Would be a UTM 9.6 or a UTM 10 ever developed?

Sophos product management has assured me (a) that there is an active multi-year development plan for both UTM and XG, and (b) that UTM is doing very well for AWS cloud implementation because of it's unique architecture.  

Many buyers will want a traditional architecture with security zones for Inside, DMZ, and Outside.  Sophos needs XG to have a competitive offering for those buyers..

Some have observed that XG seems to get more development manpower.  I don't know how to evaluate that perception, but it certainly seems that XG needs more catch-up work.   It is a tragedy that UTM lost almost a year to product stability problems.   This is probably the main reason you feel abandoned.

Sophos product management has assured me (a) that there is an active multi-year development plan for both UTM and XG, and (b) that UTM is doing very well for AWS cloud implementation because of it's unique architecture.  

Many buyers will want a traditional architecture with security zones for Inside, DMZ, and Outside.  Sophos needs XG to have a competitive offering for those buyers..

Some have observed that XG seems to get more development manpower.  I don't know how to evaluate that perception, but it certainly seems that XG needs more catch-up work.   It is a tragedy that UTM lost almost a year to product stability problems.   This is probably the main reason you feel abandoned.

Hi DouglasFoster (and everyone else),

I think we all see the same thing, my perception is that the XG is getting there, but still not a (fully) mature product, which the UTM is...

The XG is playing catch-up, and does (seem to) get more Dev time, as it is playing catch-up, where as the UTM has been around for along time now, through various interations, and integrations. there are some areas which do need some work, but (my belief is) as Sophos see it, the XG is going to be their flagship (in the future), and any new ideas are going to be in the XG (e.g. IKEv2 for one), and they may well be introduced in the UTM, but there is a much longer timescale to develop this.

True the XG does have a different interface, but that being said it is really no different from the UTM, and when I first got my hands on a the XG, I did not find it difficult to use or configure, in fact there are a lot of features which are just wonderful to use, especially the rules (and grouping of the rules) :).

The only issue that I have found is that when using the XG (at home) I found (using an app on my phone), was very slow to respond initially, which never happens when I use the UTM.

All the Functions you need are on the XG are there (although they may be in a different location to what you are used to with the UTM), for me the XG just lacks the (final) polish that the UTM has. This is what the Dev team (and all the design teams at Sophos) are trying to accomplish. They will get there, and alot of you will think why haven't I used this before...

I am still a fan of the UTM, but the XG is shaping up and is making strides, each time there is a new XG build (Rather than a MR), I do go back and see what has changed. In the 2 years since I started with the UTM, the XG has had so many changes and updates, I am really positive that Sophos will make the XG a great product.