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BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Intune saves time and costs by enhancing security, reducing resources, and streamlining operations for efficient management.
Sentiment score
8.5
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access shows rapid ROI, reducing costs, improving compliance, saving time, and boosting customer satisfaction and revenue.
Sentiment score
6.5
Some users saw value in efficient remote work and image deployment, despite high costs and preference for other solutions.
Everything we've gained from it makes my job easier day after day, and I see value in it as an engineer.
Importantly, when someone leaves the company, it helps protect document access on their devices.
Applications are deployed through Intune, and we see fewer tickets for common issues because we can resolve them through the solution.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Intune provides quick premium support but basic support can be slow, requiring escalation or third-party assistance.
Sentiment score
6.6
Customers praise BeyondTrust support for quick, efficient service, despite some documentation and chat limitations, with staff rated 7-10.
Sentiment score
6.0
Microsoft's customer service is generally good, with variability in response times and support quality depending on licensing and contracts.
When a support ticket is submitted, it directly reaches someone with Intune support expertise.
When I contacted Microsoft, they had the same expertise, if not more, which is phenomenal because I felt heard and my problem was solved.
Sometimes, the support provided is excellent, and the representative is knowledgeable, while other times, the service needs improvement.
Support now requires opening a ServiceNow ticket, which can be time-consuming.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Intune efficiently scales for diverse environments, supporting large user bases across multiple devices and operating systems.
Sentiment score
8.3
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access is praised for scalability across locations, despite configuration challenges, adaptable for various organization sizes.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable for small to medium organizations, but large users note limitations and suggest improvements.
The scalability of Microsoft Intune is ten out of ten.
Ideally, we want to automatically segregate devices based on user properties like primary use, but currently, dynamic groups seem limited to device properties.
It supports organizations with 200 endpoints and those with more than 15,000 endpoints.
I would give it an eight or nine out of ten for scalability, possibly even a ten, as I do not see a limitation in scaling.
My impression is that most of the solutions, especially today, make sense for large corporations with 2000 seats or more.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Intune is stable and reliable, with occasional bugs, showing potential for improvements, particularly with network or device challenges.
Sentiment score
5.4
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access is stable, reliable, with minimal intervention, yet occasionally affected by updates, training gaps, and integration bugs.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable, with minor issues mostly due to configuration or updates.
Microsoft Intune has been very stable.
A couple of years ago, the performance was not as good as it is now, but there are noticeable backend improvements.
We've encountered problems with other services like Exchange, Intune has remained unaffected.
Updates sometimes introduce bugs or issues, especially with non-English versions.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Intune requires improvements in reporting, application deployment, third-party integration, and enhanced security, compliance, and support features.
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access requires better password management, integration, usability, and improved multi-factor authentication and session handling features.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services requires improvements in network stability, security, cross-platform support, integration options, and user experience.
Features like unlocking devices sometimes fail, and the support offered for other operating systems is insufficient.
There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now.
Many third-party companies offer single-pane-of-glass reporting that shows you what your update environment looks like, how your patch is doing, application status, etc., but Intune's reporting is not intuitive.
BeyondTrust should focus on automating the update process to reduce unnecessary ticket creation.
It should be easier to create a template and duplicate users.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Intune is cost-effective, especially in Office 365 bundles, offering savings over competitors with negotiable licensing.
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access is initially costly but becomes cost-effective due to its comprehensive functionality and reliability.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services pricing is competitive, with variable costs and valued inclusion in broader Microsoft agreements.
Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs.
The Intune suite and add-ons, such as batch management and remote help, are costly.
We get Intune bundled with our Microsoft agreement.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is expensive, yet not the most expensive in the market, so the price can be considered justifiable.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration, robust security, and flexible management for diverse devices with comprehensive administration and policy deployment.
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access provides secure, scalable cross-platform remote access with robust credential management and integration, eliminating VPN necessity.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services provides reliable, secure, scalable remote access with centralized management, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility for diverse company needs.
Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow.
Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management.
The secure access must be audited live, ensuring patient data protection.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
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Ranking in Remote Access
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
238
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
BeyondTrust Privileged Remo...
Ranking in Remote Access
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Privileged Access Management (PAM) (10th)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.6%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access is 2.5%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 11.6%, down from 14.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
Hahn Rolf - PeerSpot reviewer
Securely manage high-privilege remote access with granular configurations
I recommend that we improve integration with other products like PasswordSafe, aiming for smoother integration. Better alignment between products would enhance manageability from a single point. Additionally, BeyondTrust should focus on automating the update process to reduce unnecessary ticket creation. Improved quality control for non-English language versions is needed to avoid translation and layout errors.
Terje Romen - PeerSpot reviewer
Accessing the same desktop experience from anywhere but user template creation needs improvement
Mostly we are quite happy with it. However, some of us want a more powerful desktop. When not present, we use a remote tool called Splashtop, which is a good solution for some users. We have about ten licenses for those who need a powerful workstation at the office. We have not used many different tools. We are never in contact with Microsoft. These are quite basic configurations, to be honest. It's not complicated. AI is coming to or is already in some applications we are using. Not system-wise, however, it might be good. I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. It's quite good, yet certainly not perfect.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What do you like most about BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access?
The product has improved remote support capabilities since it works fine.
What needs improvement with BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access?
I recommend that we improve integration with other products like PasswordSafe, aiming for smoother integration. Bette...
What is your primary use case for BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access?
We use the tool for vendor access, providing secure vendor access to manage systems. Most of our use cases involve se...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
I've never had an issue with it. I've always thought the pricing for RDS was reasonable.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic. Everyon...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Bomgar Privileged Access
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Horizon Beverage, Air Liquide, Gateway Bank of Florida
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.