CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Dispel vs Sophos

Dispel sells OT secure remote access, connecting vendors, OEMs, and operators to critical systems and data. Sophos sells security solutions managed through Sophos Fusion, a single cloud-based platform for IT security protection. CISO Tribune files both under MDR and managed SOC. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Dispel
  • Sophos
Dispel vs Sophos: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
DispelDispel sells OT secure remote access, connecting vendors, OEMs, and operators to critical systems and data.dispel.comSophosSophos sells security solutions managed through Sophos Fusion, a single cloud-based platform for IT security protection.sophos.com
What it sells
  • Dispel Zero Trust Engine[3][6][7][11]Dispel Zero Trust Engine replaces jump servers, VPNs, and IT PAM tools.
  • Dispel Intelligence[8][15]Dispel Intelligence pulls existing Nozomi or Dragos device risk data directly into the access decision.
  • Dispel Identity[9]Dispel Identity adds IAL2 through government ID validation and a biometric match.
  • Dispel Compliance[10]Dispel Compliance scores live configuration against NERC CIP, NIST, IEC 62443, and NIS2 simultaneously.
  • Industrial Data Streaming[11]Secure, real-time transfer and industrial data integration.
  • Dispel OTFusion[12]A patented OT consolidation solution.
  • Sophos Fusion[6][7][10]Sophos Fusion is a single cloud-based platform for managing IT security protection.
  • Sophos Firewall[1][10]Sophos Firewall includes features for higher education, K-12, and primary and secondary institutions.
  • Sophos Managed Detection and Response[7]Sophos describes fully managed, 24/7 detection and response.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesOxford, United Kingdom[2]
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesOwned by Thoma Bravo since 2020[3][7][8][9]
Named customers
Not stated on its pages
  • Jotun[4]
  • National 9/11 Memorial & Museum[4]
  • London South Bank University[4]
  • Town of Gilbert[4]
  • DFS Group[4]
Recent news
  • October 19, 2026Dispel launched a solution for OEMs and machine builders who deliver remote service directly to their industrial customers' equipment.[16]
  • September 14, 2026Dispel opened its Community Power & Water Program at the American Public Power Association's Cybersecurity & Technology Summit in San Antonio.[14]
  • June 17, 2026Dispel announced general availability of Site Console.[13]
  • May 14, 2026Dispel announced general availability of Session Forensics with Dynamic Risk Scoring, the first capability within Dispel Intelligence.[15]
  • October 1, 2026Sophos launched CISO Advantage, an agentic AI service that links security operations to security strategy, rolling out across North America, the UK and Europe.[5]
  • July 15, 2026Sophos announced Sophos Fusion, a defense system combining its endpoint, network, email, cloud, identity and security operations products in one architecture.[6]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 4, 2026[17]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 4, 2026[8]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, Dispel sells mainly to industrial organizations in manufacturing, utilities, and energy. Dispel says it connects operators, contractors, and vendors to ICS and OT systems. Dispel describes cloud, on-prem, and hybrid deployment, and deployments for regulated utilities. Dispel describes multi-site industrial organizations as a setting for its OTFusion solution.From its own pages, Sophos sells mainly to distributed and growing enterprises with complex networks, which its XGS 2U firewalls target. Sophos also sells firewalls for SMB and branch offices, and plug-and-play security for smaller branch offices and remote sites. Sophos Firewall includes features tailored to higher education, K-12, and primary and secondary institutions.
Last verified
November 9, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Dispel and Sophos are both filed under MDR and managed SOC.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Dispel's primary category is Zero trust network access; Sophos's is EDR and XDR.
  • Dispel is also filed under OT and ICS security and Unidirectional gateways and secure transfer. Sophos is also filed under Firewalls and NGFW.
  • Dispel lists Dispel Zero Trust Engine, Dispel Intelligence, Dispel Identity, Dispel Compliance, Industrial Data Streaming and 1 more. Sophos lists Sophos Fusion, Sophos Firewall and Sophos Managed Detection and Response.
  • Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom.
  • Sophos is owned by Thoma Bravo, since 2020.
  • Sophos publicly names Jotun, National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, London South Bank University, Town of Gilbert and DFS Group.

What it sells: Dispel

What Dispel Zero Trust Engine does[3][6][7][11]
Dispel Zero Trust Engine replaces jump servers, VPNs, and IT PAM tools. Dispel delivers a tiered connection suite with Browser Connect, Virtual Desktop, and Local Application options tailored to every user. Dispel Zero Trust Engine can be deployed in cloud, on-prem, and hybrid models.
What Dispel Intelligence does[8][15]
Session Forensics and Dynamic Risk Scoring are built into the same remote access session. Dispel tracks AAL at every login, with 11-signal risk scoring that surfaces anomalies in real time.
What Dispel Identity does[9]
Government ID validation, liveness check, and biometric match confirm a real, verified person, meeting NIST IAL2. Dispel Identity works with Microsoft Entra, Okta, PingIdentity, SAML, OIDC, and hybrid environments.
What Dispel Compliance does[10]
Dispel exports timestamped evidence as an OSCAL Component Definition, plus CSV and PDF summaries. Dispel lists supported frameworks as NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, NERC CIP, IEC 62443-3-3, NIS2 (EU 2024/2690), NIST CSF 2.0, and SANS ICS 5 Critical Controls.
What Industrial Data Streaming does[11]
Dispel says Industrial Data Streaming enables secure, real-time transfer and industrial data integration across operational, diagnostic, and system-level sources. The Dispel Zero Trust Engine provides an Industrial Data Streaming solution.
What Dispel OTFusion does[12]
Dispel OTFusion is a patented OT consolidation solution that unifies applications, operating systems, and services into a single secure environment. Dispel says customers can start with a single application or data stream and scale as results come in.

What it sells: Sophos

What Sophos Fusion does[6][7][10]
Sophos Fusion integrates natively with Sophos solutions and 500+ third-party technologies. The Sophos Fusion dashboard consolidates all alerts. Fusion AI is the intelligence layer within Sophos Fusion.
What Sophos Firewall does[1][10]
Sophos Firewall includes built-in policies for CIPA and predefined activities. Sophos Firewall includes features like SafeSearch, YouTube restrictions, and keyword filtering. Sophos Firewall uses dynamic firewall rules and lateral movement protection to isolate a compromised host.
What Sophos Managed Detection and Response does[7]
Sophos quotes simple per-user and per-server pricing with no hidden extras. Sophos describes three Response Modes.

Questions about Dispel and Sophos

What do Dispel and Sophos sell?
Dispel sells Dispel Zero Trust Engine, Dispel Intelligence, Dispel Identity, Dispel Compliance, Industrial Data Streaming and 1 more. Sophos sells Sophos Fusion, Sophos Firewall and Sophos Managed Detection and Response.
Are Dispel and Sophos in the same category?
They share MDR and managed SOC. Dispel's primary category is Zero trust network access and Sophos's is EDR and XDR.
Where are Dispel and Sophos headquartered?
Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom.
Who owns Dispel and Sophos?
Sophos is owned by Thoma Bravo, since 2020.
Which customers do Dispel and Sophos name?
Sophos publicly names Jotun, National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, London South Bank University, Town of Gilbert and DFS Group.
Who are Dispel and Sophos sold to?
From its own pages, Dispel sells mainly to industrial organizations in manufacturing, utilities, and energy. From its own pages, Sophos sells mainly to distributed and growing enterprises with complex networks, which its XGS 2U firewalls target.
What have Dispel and Sophos announced recently?
October 19, 2026: Dispel launched a solution for OEMs and machine builders who deliver remote service directly to their industrial customers' equipment. October 1, 2026: Sophos launched CISO Advantage, an agentic AI service that links security operations to security strategy, rolling out across North America, the UK and Europe.

About Dispel

Dispel sells OT secure remote access, connecting vendors, OEMs, and operators to critical systems and data. Dispel replaces legacy remote access tools with a unified platform purpose-built for OT. Dispel says many industrial organizations still depend on IT-centric tools like RPAM, jump servers, and VPNs for remote access, and that these tools were not built for today's OT. Dispel connects internal and external users to ICS/OT assets such as PLCs, HMIs, and SCADA. Dispel says it delivers purpose-built OT SRA for operators, engineers, and vendors, with tailored connection methods and scalable deployment.[1][2][4][5]

Dispel Zero Trust Engine replaces jump servers, VPNs, and IT PAM tools. Dispel says every connection with Dispel Zero Trust Engine takes under 30 seconds. Dispel says its remote access supports all 65,000+ TCP/IP protocols and OT systems. Dispel says vendor onboarding needs no IT ticket and no persistent credentials, and scales to a 100-vendor surge. Dispel delivers a tiered connection suite with Browser Connect, Virtual Desktop, and Local Application options tailored to every user. Dispel Zero Trust Engine includes a lightweight app with pre-connect posture checking. Dispel says one connection option is OEM compatible, including ABB, Rockwell, Mitsubishi, and more.[5]

Dispel says its infrastructure rotates between every session, leaving AI-driven attacks nothing to map or return to. Dispel Zero Trust Engine uses single-use pathways that are destroyed at disconnect. Dispel Zero Trust Engine can be deployed in cloud, on-prem, and hybrid models. Dispel says a deployment can go live in 3 hours and scale to 100 sites in 90 days. Dispel offers full local deployment via Dispel Site Console. Dispel provides the flexibility of customer-cloud and fully on-premises deployments.[18]

The Dispel Wicket is the edge gateway installed on-premises that connects an installation to the Dispel Zero Trust Engine and enforces local security controls. Wickets enable secure zero trust remote access, while also allowing data collection and streaming from multiple IIoT and equipment assets to cloud services and servers, all within a single unit. Wickets can be installed at an OT DMZ, in the cloud, and on IT systems. Dispel Wickets are industrial fanless edge gateways deployable in a server racks, cabinets, VESA, and DIN mounts. Wickets can run on Ubuntu environments deployed in VMWare. Dispel also offers hardware for Wickets. Wickets are fully integrated with Mitsubishi Electric industrial devices including the iQ-R Series WinCPU R102WCPU-W. Dispel has tested the SEL-3350 line for Wicket deployments.[7][11][19][20]

Session Forensics and Dynamic Risk Scoring are built into the same remote access session. Dispel tracks AAL at every login, with 11-signal risk scoring that surfaces anomalies in real time. Dispel Intelligence pulls existing Nozomi or Dragos device risk data directly into the access decision. Dispel delivers a 24/7 OT SOC as a service that monitors every connection and session. Dispel's OT-aware analysts watch every remote session, escalating alerts to your existing SIEM or SOAR.[8]

Dispel Identity adds IAL2 through government ID validation and a biometric match. Dispel Identity extends in-person-grade verification to remote sessions, confirming a real, verified person is behind every third-party connection. Dispel says identity verification fires only when the risk warrants it, by user type, asset risk score, behavioral threshold, or geography. Dispel Identity works with Microsoft Entra, Okta, PingIdentity, SAML, OIDC, and hybrid environments. Clients choose US or EU processing for identity verification, and both meet GDPR, BIPA, and eIDAS requirements.[9]

Dispel Compliance scores live configuration against NERC CIP, NIST, IEC 62443, and NIS2 simultaneously. Dispel exports timestamped evidence as an OSCAL Component Definition, plus CSV and PDF summaries. Dispel lists supported frameworks as NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, NERC CIP, IEC 62443-3-3, NIS2 (EU 2024/2690), NIST CSF 2.0, and SANS ICS 5 Critical Controls. Dispel says Industrial Data Streaming enables secure, real-time transfer and industrial data integration across operational, diagnostic, and system-level sources. Dispel OTFusion is a patented OT consolidation solution that unifies applications, operating systems, and services into a single secure environment. Dispel says customers can start with a single application or data stream and scale as results come in.[5][10][11][12]

Dispel names manufacturing, utilities, and energy. With Dispel's Secure Remote Access, Seadrill employees no longer have to fly out to their vessels. Dispel describes Watercare, which supplies drinking water and wastewater services to over 4 million people in New Zealand. Dispel says it adheres to SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001. The company states its features are designed against NIST 800-52, 800-82, NERC CIP, and IEC 62443. Dispel includes 24/7 global support.[3][4][5][10][11][12][18]

Dispel on the record

Sources

Dispel full record

  1. [1]dispel.comDispel · dispel.com · undated page, accessed October 7, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Dispel celebrates 2025 fastest growing cybersecurity company as ot secure remote access demand growsDispel · dispel.com · published March 26, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]Press dispel fedramp 20x zero trust governmentDispel · dispel.com · published July 22, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]OT Secure Remote Access for Industrial Operations | DispelDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Secure Remote Access for ICS & OT | Dispel SolutionsDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Dispel Zero Trust Engine | OT Secure Remote Access PlatformDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Wicket Industrial Gateway | DispelDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Continuous Risk Scoring for OT Secure Remote Access | DispelDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Identity Verification for OT Remote Access | Dispel IdentityDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Continuous Compliance for OT Secure Remote Access | DispelDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Industrial Data Streaming for OT & ICS | Real-Time Secure Data Transfer | Dispel SolutionsDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]OTFusion — OT Digital Transformation & Multi-Site Consolidation | DispelDispel · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Dispel Launches Site Console, Delivering On-Premises OT Remote Access for NERC CIP and Air-Gapped EnvironmentsDispel · published June 17, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Dispel Launches Community Power & Water Program at APPA Cybersecurity & Technology SummitDispel · published September 14, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Dispel Launches Session Forensics, Bringing Real-Time Dynamic Risk Scoring to OT Remote Access as AI Threats EscalateDispel · published May 14, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Dispel Introduces Dispel Zero Trust Engine for OEMs to Standardize Secure Remote Service at ScaleDispel · published October 19, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Dispel Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 31, 2026 · Tier C
  18. [18]Features | DispelDispel · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  19. [19]Wicket Hardware Form Factor | DispelDispel · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  20. [20]Wicket Software Form Factor | DispelDispel · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A

Sophos full record

  1. [1]ProductsSophos · sophos.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Sophos completes secureworks acquisitionSophos · sophos.com · published February 3, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]Sophos announces completion of take private acquisition by thoma bravoSophos · sophos.com · published March 2, 2020 · Tier A
  4. [4]Case studiesSophos · sophos.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Sophos launches ciso advantage bringing ciso level security strategy within reach of every organizationSophos · sophos.com · published October 1, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Sophos fusion ai native cybersecurity defense systemSophos · sophos.com · published July 15, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Sophos: Cyber Resilience for the Agentic AI EraSophos · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Sophos Firewall Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier C
  9. [9]Sophos Reviews, Ratings & Features 2026 | Gartner Peer InsightsGartner Peer Insights · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier C
  10. [10]School Protection | SophosSophos · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]XGS Series Firewalls - Distributed Edge - Enterprise & Campus - 2U ModelsSophos · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Compare 200 and 1000 Series Sophos Switches - Multi-gigabit ModelsSophos · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Free Quote: Sophos MDR for Microsoft DefenderSophos · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A

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