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Cisco Firepower 4100 Series vs. Sophos SG Firewall Appliances

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Firepower 4100 Series

    Score7.1 out of 10
    N/AThe Cisco Firepower 4100 Series’ 1-rack-unit size is presented by the vendodr as ideal at the Internet edge and in high-performance environments. They further state that it shows what’s happening on your network, detects attacks earlier so you can act faster, and reduces management complexity.N/A

    Sophos SG Firewall Appliances

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ASophos SG Firewall Appliances are designed to provide optimal protection for organizations of all sixes from small remote offices, to global organizations requiring high-availability andN/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Editions & Modules
    Firepower 4100
    50,000-250,000
    per appliance
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Firepower 4100 Series
    Cisco Firepower 4100 Series deployment is straightforward and easy to implement. It is also can support high availability and able to achieve redundancy. Besides, firmware upgrade is quite simple and the process does not take much effort as the upgrade will be automatically …
    Incentivized
    Sophos
    Chose Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    It certainly stacks up well as it is very competitive in the pricing segment while having all the features that an ideal NGFW should possess. Basic functionalities like Network Firewall, Proxy and VPN work flawlessly while advanced features like IPS perform reasonably well. The …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    80%
    Would buy again
    4 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    80%
    Implementation went as expected
    4 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    Features
    Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Cisco Firepower 4100 Series and Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Feature
    Cisco Firepower 4100 Series
    8.6
    4 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    10.0
    5 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Identification Technologies8.04 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Visualization Tools8.04 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Content Inspection8.03 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls8.04 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP10.03 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console9.04 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging8.04 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    VPN10.04 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    High Availability10.04 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection10.04 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Proxy Server5.52 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Small Businesses
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.5 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (4 ratings)
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    When we are asked by local partners which security equipment we use we always recommend our Cisco security products. The Firepower firewall is no exception and we can easily recommend this to others who need a fast, secure, and well built system that integrates well with all your existing hardware and software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    It is well-suited for all sizes of organizations. It will help them to safeguard their network from various cyber threats like ransomware, phishing, malware, etc. It will provide them with many features like deep packet inspection, web filtering, application control, etc. in one place. It will also help them optimize bandwidth usage
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • Packet filtering
    • Great vpn client
    • Integrates correctly with other vendors
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    • It helps you to protect your corporate network and data from external cyber threats.
    • It provides you with with advanced features like load balancing, web and app access, etc., to optimize bandwidth uses.
    • It enables you to configure an IPsec VPN to access organization resources remotely.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • Too much time to deploy changes
    • When there are a lot of entries in the ldap mapping the device runs slow
    • You can not make config changes via CLI, only via GUI
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    • We would like more feature reach port blocking. This could be reorganized to make it easier on Network Admins to add or change ports.
    • I would like easier access to the CLI
    • I would like it to perform faster
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I rated Sophos SG Firewall a 9 out of 10 because it has consistently provided strong and reliable security for our organization over the past five years. Its unified features like IPS, VPN, web filtering, and reporting make it easy to manage and highly effective in protecting our network. The interface is user-friendly, and support from Sophos has been timely and helpful. I deducted one point only because deeper cloud-native integration and more advanced analytics would further enhance its future readiness.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Cisco
    It not easy to understand the different features it offers. Sometimes you need to spend a couple of minutes to implement a change or even open a ticket with cisco tac to figure it out. Once support is on the phone with you they know how to resolve problems. But it's not an intuitive tool
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    Management could use some improvements. Sophos management and workflows has always been designed by Engineers for Engineers. They do not always follow logical workflows in the real world. Once you figure this out it is easier to use but no where as smooth as many other products on the market.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I rated the availability of Sophos SG Firewall a 10 because, in our experience, it has been highly reliable and available whenever we needed it. We have not faced any significant application errors or unplanned outages. The system has been robust, ensuring continuous protection and minimal downtime, even during firmware updates or configuration changes. Its stability and uptime have been consistent, allowing us to trust it as a critical part of our network security infrastructure.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I rated the performance of Sophos SG Firewall a 10 because it consistently delivers fast and reliable results. Pages load quickly, reports are generated within a reasonable time frame, even for complex queries, and overall system responsiveness is excellent. Additionally, the firewall integrates seamlessly with other software and systems without causing any noticeable slowdowns or performance degradation. Its optimized performance has contributed to smooth network operations and minimal disruption to other services, making it a highly reliable solution for our needs.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    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
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    In-Person Training
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I rated the in-person training a 10 because the sessions were thorough, engaging, and well-structured. The trainers had a deep understanding of the Sophos SG Firewall and were able to clearly explain both basic and advanced features. The hands-on approach allowed us to directly apply what we were learning, which made the training highly practical and valuable. Additionally, the trainers were available to address specific questions and provide real-time troubleshooting during the sessions, making it an overall positive experience.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I was very satisfied with the implementation of the Sophos SG Firewall, giving it a rating of 9. One key insight from the implementation process is that while the setup was relatively straightforward, it’s crucial to carefully plan the network configuration in advance, especially for high availability (HA) and VPN setups. Ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure and performing thorough testing before going live can significantly reduce issues later on. Additionally, leveraging the built-in wizards and configuration guides helped streamline the process, but hands-on testing was essential to ensure everything worked as expected in our specific environment.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    As I mentioned before, the Fortigates have better failover. I think the Cisco interface is easier to use that that of the FortiGate. My only criticism would be that with multiple CLIs, it can get a bit confusing when you are trying to configure something or troubleshoot from the CLI.
    Read full review
    Sophos
    We use Sophos in conjunction with WatchGuard, for an extra added level of security. Sophos is a little more sophisticated and complicated but they work well together as added layers of protection against most cyber threats.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I rated the contract terms and pricing structure a 9 because, overall, they were fair and competitive. The unit pricing for the Sophos SG Firewall was reasonable considering the features and performance offered, and the billing frequency was flexible, allowing us to align it with our budget cycles. However, one area that could be improved is the pricing for multi-year commitments—there could be more significant discounts or additional incentives for long-term agreements. Overall, the structure worked well for our needs, but some adjustments could make it even more cost-effective.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I rated the product's scalability a 9 because Sophos SG Firewall offers excellent flexibility and can be easily scaled across multiple departments and sites. It provides the ability to add more firewalls, manage them centrally, and integrate with other security solutions as our network grows. However, the only reason I didn’t give it a perfect score is that, in some complex environments, managing a large-scale deployment with many firewalls can become a bit challenging, especially in terms of centralized management and monitoring. Despite this, the overall scalability is highly effective for most use cases.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Professional Services
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I rated the professional services a 10 because the support we received was outstanding. The team was highly skilled, responsive, and provided tailored solutions to meet our specific needs. They guided us through the entire implementation process, from setup to optimization, ensuring that the firewall was configured efficiently and securely. Their expertise helped us avoid potential pitfalls and ensured a smooth deployment, which greatly contributed to the success of our project.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Very stable and does not cause major interruption.
    • Supports most of the business requirements.
    • Enhance security, risk and compliance.
    Read full review
    Sophos
    • 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
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    ScreenShots