Head of Operations at Intersect Technologies
Real User
Top 20
A solution that provides a balance of stability and scalability to its users
Pros and Cons
  • "Stability-wise, I rate this solution a ten out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate this solution a ten out of ten."
  • "The solution's technical support for India needs to be improved."

What is our primary use case?

There are multiple use cases, and a few examples would be its use in the education, banking, or financial sectors. There are so many other locations and sectors where they deploy this solution.

What is most valuable?

One of the features of Sophos UTM that I find valuable is its user authentication functionality.

What needs improvement?

In Sophos UTM, there is room for improvement in certain areas. For instance, I believe that its feature known as Synchronized Security could be enhanced. The solution's technical support for India needs to be improved.

I will need to think about the additional features the solution needs to include in its next release.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos UTM for almost ten years now. It is a good solution. My company is a partner and an integrator of Sophos UTM.

Buyer's Guide
Sophos UTM
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Sophos UTM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate this solution a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I rate this solution a ten out of ten. If I talk about the solution's suitability, then it is suitable for enterprises.

How are customer service and support?

Dealing with technical support can be time-consuming when communicating over the phone. I am unable to provide a rating for the technical support team. My suggestion to others would be that they provide the country location of the toll-free number in the solution. Although a toll-free number has been provided for India, the people in India are good. Compared to the UK, there may be issues with understanding and timing, which could lead to many problems.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We use Sophos Access Point, Sophos Firewall, Sophos Switches, Sophos MDR, and Sophos XDR. We have been using Sophos MDR for three years.

How was the initial setup?

Whether the initial setup is straightforward or complex depends on the number of users or people to whom the solution is given.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Compared to the current market offerings, like FortiGate or SonicWall, Sophos offers its solution at a good price.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I compared Sophos UTM with Fortinet and found that Fortinet's EPP, ATP, and hardware are good. Sophos UTM has also improved its hardware by updating its dual-core processors with a second processor that uses advanced technology, whereas previously, the hardware was handled by a single processor. However, we are still facing some problems with Multicast User Authentication.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend Sophos UTM, Sophos Access Points, Sophos Endpoint, and Sophos Switches to other users. Overall, I rate this solution a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Senior Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Simple to set up, comprehensive, free for home users, and there is lots of support available online
Pros and Cons
  • "Sophos UTM is the simplest of these products to setup."
  • "The logs are not clear, which means that you need an additional piece of software in order to read them clearly."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and I am the architect of solutions that employ Sophos UTM.

How has it helped my organization?

Sophos was one of the first firewall products that were free, so you can install it at home and test it. Then when you have the experience, you can recommend it to customers.

What is most valuable?

Sophos UTM is the simplest of these products to setup. If you follow the instructions using the wizard, which is just a few steps, then you will have a firewall to protect you and your customer.

What needs improvement?

Sophos UTM is sensitive when it comes to setting up the SSL VPN, with the certificate.

The bandwidth speeds are limited, although this could be because they're doing web filtering. They need to have the time to filter all of the traffic.

The logs are not clear, which means that you need an additional piece of software in order to read them clearly. This is the main issue with Sophos UTM. Essentially, you need to spend time looking through the logs and if you want quicker access then you need to have third-party software.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Sophos UTM for eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable product. In my experience, I have only seen one case where, after four years, a customer's UTM was completely dead. The motherboard just died.

This customer had a license, so they contacted Sophos and within one week, they had a replacement.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is easy to scale. You can set up a failover with a second Sophos device, where the second one is available as a backup. You have the option to set up Sophos Lite, which is a small device from Sophos that can link with your main unit.

For example, if you have remote offices, you can have the main Sophos device in your main office, and then all the branch offices connected using the lite model. All of the traffic goes to your main site, and it will provide all the web filtering.

How are customer service and technical support?

The quality of technical support depends on who answers the call. When you reach the proper support person, they are really good and know what they're doing.

There is a lot of information available online, partly because Sophos is the old Cyberoam. Most of the time, I try to solve problems by myself. However, if I can't, I contact Sophos.

How was the initial setup?

I am a certified Sophos architect, so I help to create the solution.

I have never had any trouble setting it up. There are some things that you have to do from the command line, but that's how Sophos and other products work. It is the same with Meraki and FortiGate. 

For the most part, it's straightforward and you just follow the wizard. The questions regard your internet connection, what service you expect Sophos to provide, and of course, the main one is the license because, for home users, it is free.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This product is free for home users. There is a limitation to the number of devices that can be connected, but nobody expects at home that there will be more than 50 devices connected to the firewall.

For business users, if you have the proper license, it will provide full protection not only as a firewall, but will protect your web server, Exchange Server, network, and provider web filtering capabilities. These days, that is really important. You don't want somebody to get in, or when a user clicks a link, they could lose some information.

The more expensive products have better performance. If you have fast broadband then you will need a bigger device, otherwise, it will slightly reduce the speed of your throughput. For example, if you have a gigabit connection with the cheapest model, perhaps a UTM 320, then it will cut the speed by approximately 50% to 500 megabits.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We sell the Meraki MX solution to protect some of our customers, and we are resellers of FortiGate as well.

Sophos is easier to set up than Meraki.

When it comes to reading the logs of other devices, it is much easier with Meraki, FortiGate, or even the Sophos XG firewall.

At the moment, all of the firewalls on the market are doing the same thing. Once you buy the license, it will cover everything.

What other advice do I have?

Sophos UTM is a comprehensive product that does the job that it should. They have another product now, called the XG firewall, that covers everything that UTM does not. The best part about this is that you can run the XG firewall on the same hardware where UTM is installed. This means that if you're thinking that Sophos UTM is not good for you, you can always migrate to the XG firewall. That said, I have never had a problem setting up UTM and can't think of a problem that I couldn't solve with it.

Overall, UTM is good, but if you want something better that can handle more complex rules then you can use the XG firewall. My only complaint is that they limit the bandwidth, depending on the model.

The suitability of this product depends on the customer's needs. If they don't need really complicated firewall rules, yet want to protect the network and want really good web filtering, then I recommend using Meraki. If on the other hand, they have a really complicated setup and want better filtering, then Sophos is the better option.

Also, if you have your own web server or mail server on-site, then I recommend Sophos. If instead, you have a normal office network with mail stored in the cloud, then I recommend Meraki.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Sophos UTM
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Sophos UTM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Real User
Top 20
Simple to install, reliable, and easy to configure
Pros and Cons
  • "The management suite is easy and the agent is easy to develop."
  • "The management suite is easy and the agent is easy to develop."

What is our primary use case?

We use Sophos UTM for endpoint antivirus.

What is most valuable?

The management suite is easy and the agent is easy to develop.

What needs improvement?

At the very least, keep existing. I will continue to use Sophos. If Sophos maintains its current ease of management, I believe I will continue to use it.

I would like them to keep the features as they are.

The GUI can be improved. It is not as good as Trend Micro, but I still like it.

The GUI could be more user-friendly.

Now, they offer a SaaS product in comparison to XDR and, TRM, which stands for automatic analysis of virus behavior or deadline. Currently, for example, when there is a threat, we analyze it ourselves, but now they offer automatic analysis because Sophos' XDR is based on cloud PCS.

I would like them to include automatic analysis for virus behavior and also cloud PCS.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started using Sophos UTM in 2005.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sophos UTM is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sophos UTM is scalable.

The endpoint will be decommissioned next year, but we intend to continue using the Sophos XDR.

How are customer service and support?

Because it is in Indonesia, technical support is only available via email and on the website. There does not appear to be enough technical advice available from support.

The support does not appear to be developed, and they lack expertise.

We are able to manage ourselves.

We have documentation available online

I would rate the technical support a two out of five. Technical support could be improved.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

When compared to Trend Micro has a compact and bundle layer, whereas Sophos allows us to select the module. The module layer can be separated. For Trend Micro, we buy as a bundle purchase and they will give us everything.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy to set up and configure.

I would rate the initial setup a four out of five.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

When compared to Trend Micro, the price is currently competitive.

The pricing is nearly the same. Implying that each endpoint costs approximately one million rupees.

It will cost approximately $67 US per device. We have 300 devices in our organization.

I would rate the pricing a three out of five.

The price could be improved. In my opinion, we could get a discount. We have already contacted Asia Pacific sellers, and they have agreed to keep the reduced price if we upgrade in March 2023.

What other advice do I have?

For the time being, it is enough for us. As I previously stated, some companies that use Sophos may be unfamiliar with the full range of Sophos protocol offerings.

Before you start implementing Sophos UTM  be aware of the protocols.

I would rate Sophos UTM an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Head of Data Link at Telecom Egypt
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Easy to use but isn't scalable and reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to use."
  • "I didn't like it much. It suits only small businesses. It isn't scalable and reliable. There is a very critical issue with the power supply."

What is most valuable?

It's easy to use.

What needs improvement?

I didn't like it much. It suits only small businesses. It isn't scalable and reliable. There is a very critical issue with the power supply.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its stability is very bad. It needs to be improved. The power supply issue that I faced is a very critical one.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I feel that the hardware itself needs to be improved. We have about 50 users. 

How are customer service and support?

Their support is very bad. They don't respond at all.

How was the initial setup?

It's easy to set up. One day is enough for its full implementation.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it in-house. We had two administrators for its implementation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's expensive. It has a yearly license.

What other advice do I have?

I'd not recommend this solution. I'd rate it a four 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.
PeerSpot user
IT Manager at Cartlis
Real User
Stable with an easy initial implementation and a very nice user interface
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability, overall, is excellent. I haven't had a problem in the last two years."
  • "It would be nice if it had basic features, such as DLP (Data Loss Prevention)."

What is most valuable?

The solution's user interface is very user-friendly. It's very easy to navigate.

They have an all-in-one product for small businesses. Basically, I do not want to manage the firewall for four products. I'll take it all in one. It makes everything easier to manage. 

It's really good and it's been working really well over the last few years. 

The initial setup has been very simple and straightforward. 

The stability, overall, is excellent. I haven't had a problem in the last two years.

What needs improvement?

It is a fine product, however, I need more endpoint protection.

They should release a license for more than 50 IPs. As of now I have had some discussion about with management, and we need to do some planning and around that to see if we can change things.

The pricing is too high. There are other options that are less expensive, such as Bitdefender. In fact, Bitdefender is very good, aside from lacking a firewall such as this. Beyond that, it's a very good product with central management on-premises. 

It would be nice if it had basic features, such as DLP (Data Loss Prevention).

For how long have I used the solution?

I've only been using the solution for about two years or so at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been excellent. It doesn't crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches. It's very good and very reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is perfect for small businesses. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I don't have too much experience with technical support. I only recall one case where I had to contact them directly. I recall them being very helpful and responsive. I had a good experience and was satisfied with their level of service. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

The solution is being discontinued. Hopefully, whatever they replace it with will be very good for small businesses as well. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was not complex. It was very simple and very straightforward. It was not difficult at all. A company shouldn't have any trouble with the process. Specifically, if you have experience in IT, you will find it very easy to deploy these products.

What other advice do I have?

I am a Sophos customer.

I'm using UTM for home use only. It's only four 50 IPS.

I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. Overall, it's worked really really well. Everything from the updates to the signatures has been very helpful for our business. 

I would recommend this product to other users and other organizations. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
sugoi - PeerSpot reviewer
Server analyst at EJCLME Inc.
Reseller
Top 20
Very strong firewall with a streamlined interface that treats everything like an object
Pros and Cons
  • "The firewall itself is very strong and provides great security."
  • "The solution needs better integration with captive portals and XGs."

What is our primary use case?

Our company is a partner and reseller of the solution. We lease, sell, and license boxes for our clients. Use cases are rather unique and not uniform. 

We provide support for a few SMBs around the country. 

Some customers are heavy users, with involved configurations, and the setup may include high availability configured with two boxes. 

Others use it as just a gateway between their infrastructure and the internet with very simple configurations that don't include web filtering. 

Active directory integration domain is used for some, but not all customers. Common items include DNATs and SSL VPN. Most customers use VPNs, and site-to-site connections (REDs or IPsec).

We also use virtualized UTMs for LABs.

What is most valuable?

The firewall itself is very strong and provides great security for the internet. Some clients don't use any other special feature but all customers depend on the firewall as a secure gateway.

A lot of thinking went into the user experience because the UTM interface is streamlined, good, and feels like a web application. It does have hiccups here and there but effectively treats everything as an object. You can quickly see where objects are being used or referred to and change them. 

What needs improvement?

The UTMs are end-of-life so the web interface is not top-notch and needs more speed. There is still support for the UTMs so they are the best we have right now. 

The solution needs better captive portals and they could have faster UIs. 

An improvement to the transparent proxy would help. A user should be able to open a webpage and be redirected to the captive portal like with WIFI or XGs. From there, the user should be able to log in with a username and password to gain internet access. Many clients migrate to XG due to this missing feature. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been actively using the solution for a some time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is pretty good and better than XG. We don't have any issues directly related to the solution.

Stability is rated a ten out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution scales pretty well. Even with a heavy load, the solution shows no issues. 

Scalability is rated an eight out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is not stellar. We have some good experiences and some not so good experiences. We do not have a lot of support requests for the solution.

Support is rated a seven out of ten. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We implement the solution for customers. We have a specialist, an architect, and four analysts who handle implementations and maintenance. 

What other advice do I have?

I recommend you complete the solution's training because it is pretty good. Rely on the documentation and any tech training available.

I rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Rana Chaudhury - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at KARLE INFRA PRIVATE LIMITED
Real User
Top 5
Transparent solution that is easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "Sophos integrates seamlessly, and we don't even feel it is running in the background."
  • "The virus updates will always depend on new viruses that are discovered. Maybe they can send a notification or a reminder for update time."

What is our primary use case?

It is used to protect the servers. It is a very transparent solution. 

What is most valuable?

Sophos integrates seamlessly and we don't even feel it is running in the background. 

What needs improvement?

I found just one instance of a virus on somebody's email, and Sophos cut it off immediately. Then the admin said, "Oh, this is a virus. That's a new one." They found out that I hadn't updated some virus information.

The virus updates will always depend on new viruses that are discovered. Maybe they can send a notification or a reminder for update time. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Sophos UTM for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is absolutely stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have over 200 users in my company. We are planning on increasing the usage. We never faced any issue with scalability. 

How are customer service and support?

We have local support and go through our company's tech support. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It was implemented within five minutes. 

What about the implementation team?

The central admin team deployed the solution. There were around three to four members of the team. 

What other advice do I have?

It is easy to install and transparent solution. I would recommend using the solution. I would rate it a ten out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Walid Fawzy - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and System Engineer at Al-Watania Poultry (Egypt)
Real User
Easy to set up, stable, feature-rich, and offers good support
Pros and Cons
  • "What I like about Sophos UTM is that it improves my company's security. The solution is easy to set up, which I like, and it's very stable."
  • "An area for improvement in Sophos UTM is load balancing because my company cannot use it currently. If Sophos could release a new configuration for the load balancing feature to work for my company, that would be great."

What is our primary use case?

We use all features of Sophos UTM, for example, application control and URL filtering.

What is most valuable?

What I like about Sophos UTM is that it improves my company's security. The solution is easy to set up, which I like, and it's very stable.

What needs improvement?

An area for improvement in Sophos UTM is load balancing because my company cannot use it currently. If Sophos could release a new configuration for the load balancing feature to work for my company, that would be great. My team has requested this through the Sophos portal.

Another issue with Sophos UTM is that I cannot monitor YouTube or WhatsApp. I need to block videos and images, but I cannot do that over Sophos UTM.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Sophos UTM for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sophos UTM is very stable. It's an eight for me, stability-wise, on a scale of one to ten.

How are customer service and support?

Sophos UTM offers excellent support, so it's an eight out of ten, support-wise.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before Sophos UTM, my company used Cyberoam. Sophos UTM has more than one feature, such as VPN, application access, NAT, and SSL inspection. It has more features than Cyberoam, and I can find all that I need in Sophos UTM compared to Cyberoam.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Sophos UTM was very simple. I configured the solution more than once and found the process very simple.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing for Sophos UTM is OK. Here in Egypt, many companies use the solution because of its price and features.

My company pays the Sophos UTM license fee yearly.

What other advice do I have?

I have experience with Sophos UTM and all its versions within my company.

My rating for Sophos UTM is eight out of ten. I'm not giving the solution a perfect score because of load balancing and social media scanning issues.

My company is a Sophos customer.

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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos UTM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Sophos UTM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.