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Horizon 8 vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Horizon 8
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
113
Ranking in other categories
User Virtualization (1st)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Horizon 8 is 9.4%, down from 14.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 9.0%, down from 15.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

RashidAnwar - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
BHARAT B  SHARMA - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up and reliable, but needs an additional control panel
We've had issues with security breaches. The main problem is that if we are using this with the individual computer and using a remote desktop, there are some loopholes there. When I implemented this on an individual computer within two or three days it got captured. There is a problem with the printing and sharing of this program. There is a lot of customized software leaving the market due to this. If somebody wants to run a specific program with the specific settings, they don't want full access to the computer. Then there are some problems that have to be resolved. We'd like to have an additional control panel available in order o more easily give resources to the computers. There are a lot of restrictions and having a program panel would make things easier. It would help us set up the right access and permissions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Scalable and stable virtualization solution, with good technical support offering timely responses."
"The initial setup is very simple."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its reliability."
"We use VMware Horizon to digitalize environments."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"I like VMware Horizon's ability and performance."
"It is a stable solution. It is wonderful for multi-user environments, and it supports different virtual machines and operating systems. You can go for any kind of virtual machine. It has many features, especially for a call center. You don't have the issue of computers going down from time to time. You just need to copy the virtual machine to deploy it. You also don't need many people to maintain computers. With Horizon 7, you just need one or two people."
"The most valuable feature is that VMware Horizon is easy to setup."
"The solution is user-friendly and has a good user experience."
"The solution now includes a multi-screen feature which is great."
"The solution is scalable."
"The most valuable part of RDS is that it allows you to work from any location and check the server through a VPN connection."
"In terms of the valuable features, I like the profile, the new version is really good."
"The performance meets our requirements and the stability is good."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"It's scalable enough for our needs and very reliable."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the pricing model."
"The solution is very expensive."
"Sometimes, the protocol itself gets a bit laggy. If you have less than optimal switching and routing, it can get kind of laggy."
"Horizon View could be more stable."
"The multimedia playback is not very good and they could improve it by increasing the quality."
"The primary concern lies with licensing. There’s confusion regarding licensing terms following the new management’s takeover. Consequently, our resellers and distributors are confused."
"VMware Horizon 7 could improve by supporting the active-active data center. At this time we are only deploying it in the production environment. Our customer is considered to deploy the VMware Horizon 7 to a secondary data center, but we found out that it cannot fully support the user in the deployment in the active-active data center. Any improvement on this would be beneficial."
"Sometimes we had to force values so the end-user could continue working, which caused some information to get lost."
"The biggest reason we don't use the solution for our company's clients is the solution's prices."
"The solution should have better security."
"I would like to see a web-based interface, instead of client installation to refresh the UI through HTML."
"Sometimes the server stops working, and we don’t know why. Occasionally we’ll get a message to the effect of "There is no remote license.""
"Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliance for Mac."
"It could be more user-friendly."
"Security in the connection between us and our clients' servers is something that can be improved."
"The pricing could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"VMware Horizon View's licensing cost is not expensive."
"We have a three-year contract, for which we pay about ten euros per user per month."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"The license is very costly, as well as the renewal cost."
"The solution is more expensive in comparison to Citrix but when comparing the technicalities VMware Horizon, is worth the money."
"VMware Horizon's costs are high."
"Its cost is fair. You can go for a free trial, but for initializing a project, you need to purchase a license. There are different types of licenses."
"There is a monthly subscription for the use of this solution and it is expensive."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements."
"It's not an expensive product."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"The pricing is moderate."
"The tool's pricing is high in the Slovenian market. I rate it a nine out of ten."
"The solution is expensive. My company pays toward the monthly licensing costs of the solution...The additional cost, apart from the solution's licensing cost, is related to the technical support a user wants."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"It's not an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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...
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 ...
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?
The current process I have to go through to get a Windows 11 VM up and running is difficult. Windows 10 worked a whole lot better than Windows 11.
 

Also Known As

VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager
Remote Desktop Services, MS Remote Desktop Services
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

LCMC Health
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Horizon 8 vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
817,354 professionals have used our research since 2012.