Sophos XGS Reviews

Mainly, we use it as our internet gateway firewall for scanning internet traffic that comes to our network from WAN and for internet distribution such as thin client. We have a thin client environment. It also works as a distribution layer for internet users, especially in thin client environments. It scans the traffic that passes from this device.

In this solution, the most valuable feature is that it's a security device. Maintaining security is very valuable for us.

The other feature that we did not find in other products is that it works well with thin client environments.

Sometimes, we haven't received proper support. They couldn't find the solutions that we required.

One thing that we need is an NTP server facility. The Sophos XGS device does not have this capacity or this feature.

We've been using Sophos XGS for almost one year.

It's stable. We haven't had any issues with it.

I don't think it's scalable. It's a product that we bought with a specification, and we cannot improve that. We cannot upgrade; we can only upgrade its OS; nothing more.

Only the network administrator uses it, but we might set it up in another business unit next year.

I would rate technical support at six out of ten because we haven't received proper support sometimes.

Neutral

We worked with Cyberoam, and when it reached the end of life, we replaced it with Sophos.

The initial setup is easy, and I'd give it a two out of five.

Because this is a security appliance, we cannot calculate the ROI exactly. However, every time security devices work well and guard us from attacks, it is a good ROI. This device has a good ROI.

The licensing cost is in the normal range and is not very costly.

Overall, we have had a good experience with Sophos XGS and would rate it at six on a scale from one to ten.

We use the solution as an antivirus gateway and internet gateway.

All the features are effective in enhancing our network security. I am satisfied with the product. The threat intelligence capabilities of the tool are good. It has contributed to reducing our overall security costs by approximately 90%.

I do not get notifications regarding ISP downtime. It would be better if I could get notifications related to the critical errors occurring in Sophos. The product is difficult to use. The administrators must be notified of the errors occurring in the firewall through emails or messages. It will help organizations take proactive measures instead of taking action after the incident happens.

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

The customer support is weak. The support team is not responsive. The support people do not follow up or call us back.

Negative

The implementation is not difficult. The service providers help install and implement the firewall in our network.

I will recommend the product to others. However, I would not recommend it to organizations that do not have technical people who deal with networks. Overall, I rate the product a seven out of ten.

Users have distributed networks. They use it as an SD-WAN to connect the branch’s site or multiple locations. We are using RED channels or devices for branch-to-branch connectivity.

You don't need an additional subscription for IPS or an antivirus. It has an engine of antivirus applications for IPS. You have an email gateway for people who are still using on-prem exchange. Comparatively, other firewalls might need multiple subscriptions separately for each feature.

Sophos might discontinue the UTM features, as they've been promoting the newer XGS Series appliances. While the XGS offers great features like detailed logging and audit reports, it currently lacks essential functions in the UTM. For example, the XGS doesn't provide basic audit tracking for configuration changes, which is crucial for understanding who made modifications, what was changed, and when. Sophos claims they'll add this functionality later. Its absence significantly hinders the usability of the new firewall.

Additionally, while XGS offers decent day-to-day management, there's room for improvement. Many users transitioning from UTM find the XGS interface less intuitive, causing a learning curve.

I have been using Sophos XGS as a reseller for a long time. We are working with the latest version of the solution.

The newer version is stable. Earlier versions, like V8, were quite unstable.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight-point five out of ten.

The solution’s scalability is good. We cater the solution to small, medium, and enterprises.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

Support is mostly good, but sometimes it takes too long to escalate the solution.

Neutral

The initial setup is very easy. It depends based on the scale of the deployment. There are different use cases according to the customers. Based on the requirements, the deployment can take between one day to a month. We have a small customer with a few hundred users. We can configure that within two to three days and finish the deployment quickly. It requires meticulous planning, and doing it then takes time based on the size of the customer , especially if it's a big customer. A small deployment is very easy. Larger deployments take time based on the customer requirements and different timescopes of the customer and downtime.

Sophos is comparatively cheaper than other products. The total cost of ownership is better in Sophos.

I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight-point five out of ten.

We use Sophos XGS mostly for website blocking, application blocking, and site-to-site VPN.

Compared to other products, Sophos XGS is a user-friendly solution.

It would be useful if Sophos XGS included DDNS-based features.

I have been using Sophos XGS for four years.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten for stability.

Sophos XGS is a scalable solution. We have more than 50 users in our organization.

Sophos XGS provides good technical support. The support team has good knowledge of troubleshooting and fixing our issues.

The solution’s initial setup is complex.

We implemented the solution through an in-house team. The solution’s deployment takes half an hour to one hour.

Sophos XGS is a cost-effective solution.

I would recommend Sophos XGS to other users because it is more cost-effective than other products.

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

All security solutions are the same. It depends on the size of the network and license. They have the same features. Brands provide extreme protection.

The solution is expensive.

I have been using Sophos XGS for four years.

The product is stable.

The solution is suitable for small and medium businesses.

Customer support is great.

Positive

The initial setup is easy and takes around 30 mins to complete.

The product’s pricing is average compared to other solutions.

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

We are primarily using the product for firewall issues, including protecting the network and so on.

It's much faster than the previous firewall, so you can do the work faster. There are no delays in the internet and network.

The performance is better than the other product that we've had. 

Reporting-wise, it's quite good. IPS detection and ATP is getting better and faster.

We have found the initial setup to be quite straightforward. 

The solution is stable.

It can scale well.

The reporting could always be improved upon. They need intelligent reporting, not just your simple, standard reports. 

I've used the solution for the past three months. 

This is a stable, reliable product. The performance is good. It's fast. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

The product can scale very well. It's not a problem if a company needs to expand. There are different sizes of products. It's a good idea to pick a larger size if you expect to scale. 

We have around 150 users on the solution at this point. They cover different roles from admins to front and back office.

We have a third-party provider that is giving us support. We don't communicate with Sophos directly.

I previously used WatchGuard. That was at a previous company. When I moved here, the organization already had Sophos. 

The initial setup is very simple and very straightforward. Since it was also migration in our case,  we had to do testing and so on. It took one week to deploy it.

We only need one person to handle the deployment and maintenance process. 

We had a third-party assist us during the implementation process.

We renew the license every three years. We get better pricing that way. There are no other expenses beyond the standard pricing. That said, there are additional subscription modules you might need. However, you pick them at the beginning, and it depends if you need them or not.

We did not evaluate other options. We already had the setup, and we didn't want to make any big changes.

I'm a customer and end-user. 

I've currently using the latest version of the solution. 

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

We are using Sophos XGS for basic purposes, such as the NAT rules it provides.

The most valuable features of Sophos XGS are the ease of use and powerful interface. 

In version 18 of Sophos XGS, the log details are not very good. However, in version 19 they are more detailed. The Fortinet FortiGate has better detail overall compared to Sophos XGS. They provide updates to the solution frequently, but they do not fix the problems that exist.

In the next release, the searching inside of Sophos XGS needs to improve. It is difficult to learn about the functionality and the modules. Additionally, there needs to be more automatic or less manual operations.

I have been using Sophos XGS for three years.

Sophos XGS is highly stable.

We have a small company therefore I am not sure about the scalability.

We have two people using this solution as administrators. The total number of users that are using the solution is approximately 200.

I have not used the support line directly from Sophos XGS, but I used the online knowledge site they have for support. They have good documentation.

The best support is provided by Cisco, Palo Alto, and Fortinet FortiGate because all the knowledge is available easily.

I rate support from Sophos XGS a four out of five.

Positive

The initial setup of Sophos XGS is not easy. 

The price of Sophos XGS is less than competitors worldwide. However, in Turkey the solution is expensive.

I have evaluated other solutions, such as Fortinet, Cisco, and Palo Alto, and the Sophos XGS has a more powerful interface. Fortinet FortiGate has too many options while Palo Alto is over more robust than Sophos XGS. However, if your company does not have a large number of users then Sophos XGS is best.

My advice to others is if you are going to purchase a firewall in Turkey, Sophos XGS is the best choice because of the dealers and support available. The second best in Turkey would be Fortinet FortiGate.

I rate Sophos XGS a seven out of ten.

We used it to create rules to monitor our network environment properly, using the standard.

It's great because we can create and manage firewall rules, add policies to those rules, and generate detailed reports. It has helped us protect our network and meet compliance requirements.

The policies are the greatest feature. They allow us to configure granular control over our network traffic.

The speed of report generation could be improved.

I have been using it for one year. I used version 16.5, and I also used version 17 of the product.

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. 

I would rate it highly for scalability. I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten.

I had a little bit of experience with another firewall solution, but not much.  

It is easy to deploy and manage.

The pricing is okay. 

I would recommend go ahead and use it. It's a great product. I have this product in my house as well. 

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