten.

Positive

The implementation of the product is easy; it is easy to configure and to update.

I have not interacted with the reporting capabilities in-depth, but I'm sure the necessary reports are there, as I did one or two reports in terms of downtime and they were sufficient for what I was looking for then.

The policy navigation has improved as the templates or pre-existing policies are now more fleshed out and easier to work with.

I feel the pricing of Sophos Cyberoam UTM is reasonable and affordable compared to other firewalls, and another feature I really appreciate is the Sophos Endpoint, the antivirus on the machines monitoring the heartbeat, which is very nice and has improved since I tried it years ago when it was free.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Sophos Cyberoam UTM an eight.

I am using it for bandwidth management, category management of websites, blocking certain elements, IPS blocking, DDoS protection, VPN between sites, and VPN between clients and servers.

The VPN is the most usable feature and is advisable for us to work from home. It provides bandwidth management, category management of websites, blocking certain elements, IPS blocking, DDoS protection, and VPN management between sites and clients. It offers centralized management, which allows us to use everything from a central console.

I face issues when connecting to the VPN since it requires an authenticator. It would be beneficial if phone calls or SMS for two-factor authentication were available. Furthermore, during emergency situations, it is difficult to contact support quickly, which affects response time.

I have been using UTM for over ten years.

Sophos technical support is quite good. However, sometimes they call back outside of our time zone, making it difficult to reach them during emergencies. They resolve issues timely once connected.

Neutral

Last year, I evaluated a few other options but decided to stick with the current solutions because most of our requirements were met with this solution.

It is cost-effective, providing centralized management for various tools, which has allowed us to manage everything from a single console.

The features and the overall package provided by Sophos are satisfactory in terms of sizing and pricing, which influenced our decision to continue using it.

I evaluated a few options last year but decided to remain with our current solution.

I am open to seeing some AI features in UTM if they can help in the future. 

Overall, I would rate the solution as a nine out of ten.

The main use case for Sophos Cyberoam UTM is a firewall. However, it also includes other features such as VPN connectivity and more. The firewall feature has different branches, such as extended firewalls.

I have configured the firewall with VPN and WAN connectivity for our three free WAN providers. I have also connected our lab to the firewall located throughout the country.

Sophos VPN connectivity could be improved, as it can be lengthy, and users take longer to connect. This is why some locations do not use Sophos VPN but instead PSM, which is much easier. CyberArk has some useful features, but connectivity can sometimes be an issue, even though it usually connects. It is mainly the process of connecting and licensing that is the problem. Sophos has licensing requirements, and some SMBs do not like to renew their licenses frequently. If Sophos could improve its VPN connectivity, it would be a more attractive product for SMBs.

Not many people are using Sophos Cyberoam UTM. The licenses are not the same initially, but some features can be changed.

I have been using Sophos Cyberoam UTM as a customer for 18 to 19 years.

The product is very stable. I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten.

The solution's scalability is limited. People normally use Fortinet, and small sectors use SonicWall. I rate the solution's scalability an eight out of ten.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM is simple to deploy except for the VPN. The deployment time depends on the company's size, the number of branches, and whether the license and other prerequisites are in place. It can take as little as 20-30 minutes or up to an hour. Configuration is not typically critical; everything can be done immediately if all the necessary information is available.

I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is high.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM has less RAM and other capabilities than the other solutions but is also cheaper. Sophos Cyberoam UTM is a good choice for small data companies. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

My company uses the product against malware and for URL filtering or blocking of URLs. I wanted a comparison between Sophos Cyberoam UTM and other tools in the market since Sophos does not give you reports of certain sites, meaning that it just blocks a website without giving a proper report. I would like something to be integrated on top of Sophos Cyberoam UTM that will give our company the autonomy to send emails to designated leaders and teams. As the product that my company wants is not available in Kenya or in Africa, my organization is in the process of looking for another firewall that we can use.

The advantages of the product stem from the fact that the product sends you emails stating that there have been some attacks on your systems, like ransomware or malware, and it also asks users to block sites that are not supposed to be open or seen. The product does proper URL filtering. I haven't configured the product for what it is meant to do. The product is also supposed to deal with keystroke logging. It provides a report if you type something that should not be accessed. In general, the product gives you a report before the end of each month.

The product fails to provide proper reports, making it an area where improvements are required.

I wish that the product has the capability to send out emails or notifications to someone in the leadership team of an organization. In the school where I work, we need to keep track of the internet to check on incidents related to bullying and to keep a check on whether children are going through pornography or gaming websites. The product should have the capability to send out emails stating that a particular user has accessed a site at a particular time to the concerned authorities who need to take care of such issues.

I have been using Sophos Cyberoam UTM for more than ten years. I am an end user of the product.

It is a stable solution.

It is an easily scalable solution. 

Around 600 people in my company use the product.

The support team answers calls but doesn't respond when a user contacts them via emails. I rate the technical support a six out of ten.

Neutral

I have experience with Endian, which was easy to use without any training. My company chose Sophos since we wanted a product that offers UTM capabilities along with malware-blocking features.

The ISP manages the product's deployment.

I have seen a return on investment from the use of the product.

The prices of the product can be considered quite steep. If your company cannot afford it, it is better to go for other firewall products.

My company makes yearly payments towards the licensing cost attached to the product to our ISP.

Other than the log-and-drop option for downloaded content, I don't think that my company uses the product for anything else. My company doesn't manage the product since it is an area taken care of by the ISP.

The functions in Sophos Cyberoam UTM, which play the biggest role in protecting our company's network, stem from areas like advanced thread management capabilities, web servers, email filtering and notifications, along with intrusion detection and prevention.

The analytics part of the product is fine.

The product is easy to maintain. The product can be maintained by one person who has access to the tool.

The product's support when my organization faces a critical issue can be considered as a slow process. When I went through the product's website, I saw how the solution claims to have launched products for schools and the education sector. I have not received a response acknowledgement from Sophos for the mail I sent to Sophos' team asking about the products that the company claims to have launched for schools and the education sector.

A few areas in the product are not as easy as you would expect the tool to be, so new users need to be trained. The interface is fine and smooth since it allows you to have an overall view of what is happening in your network. If I consider Prometheus and Zabbix on Unix, I would say that Sophos is quite good.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

We use it as a major enterprise device, using its capabilities as a firewall, web, application filter, and routing. We also use it for VPN connectivity and other basic features like IPS.

It has helped us manage the bandwidth, regulate usage, monitor visited sites, and control application downloads. This has enabled us to conserve our bandwidth effectively. It is one of the major benefits.

In Sophos Cyberoam UTM, the most valuable features are web and application filtering, routing functionalities, and VPN. These features are extremely important to us.

The data support response time should be improved. It is generally lengthy. When logging a complaint, it often takes considerable time to receive attention. Improving support in terms of response time would be beneficial.

I have been using this solution since 2017. I am presently using the most recent version of Sophos Cyberoam UTM, which is version 20.0.

It’s very stable. We have not had any issues.

The solution is scalable. Thus far, we haven't encountered any challenges related to the system load. It provides the flexibility to handle our requirements smoothly.

One of the reasons to opt for Sophos Cyberoam UTM was influenced by its impressive features and capabilities. The user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) was another attraction. We needed something simple and user-friendly. We wanted to eliminate the need for extensive command-line operations, as often required with other solutions like Cisco Firewall. 

We also wanted a tool that could enhance the visibility into our network utilization and monitor traffic in real time. Moreover, Sophos Cyberoam UTM's web application filter feature was also an attraction.

The initial setup was straightforward. The deployment was primarily conducted to assess the organization's requirements and objectives. Initially, our main goal in selecting this device was to have control over our internet usage. We performed a user acceptance test, created various use cases, and evaluated what capabilities Sophos Cyberoam could offer. Once we were satisfied with the results, we proceeded with the deployment.

Our initial actions involved configuring the system settings and determining which websites users should access and when. For instance, during work hours from 8 AM to 4 PM, we restricted access to social media sites and YouTube. This helped us optimize internet speed. The first steps included registering the device and configuring its basic settings. Over time, we continued to implement and refine policies based on the evolving needs of the network.

The deployment took approximately two or three days. Initially, the vendor encountered challenges, possibly due to a skill gap. Subsequently, an expert from Lagos had to intervene and complete the deployment. This extended the deployment timeframe to about three days. Maintenance involves renewing our license and conducting firmware updates. Whenever a new release for the device is available, we ensure to apply it. These routine tasks constitute the core of our maintenance activities.

We had a vendor join me in the deployment. We also had an expert come in when we faced difficulties with implementation.

The product's pricing is a challenge. The recent subscription renewal has raised concerns within our organization because it is becoming too high for us. I'm apprehensive about our ability to sustain these increased costs. I'm used to the device and would like to continue using it. However, justifying the renewal may become difficult for me in the future.

We have worked with Cisco Firewall and Netgear Firewall.

In terms of features and user-friendliness, the solution is good. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I used Sophos Cyberoam UTM as a captive portal and user management software. I used it internally for internet usage.

I found that the best feature of Sophos Cyberoam UTM is reporting. Its reporting feature is excellent, fast, and easy to prep and launch. Reporting is also straightforward to do in Sophos Cyberoam UTM.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM has room for improvement in specific rules-based objects and redesign.

The solution also needs to improve in adding rules and policies, including renewing and finding policies.

The Sophos team should make Sophos Cyberoam UTM policies and rules better and more useful than the old ones because that can be difficult and confusing sometimes. For example, adding policies or rules can be confusing, and that can be risky.

To improve Sophos Cyberoam UTM, Sophos should add an IPS or IDS signature feature in the current plans offered to customers.

Upgrading or patching the solution can be slow, so that's another area for improvement.

In the next version of Sophos Cyberoam UTM, I want it to have an appliance management feature, similar to what's in FortiManager, where you can connect all appliances and manage the devices because that would be easier in terms of reporting.

In my old project, the company used Sophos Cyberoam UTM for five or six years. I last used it one year ago.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM is a stable solution.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM is scalable, but there seems to be a tiny problem when integrating the older version of the solution.

My company has virtual appliances on the network, and in enterprise networks, you want to launch a ComNet hook or everything at the cores rather than patches. It would be best if you first thought about scalability in the microservices. If you have software-defined appliances to launch in that infrastructure and integrate that with the infrastructure, that would be very useful, so you don't need an appliance.

On the other hand, if an appliance is required in your network, you sometimes don't want to use public or cloud services, and the solution should be okay with that or should still work.

We don't use the technical support for Sophos Cyberoam UTM that much. We only use support to get data, and they're very good in that area.

I found the initial setup for Sophos Cyberoam UTM straightforward.

Deploying the product takes one to two days, and it's ready for work. Sophos Cyberoam UTM is a straightforward appliance. It's not complicated. If you have the knowledge in configuring or designing the network and the basics of the file log, you can launch Sophos Cyberoam UTM and run it for your network in one or two days.

You get ROI from Sophos Cyberoam UTM. In the security world, measuring ROI is not very simple. You want to get the ROI for the appliance. You want to pay for that security, so you want to get KPIs such as ROCE. You want to get security tools because you won't know how much threat could get into your network, and then when the threat gets in, how much damage would that cause your business? This is why you pay a fee for a security solution.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM is a good investment for your business, whether small or massive, with one hundred to three hundred employees because the solution can help you avoid the considerable damage security threats and risks can do to your business. You can even calculate your current ROCE before the problem even happens.

Cost-wise, Sophos Cyberoam UTM is a good solution. Customers don't collapse upon hearing the price for it. Usually, my customers want to launch Sophos Cyberoam UTM.

My company pays for the license of Sophos Cyberoam UTM annually.

We evaluated Fortinet solutions such as FortiGate, FortiWeb, and FortiAnalyzer, which are good solutions for important transactions. We evaluated them recently and planned to implement them as we grow.

I used version 7.1 of Sophos Cyberoam UTM.

Fixing and patching, or maintaining Sophos Cyberoam UTM, is a slow process. It's slower than FortiGate and F5. F5 and Fortigate have faster patching and UIs, including new features every month or two, versus Sophos Cyberoam UTM.

You will only need a few staff to deploy Sophos Cyberoam UTM, but it still depends on the work, the scope of work, and the network. One to two staff will be enough to manage and maintain Sophos Cyberoam UTM if it's an easy deployment. For a middle-sized network, you'd need more staff.

In the largest network of the company, three hundred people used Sophos Cyberoam UTM. Usage-wise, my company increases it whenever there's company growth.

I recommend the solution to SMBs because it's easy to manage.

My rating for Sophos Cyberoam UTM is ten out of ten.

We use the tool for network security, covering web servers, exchange servers, and users' internet proxies.

I found that the solution's interface is user-friendly, and the web protection is good.

SD-WAN should be included in the tool.

I have been using this solution for over five years.

The tool is highly stable.

The product is scalable.

The technical support is good.

Positive

We haven’t used a different solution. We chose Sophos Cyberoam UTM because their focus on security research is higher compared to other brands. They consistently introduce new features. It's an all-in-one solution with antivirus, EDR, wireless protection, and web protection integrated into one box.

The initial setup was straightforward. The deployment took less than three months.

The product is worth the money.

The solution’s pricing is average.

Nowadays, advanced solutions with SD-WAN are becoming essential. These features are in higher demand for daily use. The solution requires only this improvement. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

My clients use the solution for protection.

Geofencing is an important feature today because you can block IPs from some countries. You can geofence yourself if there is an incoming attack or a continuous ping from a company outside your country. Majorly, where we have local small companies, we block all the IP addresses outside India. That is one of the very good features Cyberoam has. The zero day attack feature is also very good. The third feature is traffic shaping, where personal Internet that goes to computers from the servers and the data that moves into your branches is shaped, and bandwidth is allocated. These are a few really good features.

How best the rules can be configured and written is an area that benefits businesses. Hence, it needs to be easier to configure rules using the solution. Today when I configure a policy definition, it should be made simpler on a "tick basis," where this is what you enable, and this is what you do.

If you have a software-based firewall also, which you can use in conjunction with a hardware firewall, it becomes an even more secure gateway. If I have a server in place, when logging through a VPN, I have to unnecessarily enter my server gateway and go into the server deployed on the cloud. This feature would be much more useful if you have something that works as a soft form for mobility. It would be direct web to web but with all the security in place. There's a product called Zscaler, which is only a software-based firewall.

I am a consultant and Sophos partner, and I have worked with Cyberoam UTM for about seven years, starting from its previous iteration.

I rate Cyberoam UTM's stability a nine out of ten. It's extremely stable.

Sophos Cyberoam UTM's scalability is excellent. I rate it an eight out of ten. The scalability, addability, and all the features are good. The number of endpoints depends on the client, and we have certain clients with more than 700 endpoints. We focus on small and medium enterprise clients.

When we have a higher number of endpoints, we then do a study of the rate of data transfer, the kind of bandwidth available, and whether a single firewall will be suitable or not because that should not become a bottleneck when you are interacting with or your information is flowing into the Internet. Sizing up the product is very important.

The technical support is very fast. Normally we don't require support for our work, but there are times when support is required. The quality of support is also very high. They have people who make you feel at ease and figure out exactly how you're doing things so that you are not dependent on them next time. They make you understand why something is not working.

Positive

We previously used Fortinet's other solutions, but Cyberoam's customer support is better.

I rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. We have previous experience using it, so we knew exactly what we wanted to do and what features would be useful, so we set up the solution in one week. When someone doesn't have this knowledge, the initial setup would be harder for them. In that case, they have to use the service of an expert.

If we have a proper discussion with the client and the network mapping is perfectly done, we can deploy the solution in one to two days. It will take longer if that kind of information or a basic study is unavailable. You will need to set up the DMZ or work with the client to make it more secure in terms of the firewall and user rights. As a part of our offering, we first do a detailed study so that we can set it up in a day or two.

Any time you're setting it up, you will need downtime, and not all the clients today use high-availability parts or have a redundant firewall in place, so you don't know how the setup will go.

I rate Cyberoam's pricing a five or six out of ten since it is affordable. Clients do not have to pay for anything. Additionally, the price is fixed.

Today in India, many small companies are coming up very fast. They are what we call the BDM and small enterprises. There, the penetration or awareness of firewalls for protecting data is very low. We have been successful in advising, both in terms of cyber risk in terms of acquiring hardware and secondly in terms of training, why it should happen. The first part is the customer sensitization, "Why should you go for a firewall?" And "What kind of firewall then?" An enterprise-level firewall is not required for a small business person because he would not have commercial transactions. "Do you sell products on your website?" or "Do you use cloud for SaaS?"

Affordability is not the main question today. The bigger question is how you can convince or sensitize the customer on how necessary security is in today's world. Today if you have one transaction lost or get hacked, you would lose a huge amount of money, and the risk involved is ever-growing.

I can confidently recommend Sophos Cyberoam UTM and rate the solution an eight out of ten.