Sophos XG Firewall Licenses Will Become 30% More Expensive
It’s summer, and many people are currently enjoying their holidays or at least a quieter period. Sophos has now decided to make XG Firewall licenses a full 30% more expensive, effective October 1, just six months before the XG Firewall reaches End of Life.
The reason behind this is that Sophos wants to encourage customers to upgrade to the successor, the XGS Firewall. We observed the same approach with the End of Life of the UTM.
Price Increase for XG Firewall
As of October 1, 2024, the price of XG Firewall licenses will increase by 30%. This measure is intended to encourage customers to act now.
Customers with a fixed-term license can renew their firewall at the current price until October 1. Unfortunately, customers with monthly licenses do not have this option.
Sophos emphasizes in the information email that the XG series had previously been exempt from price changes, which makes this adjustment necessary. Nevertheless, I believe this adjustment could have been postponed for another nine months.
XG to XGS Migration Promo
For as long as I can remember, however, Sophos has had firewall promos that have been extended again and again for years. There have also repeatedly been promos for switching from SG to XGS or from XG to XGS, which is necessary in this case.
For existing customers, Sophos offers a range of Hardware Refresh Promos that make it possible to upgrade to the XGS series before the XG series reaches End of Life on March 31, 2025.
⚠️ Important note for all users of XG Firewall Desktop Appliances, the following models:
- XG 86
- XG 106
- XG 115
- XG 125
- XG 135
According to our End-of-Life calendar, it may be worth waiting a few more months before switching to the XGS Desktop models instead of upgrading immediately.
Import Backup from XG to XGS
Switching from an XG Firewall Appliance to an XGS Firewall is straightforward. Unlike switching from UTM to SFOS, a complete reinstallation is not required. Instead, you can import a backup of the current XG Firewall directly into the new XGS Firewall. This, of course, assumes that the models are compatible. With this simple step, existing configurations and settings are transferred seamlessly.
It is now also possible, for example, to downgrade from an XG 430 to an XGS 2100 if the license costs have become too high and the IT requirements have changed accordingly.
Price Reductions for XDR/MDR Integration Packs
In a positive development, Sophos has decided to significantly reduce the prices of its XDR/MDR Integration Packs. These packs enable telemetry data from third-party security products to be integrated into Sophos XDR and Sophos MDR. As of September 6, 2024, prices for term licenses will be reduced by 50%.
