We performed a comparison between Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) and VMware Horizon based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."Allows us to publish applications accessible by current-generation HTML5 browser or OS-specific client (Windows, Android, iOS), and it supports popular single sign-on and multi-factor authentication protocols."
"Valuable features include the ability to set up security groups for accessing certain apps, and the ability to add apps easily and centrally without touching the servers they’re hosted on."
"We use RAS to publish cloud desktops to our clients. The ability to easily publish resources to a subset of users is what we find most valuable."
"It is robust. We have some 75 users using it and it doesn't lag. It's very speedy."
"Its price and ease of use are the most valuable. It is simple and has good performance."
"The stability is ok - once I finished the setup, the system was quite stable."
"Client compatibility with many systems makes it very versatile. The reporting that is included is awesome."
"Setup was straightforward. Our particular use case involved an Active Directory forest involving two data centers and three domains. User authentication against Active Directory was the easiest to set up and validate of any application installed in the last three years."
"It is stable and easily scalable."
"Horizon 7's most valuable feature is the unified endpoint management."
"The ease of deployment is one of the most valuable features. If I want to install something, I can have a test phase to see what sort of impact it will have and whether it will affect production. So I can install it on my lab, make sure it is okay, and if it is, I can deploy it directly to the users or to the staff."
"The solution has enabled us to offer a secure desktop experience to our remote users. This ensures that our personally identifiable information and HIPAA data remain protected, eliminating the risk of being copied to a local, potentially mobile, device. Everything is contained within a centralized structure."
"We use VMware Horizon to provide remote access for remote users."
"I appreciate the ability to have a more centralized environment."
"The benefits of this solution are that it is modern and it works perfectly well with the rest of the VMware environments we have. Having this vertical integration is what matters to us as an organization and this solution excels in this area. You deploy it and it works without much hassle."
"We like that VMware is the top competitor in virtualization."
"Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved."
"The product does not utilize SQL for reporting purposes. Also, it does not support some hypervisors similar to Citrix. These particular areas need improvement."
"It needs Windows scaling on Android/iOS devices. At present, the concept of delivering apps to Android and iOS devices is appealing, but the reality is the screen size on these devices is so small that, unless there is some scaling option, it is not really usable."
"We use several gateways because access to our secret zone requires two-factor user authentication. It is a lot of hassle differentiating among users with or without two-factor. Of course, we could use two farms, but that would mean more management too."
"A web-based management interface for administration and reporting would be nice, instead of needing to log into a remote server."
"If the solution crashes, then all the customers connected through that agent, lose their session."
"The customization of the web interface could possibly use some improvement. Little things, like being able to place a background image instead of just choosing from a palette of colors, would be nice."
"Improvement is needed in performance monitoring of the client's endpoint, and automatic re-connection of the client in the event of circuit disruptions (this works well generally but can present challenges)."
"It is a little bit complex. You need a little bit of experience with ESXi installation and VMware before using this solution. You cannot directly jump to this solution. It also requires training. After you get trained, you can do anything with Horizon 7. In terms of features, it has been sufficient for my needs, but it can always have more features. They can maybe merge the servers. They can give the Horizon 7 server in one package with ESXi."
"The remote application features have some room for improvement."
"We have seen and face notable challenges in the configuration aspect specifically while creating and assigning groups which have proven to be a very cumbersome and tiring process. Apart from this the Reliance on the Active Directory as the only directory has its own limitation, which include the requirement to purchase a windows server for an environment outside the standard set up."
"VMware Horizon needs to integrate with Azure, Teams, and Zoom."
"The remote connection, bandwidth usage, and error connection can be improved. Working with the load balancer sites should also be improved. For example, with Horizon, we can use two clients with a one megabit connection, but with Citrix, we can use four or five clients with the same bandwidth through ICA protocol. VMware must improve remote connection, connection stability, and load balancing."
"There is room for a more cost-effective pricing structure, as it could be more affordable."
"The multimedia playback is not very good and they could improve it by increasing the quality."
"What I would like to see improved is not so much about the product. It's more about how to get information about products. It's always too much sales pitching and fancy works and stuff."
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Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is ranked 12th in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 24 reviews while VMware Horizon is ranked 3rd in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 35 reviews. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is rated 8.8, while VMware Horizon is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) writes "Provides good scalability and a secure environment". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VMware Horizon writes "Compelling solution for virtual desktop infrastructure with advanced technology, straightforward licensing, easy setup, and seamless integration". Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is most compared with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Citrix Workspace, Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service), Parallels Desktop and NVIDIA GRID, whereas VMware Horizon is most compared with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, VMware Workspace ONE, VMware Horizon View, VMware Player and VMware Horizon Cloud. See our Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) vs. VMware Horizon report.
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