The installation requires some time to get the tool up and running. There are several steps and modules that need to be loaded onto the management server, as well as various backend preparation procedures. However, we found that though the installation process involves many steps, it is quite intuitive.
The product itself is managed through a console application. We found this console to be easy to use and intuitive to navigate. From this console, administrators can plug directly into Active Directory and import users and groups for policy configuration. Configuring policy is also fairly straightforward with many options configured with just a simple point and click. We found deployment of clients to be simple as well. The solution features a configuration tool that makes creating client installation packages intuitive and easy.
Documentation included both tutorial videos for setup and installation and several PDF manuals. These manuals include installation guides, as well as administrative guides. All the manuals were easy to follow with many screen shots, step-by-step instructions and diagrams in a well-organized format.
Sophos provides the first year of standard support as part of the initial purchase price. After the first year, customers may purchase additional support at the standard level or choose from premium and platinum levels.
At a price of a little more than $60 per user for 1,000 users (with Management Center and Device Encryption modules, plus one year of standard support/maintenance, perpetual license), we find this product to be an excellent value for the money. Sophos SafeGuard Enterprise offers a great amount of options for data encryption and protection.