What is our primary use case?
It is used in environments where there are mobile executives and the data can't be compromised. For example, if a laptop is lost or stolen, you have to ensure that the data is not compromised. I have deployed it at a motor company in the Bay area for securing the local laptops. It is used at a hospital for securing medical records and CFO-related files. It is also used at a Law firm for encrypting pleadings and legal documents.
What is most valuable?
I like its ease of use the most. The management console is really nice. I like having one pane of glass that does everything. It does the Sophos anti-virus and encryption. Everything that you need is in one place. It is easy to use, and it is also pretty fast.
It provides some pretty good details, and it lets you know who has access to a file. You can also add additional people to the encrypted documents, which is pretty good. Its stability and performance are also very good.
What needs improvement?
It just needs a little bit more on the reporting side. Its reporting can be improved a little bit in terms of being able to know that things are in the right status. I should be able to pull a report to make sure that everything is all right.
It could also have cloud integration. At the time I was using it, it wasn't a cloud product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been in the IT industry for several years. I work with a lot of different companies, and I've deployed and managed Sophos SafeGuard at quite a few companies over a period of about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability and performance were good. I never had any crashes. I didn't notice it causing any performance problems or high CPU usage, making applications slower.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We had Sophos in the image. We rolled out the machines, so it was already there. It was already part of our base image, and then for servers, we use SCCM. Sophos also has its own console that you can use for deployments, but we didn't use that.
Most of our clients are large businesses. Most of the time, smaller businesses can't afford to call in consultants to roll out stuff for them.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never used their tech support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Different companies used different solutions. They usually switched when their license agreements ran out. The company for which I did the biggest installation had ESET and McAfee ePO. I removed both ESET and McAfee ePO and placed two different environments with Sophos. This switch was a result of viruses happening and not getting caught by their protection systems.
The initial setup of Sophos is also easier than other solutions such as Trend Micro and BitLocker. The setup of both these solutions is much more complex. If you try to go old school with PGP, it has a command-line setup, and it gets a lot more complex.
I am currently using BitLocker, which is a little bit more difficult. You have to use some power show commands. Sometimes, you have to use scripting and create GTOs. There are many different places you have to go to for configuring policies and rules to make it all work. In Sophos SafeGuard, everything that you need is in one place.
How was the initial setup?
It was pretty straightforward. If you don't know how encryption works, it could be a little bit complex, but it would still be easier to do it with Sophos than any other tool in the market, such as Trend Micro and BitLocker.
What other advice do I have?
It is a good product. I would advise calling an expert to deploy it.
I would rate Sophos SafeGuard an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
