Sophos Firewall – XGS hardware launches new license bundles
The new XGS series also introduces new license bundles, which from June will also apply to XG Firewalls (and SG Firewalls with SFOS).
Single licenses
The single licenses have more or less stayed the same. You can still purchase them with terms of 1, 2 or 3 years and, depending on the region, as EDU licenses for schools or GOV licenses for government organizations. Here is a quick refresher of all single licenses at a glance:
- Base License: Stateful firewall, VPN, wireless
The Base License is “included free of charge” with every XG/XGS Firewall and only needs to be purchased once for virtual firewalls. There is no term for this license.
- Network Protection: IPS, ATP, SD-RED device management
- Web Protection: Web security and control, application control, web malware protection
- Zero-Day Protection (formerly Sandstorm): Machine learning, sandboxing file analysis, threat intelligence
- Central Orchestration (planned): SD-WAN VPN orchestration, Central Firewall Reporting Advanced
- Email Protection: Anti-spam, antivirus, DLP, encryption, email malware protection
- Webserver Protection: Web application firewall
- Enhanced Support
Enhanced Plus Support(no longer available): Instead, you now need to buy “Enhanced Support” and then the “Enhanced to Enhanced Plus Support Upgrade”.- Enhanced to Enhanced Plus Support Upgrade
License bundles
Because, in most cases, several modules from the list above are needed to meet the requirements of a network, Sophos has combined some single licenses and previously offered them as bundles at a lower price. The familiar FullGuard (Plus) and EnterpriseGuard (Plus) bundles have not been carried over to the new XGS series. Instead, the following bundles have been introduced:
Standard Protection
- Base License
- Network Protection
- Web Protection
- Enhanced Support
Xstream Protection
- Base License
- Network Protection
- Web Protection
- Enhanced Support
- Zero-Day Protection
- Central Orchestration
Epic Protection
- Base License
- Network Protection
- Web Protection
- Enhanced Support
- Zero-Day Protection
- Central Orchestration
- Email Protection
- Webserver Protection
If you need all modules, Epic Protection covers everything. The only exception is if you need Enhanced Plus Support, in which case the upgrade still has to be purchased separately.
The bundles listed above apply immediately to the new XGS Firewalls. From July 2021, the XG series will also be moved to these bundles. After that, FullGuard (Plus) and EnterpriseGuard (Plus) bundles can no longer be ordered.
Migration path for XG Firewall users
As mentioned above, from July 2021 the XG license bundles will also be adjusted. Sophos has defined the following migration path:
- EnterpriseGuard → Standard Protection
- EnterpriseGuard Plus → Xstream Protection
- FullGuard → Epic Protection
- FullGuard Plus → Epic Protection
Hardware bundles
Until now, hardware bundles were the obvious choice if you wanted to buy a new firewall together with a license bundle. They were always slightly cheaper than buying the hardware and the license bundle separately.
With the launch of the XGS series, the previously familiar Total Protect (Plus) and Enterprise Protect (Plus) hardware bundles are also disappearing. Sophos does still offer hardware bundles for the XGS series firewalls, but judging by the current price list, the price advantage will disappear in future.
Specifically, this means you can buy the XGS series together with a license bundle such as Standard, Xstream or Epic Protection as a hardware bundle (combined into a single item), but price-wise it would be the same as putting the hardware and the license bundle into the cart separately. 🤷🏼♂️
The new hardware bundles are also no longer given special names, which in our view makes things a little less complicated:
- Sophos [name of the XGS appliance] with Standard Protection
- Sophos [name of the XGS appliance] with Xstream Protection
- Sophos [name of the XGS appliance] with Epic Protection
In contrast to the SG or XG series, when you buy a hardware bundle you can set the license term to 5 years. While you can only buy single licenses or license bundles for 1, 2 or 3 years, hardware bundles are available with terms of 1, 3 or 5 years.
Prices 📈
If we compare prices with the XG series, we come to the conclusion that everything has become a bit more expensive. A detailed analysis of the new price list has shown the following:
The hardware has become more expensive
Yes, but the hardware also delivers more performance. On average, the increase is about 30–40%. In some cases, performance is even ten times higher. Future software releases will bring even more performance by offloading certain processes to the new hardware even more efficiently.
The licenses have become more expensive
It has always been the case that higher-performance hardware also comes with higher license costs. A common thought is that if the hardware now offers more performance, you could switch to a smaller model and therefore save on license costs. In some cases, switching to a smaller XGS model definitely makes sense. But you really need to check your requirements carefully beforehand.
Renewal discount removed
Since the Astaro days, renewing firewall licenses was about 5% cheaper than buying them new. This discount has now also been removed.
Price advantage for hardware bundles removed
As described, it is no longer cheaper to buy a hardware bundle instead of purchasing the hardware and license bundle separately. Customers who first buy the hardware in order to use the 30-day trial license to find out which modules they actually need are therefore no longer at a disadvantage. The appropriate license bundle or single license can then be purchased later without any price penalty. In our view, however, it would still have made sense to offer a price advantage for hardware bundles.
Final remarks
Despite the price increase, the Sophos Firewall still offers the best price-performance ratio on the market. Sure, you might think we are just putting a positive spin on it at the end. 😅 But compare it yourself with other well-known vendors that offer a similar range of features and the same excellent performance.
