We performed a comparison between Palo Alto Networks PA-Series and Sophos XGS based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The Intrusion Prevention System and the web filtering are both working well."
"The solution is very user-friendly."
"The secure web gateway module and the application control module are valuable. HA operations are very easy."
"Our project needs to link two sides through the internet. One of these was in Cairo and the other in another city. We used FortiGate as the integrating solution between the two locations, i.e. the Fortinet 30E & 100E."
"Security solution with a straightforward and quick setup. It's a stable and scalable product."
"We are a visual effects company, and there have been a number of high profile security issues in our industry. This has brought us to a higher standard of security, which our clients are very keen on these days."
"We use a southern institution that's audited for IT security and the reporting that automatically comes off the unit makes it much easier to meet compliance standards and makes it easier as far as the amount of time that has to be spent to compile that information. If you get your reporting set up correctly when you initially set it up, you just select the one you want and hit print. The auditing trail on it is the best feature."
"The solution is stable."
"It offers application-based policy enforcement. Palo Alto Networks firewalls help us recognize protocol anomalies, contrasting with other vendors that may require policies based on port numbers. With Palo Alto Networks, the port number isn't a constraint because their devices handle protocol traffic at Layer 7, allowing for accurate identification of protocol usage and port numbers. They can identify which protocol actually uses which port."
"The product's initial setup process was simple."
"It is scalable. But that depends on what model you are using."
"I like the tool's security and web filtering features."
"The product's most valuable feature is web filtering."
"The cloud-based aspect helps significantly. It integrates seamlessly with other Palo products like Prisma Cloud, offers robust VPN protection, and it's all in one convenient package."
"Palo Alto blocks the new threats better than other tools."
"The documentation is great."
"Easy to set up firewall product, that's also easy to manage and scale."
"We are happy and satisfied with all the features."
"Web filtering and intrusion detection are essential features. As system integrators, we also like the dashboard because it's easier to configure all the features."
"Compared to other products, Sophos XGS is a user-friendly solution."
"The product was easy for us to install."
"The most valuable features of Sophos XGS for me are XGS IPS, SD-WAN, VPN setup, email protection, and integration with endpoint security."
"Setup was straightforward. One person is enough for deployment."
"All the features are valuable, in my opinion, but for us the most important features are the network security, application control, and web server protection. Sophos Sandstorm is another good feature off the top of my head."
"In terms of what could be improved, the SD-WAN is quite difficult, because if you install the new box, 15 is okay, but if you change from an old configuration, if there is already configuration and a policy when you change to SD-WAN, you must change the whole policy that you see in the interface."
"The user interface could be improved."
"The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."
"The cloud features can be improved."
"Some of the features in the graphical user interface do not work, which requires that we used the command-line-interface."
"They should make the rule sets more understandable for the end user. When you're trying to explain to somebody how a computer network is secured, sometimes it's difficult for an end user or customer to understand. If there was a way to make the terminology more accessible to the end user, the set up could be easier. They should translate the technical jargon to an easily relatable and understandable conversation for the end user, the customer, that would be brilliant. Particularly in an environment where the IT structure is audited regularly, there's always pressure from the auditor to up the standards and up the security and you get your USCERT's that come out and there's a warning about this and the customer will want to lock out so much and when you apply it they run into issue where they can't search the internet or print to their remote office. Of course they can't print to your remote office, they just locked it up. They should make the language more understandable for the customer. If there's a product out there that made the jargon understandable to John Q. Public, I would buy that."
"The product does need better support in the cloud environment. It's not exactly cloud-native right now."
"The license renewal process, annual renewal price, and the web application firewall features should be improved."
"There seem to be some issues with TAC (Technical Assistance Center) or Palo Alto support. Anytime you open a case, a level one engineer joins, and then you have to escalate it to level two or three. The support system has changed in the past few years, and that's something they need to look into."
"In future releases, maybe Palo Alto can enhance and enlarge their portfolio with SIEM solutions. They already have an endpoint protection solution, SOAR solution, that's fine. But when it comes to standalone IDS/IPS solution or email security solution, for example, we don't have any product in that category for Palo Alto."
"Palo Alto should integrate artificial intelligence for security purposes in the background for well-known threats and new risks coming to the market."
"There are constant updates for the operating system. It is a nice thing also, but it has its own disadvantages. Continuous updates are there. The users face issues like, how often do I need to update that? Within a period of five months, I'm updating it two or three times. It gives them a feeling that they are not confident about their product and have to update it so frequently."
"The SD-WAN feature of Palo Alto Networks is not good compared to FortiGate."
"With Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, I find that the support team takes a long time to resolve the issues that a user may face during the use of the product."
"The product must provide multiple threat detection features."
"The interface is complex."
"I do not get notifications regarding ISP downtime."
"The customer service response time can be improved."
"Sophos XGS would benefit from further development in the SD-WAN area."
"In my view, Sophos operates effectively in a reactive mode, focusing on static detection and forwarding traffic. However, Fortinet takes a more proactive approach, blocking both connection and route connections. While Sophos forwards any connection in both inbound and outbound traffic, I believe this is a positive aspect, especially in a country with various sizing considerations. This is my perspective, emphasizing the significance of Sophos XGS in software work."
"What could be improved in Sophos XGS is its connectivity with Azure AD. It's best if it could work directly without using any servers locally, or in the data center, and this functionality should be made available in this product."
"The solution could have a bit more functionality."
"When it comes to different interfaces there is some speed issue that can be improved in Sophos XGS."
"They need intelligent reporting, not just your simple, standard reports."
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is ranked 17th in Firewalls with 28 reviews while Sophos XGS is ranked 18th in Firewalls with 62 reviews. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is rated 8.6, while Sophos XGS is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series writes "Offers trained customer support, stability and ease of use ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sophos XGS writes "Easy to use, simple to learn, and offers great reporting". Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is most compared with OPNsense, SonicWall NSa, Sophos XG and Juniper SRX Series Firewall, whereas Sophos XGS is most compared with Sophos XG, OPNsense, Netgate pfSense, WatchGuard Firebox and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. See our Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. Sophos XGS report.
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