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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
238
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
68
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 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 Check Point Remote Access VPN is 1.7%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 4.9%, down from 7.2% 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.
Anant Suman - PeerSpot reviewer
Remote administration is enabled with secure and user-friendly access
The main purpose of the product is for firewall purposes that we are using, and the VPN provides secure access for remote connections. It adds simplicity, as the solution is simple enough, with an easy interface. The functionality enables secure access for remotely connecting users, which is necessary for our operations.
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

"It's really easy to access."
"Intune's most valuable feature is its centralized management capability."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Intune include providing visibility into devices and the ability to manage them remotely."
"The automatic patching is the most valuable feature of Intune."
"As the solution is a software as a service, the scalability is unlimited."
"Autopilot is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune."
"It supports end-users who tend to lock their devices quite frequently. Its conditional access policy helps us keep the users logged into their devices."
"We have one MDM that works with Windows, iOS, and Android."
"It allows everyone to work from home. If no one could work from home, then we wouldn't have a company, especially now during COVID-19. It's mission-critical, especially since it's currently being used. If there is a problem with it, we would really be screwed. We would be hard-pressed because we would have to figure out what solution we're going to go with, how to deploy it, how long it would take to deploy it, and how we'd even get it on people's computers if we couldn't VPN to them. It would be near impossible to just change to a new VPN solution right now."
"The solution is easy to install, centrally managed, and stable, with good technical support and a straightforward setup."
"One feature that is highly valued by our clients in remote access VPN is the IPsec suite. With IPsec, we can encrypt our data, ensuring that no one can perform a man-in-the-middle attack or decrypt the data. It utilizes powerful mathematical calculations and end-to-end encryption, preventing hacking attempts."
"The most valuable feature is the seamless access."
"The advanced malware protection and the sandboxing features are very valuable as they perform well, with detection being very high."
"The main purpose of the product is for firewall purposes that we are using, and the VPN provides secure access for remote connections."
"Organizations that already use the Check Point NGFW Solution do not require any additional hardware, which makes the implementation straightforward and reduces the time to go live."
"It is easy to install the Endpoint Remote Access VPN client on different platforms."
"The most valuable feature of Citrix Workspace is the virtual desktop that we can use anywhere, at any time, and without taking our laptop."
"Citrix Workspace can present desktop applications with ease, in an efficient and secure manner. The performance is good, it is a great piece of software."
"ICA/HDX optimization policies."
"Relative to other solutions, Citrix has fewer conditions and fewer parameters. Citrix also provides some flexibility because it can be used on any device."
"We can provide tons of applications with different settings, behaviors, and operating systems. It is the same way for the user. Then, we are totally transparent for the user to use a lot of totally different applications, which is the most important part of Citrix today."
"The tech support is fast, knowledgeable, and customer-friendly."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it supports team clients."
"The most valuable feature of Citrix Workspace is its security."
 

Cons

"Data leak prevention can be integrated into it. Currently, it does not have data leak prevention."
"Intune could be improved by expanding its third-party patching capabilities for a more comprehensive solution."
"The difficulty of the the roll out is surprisingly difficult considering this product is supposed to be an integrated part of the 365 suite."
"The Mac integration has room for improvement."
"The pricing can be expensive if you are not combining it with other products."
"The feature that allows us to import the business application from the configuration manager to Intune is not very good at this time."
"There could be more wizard-driven policy development or creation. Some of the policies can get quite complex. If they have a wizard that assists the administrators in creating the policy, that will be a great job."
"The security aspect could be more effective. We are using other applications to manage network devices and groups, so if Microsoft Intune could improve in this area, especially on a network level, it would be a real advantage."
"We would like to implement HTML5 (clientless access) in the product without installing any additional software."
"Improvements for Check Point Remote Access VPN could include enhancing mobile connectivity for a smoother user experience."
"Check Point Remote Access VPN's enterprise support could be improved."
"They need to increase their timeout. Right now, it will fail after ten seconds, however, it shouldn't fail until after 20. If you don't get on your phone right away and check on your authentications, it will kick you out."
"There was complexity in the initial setup."
"The ability to allow split-tunneling while still following our corporate policy needs to be on the table."
"There were some issues with automation and instability."
"Check Point Remote Access VPN could be more user-friendly."
"The video conferencing feature needs to be improved."
"The sales team does not focus on client needs but instead focuses on selling higher-priced items."
"The initial setup is complex."
"The dashboard should be more user-friendly as the tabs are not organized clearly."
"There is room for improvement on the hypervisor side, providing better integration between the hypervisor and the product line. I suspect that they haven't put the work into that because of the move to the cloud. They want everything to be cloud-hosted. But for folks like us, who will always be a hybrid model, that's of some concern."
"It would help if it were a little simpler. It's a bit complicated and we have hired Citrix administrators. But it's a good solution."
"We're running into all kinds of speed issues and reliability issues. There are frequent disconnects, and we're not sure whether that's a problem with the product, with the way the product has been deployed, or with server capacity or bandwidth. Our IT department pays attention to that, but we are feeling the impact of that."
"The support offered by Citrix's partner needs to improve. The partner support platform should aim to provide more technical information to users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This cost is approximately $30 USD per user per month."
"On a scale of one to ten with one being the cheapest, the cost of Microsoft Intune is a five."
"Microsoft Intune is moderately priced. There is a monthly license required to use the solution and it is approximately eight dollars per month."
"Microsoft Intune is reasonably priced for large organizations that already have Microsoft Enterprise licenses, but it is less affordable for smaller businesses."
"We spend a lot of money on Intune licensing, and some of our users have to be double licensed just because of how our dev and corporate environments are segmented."
"Microsoft's licensing is more flexible and adaptive than its competitors."
"The price could be better."
"If you ask the accountant or the finance department, they'll tell you that it is way too expensive, but when I look at the cost and compare it with the value you actually get, it's more than fair."
"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."
"Organizations that already have the Check Point NGFW need to purchase an additional license to have access to the VPN functionality."
"The solution is pretty expensive. The rating is an eight."
"I can say that the licensing costs are charged annually."
"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."
"Check Point Remote Access VPN is not expensive and the cost is annual."
"I give the price of the solution a five out of ten."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"If you look at cost, then you must look at the number of users that you are covering. If you are only using it for some users, then it is very expensive. However, if you have a massive amount of users, then it begins to be interesting to use Citrix. Because once you are managing thousands of servers with one guy, your maintenance costs decrease per user."
"In terms of pricing with the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, I think it has gotten better over the years. Citrix has found more dynamic ways to be able to revive licensing models that fit many different scenarios that organizations have. We have been able to evolve our own licensing over the years to accommodate our situations between concurrent versus user device licenses. Now, when we move into the Citrix Workspace realm, we definitely have some awesome options there."
"It is a bit costly, but enterprise class features come with a cost."
"The cost of the Citrix software reflects what I would expect a product of that nature, in that market, to be. Understanding the licensing is quite a bit more complicated, because one of the things about Citrix is that you can buy licensing at different levels... Yet I still like the idea because it means that if all you need is a basic load balancing solution, then you don't need to buy an advanced or premium license."
"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is an expensive solution."
"The price of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is approximately $300 for the new version called Dash and the license is approximately $900 annually."
"The licensing, in general, is expensive. A lot of customers battle to pay the amount. It's very difficult to ensure that your solution provides the business value that the customer is after."
"I don't quite remember the specifics of what we had. I believe we had a 25-user license, and I don't recall it being overly expensive."
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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
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

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 needs improvement with Check Point Endpoint Remote Access VPN?
Our key technical supports come during hours that are not aligned with our working hours, which sometimes affects our...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Endpoint Remote Access VPN?
We are using Check Point Remote Access VPN for remote administration of our data centers and on-premises systems. If ...
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
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.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.