UPGRADE ADVANTAGE: How Apograph Uses Proactive Firewall Upgrades to Protect Clients and Control Costs

By shifting from one-time expenses to a lifecycle-driven, subscription model, Apograph makes enterprise-grade security accessible for organizations of every size.

Making Security Sustainable With Smarter Upgrade Strategies

With more than 30 years of IT experience, Apograph delivers managed services and IT support to organizations throughout Leicestershire and the UK. As a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) managing 1,500 endpoints across 40 companies, they understand that security doesn’t stand still, and neither should the hardware protecting it.

For Apograph, regular firewall upgrades are essential, not optional. “Older generation firewalls and SonicWall-competitor products experience vulnerability after vulnerability, creating unacceptable exposure levels,” says Gareth Coleman, Apograph Director. “Modern threats require modern defenses. The latest generation of SonicWall firewalls provide enterprise-grade security features that legacy systems simply cannot match.”

Why Waiting Costs More, and How Apograph Changed the Conversation

Coleman has seen the dangers of “sweating the asset until it breaks.” Waiting for a failure or compromise means paying premium prices for emergency replacements, suffering business disruption during crisis repairs, risking compliance violations and losing productivity during extended downtime.

The solution wasn’t just to push upgrades harder; it was to rethink how they were presented and paid for. Coleman’s breakthrough was moving from a capital expenditure (CapEx) model to an operational expenditure (OpEx) model. “Rather than presenting clients with $2,000–$2,500 for hardware plus installation, successful MSPs like me bundle everything into manageable monthly payments of 60–70 pounds per month over three years,” he explains. Often, the monthly cost doesn’t increase at all, or only increases marginally.

That reframing eliminates sticker shock and fits naturally into operational budgets. “This costs £60 per month — less than your coffee budget,” Coleman says, noting that predictable monthly expenses also makes planning easier.

A Lifecycle Mindset That Scales

Apograph applies a systematic refresh cycle across all client infrastructure, firewalls every three years, laptops every 3–4 years, desktops every five years, and network switches every ten years. This avoids “technology debt” and ensures every system meets current security standards.

Trust plays a big role in making that system work. “By understanding each client's unique compliance requirements, whether in finance, legal, aerospace, defense or automotive, we earn the trust necessary for clients to accept upgrade recommendations from us without lengthy justification processes,” says Coleman.

That trust has been crucial in larger-scale projects, like the transformation of a 120-site client dealing with repeated cyberattacks on legacy firewalls from a SonicWall competitor. The fix was an enterprise-wide upgrade to SonicWall TZ270s, a hub-and-spoke VPN, SD-WAN between sites, centralized security monitoring and unified management through SonicWall Network Security Manager (NSM). The result: a dramatically reduced attack surface, greater operational efficiency, lower costs through centralized management and the scalability to expand to 120+ more franchise locations.

Right-Sized Solutions for Every Client

Not every organization needs the same firewall. For SMB customers, Coleman says the SonicWall TZ80 has “revolutionized small business security” by delivering enterprise-grade protection at SMB-friendly price points, with easy remote deployment and subscription-based pricing.

For larger customers, Coleman points to SonicWall Cloud Secure Edge (CSE) for advanced policy management, granular access controls, multi-tier security policies, seamless integration and stronger remote work protections.

Best Practices That Drive Adoption

Coleman’s advice to MSPs looking to improve upgrade adoption is straightforward:

• Lead with security benefits, not just technical specs
• Use real-world vulnerability examples to illustrate risk
• Offer flexible payment options and bundle hardware, licensing, and service
• Keep upgrade calendars and plan at least six months ahead

As he puts it, “Legacy stuff creates holes. The longer you leave it, the more of a risk it becomes. Success belongs to organizations that plan ahead, budget systematically and partner with knowledgeable MSPs to maintain cutting-edge security infrastructure.”

The Bottom Line

For Apograph, regular SonicWall firewall upgrades aren’t an expense; they’re an investment in business continuity, competitive advantage and long-term sustainability. By combining lifecycle planning with a financing model that removes barriers, they’ve made enterprise-grade security both accessible and sustainable for their customers.

Find out more about Apograph