Sophos Intercept X Advanced AV has Lowest Total Cost of Ownership on the Market

Here at Bristol IT we make no secret of being big advocates of Sophos’ security solutions. We have been partnered with them for a number of years and have seen how their portfolio has developed and grown into an all encompassing solution (see Synchronised Security: Cybersecurity as a System). However, for a number of IT managers who are unfamiliar with the Sophos portfolio, the value of the world class protection provided can be hard to see. This is especially true when there are a number of AV providers with a lower initial cost.  In this post we explore how Sophos Antivirus: Intercept X has the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of all the top Antivirus providers.

Time is money

When you hear ‘total cost of ownership’ you probably think of the initial, one-off monetary cost of a product. The time spent managing or working with a solution is often overlooked as a cost. In the case of antivirus software this could include the time spent cleaning up viruses that you thought you wouldn’t get.  All this time has a cost to your business and should be considered when thinking about the ‘Total Cost of Ownership’. Findings from The Global Cybersecurity Survey 2019, an indepenent survey of 3,100 IT Managers highlights the day-to-day realities of cybersecurity. A key finding from the study was:

3.4 days lost each month investigating non-incidents

3.4 days translates into roughly 40.8 days a year (over 2 working days a month!) spent on investigating non-incidents (potential security incidents that turn out to not be infections). What’s the cost of this time to your business?  If you had greater trust in your antivirus solution, how much of this time would the business get back? Imagine what your IT manager or your IT team could do with that extra time. With a more sophisticated Antivirus solution such as Sophos Intercept X you can trust in the technology that the majority of threats will be identified and blocked. 

So what is Sophos Intercept X?

Sophos Intercept X takes traditional Antivirus to the next level by combining modern techniques with foundational approaches. Intercept X has a deep learning neural network built in, that enables detection of unknown as well as known threats. Traditional antivirus products rely on one primary technique for endpoint security and can generally only identify malware that has been seen before. This leaves your organisation vulnerable to ‘zero-day threats’. Thanks to artificial intelligence, Intercept X can stop the widest range of threats.

Unmatched Endpoint Protection from Sophos

To help you understand how Intercept X measures up to other leading security vendors, we’ve created a brief comparison table.

Features	Sophos	Other Solutions
Artificial Intelligence	Based on the most advanced deep learning neural network and trained on hundreds of millions of malware incidents, Sophos predictively prevents more attacks than any other security software.	Since they still rely primarily on traditional techniques or weaker machine learning technology, other solutions struggle to stop advanced, never-before-seen before attacks.
Anti-Ransomware	Behaviour-based CryptoGuard technology stops never-before-seen ransomware and boot-record attacks, and automatically rolls back affected files to their safe state in seconds.	Many endpoint protection products do not have ransomware-specific behavioural analysis, roll-back technology, or wiper ransomware protection. This leaves customers exposed to the latest ransomware threats.
Exploit and File-Less Attack Prevention	Blocking more exploit techniques than any other vendor, Sophos prevents hackers from distributing malware, stealing credentials, and escaping detection.	Other solutions have no exploit technique prevention or can only stop a limited number of techniques. This means active adversaries can remain undetected throughout the attack chain.
Integrated Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)	Unlike other solutions, Sophos integrates intelligent EDR with the industry’s top-rated endpoint protection in a single solution, so organisations can answer the tough questions about security incidents without being overwhelmed.	Most EDR solutions are built on weak endpoint protection, or worse – none at all. They require highly skilled analysts, forcing organisations to hire additional staff to get value from their EDR tool.

 

World-class Cybersecurity

Sophos Intercept X doesn’t have the lowest initial cost as others on the market, that’s a fact. Yet the world class protection it provides will save you valuable time. Time which could be spent using IT to innovate your business. Have a think about your current solution, how much time do you spend using it (or clearing up viruses it didn’t stop)? The amount of time you can get back will more than outweigh the initial cost.

Make securing your business a priority

We understand that all businesses are unique and your day to day IT requirements may vary.  However, when it comes to cyber security, maximum protection should be the goal for all businesses. Contact us today for more information about Intercept X and the rest of the Sophos security portfolio.

 

References
Intercept X Achieves HIghest Scores in NSS Labs 2019 Advanced Endpoint Protection (AEP) Group Test
Global Cybersecurity Survey, commissioned by Sophos and conducted by Vanson Bourne