Sophos SG Firewall Appliances vs. WatchGuard Network Security

It is a great fit for small to medium enterprises who are low on budget. The pricing is very competitive when compared with other major players like Palo Alto and the features match any NGFW Firewall in the market. However, in my opinion when it comes to massive performance requirements, I would say the Sophos SG Firewall Appliances lacks the sheer power that other devices in the market have.

Incentivized

Generally speaking, our customers have standard requirements and the WatchGuard Network Security Firebox is there to ensure they stay protected. We've never had a successful breach on a customer's on-premise setup with a WatchGuard Network Security Firebox installed. 3rd parties (like CCTV, Printers, Login Systems, etc.) do not know which port their devices work over, so we have to identify that with them and there are often delays when this occurs.

Incentivized

• Sophos' support is actually pretty decent compared to Fortinet. We as a customer who uses both have first-hand experience in that. Sophos' way of support is much more hands-on. For instance, if you raise a ticket, they will contact you via chat, email, or phone in a timely manner and based on your SLA.
• Sophos antivirus can speak with your firewall natively so that when a threat happens it can be blocked on a network level. We had first-hand experience of this where there was a potential outbreak on the network but the machines were getting isolated and prevented the spreading of malware.
• Sophos comes with a whole suite of products like Intercept X, MDM, Antivirus, On-premise, and a virtual firewall. So they are like a one shop stop for all your security needs. We liked Sophos compared to our other firewall, which only had on-premise and virtual firewall boxes.

Incentivized

• Incoming Torrent attempts were blocked, but outgoing (by a user) were permitted. Similarly, other direct attempts were summarily blocked.
• provides full administrative support for analysis of usage and scope.
• strong Wi-Fi support and security - area wi-fi maps
• They think of all the things secure and I don't have to worry about it.
• I have not identified anything else that needs improvement - I am well satisfied.

Incentivized

• The user interface could use a refresh. It's been a few years.
• Not having the ability to use an Open VPN configuration is a little disappointing.
• Home license is too restrictive with only 50 IPs.

Incentivized

• Bridging ports, after the firewall is setup, isn't as easy as it could be.
• Cloud integration for management requires recreating the entire device. It should just convert the current config.
• Adding a Proxy policy should be on a different page from the other policy creation page.

Incentivized

I'm giving this note to WatchGuard Network Security due to its ease of daily support (after acquiring necessary knowledge in the solution), which allows agility in configuration changes, its integration of several reliable security features (such as SSL VPN, VPN Virtual Interfaces between companies, and others) and functional and stability in operation, with no downtime in the equipment due to problems or malfunctions

Incentivized

Although it might take some time to figure out, we have been able to use WatchGuard's online reference library and tech support to create/implement/modify all of our filtering rules and exceptions needed. There really has not been a shortcoming other than perhaps a learning curve.

Incentivized

Applications errors should always be expected in any kind of technology. What matters most is the way you find to resolve it.

Incentivized

WatchGuard works seemlessly and so in the background you don't realize it's there until you need it!

Incentivized

The biggest selling point for sophos is their vendor support. Those guys put a smile on our faces. There are multiple ways you can contact their support like chat, or telephone or email. They are very responsive and they do have very knowledgable and patient support staff. We have raised tickets at all odd hours and they have been addressed correctly

Incentivized

We have only had to contact them once during the initial set up to help bring the internet back on line. After that for the most part our systems have been automated, and could easily be checked form their online FAQ and Knowledge base that they provide. Everything else is easily handled from their browser based interface

Incentivized

We participate to a in person training and the three days of learning was really useful and complete to gain skill to solve the major part of the problem we encounter during our life. And more the in person training give us the opportunity to create a network with other WatchGuard partner.

Incentivized

Online training is good for learning how to use the product. It does not teach security strategy because that is not its intent.

Incentivized

I had my key information for setting up the firewall, and they assisted me in finding the settings and appropriate places to enter data. They also helped troubleshoot when I didn't understand some of their feature concepts, and we got it running.

Incentivized

Both are equally good when comparing the features, FortiGate has a better dashboard while Sophos SG Firewall Appliances has good vpn texhniques.Overall price was better for Sophos SG Firewall Appliances,So we considered this for our Remote Branch Location .

Incentivized

At 3 of my locations I use both a Sonic Wall and a watch guard. In my experience, the sonic wall has a much better interface. I feel it was much easier for someone that has never accessed a fire wall to be able to make changes and learn very quickly. I feel the Watchguard has better built in applications and the VPN was easier to use and access.

Incentivized

We scaled it exactly as we needed it to be! Easy, money-saving, and we didn't end up with features or options that we'd never use or worry about.

Incentivized

• Positive ROI due to the competitiveness of the product.
• Positive impact as the device is fully functional and easy to operate.
• Negative impact when it comes to log integration as it does not support industry logging standards.

Incentivized

• The VPNs are very easy to configure, less time to loose at new implementation.
• The traffic monitor can be improved, I can't see the ISO layers to do a faster diagnosis.
• Having an ADDS authentication is a plus, can use it with rules and vpn for remote access. Very useful.
• The dimension feature can be developed as a website + database for NGINX, Apache2, IIS, etc., I feel traped on that linux vm only.
• Most of the customers doesn't like to pay for a solution like this. They will accept only after beign attacked. WatchGuard can improve the sales with a demo (hacking, active security, etc.).