Sophos SafeGuard Reviews

The customer needs a complete end-to-end solution to protect and synchronize their data.

The most valuable feature is the synchronized security. It's a unique feature on the market at this time only offered by Sophos. As a reseller, we often win bids and get clients because of this unique trademark feature.

It's a complete end-to-end solution, which is a huge advantage. 

It's easy to explain to customers.

We don't have to go from one product to another to address the needs of our customers. Everything you need is in the solution, and the license is embedded in the firewall.

When you compare Sophos SafeGuard to Palo Alto and other enterprise firewalls solutions, Sophos doesn't have the same market. 

Palo Alto targets the SMB market and Sophos would like to approach the enterprise market, but it can be difficult to approach these customers without having the right offering.

Sophos has a rich roadmap to cover this area, but we are not aware of it, so it difficult for us to approach these customers without having the right offering.

In the next release, I would like to see more automation with the endpoint logging, but it's a special feature that is quite complicated to explain. There is a trick to implementing it. You have to implement some scripting into it.

I have been reselling Sophos SafeGuard for three years.

This solution is quite stable, but that was not the case two years ago. There was an issue with the UTM Firewall to the XG Firewall. However, with this latest version, there haven't been any issues.

This solution is scalable.

The project system throughout the entre firewall is the same. This means that we don't have different versions from the smaller to the larger models, making the scalability quite simple.

Our clients have less than five hundred users.

I have not contacted technical support. The service provider that we use filters the issues our customers have.

Approximately five years ago, I was using another solution but it was very different, and everything has changed. We are only dealing with Sophos software solutions. I can't compare it to a solution that I used five years ago. 

The initial setup is quite simple and straightforward.

The length of deployment depends on the environment of the customer and the number of endpoints. On average, it can take four to five days.

Normally, one person is more than enough to deploy this solution, but that person must have network and security experience.

We have a small team in our company to implement this solution for our clients and on occasion, we leverage two other deployment partners.

The maintenance is provided by another service provider that we use, who specializes in this area. They monitor and upgrade this product. Along with the maintenance, they offer a service desk to support the security and the operating system.

The licenses are renewed every three years.

The licenses are dependant on the number of users and computers you have to protect.

This is a complete product that is offering full-feature bundles. 

On occasion, if a customer is looking for better performance with their email protection, I offer a separate appliance for email protection. These features can be extracted from the firewall and used as a separate dedicated appliance to address the issues surrounding email protection. This is for on-premises versions only and is available to everyone. This is an extra feature which would be an additional cost.

It's a good solution for the SMB market but not enterprise.

Sophos is the leading brand for information security. 

Sophos is a complete solution that has a range of firewalls and all of the software bundles from the endpoint to the data center.

Along with our service providers and our team, who have a good understanding of the product, we use Sophos technicians to do the webcast for our customers. This occurs as part of the process, but typically not during the implementation phase.

Most of the time the customer doesn't require special features to be added. 

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

We primarily use the solution for email and domain security for our computers and end-users.

The solution has done a fabulous job of protecting us from threats.

The solution's most valuable feature is that it is very secure.

The pricing could be improved.

Technical support could be a bit better.

The stability of the solution is very good.

The scalability of the solution is good.

Technical support isn't so good; it needs to be improved. 

We didn't previously use a different solution.

The initial setup for me is straightforward, however a new user might have a few issues with it.

We use the cloud deployment model of the solution. We're a Sophos partner.

The solution is good. It doesn't have a heavy lag like others.

I'd rate it seven out of ten.

We use this solution for encrypting our laptops.

This is an anti-theft solution because I can even encrypt the boot sector, which means that the user has to enter a password to unlock the operating system. If the laptop is stolen then everything is encrypted.

This solution helps us to improve security, especially for sensitive data. It helps to prevent the leakage of data from the laptops.

This solution allows us to easily manage devices from Sophos Central cloud.

Policy deployment is easy and quick to do.

This solution integrates well with the antivirus solution.

I would like to have more control over the files in the Sophos encryption system.

This solution needs to have more data loss prevention techniques. Having a DLP integrated with the encryption engine would be very good.

This is a stable solution. We have had no issues with it.

This solution is used on a daily basis.

The cloud version is easy to scale. I just add a new license with the number of users. It is already deployed, and there is no more configuration.

We have about ten technical people, including admins, and about seventy-five end-users. As the company grows, so will our use of this solution.

The Sophos technical support is very helpful. We can open a chat or email them. They have a knowledge base for all cases of deployment.

Sometimes we have issues that take a long time to solve. They have a lot of teams, so once in a while, we open the case with one person but somebody else completes the ticket. This does not happen for the majority of the time.

We did not use another solution prior to this one.

The initial setup of this solution depends on the deployment model.

The cloud version is very straightforward to set up. Just select the package you want and send it to the client.

The on-premises version is very complicated. You have to first create the policy, then apply it and integrate your Active Directory, then install it on the machines. It's a very complicated process.

For the on-premises version, it takes about fifteen minutes to deploy after the initial setup and configuration. The initial configuration takes perhaps two days. It involves setting the policies for each of the users. 

Our in-house team performed the implementation. There were five people involved.

Licensing for this solution is on a yearly basis. They tell you from day one how much it costs and what features you get. One of the great things about Sophos is if we have any added features that they send out, it will be included in the pricing. The price will not increase.

We evaluated other encryption solutions and we found that this was the easiest one to use, especially with cloud management.

Another reason that we chose this solution is that it is a standalone package. Kaspersky have an encryption solution, but it is part of a bundle with their endpoint solution. The advantage to standalone is that you can use it even if you don't have any Sophos endpoints. 

We are using the cloud version of this solution because the on-premises version does not have anti-ransomware or machine learning capability.

My advice for anybody who is implementing this solution is to also use the cloud version, rather than the on-premises edition. This is especially true if they have teleworkers or mobile users that are often off-premises.

The security of our data is important. One of our teams has a person who lost their laptop, and the team was not using this solution so it was not encrypted. We consider that to be data leakage.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

We primarily use the solution for file encryption.

The reporting and file encryption are the solution's most valuable features.

The user experience and the quality of the features are good.

The tutorials need to be simplified. The existing ones need to be easier to follow and we could use some tutorials for basic setups. They should aim to be more like Cisco, which offers very good tutorials and materials.

If there was a way to automate the configuration, that would be ideal.

The solution is stable.

We haven't attempted to scale up yet, so I can't really comment on the scalability of the solution. Right now we have about 50 people using it.

We've never needed to contact technical support.

The initial setup was straightforward. When we deployed it, it was very fast. Even the configuration was easy. We had everything done within a week. It could have even been done faster, but the distributor was waiting on some information from the customer. We only needed two people for deployment.

We had the assistance of a distributor for the implementation.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

We are a solution integrator, and this is one of the products that we supply to our clients.

The primary use of this solution is to protect data, and we have clients such as hotels who use it.

When our clients know that they have the ability to monitor their network security, they are satisfied.

The most valuable feature is the cloud-based supervision that is offered by Sophos Central.

The performance of this solution is good.

The monitoring features are easy to use.

I would like to see a support-cloud, where Sophos creates a single package that contains all of its products.

This solution is very stable. To this point, we have had no problem with any of our clients.

This is a scalable solution.

One of our clients is a hotel and they have thirteen users.

Technical support for this solution is good, but we rarely contact them because we rarely see problems.

This solution is very easy to configure and deploy.

I perform the deployment myself.

Sophos has another cloud platform that supports firewall management, and it is very easy to deploy.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

The solution is primarily used for data protection.

The solution offers very good performance.

The user interface is simple, It makes it very easy to use.

We've only really been dealing with this solution for six months, so I haven't had time to note anything that is lacking in the solution.

The cost is rather expensive. It's a pain point for many clients. They should work to see if they can reduce pricing.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable. It's easy to expand the platform if you need to.

I've never had to contact technical support.

I didn't previously use a different solution.

The initial setup is straightforward.

In general, clients are able to handle the implementation themselves.

The cost is not cheap. It's a rather expensive solution.

We're a reseller. We handle the on-premises deployment models.

I'd recommend the solution. I'd rate it eight out of ten.

The most valuable features of the solution are the fact that they are able to encrypt the hard disk and to encrypt USB sticks. 

The solution is not using other features like booting encryption, because it causes very heavy processing of the workstation. If they could find some way to handle the encryption and decryption to be lighter on the workstation it would be better.

It would be ideal if the solution could make the processing possible on an appliance, instead of having to install it on a machine. Also, it should be in the network layers and communicate with more workstations. The encryption and decryption processing should not be on the workstation; rather it should be on the appliance.

The solution is very stable.

It's very, very easy to scale the solution. You do not need to make any upgrades. You just need to adjust the sizing to expand. You can expand at any time.

Technical support is very good, but sometimes they take a while to respond. This solution's very complex and still in the development process. Sometimes customers will ask for items that need to be developed or are not easy to develop. The solution is putting out a lot of updates, however, so they're constantly working to create a better product.

The initial setup was straight forward. The settings are not complex. However, sometimes some encryption settings have a complex configuration.

We are a distributor of the solution. We recommend users use professional services to assist us with the implementation.

I would recommend the solution.

I would rate the solution eight out of ten.

There's not a good market for this type of solution here in Egypt. It might be because here in Egypt there isn't a great need for this kind of solution yet. There are no compliance regulations from the government. However, the solution offers good features and I believe would be good for customers. There are so many areas where customers need encryption technology. 

Our primary use case of this solution is for security and VPN connection.

The uses can vary per customer. For example, one customer wanted to protect their network, with VPN connectivity. Sophos has good features that customers know and like. It is also less expensive than other firewalls. Other customers, for example, wanted to publish their websites and their servers. They wanted to protect their servers and publish them on the internet. Another customer needs to have security because they were attacked by ransomware. 

The Intercept X feature is the most valuable feature. You can't find this feature in other firewalls because Intercept X works as if it has an interaction between the endpoint and the firewall. It makes a connection between the endpoint protection and the firewall. If Intercept X finds some behavior that's not right, it separates it and it secures the network to defend it from this attack. This is a good feature and development that Sophos implemented around five years ago.

Sophos SafeGuard is a German product. Sophos isn't really active in Europe. The Middle East, Africa, South Africa works with Sophos but their primary users aren't in Europe. They should market and push this solution to the European market. 

This product is stable but we have had some complaints from other customers. There is a loop on the internet. Once we deploy Sophos in our topology or in our infrastructure, the behavior or their action creates a loop on the internet. Otherwise, it's easy to install and offers good security.

It is very scalable. If you compare the price of Sophos to Fortinet or Cisco, it's as expensive. 

I would rate their technical support eight out of ten. There's a bit of a delay in their response time to tickets. 

The setup is very easy because you just need to make the arrangements for your interfaces and your network port. After that, you can make your policy and can publish the servers. You might need more technical support for the security and for the firewall. If you come from an advanced organization, it might be more difficult and not as easy at first.

The amount of time it will take will vary per customer. If they ask for network protection features it will take, for example, a maximum of one hour. But if your customer has a topology in his network and he needs to make certain policies and synchronization with Active Directory, that will take time. The deployment can take a few days. It depends on the customer. 

The licensing costs depend on the series. For example, XG 85 can be around $200. If you go to ACC or to a four or five-year enterprise solution, you will find these devices can cost $10,000. It depends on the series. 

Working with this solution will depend on your budget. If you purchase Sophos your data and your network will be secured. It's not more expensive than similar products. I recommend going with Sophos. 

I would rate Sophos a 7.5 out of ten because there are better firewalls out there.