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Check Point Remote Access VPN vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Remote Access
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
234
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Check Point Remote Access VPN
Ranking in Remote Access
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (6th)
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...
Ranking in Remote Access
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Application Virtualization (1st), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (3rd), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 3.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Remote Access VPN is 2.2%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 6.1%, down from 8.4% 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.
Ozan Durmus - PeerSpot reviewer
Is easy to use and has a nice interface, but the scalability needs to improve
The deployment takes around two to three hours. If you manage the product, one person could be enough, but if you need some kind of additional integrations like ADA integration, you need someone from ADT to access products. One person is enough, but one or two additional personnel may be included. To deploy Check Point Remote Access VPN, you must purchase a license, enable the blade, and purchase client access licenses. You can then follow the instructions to deploy the product, write the necessary rules, make the integrations, deploy the agent to the clients, and provide them with a login solution. I rate the initial setup an eight on a scale of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.
DavidWood1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible Deployment, reliable performance, and fast transmission speeds
Provisioning Server is a fantastic option for image management in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. It offers excellent performance and reliability. On the other hand, while Machine Creation Services can be scaled easily, they can significantly increase storage consumption. For instance, creating a Windows 10 image in MCS typically requires at least 80 GB of storage, in addition to any separate disks needed. To store changes made by users in Machine Creation Services, the differencing disk must be equal in size to the base disk, leading to significant storage consumption. On the other hand, Provisioning Server uses image versioning, creating a new image version every time it's modified. As a result, virtual machines streamed from the server revert to their original state after a reboot, which is similar to their state during the first boot. Using the provisioning server, I start by configuring a virtual machine with either a 2016 or 2019 server operating system. I install the necessary Citrix client provisioning server target device software, followed by installing the required applications. After that, I capture the entire configuration to a file share. The image is then streamed from the file share to the hypervisor, which can handle multiple machines. In some large-scale deployments, we have used a single image to provision thousands of servers. Once the image is captured and stored on the file share, it is set to read-only mode, and any changes made to it are not accepted until it is put in read-write mode. When a virtual machine is rebooted, it returns to its previous state before the changes were made. This feature can be beneficial in situations like a virus outbreak, where a simple reboot of the virtual machines can remove any malicious code or changes. A provisioning server offers a faster recovery time from a bad change and is generally faster than machine creation services. With the provisioning server, changes are not accepted until the read-write mode is enabled, and if a virus outbreak occurs, rebooting the machines restores them to the previous state. On the other hand, machine creation services' speed is dependent on the storage's speed, and recovery time from a bad change can take longer, especially with a large number of devices. If a bad change is made with machine creation services, the replication process can take a while to revert, whereas, with a provisioning server, all machines can be rebooted quickly. Within thirty minutes, I can restore my system to its previous state using the provisioning server.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"While Microsoft Intune boasts a wide range of features, its user-friendliness and bundled licensing cost are key considerations for me."
"The most valuable feature is Intune's ability to push out updates for the security and antivirus. I also like Intune's copilot and the ability to automate processes. For example, if you have 5,000 employees who are issued new PCs and you need to set them up with everything they need."
"The initial setup is not overly complex or difficult."
"We like Intune's Autopilot functionality, which enables one-touch deployment. Dynamic grouping is another feature we find valuable working in academia. We have people in buckets based on their roles in the university, such as faculty, staff, alum, or grad. Sometimes, they will fit into multiple places, and dynamic grouping helps with that."
"The security-related tools are excellent; these features allow us to secure devices, lock them down, and ensure compliance."
"One of the most valuable aspects of Microsoft Intune is its seamless integration with Azure Active Directory, offering capabilities akin to Group Policy Objects."
"I would rate the stability of Microsoft Intune nine out of ten."
"It is a comprehensive security solution that not only controls access to enterprise resources but also tracks and prevents unauthorized access, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and preventing potential data loss scenarios."
"The most valuable feature of Check Point Remote Access VPN is its ability to deploy. It follows the same process as their stateful inspection firewall or IPS. If you know how to enable one feature, you can enable and configure others. The learning curve isn't steep."
"It keeps us safe when browsing the internet and when sharing confidential information with our colleagues."
"The management of the solution is very simple. It allows for a single view of all the endpoints."
"One of the features that I like most about this software is that it has a very intuitive, simple, and versatile interface that makes it easy to use and configure."
"The secure hotspot access for enabling good network connectivity is great."
"The complexity is hidden within a full mesh network, allowing seamless user-to-application connectivity with minimal delay."
"Scalability is great. We have been able to grow as a corporation due in part to this type of solution."
"Technical support has been excellent."
"You can connect to any printer, and from anywhere you can print documents using a compressed channel. It is easy and the bandwidth is very low."
"The shadow feature is extraordinary and helps a lot when supporting remote users."
"The service dash and Workspace Environment Manager service are good features."
"The ease of access and the confidentiality and security that it provides is what we like best."
"The App is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature of Citrix Workspace is its security."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the desktop virtualization, which allows me to connect from anywhere."
"Centralization and security are the most valuable features of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops."
 

Cons

"Intune is not the most user-friendly mobile device management platform available."
"Its integration with Mac and Linux devices can be better. They should provide more features similar to Windows. We should be able to manage policies within Linux and Mac machines. If we can have more granular controls for these two operating systems, it will be really helpful."
"Although Intune is from the same provider, its integration with other Microsoft products, like Microsoft Defender or Microsoft Purview, could be improved."
"Intune is not the most user-friendly mobile device management platform available."
"Intune's areas for improvement revolve around security and certificate management."
"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 should be more focus on mobile device security and integration."
"Microsoft Intune fails a lot when it comes to device compliance."
"We'd like to integrate Check Point into the Remote Access VPN solution and have the ability to integrate multiple devices as access points through the solution."
"When you want to deploy a new Check Point agent, it is really a pain in the butt. For example, Windows 10 now has updates almost every couple of months. It changes the versioning and things under the hood. These are things that I don't understand, because I'm not a Windows person. However, I know that the Check Point client is installed on the Windows machine, and if the Check Point client's not kept up-to-date, then it's functionality breaks. It has to be up-to-date with the Windows versions. Check Point has to update the client more often. Now, the problem is that the Check Point client is not easy to update on remote computers and it's not easy to deploy a new client."
"The scalability needs improvement."
"We have noted some stability issues."
"The main area for improvement is pricing. Another area could be integrating MFA authentication directly into the solution instead of using separate benchmark tools for implementation."
"The Linux version may have an app (similar to Windows) instead of a shell script."
"Sometimes it causes the consumption of machine resources, and also improves the scanning since they consume many resources in the clients' machines."
"The connection has gotten less smooth as the number of users increases. The issue is that the logs fill up quickly. Too many users are connecting remotely. It worked great when we only had a few remote connections. Now, it is disconnecting people and dropping the internet connection."
"When there are technical issues, sometimes we can't get on the cloud."
"The product's technical support services need improvement."
"The ITSM adapters need to be enhanced."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a complex solution."
"Citrix duplicates multiple processes."
"If anything could be improved, it might be some of the Director functionality, and some of the dashboard customization, or the overall Director customization."
"If Citrix can develop something which can have more reach towards the backend infrastructure, other components of the Citrix environment, that would be ideal."
"I would like to see simplification in the management of the on-prem infrastructure component of Citrix DaaS, particularly in the studio tool used to manage the DaaS infrastructure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune is reasonably priced for large organizations that already have Microsoft Enterprise licenses, but it is less affordable for smaller businesses."
"Its price is quite okay. I wish they provide certain additional features with the same license."
"It is reasonable. When you have Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 license, it is already licensed in that license. So, you could say it is free."
"Our enterprise agreement includes Microsoft Intune at no additional cost."
"The solution is cost-efficient."
"Microsoft Intune has a user-based subscription model. You can go for a monthly or a yearly payment."
"Its price is fair. It's a normal price. It isn't too expensive or too cheap."
"Our Office 365 Business Premium license, including Office 365 and Intune Management, offers excellent value."
"The product is expensive. I rate its pricing a ten out of ten. For the cost of one product, we could purchase two or three Fortinet solutions with the same amount of money."
"The solution is pretty expensive. The rating is an eight."
"My company makes yearly payments only towards the licensing costs attached to Check Point Remote Access VPN, as there are no extra costs attached to the product."
"The price of this product is good."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"Organizations that already have the Check Point NGFW need to purchase an additional license to have access to the VPN functionality."
"I give the price of the solution a five out of ten."
"My understanding is that the pricing and licensing are very competitive, and it's not one of their more expensive products. We buy licenses for the solution and have licenses for the endpoint servers."
"It is a bit costly, but enterprise class features come with a cost."
"Based not only on the cost of Citrix, but additional costs like firewalls, IPS, and other solutions, the total cost of switching users from using normal laptops with VPNs to connection via Citrix were so huge that the CEO of our company decided to postpone the deployment process."
"If one is a high price and ten is a low price, I rate the tool's price a three."
"The licenses are affordable, but the support is a bit expensive, though worth the value.​"
"We are seeing a return on investment with Citrix Workspace."
"We spent nearly 1,50,000 Euros for 250 licenses."
"Citrix solutions cost a lot in comparison with competitors, like Azure Virtual Desktop or VMware Horizon. Those solutions cost around 50 to 60 percent less, per month per user, than Citrix."
"We're paying for a standard license and, in my view, the price is too high. I would be satisfied with it if it were reduced by about 20-30%. Right now, I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What needs improvement with Check Point Endpoint Remote Access VPN?
There are some issues with the Check Point VPN, such as its complexity compared to other VPN clients. Another downsid...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Endpoint Remote Access VPN?
For remote work, Check Point Remote Access VPN connects, creates the site, and gathers information about the site in ...
What do you like most about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?
I have found that Citrix DaaS is still a complex product, especially on the desktop side, which affects scalability. ...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Check Point Remote Access VPN, Check Point Endpoint Remote Access VPN
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Osmose, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Remote Access VPN vs. Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.