Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Horizon 8 comparison

Citrix and Omnissa are both solutions in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category. Citrix is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1, while Omnissa is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4. Citrix holds a 9.7% mindshare in VD, compared to Omnissa’s 10.3% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Citrix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Omnissa users who would recommend it.

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...

Read 124 Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) reviews

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92% willing to recommend

Horizon 8

Read 112 Horizon 8 reviews

9,854 Views
7,182 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...

Horizon 8

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Citrix DaaS and Horizon 8 are competing products in the virtual desktop infrastructure category. Citrix DaaS often has the upper hand due to its broader feature set and comprehensive management capabilities across diverse environments.

Features: Citrix DaaS offers comprehensive management features, flexibility across environments, and secure access from multiple devices. It is well-regarded for WAN optimization, user profiling, and efficient workload provisioning. Horizon 8 excels in seamless application management with embedded features, user-friendly setup, and tight integration with VMware environments.

Room for Improvement: Citrix DaaS struggles with complex Active Directory configurations and high costs due to licensing issues, along with occasional performance lags. Horizon 8 requires significant investment in training and can be costly, especially with licensing. Enhancements are needed for simplifying cross-platform usage and security improvements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Citrix DaaS offers a mix of on-premises and cloud-based deployments, providing flexibility but sometimes leading to complexity. Its customer service is generally positive with some variability. Horizon 8 focuses on integration within VMware environments, receiving praise for technical support but needing more accessible resources.

Pricing and ROI: Citrix DaaS is viewed as expensive due to its complex licensing but promises long-term savings through reduced hardware costs. It targets extensive setups with a gradual ROI. Horizon 8 offers competitive but sometimes expensive pricing, contingent on scale of use, benefiting larger organizations more with its efficiencies and features.

To learn more, read our detailed Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Horizon 8 Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Horizon 8

October 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

124

Ranking in other categories

Application Virtualization (1st), Remote Access (5th), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)

Horizon 8

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

112

Ranking in other categories

User Virtualization (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 9.7%, down from 14.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Horizon 8 is 10.3%, down from 14.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Featured Reviews

DavidWood1

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

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.

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RashidAnwar

Senior Project Lead at Tetra Pak

A product that offers an easy-to-use patch management option to users

The product supports remote work scenarios in our company, considering that we have different factory infrastructure devices, such as the remote operators in different areas of the plant, where it is used to access centralized applications from multiple types of devices, such as tablets, remote PCs, etc. The product facilitates virtual desktop management and deployment, which allows for centralized management. The tool allows our company to deploy multiple instances from one central repository simply. Security patches are much easier to deploy. The scalability part is also one of the advantages offered by the solution. The patch management is much easier, and access control of different devices is good in VMware Horizon View. The scalability or flexibility feature of VMware Horizon View enhances our company's IT operations by allowing us to use all the different security areas in the plant to be deployed and used in a few simple clicks. For production areas and warehousing zones, my company has created separate rules, after which we simply deploy from the central management and create clones of similar applications that are already designed during the first instance. I rate the user experience in terms of speed and reliability an eight out of ten. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a very scalable solution."

"In terms of Citrix Workforce features, the most valuable for managing our remote workforce is security, especially AppProtect. Users cannot simply copy and paste data to their local devices. This prevents data breaches, as data can't be copied to OneDrive or Google Drive. Screenshots from local PCs are also blocked, though data can still be manually copied using a phone."

"The basic virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) feature is most valuable. We were lucky to have it in place when the pandemic hit. It is used very heavily now."

"Citrix is used by many organizations to make it possible to streamline the way different developers work together from different locations."

"The only thing that is really important for me is being able to connect from wherever I am. It is important for me because sometimes I am in places where there are not enough safe conditions to be able to work safely, in terms of security and confidentiality of my data. Being able to access internal resources from a secure platform allows me to work without fearing that my data has been stolen."

"It has very good performance in delivering 3D applications over WAN."

"It is a good product. I don't have any complaints."

"This is a very stable solution which you can feel confident using."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) pros

"The solution simplifies our work."

"I like VMware Horizon's ability and performance."

"The most valuable features are Instant Clones and AppStacks."

"The application delivery is it's most valuable feature."

"The most valuable feature of this solution has been security."

"From my standpoint, the desktop is the most valuable feature."

"The most important feature of this solution is the connectivity with every device, such as iPad, iPhone, and other terminals. The security of the solution is very good."

"VMware Horizon View is a stable solution."

More Horizon 8 pros

Cons

"When I needed support for a couple of things, three people intervened. Each time, three people gave me a different answer. In the end, they did not manage to give the right answer. At a certain point, they stopped replying."

"Citrix has undergone significant changes, primarily due to its acquisition. This acquisition impacted Citrix's value because of increased licensing costs under the new model. As a result, many customers are now considering alternatives to Citrix."

"The user profiles could use some improvement."

"If anything could be improved, it might be some of the Director functionality, and some of the dashboard customization, or the overall Director customization."

"We have had issues with certain aspects, which is why we are looking for alternatives. For example, the firewall solution from Citrix is a bit complicated. Integration is hard."

"The initial setup is complex."

"The monitoring and management is in need of improvement."

"There is room for improvement because it has a lot of dependency on Active Directory and other things. If they could come up with something similar and native, a complete solution portfolio would help."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) cons

"I would love to see so they can actually allow the use of Linux, from a hosting environment as well as from a VDI client environment."

"VMware Horizon View can improve by making it easier to use for first-time users. You should learn the whole concept of VMware to be able to use it."

"The majority of things in VMware Horizon can be done only in Windows and not in Linux. There are Linux customers who would like to use VMware Horizon's features."

"There is room for improvement in the integration with other parts of the suite. For example, you currently need separate windows to manage app volumes and the dynamic environment manager (DEM)."

"Lacking in documentation for app settings."

"The initial startup costs for this solution are relatively high."

"I would like to see simple load-balancing for smaller environments that lack large solutions like F5, or NSX; it should be redundant or unavailable but in a simple way. Perhaps limited to only two components; if more are required, a paid load balancing solution can be used. Load balancing for simple environments, or simple redundancy, is sorely lacking."

"The solution must be faster and smoother."

More Horizon 8 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is a little bit high, but it's good value for the product's stability and efficiency."

"It's my understanding that the solution license fee for each user is around $300 US. If we buy a personal laptop for each employee every five years, then the total cost is five times $300 US, or $1,500 USD. So we could buy 100 personal laptops instead of the Citrix solution."

"I think it is a little high priced."

"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."

"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is an expensive solution."

"As for the cost, it is neither cheap nor expensive. Personally, I find it quite expensive, especially if you want to add more features. The security features we use include App Protect and Endpoint Protection."

"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."

"The solution is expensive and I give the cost a four out of ten."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) pricing and cost advice

"The solution is more expensive in comparison to Citrix but when comparing the technicalities VMware Horizon, is worth the money."

"The license for this product is paid on a monthly basis."

"The price of VMware Horizon 7 is more than some other solutions."

"It is hard to know for sure. It is definitely in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. It is quite expensive, but you do save money on desktop power, desktop upgrades, etc. You're able to extend the useful life of your previous desktops. Previously, we used to change desktops regularly, and now we just change them when they break."

"VMware Horizon View's licensing cost is not expensive."

"Licensing and hardware outsourcing is expensive, but can be cost-effective in the three to five-year range."

"The pricing can be relatively competitive, but sometimes you have to go back to VMware and ask for additional discounts. You can make it competitive If you're prepared to put in the work. The list prices and standard discounts may not be competitive, but if you push hard enough, you can get the price to where you need it to be."

"VMware Horizon's costs are high."

More Horizon 8 pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user8922

Architect at Unisys Global Services India

Aug 23, 2013

Comparison of VMware View 5.2 VS Citrix XenDesktop 5.6

Recently I attended the VMware Partner Exchange 2013 and there was a session called “Technical Battleground – View VS XenDesktop”. In this post I will try and cover the differences that VMware showcased during their session and I am going to add an additional column for my comments and thoughts on…

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Answers from the Community

Dante Dano

Systems Engineer at Evaluation Services Inc.

Oct 26, 2021

VMware Horizon View vs Citrix XenApp: which is the better product and why?

See 2 answers

Evgeny Belenky

Director of Community at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)

Jun 29, 2021

Hi @Abbasi Poonawala, @David Grudek, @Payman Maher, @Michal Sadlik , @Tonatiuh Torres Zamorano , @JacquesBodenstein, and @Dan Withrow. Can you help @Dante Dano with your professional experience? Thank you.

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Dan Reynolds

Director of IT at BLDD ARCHITECTS INC

Oct 26, 2021

I think VMware Horizon View is a very solid product. I think it is the most mature product on the whole spectrum. All virtual desktop environments require tuning for performance. Depending on the size of the company you don't need 1/10 of the bells & whistles that the vendors include. For example, I have a small environment - 70 employees. I don't use instant clones, personas, their analysis tools, ... Not only are they expensive (the tools) they overly complicate a complicated process. KISS. I have honed down the environment to what is just needed. Most of the industry will tell you otherwise. And I do all this as a one-man IT department.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?

My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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. Although it works well on the apps side, the desktop aspect still has room for i...

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How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?

VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...

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What do you like most about VMware Horizon 7?

VMware offers a friendly environment, and it's easy to provide the user with the package. It is a bundled solution that is readily deployable. The advantage lies in its simplicity, it requires mini...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon 7?

We paid a lot of money for software that is not really fully operational out of the box. We had to have patches from VMware to get it into production. Hence, we lost a lot of time implementing the ...

See all answers

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Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) vs Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

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Compared 4% of the time

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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Horizon 8

Compared 38% of the time

Workspace ONE UEM vs Horizon 8

Compared 16% of the time

VMware Workstation vs Horizon 8

Compared 10% of the time

Horizon Cloud Service vs Horizon 8

Compared 4% of the time

Sangfor aDesk VDI vs Horizon 8

Compared 3% of the time

More Horizon 8 Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

November 2024

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) report

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Buyer's Guide

Horizon 8

November 2024

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Also Known As

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace

VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager

Learn More

Citrix

Omnissa

Overview

Enable secure, flexible work with the leader in virtual apps and desktops

Deliver desktop as a service (DaaS) from any cloud or datacenter

Get started with Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) in minutes to provide a familiar, high-performance digital workspace experience to your users. We’ll manage the infrastructure and security. You focus on your business.

VMware Horizon is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution designed to allow users to create secure and scalable virtual desktops and applications that work on any device, from any location. These virtualization capabilities help simplify and speed up application delivery and greatly reduce enterprise costs.

VMware Horizon’s centralized management console provides IT admins with comprehensive control over all of their virtual desktops and applications, making them simple to manage and secure. The solution enables using features such as identity and access management, multi-factor authentication, and encryption, to ensure ultimate data protection.

VMware Horizon benefits:

Some of key the benefits of using VMware Horizon include:

Increased security: VMware Horizon includes multiple security features such as identity and access management, multi-factor authentication, and encryption, to ensure a high level of security and data privacy.

Compliance: Meet regulatory and compliance requirements by providing users with secure and controlled access to data and applications.

Reduced costs: By using VMware Horizon, organizations can reduce the costs associated with managing and maintaining physical desktops and applications, as well as reduce the costs associated with providing secure remote access to these resources.

Easy management: VMware Horizon provides IT administrators with a user-friendly centralized management system, making it easier and faster to manage and secure their virtual desktops and applications.

Enhanced user experience: Users are able to access their virtual desktops and applications from any device, and from any location. Work from any location, without being tied to a specific device or area.

VMware Horizon features:

Some of the top features of VMware Horizon include:

Virtual desktops: Create secure and scalable virtual desktops, with a choice of operating systems and settings.

Virtual applications: Create virtual applications that can be run from any device or operating system.

Central management: Control and manage virtual desktops and applications from a single pane of glass.
Quick duplications: Clone virtual machines and applications instantly.

Scalability: VMware Horizon can scale on demand to meet the needs of any business large or small.

Reporting and analytics: Gain insight into user activity and behavior with detailed analytics and reporting.

Security features and ID management: Ensure the security and privacy of data with a wide variety of security features, including encryption, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on (SSO), and network security.

Seamless integration: VMware Horizon integrates easily with other VMware solutions, including VMware vSphere, VMware NSX, and VMware Workspace ONE.

Reviews from Real Users

VMware Horizon stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its high performance, flexibility, and powerful virtualization capabilities.

Natnael A., a consultant at IWM Network Solutions, writes, “The app virtualizing is a great feature. The system developers use it to deliver apps to targeted staff. It basically reduces the server infrastructure resource. The solution provides good functionality.”

Rob M., a systems administrator at Saint Tammany Parish Hospital, says, “The solution has provided flexibility by allowing an end user to remote in, log in, and get their VM. VDI session and have all the icons and applications they need to use and retain the same booking view regardless of location.”

Sample Customers

Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval

LCMC Health

Buyer's Guide

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Horizon 8

October 2024

Free Report: Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Horizon 8

Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Horizon 8 and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

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