Network Engineer at Vibs
Real User
Stable, scalable, with a good central dashboard, and good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the central dashboard"
  • "I would like to see the performance improved."

What is our primary use case?

We are integrators. We integrate solutions for other our client's companies.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the central dashboard. It provides us with good performance.

What needs improvement?

When you utilize the processors, the device hangs. Many firewalls hang because of the high volume of loads.

If we are using the HP policy and the user policy at the same time, the firewall gets hung and it means that we cannot get clear reports.

We have mitigated the firewall with Palo Alto because Palo Alto is working on multiple environments. 

I would like to see the performance improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Sophos XG for three years.

Currently, we are using the MR4 v18.

Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
March 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This product is scalable. I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

So far we use this solution for SMB and enterprise companies.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is very good.

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

We are also working with Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls.

Palo Alto is the best product from a compliance point of view, and security. Fortinet is the second and the last is Sophos XG.

How was the initial setup?

I have installed Sophos XG in multiple organizations.

The initial setup is very easy.

It took less than 10 minutes to deploy.

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

Sophos is very good for small companies because of the cost of the product compared to other solutions.

The price is reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

I prefer Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls to Sophos. Palo Alto is very good and the customers are happy. The hardware is customizable with multiple firewalls. I think that it is the best.

I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Mohamed Abdel Hassanein - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at FORESEC
Reseller
Top 10
Straightforward to set up, stable, and is well-suited to SMB
Pros and Cons
  • "Overall, this is a good product and I would recommend it for small to mid-sized customers."
  • "The number of ports, especially on the entry-level appliances, should be increased."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and Sophos XG is one of the security products that we implement for our customers. We always provide them with the latest version.

What needs improvement?

The number of ports, especially on the entry-level appliances, should be increased.

The price of adding ports should be reduced to make it more competitive.

The vendor needs to create materials to show the differences between Sophos products and those from other vendors.

Network management needs to be included in the package.

As it is now, it only supports ten multiple users, which is something that should be increased.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Sophos XG for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable product and we have approximately 150 users.

How are customer service and technical support?

We get our support from the local distributor.

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

Prior to Sophos XG, we used products from Fortinet and Forcepoint. 

The Forcepoint product is doing well. We have a different perimeter firewall for our data center that uses it because we use different vendors for different sites.

How was the initial setup?

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.

What about the implementation team?

We have four people in charge of maintenance, although they do not work exclusively with Sophos. We have another appliance from another vendor. The entire team, including their manager, is about 10 people.

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

The price is in the mid-range and it is very good for small to medium-sized businesses. One license opens everything.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, this is a good product and I would recommend it for small to mid-sized customers.

I would rate this solution an eight 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
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.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Operations Manager at VL Toolbox Express Computer Solutions
Real User
Stable, with easy integration and good VPN logging, monitoring and notifications
Pros and Cons
  • "The VPN is easy and has good logging, monitoring and notifications."
  • "When it comes to improvements that the vendor can make, we see that the cloud integration for managing all the firewalls is essentially a replacement of the on-prem version we had and is not sufficiently mature."

What is our primary use case?

We use the latest version.

What is most valuable?

We are very familiar with the solution. It's pretty straightforward, our personnel is properly trained and we use it efficiently. The solution integrates very easily with other brands.  I've done VPN tunnels with other brands, and that was fine as well. The solution is quite stable and we don't have any issues with it. The VPN is easy and has good logging, monitoring and notifications.

When compared with Sophos XG, Fortinet lacks the notifications and reporting features. 

What needs improvement?

When it comes to improvements that the vendor can make, we see that the cloud integration for managing all the firewalls is essentially a replacement of the on-prem version we had. It's not mature yet, being still in its infancy stage. That would require some improvement. As I have many firewalls, having the ability to delegate access to use, such as exists with Microsoft CSP or other services, would be a nice feature to see. 

Also, as a tech person, I know that executives do not wish to receive complicated reports, so a simplified executive report for executives would be a nice improvement. This would save us from having to explain issues which are beyond the scope of their knowledge. 

For how long have I used the solution?

Sophos XG is basically a mix of UTM9, Check Point and several other technologies. It is essentially a merging of technologies. We've been using it since version UTM9, at which point we switched to Sophos XG..

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is quite stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable, but an organization should assess in advance its size based needs. Say, for example, a company utilizes the XG 125 version, but grows rapidly. At this point it may need to switch to the 210 version. Yet, switching from one version to another would not really present an issue. One can restore the backup configuration version on the new hardware and be up and running. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is pretty good, although I did have some issues with its availability during the COVID-19 pandemic, even though this seems to have been a challenge faced by all major support companies. There were delay issues owing to their teleworking, but the support they offer is quite supportive and they have all the necessary documentation.  The truth is that I have a need for many cases, although the ones I require have to do with things that are out of my control, such as licensing or the occasion of a new app that failed to show up in the console. I have many sub-sites and I did face a serious issue. Technical support was pretty helpful even though I had to redesign the typology of one of my sites. They actually tried assisting me with the original design and I found them to be quite helpful and to possess a good base of knowledge on the site. 

What other advice do I have?

It is important for a person to properly learn the features of any product so that he can optimize its utilization. The setup of the solution is pretty straightforward. What is truly important for a person with only a basic network background is to undergo proper training, so that he may learn about all the features and how to configure them. 

For any product a person uses, it is a good idea to do a test run. Sophos allows for its product to be evaluated without any financial commitment. It offers a free virtual machine for home use testing of the features. 

At present, Fortinet seems to have a slightly higher rating than Sophos XG, so if it were also to turn out to be more cost effective this would affect my rating of it. The reason is that this factor does have an impact on the decisions reached by CEOs when it comes to cost-benefit analysis.

This said, I rate Sophos XG as a nine out of ten, because we are very happy with it and don't really have any issues. We have actually been replacing Cisco normal routers, not sets, with Sophos and we're very happy with them.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: VL Toolbox Express Computer Solutions
PeerSpot user
Creative Head/Director at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
Real User
Scalable and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is scalable."
  • "The installation could be faster and is longer than that of other solutions, lasting more than a month instead of five minutes."

What needs improvement?

The solution is very slow in comparison with SonicWall and FortiGate. It should have faster performance. 

The installation could be faster and is longer than that of other solutions, lasting more than a month instead of five minutes.  

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Sophos XG for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

When compared with other firewalls, such as that of SonicWall, we have had no issues with the solution's stability. It works very well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Sophos does not provide immediate support, such as SonicWall does with its toll free number. This may take an hour or two, although I suppose things would be different were we to raise a critical ticket. 

I have been in contact with tech support within the last week or so. 

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

SonicWall has a toll-free number which can be reached for immediate support, something which is unique, although Sophos may take an hour or two to respond. I suppose this would be different were a person to raise a critical ticket. 

How was the initial setup?

Sophos XG has a longer installation period than other firewalls, occupying in excess of a month instead of five minutes. 

What about the implementation team?

I am the technical person. Installation can be handled independently. We do the configuration of the firewall. 

We have two teams that are responsible for the deployment, a firewall and a network one. We can handle the implementation using both teams. 

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

I don't believe we have a license for this product.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

SonicWall and FortiGate provide considerably faster performance than Sophos. 

What other advice do I have?

The solution is deployed both on-premises and on the cloud. 

We have a data center which contains multiple firewalls. If our clients ask about a certain firewall expert, we simply implement the Sophos firewall, clientele. We have created certain IP sectors like this, in which case we provide multiple firewalls in clientele.

We have around 150 clients making use of the firewall.

We would recommend the solution to others. 

I rate Sophos XG as a ten out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
PeerSpot user
Network Administrator at a construction company with 51-200 employees
Real User
A stable and easy-to-deploy solution with a fair price and useful IPS and ATP features
Pros and Cons
  • "IPS and advanced threat protection (ATP) are the most valuable features. I am able to segment my network traffic and block incoming connections. It is also easy to use."
  • "I would like to have better SSL decryption and HTTP decryption. There should be filtering of SSL and HTTP traffic. Sophos XG consumes a lot of endpoint resources. It consumes a lot of RAM and CPU resources, and they should look into this."

What is our primary use case?

It is a firewall. It is used in my defense line. It provides defense and a form of security for my internal network.

What is most valuable?

IPS and advanced threat protection (ATP) are the most valuable features. I am able to segment my network traffic and block incoming connections. It is also easy to use.

What needs improvement?

I would like to have better SSL decryption and HTTPS decryption. There should be filtering of SSL and HTTPS traffic.

Sophos XG consumes a lot of endpoint resources. It consumes a lot of RAM and CPU resources, and they should look into this.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Its scalability is fine. We have about 40 users. We don't have any plan to increase its usage at the moment. However, it depends on recruitments and other things. If required, my company would change my box to a bigger one for better processing speed.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is okay. Sometimes, during the webinars, when I have some questions, they respond to them, but sometimes, I don't get any response.

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

I have worked with Check Point before. Check Point is very expensive. At this time, we are not thinking of switching to another solution. If we were switching, Cisco Firepower would have been an option, but my colleagues, who have good experience with such solutions, would prefer to stay with Sophos XG. Cisco Firepower is a little bit complicated to use. It is also expensive. Cisco and Check Point have different boxes for different things, whereas Sophos brings everything into one box.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward.

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

Its price is fair. It is cheaper and way better than others.

What other advice do I have?

I like this solution. I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
ICT/HMIS Supervisor at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
A stable and seamless solution with good support and useful VPN and filtering features
Pros and Cons
  • "The VPN feature is the most valuable. It has come in handy during this period when people are working from home. The filtering feature is also valuable because you can easily filter the sites that you don't want to visit. You can also set timely surfing quotas."
  • "They made some changes to the firmware update sometime last year, which moved some of the policies from where they were before. Some of the policies, such as NAS policies, were separated, which made it a bit hard for people to trace the policies they had configured."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for VPN and for filtering direct traffic. We are using XG50.

What is most valuable?

The VPN feature is the most valuable. It has come in handy during this period when people are working from home.

The filtering feature is also valuable because you can easily filter the sites that you don't want to visit. You can also set timely surfing quotas.

What needs improvement?

They made some changes to the firmware update sometime last year, which moved some of the policies from where they were before. Some of the policies, such as NAS policies, were separated, which made it a bit hard for people to trace the policies they had configured.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has been very stable. We haven't had any outages. It has been seamless.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I am not quite sure about that. In terms of the number of nodes, we have around 200 nodes. All the internet traffic has to go through Sophos XG. In terms of the number of people who handle the support, we have two people.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is good. Whenever I have contacted them, they have given us support. They have been quite fast.

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

We were using Cyberoam. When they were acquired, we just upgraded to Sophos because, at that time, they were providing the hardware and support to transfer your configs to Sophos.

What about the implementation team?

Its initial setup was done by a contractor. We just maintain it. We have an expert, and we also have access to an IT department.

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

In terms of price, it is a mid-range product.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Miyoba Sichimwi - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Security Officer at South African National Accreditation System (sanas)
Real User
Top 10
Quick to install and configure with proactive support, but updates often cause problems
Pros and Cons
  • "Definitely, its usability is very good, and it's a very robust firewall."
  • "I think that the main area for improvement is the quality assurance of the updates."

What is our primary use case?

This product serves as our current firewall solution, which is a network protection gateway.

What is most valuable?

This is a very simple solution.

It integrates well with Sophos Endpoint Protection, and we use the two of them to form a holistic security perimeter control. 

What needs improvement?

Software updates always come with issues. For example, I just upgraded to the next version, 80.5, and it came with VPN issues. It started dropping my VPN users. So, I had to roll back to before the software update. I think that the main area for improvement is the quality assurance of the updates.

The management console is a little bit rigid.

Scalability can be improved.

I think that it performs a little bit slow when it comes to connectivity, and having the speed increased would be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Sophos XG for the past four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a very stable platform. In the four years that we have had it, it's never gone down.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is not a very scalable product. I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten because where you order it, it comes with prefixed ports. You will only have perhaps two for the WAN, and then maybe four LAN ports, and one console. In this regard, it's not scalable. 

When you buy it, you can't change the port configuration. In order to get more ports, you may have to upgrade to a bigger firewall.

We have about 130 accounts for approximately 80 employees.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support for Sophos is very good and they have a big presence in South Africa. It uses something called Sophos Central, where support can fix the problem before you, as the user, actually finds it.

How was the initial setup?

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.

What was our ROI?

For what you are buying, it's good value for the money.

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

Sophos is very good when it comes to pricing. A firewall has a lot of things to look for when you're buying it, including throughput and its features. When we purchased this product, Sophos was the best on the market.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

In addition to Sophos, we looked at FortiGate, SonicWall, and Cisco. We were looking for a next-generation firewall, and Cisco was out of range because it was too expensive. We settled on Sophos because we already had the endpoint solution in our environment, and the price was very good as well.

What other advice do I have?

Sophos XG is a firewall that I recommend because it's a very simple firewall. It's not complicated, and a LAN expert can just start using it and learn very quickly. Definitely, its usability is very good, and it's a very robust firewall.

I would rate this solution a seven 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
Network Team Lead at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
It is user friendly and reliable, but it needs granular control over the traffic
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very user friendly and easy to manage from the administrative point of view. It is good, reliable, and easy to implement."
  • "It is a very basic and entry-level firewall. It doesn't give very granular control over the traffic. It should have more granular control over the traffic. This feature should be there similar to Palo Alto and Cisco. It should have such advanced features."

What is most valuable?

It is very user friendly and easy to manage from the administrative point of view. It is good, reliable, and easy to implement.

What needs improvement?

It is a very basic and entry-level firewall. It doesn't give very granular control over the traffic. It should have more granular control over the traffic. This feature should be there similar to Palo Alto and Cisco. It should have such advanced features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Sophos XG for the last two years. We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its stability and reliability are fine.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If you want to have multiple firewall rules, it has this type of scalability. When I compare it with some other products, such as Palo Alto, I can't find similar scalability in Sophos XG. In Palo Alto, we can have rules based on applications or app IDs, and we can create multiple rules for a single ID. We can create a single user or single IP, but such options are not there in Sophos XG. Granular level scalability should be there in Sophos, and they should do better.

How are customer service and technical support?

I appreciate their support. Their support is good.

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

I also use Palo Alto. Palo Alto provides application IDs, which is a very powerful feature. Sophos XG is a very normal next-generation firewall with URL filtering, application filtering, and all such features. It is not something extraordinary. It is a very normal next-generation firewall. 

How was the initial setup?

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.

What other advice do I have?

It is a normal firewall. All the basic features are there. However, it is not as advanced as some of the other solutions, such as Palo Alto. As we have more security threats, we need more granular control, but these features are not available in Sophos XG.

I would rate Sophos XG a five out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Download our free Sophos XG Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
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Buyer's Guide
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