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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Venn Software 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
362
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
Venn Software
Ranking in Remote Access
38th
Average Rating
9.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (52nd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 7.1%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 7.1%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Venn Software is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune7.1%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services7.1%
Venn Software1.0%
Other84.8%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

HA
Senior Business Development Executive at Digitaltrack Solutions Pvt Ltd
Centralized device management has automated onboarding and improves remote security compliance
One thing I feel Microsoft Intune could improve is troubleshooting visibility. In many cases, when a policy or application deployment fails, the error messages are a bit generic. So, admins still spend time checking logs manually or testing on devices one by one. Compared to the simplicity of deployment, troubleshooting sometimes feels less mature. I also think reporting and real-time monitoring could be stronger. The dashboard gives useful information, but in large environments, many teams still depend on additional tools or scripts for deeper reporting and analytics. If I had to focus on one area first, I would probably choose troubleshooting and reporting. Deployment through Microsoft Intune is generally straightforward, but when something fails, identifying the exact root cause can still take more time than expected. Error messages are sometimes too generic, and admins often have to dig through logs, sync status, or multiple portals to understand what actually happened. I think user experience and policy management could also improve further. Microsoft Intune has become much better over the years, but sometimes the admin portal still feels fragmented because certain configurations open in different sections or redirect to older interfaces. For new admins, especially, it can take time to understand where everything is located. Another thing is policy conflict handling. In larger organizations, multiple device policies, compliance rules, and configuration profiles can overlap. When conflicts happen, the visibility is not always very clear, so admins spend time figuring out which policy actually won or caused the issue.
reviewer2795433 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Secure remote access has protected sensitive country data and supports strict compliance needs
I understand from the IT team managing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that it is complex to set up the multiple roles, certificates, and networks required. Networking is quite complicated. Even though on the data center side it is quite simple, maintaining the farm of other connections that connect to that server is the complex piece. I understand there are more modern systems replicating what this solution does, which are easier to use, such as Azure Virtual Desktop within Microsoft Azure Cloud or Amazon WorkSpaces, which I have used before. Rather than having to manage all the complex networking, you could abstract it away a little further in the cloud for easier use. I also understand that this tool is in an end-of-life state now, with Microsoft actively pushing people towards Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365. I do not believe further features will be rolled out due to its end-of-life state, making it a legacy solution now.
reviewer2110356 - PeerSpot reviewer
Growth Specialist at Digitrends Soultions
Great for hybrid workers, minimizes latency and delivers great performance
We haven't encountered major issues with the solution. We are really happy that we decided to purchase Venn Software, although they are quite new. The initial setup is seamless. It's not overly complex. In our experience, for the most part, the solution is reliable. We haven't experienced any bugs or glitches. That said, the performance could be a bit better. We'd like to see a bit more done with the deployment capabilities. The solution needs to offer better local or regional support to cater to offshore users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"As the solution is a software as a service, the scalability is unlimited."
"The security-related tools are excellent; these features allow us to secure devices, lock them down, and ensure compliance."
"We are a Microsoft 365 E5 customer and the product promises the capabilities that we need and is available without additional cost."
"Within Intune, managing policies and having a consistent way to manage devices is valuable."
"The most valuable feature for us is the security, including risk analysis and patch management."
"The most valuable features are that users can make screenshots, and devices only need the minimal version of iOS."
"I appreciate Intune's autopilot feature, which allows us to enroll devices and install applications to meet corporate requirements seamlessly."
"We were trying to solve many issues, mainly the lack of centralized management. Before Microsoft Intune, we had to manually support devices one by one, installing applications and configuring policies individually. When we implemented the tool, it became much easier to manage our devices. We enroll them in Microsoft Intune and can manage all devices with a few clicks. For application management, it's the same process. If we want to deploy applications to hundreds or thousands of devices, we can do it easily with just a few clicks. This also applies to policies."
"The most valuable features are it is fast and cost-effective."
"Things can be made easier if someone is not with us or at a long distance since we can connect easily with those people. So, it's easy for us to use such features."
"I like the way it can assess our system."
"The most valuable features are the desktop session and desktop virtualization."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by helping us function efficiently when we're not physically at certain machines."
"I have found Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to be stable."
"The solution is easy to deploy and there are many features available that you can turn on or off depending on your budget."
"Everything is really good and it works well."
"We don't need to go to the physical office, and it only requires minimal supervision or assistance from our IT Team."
"It allows us to improve our security and prevent company files and data leaks."
"Since the software is launched directly from the computer, not remotely delivered, it has minimized latency and response time."
 

Cons

"Intune's areas for improvement revolve around security and certificate management."
"I heard some pain points. The main thing is the learning curve. It took time to implement. It was not the best product starting out of the gate."
"Most of the customers in the business do not use Intune because it doesn't support that much policy for Android."
"From a new user's perspective, it may be a little overwhelming because there are quite a few things to look at in the console, however, once you are sort of acclimated and are familiar with your core functions, it's fairly simple and straightforward."
"The time we have to wait to deploy policies has room for improvement."
"Intune could add more Linux security features and more integration with on-prem devices. The application deployments can also be improved."
"No option to do end-to-en macOS management. Slow implementation of policies."
"With Microsoft technical support, they only fix Teams and when they are open, they're mostly trying to close again at the quickest time."
"The stability could be improved."
"The administrative functionality is not enough for me."
"We'd like to see more integration with other vendors."
"The only issue I experienced was with the initialization of the session, which affected the stability of the solution."
"I've sometimes had trouble setting up an RDS connection if I want a specific user to be able to log in with their credentials and have the RDS element retain those settings so that the password isn't required each time."
"In Azure Remote Desktop Services (RDS), which is a VDI solution, we would like to see linked clones. It is a Hyper-V solution, and it doesn't support linked clones and uses a lot of storage."
"The only problems that you're going to have with the remote desktop are going to be firewall ports, security, and NLA, which is a net network level access control, or TLS transfer layer security or some other SSL-type of security."
"We'd like, in the future, if it would work with Linux or Unix-based operating systems or even Mac."
"It would be better to have the back end more efficient."
"We'd like to see a bit more done with the deployment capabilities."
"Currently, Venn only uses two platforms/applications: Windows and Mac. It would be great if they could also add more platforms since some BYOD employees might be using an application other than Windows or Mac - for example, Linux."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Intune license model is costly."
"It's bundled with Business Premium and an E3 license, which is beneficial. If you have to pay extra, it's pricey, but with the bundled package, it's acceptable. They recently increased the Business Premium pricing, which we don't appreciate. The price increase and yearly commitment are causing some problems for us."
"Existing E5 license holders for M365, Intune, and Azure, receive a free license."
"Microsoft offers some licensing where it's included at no extra cost when customers are already using the licenses. In such a case, it's a really good value. If you have to buy the licensing for it, it's probably on par with other solutions. It isn't substantially more or less expensive. The great thing is that it is included in some of Microsoft's licensed packages. So, some customers don't have to spend additional money for it. Typically, most providers that support Intune do charge a management fee of some sort or some fee. Certainly, we're no exception."
"Microsoft Intune is more expensive than other solutions, but it offers a wider range of features and control."
"We have the business premium licenses for the solution."
"There is a license required to use this solution. However, it was part of a bundle package. Microsoft Intune is far less expensive than other solutions, such as Workspace ONE."
"The pricing for Intune and the competitor products are all within the same range, there is no true advantage when it comes to cost."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. We're on the educational or academic license, and our terms are good. We're very happy with the pricing."
"I think that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is expensive compared to Login solution."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"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 rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"The pricing is moderate."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
University
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business164
Midsize Enterprise60
Large Enterprise182
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise36
No data available
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the pricing is based on licensing costs and the setup ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services can be improved in several areas. Currently, it requires a license cost, it has per...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Our main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is to allow multiple users to remotely access our Windows mac...
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Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Remote Desktop Services
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Venn is currently being used by 700+ organizations. The newest version of our secure workspace is selling not only to our existing customer base but to new companies like Voya, ModSquad, TTech and many others.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. Venn Software and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
895,151 professionals have used our research since 2012.