Sophos XG Initial Setup
MG
Manuel Gellida
Owner at Dinamica en Microsistemas de Informatica, S.A. de C.V.
The initial setup is not complex. However, here in Mexico, it's very complex to sell the product. The brand is not as well known.
That said, the process is pretty straightforward.
The deployment times vary. It depends on the end-user and what they need. Sometimes, it's easy as they don't have too many policies. The more policies they have, the longer it takes.
In other cases, clients may have a lot of VPNs. We have to work on those VPNs, and we have to do a lot of routing. However, that depends on the customer. Not all are like that.
For one appliance, you just need one person for deployment and maintenance. If we are working a lot of VPNs, we would have to use more people. We need to involve maybe two or three individuals and re-apply the configuration in that case.
View full review »SL
Steve Lowrey
Owner / IT operator at Fairview Schools
On a scale of one to five, with five being complex, I would rate the initial setup as a four. If you don't understand the terminology and how Sophos designates the way they do things, then it is a little confusing.
RC
RVChary
Manager of Sales Operations at Nexsus Cyber Solutions
The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy.
View full review »Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
767,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.
BO
Bola Ogundiran
Network consultant at Juniper Solutions Ltd
The initial setup of Sophos XG is not complex, especially with familiarity and experience. As you work with it over time, it becomes more straightforward, and mastery comes with continuous use. Deployment depends on specific organizational needs, but in general, it involves configuring the connection between the internet and the local network, setting up VLANs, and defining firewall rules. For me, as a consultant, the process varies based on different client scenarios. Sophos XG simplifies the deployment process, and once configured, it efficiently manages network access for different user categories.
AS
Asad Shamsi
Manager, Information Technology at Travel Food Services Pvt ltd
I rate the product's initial setup phase at six or seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.
The solution is deployed on the cloud and on-premises.
The solution can be deployed in a day.
The initial setup is straightforward. It was easy.
The total deployment time was ten days.
View full review »MA
MohamedAdly
Director Of Information Technology at 2B
The initial setup was easy. It was not complex for our IT department but you need some technical knowledge to do things such as creating a VPN connection between two endpoints, either site-to-site or site-to-client. You should also be familiar with SSL certificates.
The setup took between two and three hours, and after that, we had to prepare our network connections. It took two days in total.
No maintenance is required for the appliance.
VY
VINOD YADAV
IT Manager at Jabalpur Motors Ltd
The product's initial setup phase was straightforward.
The solution can be deployed in two months.
The product's initial setup phase was easy, especially compared to Cisco.
The solution is deployed on the cloud. I have also worked with the on-premises model.
The solution can be deployed in only a couple of hours.
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
AS
ATUL SHELARE
Information Technology Department at Sunflag Iron and Steel Co Ltd
The product's deployment process was easy.
I was the only person involved in the deployment of the product in my company.
The product can be deployed in three to four hours.
HA
Hossam Alaa
IT Manager at Saknafta Egypt
It was really easy for me, to be honest. The initial setup is very straightforward and simple. It's not overly complex. I had a firewall before that, so I knew what to expect. The implementation was done by a company that I bought this from. They installed it for me. It took about an hour and a half, or something like that.
I can't recall how many staff covered deployment. The deployment happened three years ago now.
View full review »Installation is not straightforward; it's a bit complex. For instance, when setting up two ISP connections and terminating them on two firewalls, the process involves configuring LAN and WAN interfaces separately, along with DNS and routing configurations in different tabs. Many users may find these functions unfamiliar. It would be more convenient if all functions related to traffic routing were consolidated into a single tab for easier management. Maintenance is also challenging.
View full review »I would rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy. It required some experience in designing networks. It's not a simple "click-click-click" process; it requires the expertise of a network professional. So, if you're not experienced, it can be challenging.
It can be difficult for inexperienced users, but with the right knowledge and experience, it is manageable.
View full review »PB
Pol Balaguer
IT Manager for Network and Security at a religious institution with 51-200 employees
I've worked with Sophos previously and we had a different setup. In terms of implementation, sometimes there are complex setups and sometimes the setup s are more basic. Right now, we have a complex setup. We need to ensure interconnectivity between our branches. We'll have different networks, different sites, and a lot of complexity.
It doesn't really take too long to deploy, however. The support from the supplier is good. They're always available to assist. They are well-trained and they are already familiar with the setups and configuration so they're doing a pretty good job in terms of helping us.
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. It's not overly complex.
View full review »The deployment method involves navigating through several pages, such as selecting the country and configuring LAN and WAN ports, before reaching the manual configuration stage. Instead, simplifying the process by allowing users to log in directly to the dashboard and initiate configuration without additional prompts could be helpful. The implementation time depends on specific firewall requirements.
View full review »SK
SuveeshKesavan
Senior Consultant at Wavednet Group
The installation is very easy for anyone. The configuration is straightforward, all the information is available through a quick Google search.
View full review »KS
Kolanji Selvaraj
IT Consultant at Crotus
The initial setup is very easy.
Our deployment took only two to three days. The problem is that we had a lot of issues, especially with the email. The SMTP did not work, so I could not continue with the deployment. It took between fifteen and twenty days to resolve this. I do not know what they did to fix it, but we were delayed between twenty-five days and a month.
We had contacted the Sophos partner for help, but they were not able to fix our issue. After the problem was resolved I re-initiated the deployment. Only one staff member is required to maintain the solution.
View full review »SK
Sandeep -Kumar
Network Engineer at The Shri Ram School
I rate the ease of setup a seven out of ten. The deployment took a few weeks.
View full review »RU
RicardoURQUIDI
CEO at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Previously we were working with Astaro, so the setup and configuration of Sophos XG was easy. The implementation took less than a month.
View full review »RQ
Ricardo Quintero
Infrastructure/Telcom Coordinator at Schnellecke Group AG & Co. KG
Setting up Sophos XG is too easy. It took about two hours. The only part of the solution that I deployed was the firewalls. It's something I do all the time in my business unit, so it was quick. We have two people responsible for deployment and maintenance, including me.
View full review »GB
Garen Barnett
Manager of Information Technology at Sundown M Ranch
The implementation process was pretty straightforward. Learning the ins and outs was a little complex. How, in terms of just getting it set up, I was able to get it set up in a couple of days.
Overall, the deployment took about three days. My strategy was, basically, going from my old Cyberoam to my new Sophos. I just copied each rule individually and tested them. Then I ran them in sync with each other for a couple of weeks. When I realized there were no problems, I pulled the Cyberoam out.
We have three people on staff that can handle deployment and maintenance responsibilities. I've got a system admin, myself, and a help desk/content specialist.
View full review »AK
reviewer1680258
Senior Network Security Engineer | Project Manager at a consumer goods company with 10,001+ employees
The installation of Sophos XG is easy.
MV
Marco-VIVALDELLI
CEO at MARVIV SRLS
The initial setup is not so complicated. The system is not complicated to understand and also in can be installed without a very high level of expertise. Of course, if you have this kind of expertise, you can obtain from the system the maximum performance that the system can do, however, it means that you are not obliged to be a guru to be able to use these kinds of products. You can use these kinds of products just as an IT manager inside the company without having or needing special knowledge.
Otherwise, you can leave to Sophos with the capability of doing something like a close box. You are sure that Sophos is able to guarantee the level of security that you are expecting. You can have it be automatic, or you can choose to go more manual in its operations. For example, if you were a professional photographer, you'd probably like a manual experience, as it would allow you more leeway with your craft, and if you were an amateur, you 'ld likely prefer an automatic camera that handles the heavy lifting for you. Sophos, in that sense, is the same. If you want, you can configure single parameters, or you can leave it to Sophos to give you something out-of-the-box.
In any case, if you stay on the automatic configuration, you are guaranteed that the system can provide the correct level of service that you want. It means that it's not required to have an expert. That said, you need of course to have a minimum level of knowledge, as it's clear that you need to know what you are managing. Starting from that, you can obtain what you need without moving into an advanced configuration.
Typically, a configuration takes about half a day or so, if you go that route. It doesn't take long, as those who would handle it would know what they are doing.
View full review »Integrating Sophos XG into existing infrastructure was quite easy and straightforward. There were hardly any complexities involved in the process.you can use both options - cloud-based or hardware-based firewalls. When I mention hybrid, it means having both options available. While cloud-based firewalls offer convenience, they can be more expensive compared to hardware ones. Although I haven't personally worked with the cloud version, it seems similar in appearance but may have different features. Cloud-based firewalls may seem like an overkill in terms of price, especially when considering the cost of operation over time. They become more beneficial when additional security layers like zero trust, DLP, or secure web gateway functionalities are added. This expands security beyond physical location constraints, making it accessible from anywhere.
View full review »
The initial setup was complicated because we didn’t have executives with proper expertise. It took us two months to complete.
View full review »AM
ArcadMkoji
Head of Information Technology at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
I rate Sophos UTM eight out of 10 for ease of deployment. We didn't have any serious issues. The only challenge we had was migrating from Sophos UTM to XG. There was no direct migration, so we had to do a manual configuration.
After deployment, the solution doesn't require much maintenance. So as long as my connections are up and running, I don't need to do any maintenance. All the updates are automatic.
View full review »ZE
ZaherEL Bsat
Pre-sales manager at National Information Technology Company
The initial setup is easy and straightforward. As certified partners, this is something that we do every week. If the customers provide you with the network details, you can have it up and running in 30 minutes with no issues.
It's a problem if you don't know your firewall, or how to deploy it, or know how to put the proper rule in place. It is very important that in any firewall if the customer doesn't know what rule should be in place, it is possible they will create the wrong rule and expose the network.
You have to have a certified person to maintain the solution. How many you will need depends on the number of customers. If you have a lot of customers, you will need two technical people. It also depends on the size of your business. One is fine but as you grow with more customers, you will need at least two to deploy and maintain the solution.
View full review »The initial setup is pretty straightforward and simple. It's not overly difficult. I don't consider it to be complex.
View full review »The initial setup was okay. It wasn't too complicated or difficult. It was pretty straightforward overall.
We have ten to 20 people on staff that can handle deployment and maintenance. We look at the solution monthly to see if there's anything we have to do.
View full review »SK
Sandesh Khade
IT Manager at k sera sera
The initial setup is quite easy. it's not overly complex. The configuration process is also very simple.
We have a team within our organization that can handle any maintenance that is required.
View full review »MA
reviewer1053252
Technical Presales Consultant/ Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The initial setup process of Sophos XG may pose some challenges. However, once configured, Sophos XG proves to be remarkably user-friendly. The activation of the appliance may require a reliable internet connection and can be a bit cumbersome. Nevertheless, once activated, the overall experience becomes significantly smoother.
The process of installation can take one to seven days. However, the time depends on many factors, such as customer size, and overall environment.
I rate the initial setup of Sophos XG a seven out of ten.
View full review »SI
SegunIyanda
Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at AIICO Capital Limited
If we had better documentation we would be able to implement Sophos XG better for the organization's exact specifications. When you have already come up with your networking strategy, presented it to the company, then you find out the new framework doesn't conform with the organizational strategy. You have to start going back and receiving approval for a new strategy. However, you are not even sure what the strategy is going to be with the new framework, because everything has changed. Most of the automatic resources stop working.
There is a high chance I do not even know why it is not working or what the major issue is. We have realized the package wasn't switching and we did a lot of troubleshooting for almost a week to understand why. We switch over to our old firewall, then we finally understood that it was something that has to do with the new 18.5 firmware in Sophos XG. Immediately we switch back to the old firmware, this fixed out problems we were having at that point.
I would rate the implementation of Sophos XG a two out of five.
View full review »NB
Nidhal Ben Jeddou
Information Technology Support Manager at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
The initial setup is easy.
View full review »DA
Daniel Alorwu
Head of Security at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
The initial setup is not straightforward. You have to do a lot of reading to do something new. So, you have to really understand it or have prior knowledge to be able to find your own way out to whatever you want to do.
We currently have two people who manage this solution.
View full review »WM
WilliamMugobogobo
Head of ICT Infrastructure and Security at City of Harare
The initial setup was very, very straightforward. You find that we did not even require a lot of external help from the vendor. It's so straightforward. The documentation is quite comprehensive and it takes the user through a step-by-step process, It's very user-friendly.
For the firewall as well as deployment of the end-user, the email protection as well as the sandbox, and the like, it took us approximately three days to finalize everything for our entire environment. We had over a hundred network sites, which are dotted through the city of Harare, therefore, we knew that we had to make sure that deployment was done fully throughout the entire environment.
View full review »JN
reviewer1509573
Senior Engineer at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
It was very simple. It took a couple of hours.
View full review »SF
Sherif Fouad
Project Manager at a mining and metals company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The initial setup is definitely something different than the old Cyberoam and it's a bit complex. If you've been dealing with UTMs and you understand the concept, it is still complex but then I find it enjoyable.
Sophos XG is not hard to configure. Too much detail is always good.
I required three or four hours for the initial setup. One day for the testing, fine-tuning, optimizing, and categorizing. Three days for the first unit with the initial setup and the customization including testing. Finally, three days for testing all the rules, the QA, and then putting everything live.
The tool's installment is easy.
View full review »BO
reviewer2377605
Adjunct Professor, Cybersecurity at a university with 1-10 employees
I would rate the initial setup of Sophos XG as a solid ten out of ten in terms of ease. With a clear understanding of the process and step-by-step guidance, setting it up was straightforward and hassle-free.
It took me around 30 minutes to deploy Sophos XG. The deployment process involved configuring the LAN, WAN, and VPN settings at each branch. Once connected to the switch and router, it was ready to use, making it a straightforward and quick setup process.
Maintaining Sophos XG typically requires only one or two people, depending on the size and complexity of the network deployment.
Installing Sophos XG is straightforward and typically takes around one hour for configuration, excluding the physical setup. Usually, only one person is needed to complete the installation and configuration process. It is quite easy to maintain it.
RI
Rizwan Ikram
Owner at Computer Services Professionals
The initial setup was difficult. We must learn everything before implementation. In the beginning, everything seems difficult. For someone who has worked on other firewalls before, Sophos XG is not that complicated to implement.
I prefer the on-cloud versions because we have control systems on the cloud. It will be much easier to handle things. If we have it on-premises, we must maintain and look after the equipment. The cloud version is much more secure and easier to maintain.
View full review »VV
Valentino M Vassiliades
CIO at Nuotek Limited
On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution’s initial setup a nine out of ten.
View full review »The initial setup was very straight forward.
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Nagaraj AG
Head of Operations at Intersect Technologies
The initial set up of the solution was simple. It took about 20 minutes.
View full review »HP
Hermann Potgieter
Senior Network Architect at Virtua Technologies
The initial setup is as easy as it is with FortiGate. These products are definitely easier to install than a solution like OPNsense because it is just a hardware appliance.
View full review »On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a nine out of ten.
View full review »PB
reviewer915126
Tech Doctor at a recruiting/HR firm with 11-50 employees
I purchased it through firewalls.com. They're an online vendor, and they did the initial setup and configuration on both firewalls. My experience with them was good.
View full review »We migrated from Cyberoam. The migration went very well.
The migration process did not require a lot of configuration.
It took a few days to complete the migration and the testing.
This solution is being managed by myself and a colleague. We are a team of two.
View full review »CB
Chris Booyens
IT Manager at Thyme IT
It is simple for me. I've done so many setups. I can probably do these things in my sleep. In fact, I have got one in front of me now that I need to configure and install. I'm fairly proficient in the use of these devices. I'm happy with it.
The deployment duration depends on the setup. Some simple setups can be up and running within two hours. Complex ones most probably will take four to six hours. It also depends on the client's needs. Some of them have simple requirements, and they just want firewalling and one or two remote-access VPNs. Others have got a complex setup where we need to set up cameras and VoIP telephone systems. It all depends on a client's requirements.
It doesn't require any maintenance because the definitions are auto-updated. I've got a dashboard where I can manage all of the firewall devices from one dashboard. If I want to upgrade the software on 20 of them, I'll log onto the dashboard and upgrade the software just by selecting it and saying upgrade the software, and it is done. It requires very minimal handling on a day-to-day basis. Antivirus definitions, scanning definitions, and all those things are auto-updated anyway.
ML
Michel Labonte
Chef IT at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees
It was a combination of 75 percent straightforward and 25 percent complicated.
View full review »UD
Unmesh Deshpande
CTO at Kingsway Hospitals
The initial setup was very straightforward. Deployment took somewhere between six and eight hours.
OA
Olufemi Adalemo
Chief Technology Officer at Leystel Nigeria Limited
The initial setup isn't hard, but it can be tricky. Since I've been using several Sophos devices, I now find it's fairly simple. I get the deployment done in two hours, including integration. For others, it may take about a day to get everything done.
There's almost no maintenance. There's really only the requirements of adding users and populating VPN connections. One person does that on a part-time basis.
NK
NEHA KAPADIA
Consultant at Hitech Network Solution
I rate the ease of setup a ten out of ten. The solution is deployed both on-premise and on the cloud. The deployment takes half an hour.
View full review »ML
Mohamed Lamine OUATTARA
Associate Technical Director at INTELEC3
It is very easy to implement.
View full review »TO
reviewer1698042
Managing Director at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
We have deployed more Sophos this year than in any previous year.
I have six engineers dedicated to deploying and maintaining the solution.
View full review »NK
Nagaraj K N
PPC at EMMVEE Photovoltaic Power Private Limited
The initial setup is very straightforward and simple. it's not overly complex or difficult.
The deployment was quick and took maybe one day.
In terms of maintenance requirements, We have an L1 technical person who will take care of all the routine maintenance of the firewall, and we also have L2 support with the vendor. We have an L3 support from the Sophos team itself.
View full review »NS
Nitesh Sharma
Sr Information technology consultant at onkar international pvt ltd
It is not difficult to set up the solution. One ISP, internet service provider, is required, and that is sufficient. If you do have a landline, some switches are available, and we can add to that a firewall. That is secondary. However, the initial requirement is nothing. It is just a plug-and-play setup that is very straightforward.
View full review »CM
ChristopherMonsini
Revenue Development Manager at Integrity by CELT
The initial setup was very straightforward. They give you an 800 number to call. The licensing portal has improved greatly over the years. So Sophos now has a new license platform which makes things a lot easier than previously and you can now buy individual licensing.
It is easy to install. Our company is at three locations. It takes two days to install it at all locations. It takes one day for one location and another day for the other two locations.
View full review »GD
Gonzalo Diaz
Head of Cybersecurity at mundo credito
The setup was easy to manage for this solution.
View full review »The initial setup is not complicated. For somebody with an intermediate level of knowledge, it will take between three and four hours to deploy. For a more experienced person, it may take two or three.
View full review »BR
reviewer2342247
Faculty of Technical Sciences at a university with 201-500 employees
I rate the product's initial setup phase a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult process and ten means it has an easy setup phase.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.
The solution can be deployed in two to three days.
VG
Vipin Garg
Co-Founder at Multitechservers
The initial setup is straightforward.
View full review »KM
KhalidMohamed
Programmer / Analyst at Maridive & Oil Services
The initial setup was very easy because you can follow the manuals, follow your past experiences, and so on. We also need about three to six people a day to maintain this solution.
View full review »When we're talking about the initial setup for the Sophos XG it can either be simple or complex. It will depend mostly on the infrastructure of the client.
Deployment times also vary, according to the complexity.
Typically, the client handles the maintenance process themselves.
View full review »The setup is straightforward. But what could be a straightforward setup for me might be complex for others. It depends on your level of experience, the training that you got, and the engagements.
They have a setup wizard, and I have had heaps of technicians, over the years to set it up, even initially.
View full review »The initial setup is straightforward and took us about a week to deploy.
View full review »If it is a small model and a small network, it takes about two days. You need at least two people for its deployment and maintenance.
View full review »CA
Cameron Andrews
System Administrator at Knox
Its setup is easy enough.
View full review »GM
Gonzalo Moreno
Owner at supernovatel
The initial setup and configuration was very easy for us. I think it's easier than the other options in the marketplace. The deployment time is relative. For example, if you're deploying for a client who has another firewall and have to integrate it, it'll take around two or three days. But if it's a new environment, you can deploy the firewall within two hours.
View full review »SA
Shah Abdul Manap
IT Executive at Hotel Maluri Kuala Lumpur
The solution is very straightforward to set up. It's not too complex. Sophos Endpoint is similar in that respect. It's easy to implement.
View full review »AS
Abhirup Sarkar
Director, Middle East, East India & SAARC at DMX Technologies
The initial setup was simple. Within one to two hours, we were done. This was not just the installation, but the complete configuration.
View full review »The initial setup is complex, as is setting up any next-generation firewall today. You have to know what you're doing with firewalls in general, although beyond that, it isn't as bad as some of the firewalls that I have seen.
The deployment typically doesn't take longer than a few hours or a day, depending on the type of client and what it is that we have to do.
View full review »HS
Hesham Sakr
IT Infrastructure & Security Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
It was very straightforward.
View full review »JR
Junedh Rehman
IT Support Engineer at odak bilisim
The installation is straightforward.
View full review »AS
Amgad Soliman
Senior System & Security Administrator at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
It depends on the implementation and the deployment of systems. In my small company, I have four people on my technical team. Two of them specialize in firewall and security. They're working on Fortinet. They deal with antivirus and security implementation as well as Veeam Backup. The other two handle the administration implementation, including Active Directory and other administration solutions.
View full review »KV
reviewer1231140
IT support officer at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
I contacted the external partner, and the setup was easy. It took about two or three days. Some little pictures were difficult for us to find, but that's normal. We could not make a one-to-one copy of the older one, so we had to search for some little personal configurations here. Now that everything is configured right, we are happy to have it.
The implementation is straightforward. It depends on your environment, and the number of users as well as the complex rules you're making. That aside, it is easy to deploy.
View full review »TG
Tunji Gbola
Chairman at BASL
The initial setup is straightforward.
View full review »MA
reviewer1482192
Technical Support Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The installation is easy. There is a wizard that can be used for a single connection making it simple and if you have multiple connections you can configure it manually.
View full review »UD
Unmesh Deshpande
CTO at Kingsway Hospitals
The initial setup was a little complex because of the kind of configuration that we were looking at, the way the firewall had to be configured was slightly complex. We carried out the implementation ourselves and it took a maximum two days.
View full review »TC
reviewer1192233
Information Systems Infrastructure Manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment took two days.
View full review »MM
reviewer1359507
Architect of solutions at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The initial setup was very straightforward and took about one week to complete.
View full review »KA
KabeerAnees
Director
The initial setup is simple. It takes approximately one hour to install, create the policies, and deploy.
View full review »SN
Sreekanth N Shenoy
Network Administrator at chegus infotech
It is not complex to set up. Initially, it is a simple configuration but they should have default profiles available. For example, many companies only need a generic configuration. Even if it's just a static IP to get them started and then they can assign a default profile for all of the users inside the company.
Our initial deployment took between two and three days to complete. This included deploying a new server. In advance of beginning deployment, we spent one day gathering requirements. The Sophos part of the deployment only took between three and four hours.
View full review »JR
reviewer1166514
Founder and Managing Partner at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Sophos XG is a better solution for implementers, once you learn it. You have to learn the interface and once you do, it's straightforward. Additionally, you don't have to know the CLI as you do with Cisco, where you have to get into the command-line interface to do any powerful operations.
View full review »The initial setup is straightforward.
We have IT teams and managers, to help maintain this solution.
View full review »MG
Million Gizaw
Chief-Information-Technology-Officer at ABIG
The initial setup was easy.
We completed the installation ourselves. I took a maximum of two weeks.
View full review »The initial setup can be difficult. You should be familiar with Sophos or have prior knowledge of it, as it requires concepts from older versions of Sophos, the Sophos SG, the Cyberoam environment, and everything that has recently been introduced.
It is better to have some training before using this solution.
View full review »NP
Niranjan Prajapati
Network & System Support Engineer at ITCG Solutions Pvt Ltd
When it comes to the firewall, everything hinges on the configuration. Every firewall is good, but one can see the importance of the configuration in the firewalls of Sophos and SonicWall. This is the most important thing, since users occcasionally disable the app control, IPS or anti-spyware features. They do this out of a lack of familiarity with the security, something which allows attacks to occur. Therefore, the configuration is key. I configure every firewall I employ, be it Sophos, SonicWall or Fortinet.
I have not encountered any issues when it comes to the configuration.
View full review »MY
Medhat-Youssef
CEO at Tawassul Technology
KC
reviewer1621608
Information Security Manager at a recruiting/HR firm with 201-500 employees
The initial setup is pretty straightforward, and, over the last six years, it's gotten simpler, especially when it comes to cloud products. A company shouldn't have any issues with the process.
The deployment was very quick. It does not take long.
My team is quite small internally. I have five to seven IT staff. I have many service providers that I outsource a lot of the day-to-day management of the infrastructure to.
TA
Thameem Ansari
Senior solution architect at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
The installation was very easy. When comparing the installation to other firewalls it takes approximately the same amount of time. We were able to complete the migration from our old firewall in one day. In terms of migration downtime, it is in the average range compared to other solutions. The rolling out of the policies time depends on the existing environment.
View full review »AM
AnkitMittal
Network Engineer at Vibs
I have installed Sophos XG in multiple organizations.
The initial setup is very easy.
It took less than 10 minutes to deploy.
View full review »This is an on-premises appliance and the installation is straightforward. It can be deployed in less than an hour. However, according to the number of users and the number of ports that will be connected, the design may vary. This makes it difficult to estimate the time required to do a full implementation of the product.
View full review »BS
reviewer1096419
Data Professional at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The initial setup was very easy. It's much easier than that for other products.
Deployment and maintenance can be done by one or two people. I am a specialist, and an engineer and I worked on the deployment and maintenance.
View full review »AM
reviewer1625292
Creative Head/Director at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
Sophos XG has a longer installation period than other firewalls, occupying in excess of a month instead of five minutes.
OO
Dare Oshodi
Network Administrator at a construction company with 51-200 employees
It was straightforward.
View full review »It is a very simple and very quick initial setup and configuration. Because it is a next-generation firewall, it does most of the rule development in the background. You just need to set up the basics and start it up.
View full review »SB
reviewer1462965
Network Team Lead at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The initial setup is straightforward. It is a single day task to do the initial configuration and move the traffic over there. The firewall hardening, of course, will take some time depending upon the traffic, but the initial setup is a single day task.
View full review »The initial setup of Sophos XG is simple, but Cisco Meraki is easier.
Since I have used Sophos XG long time it is easier than Fortinet FortiGate or Check Point.
View full review »FB
FlorianBUIS
Infrastructure Administrator at CFA-INSTA
The installation took approximately one day to complete.
View full review »It's better to be certified to install in a good manner. You need to understand what you are doing. Sophos offers the chance to certify at different levels. There are commercial levels and technical levels.
The time it takes to deploy depends on the complexity of the setup and environment. It can take a few hours or a few days. It can even take a week if the architecture is very advanced.
Generally, you need to be an engineer to handle maintenance. We have three people at our office that can handle implementation and setup as well as maintenance.
View full review »IC
Israel Caravantes
CIO LATAM at i-Track Systems Development, S.A. de C.V.
The initial setup is straightforward. It's easy, using the wizard.
If you go outside the wizard and you are not an experienced engineer, it could get a little tricky.
Our implementation strategy is to have clear communication with the customer. Implementation is based on 99% of the information that the customer is providing to your other anything else.
It can take five days to deploy.
View full review »DM
reviewer1496412
ICT Manager at a hospitality company with 1,001-5,000 employees
We found it easy to install. Its installation took around one to one and a half hours.
View full review »The initial setup was straightforward. The implementation took about a day. There were only two people needed for deployment.
View full review »HB
Leadvanceng574
Lead Advance Engineer at IHCC
The initial setup was rather complex but we had no issues with the deployment.
View full review »SG
Sean Gambill
Lead NOC Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees
The setup was pretty straightforward. They had someone come in, walk us through it and train us on the platform.
View full review »MR
reviewer1749918
Gerente de Atendimento na Introduce at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Today the initial setup is simple since we have been using it for a long time and have implemented it for several customers. So now it is really easy for us.
View full review »AE
reviewer1740045
Cyber Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The installation takes two days. It is easy to deploy, and not as complicated as Palo Alto or FortiGate. We make it in our company labs and, for deployment and maintenance, we recommend one or two people.
View full review »KL
KennethLim
Owner at InternetWorld Solutions Sdn Bhd
Installation for each version, like Fortinet and Next Generation Firewall, is simple. Based on how familiar we are with the client, it can take a day or two.
We only need one or two people for deployment.
View full review »NN
Neil Noronha
IT Manager at a hospitality company with 51-200 employees
The initial setup is easy.
View full review »US
reviewer1567812
Senior Manager, Information Technology at a university with 201-500 employees
It's easy to install.
It takes the team one hour to launch it.
We have a team of 15 people to deploy and maintain this solution.
View full review »MG
reviewer1439775
VP of Operations at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Initially, the setup was a bit complex.
It was complex because we were coming off of a different setup. It was just getting used to the software, but it's not too bad.
We require one and a half staff members for the deployment and the maintenance. They seem to do a pretty good job of updating it and keeping it current.
View full review »DP
Devanand PR
IT Support Executive at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees
I've now configured three times and although it gets easier, deployment is a little complex. We had some issues with the company, unrelated to the product, more to do with the licensing procedures in India which could be simplified. Deployment only took about half an hour and the solution doesn't require any maintenance.
AV
Supportservice464
Support Services Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
Implementation is straightforward. The only thing that was difficult was that we had some special cases and we had to dig in a lot to find the information for accessing very specific features. Deployment took about a week, however, we did about 6 months of research beforehand. You can deploy the solution with maybe one or two people, but we used five. We only need one person for ongoing maintenance.
View full review »MA
reviewer1053252
Technical Presales Consultant/ Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The initial setup is a nightmare. The installation, getting the box to get up and running, is a hectic process, due to the fact that the box basically would not activate any feature unless the license is activated. And the license is only activated with the cloud. When you are doing that, it's just a sort of a nightmare. Now they have a new feature in which you can just create a license and you can activate the license on the appliance. However, generally speaking, it's one of those appliances that, if it's not registered on the portal online, won't even start. It can be a nightmare sometimes. That said, after the license is activated, it's just plain simple and easy.
View full review »TP
Tarun Panchal
IT Manager , SAP HANA Administrator at Tara Paints & Chemicals
The initial installation is straightforward.
View full review »MD
Mr. Antonio Damian
Sales Manager at INFOSEC
The initial setup is difficult in that there isn't enough documentation available to walk a user through the process. It can cause some issues. It's not exactly straightforward.
View full review »JV
reviewer1199082
Senior IT Manager at a agriculture with 11-50 employees
It is easy to install. I have done the installation in less than a day.
View full review »RJ
reviewer1457472
Firewall Engineer at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
The installation of Sophos is very easy and straightforward.
View full review »JT
Jay Thompson
Chief Operational Officer at Merchant Light LLC
The initial setup is straightforward. If I can do it then anyone can do it. The deployment took a couple of hours. Because we are new to this type of solution, our strategy will be to begin by blacklisting everything and then whitelisting only the things that we need.
View full review »GL
reviewer1223154
IT Architect at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The initial setup is straightforward . As long as you buy the appliances from Sophos, it works very well. However, in some cases, we have to use our own servers because they have more power and more network bandwidth.
View full review »VM
Vuli Moyo
IT Technician at Zimbabwe School of MInes
The initial setup was not difficult to complete. I have not been trained as a Sophos administrator and it would have been easier if I had training.
View full review »AK
reviewer1565664
RSI at a logistics company with 201-500 employees
The product is pretty easy to deploy. We use a gateway from our partner, and not with Sophos.
View full review »ZE
Zaher EL Bsat
Chief Operating Officer at Al Manar
The solution is straightforward. Deployment took about 30 minutes.
View full review »AT
Asma Tabassum
Network Engineer at Spectrum Engineering Consortium Ltd.
Initial setup is easy. It took about one hour to do the initial setup.
View full review »HA
Hariram Ale
Sr. Network Officer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
For us, the installation was very straightforward. We deal with a local vendor and they guide us through the installation process. We haven't experienced any issues setting up this solution.
View full review »AS
Arokia Peter
Entrepreneur at Carmel Infotech Solutions
The initial setup is really not a problem, but the policy-making is a bit complex.
View full review »AR
Alexandre RASTELLO
Senior IT Consultant - Sophos Architect at ARENTIA S.A.
The initial setup of the last version of Sophos XG is good. The initialization is very simple, but you must prepare it. You need an Sophos customer account , on the web cell, to declare easy a firewall.
It'll ask for an account, and you can create it in the interface, but it's better to prepare it before in the Sophos site, to have the account ready, for the first initialization of the firewall.
The deployment time depends on the system's complexity, the number of ISPs, the number of sub-nets, WAF functions and VPNs.
It's normally very easy for a little company. A retail company with 20-30 computer-users, and a simple connection to the internet, it'll take about four to six-hours to deploy. If you need to fine-tune it, maybe two hours more. So like eight hours or a day to deploy.
NM
chiefnet966021
Networking Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
The initial setup is very simple. It takes perhaps an hour to complete, which included importing rules from Cyberoam.
View full review »KS
reviewer1190469
Manager IT at a retailer with 201-500 employees
The initial setup and configuration are not difficult for somebody with firewall experience. However, for somebody who has not worked on one in the past, it will be complicated.
View full review »DC
Danyllo Cabral
IT Project Consultant at a tech services company
It was very straightforward. And I credit that to the great job Sophos did on its OS interface, providing different ways of accessing the same option, hiding some of the complexities of a firewall system, and deploying it with many pre-built policies, objects and rules that for most of the environments makes it unnecessary to spend hours tuning the system.
View full review »The installation is straightforward and only took one and a half hours.
View full review »WG
Walter Gamero
Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Its deployment and setup are very easy. It is not at all complex to set up. The deployment duration varies. It can take around three days for a deployment with anti-spam, application control, IPS, and VPN with filtering.
View full review »SS
Sherwin Saavedra
ICT Manager at toril community cooperative
It is very easy to deploy.
View full review »Setup is good and the integration is very easy. The technology creates several good products.
View full review »RL
Rmegio Lawag
Technical Department Manager at Direcbusiness Technologies, Inc.
The initial setup was pretty straightforward. The setup took around one to two weeks.
View full review »MA
ManjunathA
Technical Support Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The initial setup isn't too difficult or complex. It's pretty straightforward.
View full review »DC
Debendra Chaudhary
Network Administrator at OM Networks Pvt Ltd
While the solution proved to be user-friendly and to offer an easy deployment we faced many issues involving its registration. This posed an issue when it came to scaling. However, we found it to be easy to configure and implement.
AH
Arun Hoodi
System Engineer at Dhanush Infosol
The installation is easy. However, configuring the permissions or rules in the new version is difficult and in the older version, it was simple.
View full review »RJ
reviewer1418730
Director at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
The initial setup is easy. It takes approximately three hours to install.
View full review »The initial setup is very easy, it took less than one hour.
View full review »AJ
reviewer1452045
Founder & Chief Operating Officer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy to install and it only took a few hours to do.
You only need one person to maintain this solution.
View full review »SM
reviewer1499802
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The initial setup was not complex. I was new to the solution when I deployed it and I didn't face any problems; it wasn't a hassle or challenging for me.
View full review »JB
Joachim Boettcher
Dipl. Ing. at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The initial setup is not overly complex. The process is straightforward. A company shouldn't run into problems but need a understanding of the device and the functions.
The deployment process depends on the requirements. A good planning is beneficial.
View full review »AP
reviewer1166202
IT Manager at a engineering company with 201-500 employees
The initial installation of Sophos XG was not difficult.
View full review »The initial setup was straightforward. It took us less than 30 minutes. Normally, it depends on the size of your organization, so for mine, the installation was less than 15 minutes. By 30 minutes I was finished even with the setup and configuration.
View full review »MT
Milos Tolpa
IT Engineer at FormatPC
The initial setup is very straightforward and the implementation takes a relatively short amount of time. The fine-tuning takes a little bit more time but in general, it can be deployed and implemented quickly.
Also, the upgrades, backups, and recovery are very easy.
View full review »BK
Bjoern Koeckert
System Administrator Server and Networks at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
The initial setup for Sophos XG was not straightforward. We already had experience with Sophos UTM, but they are completely different systems. The deployment took us one week to complete.
View full review »CE
reviewer1142115
CIO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The implementation of Sophos XG is not as straightforward as we would expect in the latest versions.
View full review »KO
reviewer1739214
Network engineer at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
EM
reviewer1513272
Head ICT at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy to install.
View full review »JA
Jasim Alsafran
Network & System Administrator at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The initial setup was simple. It was not complicated.
If you are familiar with the technology, the implementation will not be difficult.
It also depends on the business needs.
From testing and switching from SG to XG, it took approximately one week to deploy.
View full review »DV
David Van Win
Senior System Administrator at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
The setup is easy. We did the deployment ourselves.
View full review »BA
BabarAhmed1
Head Of Solutions at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The initial setup is easy to apply. It is not complex.
View full review »DP
Devanand PR
IT Support Executive at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees
The initial setup is very easy. The licensing and setting up of firewall rules takes some time, but the full deployment took about an hour.
The initial setup is very straightforward.
View full review »FK
reviewer1390431
Head Of Network & Technical Support at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
The installation is easy.
View full review »VG
Vikas-Gupta
Mr at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It is very user-friendly to set up. Very straightforward.
View full review »KN
reviewer1483797
Service Delivery Engineer - Network Security Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The initial setup is very simple.
For a normal deployment with basic configuration in a medium-sized enterprise, it can take a day and a half.
If it's a complex network design then it might be three to four days.
It only requires one person to deploy and maintain this solution.
View full review »AB
reviewer1167909
Owner at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The initial setup is easy, it's straightforward.
View full review »FA
reviewer1096965
Systems Administrator Team Leader at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
The initial setup is carried out on the portal so you need to work on the configuration with the respective partner and have the portal accessing all of the environment. It's a simple setup. We have deployed this solution on around 200 machines.
Simple and easy.
It was completely straightforward, but our internal network is not that complex.
View full review »The initial setup is pretty straightforward. The only downside is that a Sophos Account is necessary to activate the box. It has an intuitive setup to take care of the basic settings needed to connect to the internet.
View full review »MR
MohamedReda
Network Security Engineer at gofaster
The installation of Sophos XG is simple.
The time it takes for the implementation depends on many factors, such as how many features are required and the size of the business. However, for a small business, the process can take approximately one day.
View full review »KR
Kamlesh Rikibe
Network Engineer at a individual & family service with 11-50 employees
The initial setup is straightforward.
View full review »PB
Percy Bloomfield
Project manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Sophos XG deployment is easy and rapid.
View full review »MC
reviewer1463193
IT Manager at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
The initial setup is straightforward. It took a week to deploy.
View full review »Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
767,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.