Horizon 8 Reviews

Our primary use case for the solution is to give end users clone desktops, and they can use their applications. So instead of providing a desktop, we give them a computer with just a client, and everything is loaded in that VDI session and not directly on that workstation. We deploy the solution on-premises.

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.

We have found the link loans for desktops most valuable.

The customer service and support team could be better.

We have been using the solution for approximately six years and are currently using version 7.0.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable. Approximately 800 users are utilizing the solution in our organization.

I rate customer service and support a six out of ten.

Neutral

We did not previously use other solutions.

The initial setup was straightforward, and two people were required for deployment and maintenance.

We have seen a return on investments.

I rate the solution a nine out of ten. The solution is good, but the technical support team can be improved. My advice to new users considering the solution is that it is a good option. It is easy to set up and not that difficult to implement.

We use this solution for delivering virtual desktops and applications.

Currently, we are using version 2006 which has an older model of provisioning and there are some compatibility issues that we are going to solve in the coming months. The latest version is 2103. However, there is not much difference between 2006 and 2103 it is almost the same.

The small differences are in adjunct functionality and regarding the transference relationship between domains. 

The benefits of this solution are that it is modern and it works perfectly well with the rest of the VMware environments we have. Having this vertical integration is what matters to us as an organization and this solution excels in this area. You deploy it and it works without much hassle.

The multimedia playback is not very good and they could improve it by increasing the quality.

In an upcoming release, there could be more integration support for Linux and better Linux user profile management. This is a feature we use in the universities but most other normal businesses will not be interested in Linux. 

I have been using this solution for approximately six years.

95% of the features work without any issues and 5% of them have issues that are normally difficult to pinpoint. However, since these small issues can normally be corrected by support, this solution's stability rating is high.

We have 5,000 users on the system but only 200 of them are using it together at the university. Scalability was not ever an issue.

We have contacted technical support and they have been responsive.

The initial setup is a moderate level of difficulty.

We did the implementation of the solution.

In my organization, we use a lot of VMware solutions for vertical integration and have evaluated other solutions, such as Citrix.

I would have said this solution needs to improve in profile management a couple of years ago because VMware does not have profile management that works out of the box. However, this issue was solved by Microsoft by releasing a solution that works very well with VMware Horizon.

Those who are wanting to implement this solution should consider the Cloud offerings for VMware Horizon. There is a possibility it could cut the time for delivery and it is more scalable. You will not have scalability issues.

I rate VMware Horizon 7 an eight out of ten.

VMware Horizon View is easily scalable. Its onboarding is easy and comes with flash provisioning features. 

We would like to see better performance with the product. 

I rate the tool's stability an eight out of ten. 

I rate VMware Horizon View's salability a nine out of ten. My company has more than 3000 users. We continue to onboard around 20-30 percent of new users. 

I rate the tool's initial deployment an eight out of ten. Deployment takes two to three hours to complete. It is a simple OEM SOP. You need around two resources to complete the deployment. 

We did VMware Horizon View's deployment in-house. 

VMware Horizon View pricing is high compared to other solutions. I rate it two out of ten. Its licensing costs are monthly. 

It is better to go for AVD on a private cloud than a public one since private clouds are expensive. I rate the solution a five out of ten. 

We use it in our call center, in the warehouse where we prepare products for stores, and in the warehouse.

We have 1,000 users in my organization. It's deployed on-premises. We stopped updating it in 2013 and 2017 because we used Windows 7. 

When COVID-19 started, we organized our call center remotely. The solution allowed our users to work from home.

I like that it updates quickly and allows users to have virtual desktops.

I would like to see more useful monitoring within users and a more useful help desk. 

I have used this solution for about six years.

We haven't had any problems with the infrastructure. There haven't been any bugs, but there have been glitches in the newer versions.

We haven't had any problems with scalability. It works quickly and we can scale up our infrastructure within about 10 minutes.

For technical problems, support has been fast. They were critical for implementation and installation.

I have also used Citrix.

When we started using Horizon, Citrix was more user-friendly and integrate-able. But we've found that the new version of Horizon is more useful and user-friendly with each new feature.

For Horizon and all other VMware products, setup isn't easy, but it isn't hard. Maybe the problem is with the documentation and consultation. After consultation with my colleagues in other companies, they gave me answers to all my questions.

In previous years, the documentation was not a problem. With the latest version,  there's too much documentation compared to their last available version.

It took about two or three weeks to set up. We worked to prepare images and tools for our several user groups, which was used as a test to prepare for switching.

There were two people involved in deployment: me and a network administrator.

There haven't been any maintenance requirements.

I would rate this solution nine out of ten. 

My advice is that users are interested in relevancy, and the version is not important to integration.

The solution is useful for anyone working from home. It enables connection to office workstations and open corporate portals. We can access all files and folders, and collaborate with other team members. I'm a company manager. 

This product works quickly and is reliable. You feel like you're working on your own desktop and not on a remote desktop.

The one thing that could be improved would be to implement more robust audio redirections. When we are talking on headphones, using Teams, or any other communicator, there shouldn't be any lag time, voices cutting out, or interrupted connections. It has improved from what it was initially, but there's still a way to go. 

I've been using this solution for two years. 

The solution is definitely scalable. If you want to change computer size, or need more horsepower, it can be done. You can also work with multiple flavors of operating systems and if you need to test and work with Linux servers, or open two or more windows, you can do that too.

The solution requires very little technical support because the environment is very stable. The vendors provide great training and have a good knowledge base if any assistance is required. 

I previously used Dell vWorkspace but they halted development when it was sold. We had concerns regarding ongoing support and the lack of development so we switched to Horizon. 

The initial setup is really straightforward. It doesn't take more than five minutes and doesn't require external help. 

I recommend this product and rate it nine out of 10. 

VMware Horizon is focused on VDI and application delivery. Organizations use VMware Horizon to deliver third-party applications to their end users. This is facilitated by Horizon's VDI solution, which provides the necessary infrastructure and management capabilities.

The console is straightforward and easy to understand for the end user. It can be deployed on any device, including iPads and Mac OS. Users can access their daily applications and resources provided by the VMware Horizon environment from any device.

It covers and deploy legacy applications to customers who are using outdated operating systems. Legacy applications run only on older computers, but with the power of Horizon, they can be deployed on any device. With recent changes, Horizon operates with a high degree of independence. It enables users to work anytime, anywhere, on any device.

VMware Horizon is best in class product, but they should the improve its connectivity of the agents deployed. They should create their own virtualization infrastructure to host their horizon moving forward.

I have been using VMware Horizon for four years.

We encountered licensing issues. It uses a newer type of licensing, leveraging the cloud for auto licensing rather than using a traditional license key. This change should be discussed with the customer moving forward. To address this, we needed to replace some of our components to connect with the tenants for auto licensing.

I rate the solution's stability a seven out of ten.

The scalability depends on the underlying infrastructure. Horizon operates with VMware vSphere. As long as the company regularly reviews the scalability and virtualization information, Horizon can be easily scaled up or down based on the requirements.

I rate it a seven out of ten.

Currently (Q1 of 2024), raising a ticket with VMware Horizon can be challenging with recent changes (Migration due to recent product acquisitions). Some of the customer portals and support portals are undergoing migration, making it difficult to access them directly and submit tickets.

Negative

The initial setup of VMware Horizon can be time-consuming since it involves deploying various components. There are separate components that you need to deploy as part of Horizon. You may have to deploy other components that can be integrated with Horizon. For instance, a Microsoft server that hosts the RDSH can be added to the Horizon environment. This kind of integration with different products can add complexity, making the implementation of VMware Horizon medium in terms of difficulty.

Deployment depends on the number of agents to be deployed on end-user devices & the number of VM's or VDI components to be deployed in the implementation. On average, it takes two weeks for deployment.

I rate the initial setup a six out of ten.

Compared to other VDI providers like Citrix or other VDI provider, it stands on par in terms of cost. It is neither cheaper nor expensive, but comparable to the standard pricing in the market.

VDI can be beneficial in many instances and use cases. One example is when you have existing users accessing the company network. For users who shift roles or locations but use the same laptop, VDI is advantageous. Instead of purchasing a physical hardware device for each individual user, you can build the infrastructure and deploy VMs for them to use moving forward. This approach simplifies onboarding and offboarding users, as VDI allows easy management of user accounts. 

VMware Horizon is a key component in deploying and providing a comprehensive digital workspace for organizations. Horizon can be used independently or integrated with other VMware products to create a unified digital workspace. It supports VPN and enhances the digital employee experience by using AI functionality to learn user behavior. This AI capability helps seamlessly identify and analyze any issues within the company, ensuring a smooth and efficient working environment. It includes various networking and monitoring tools, such as those provided by VMware virtual infrastructure VMware, which contribute to a robust and secure organizational framework.

VMware Horizon is still undergoing a migration process. This could be attributed to VMware's acquisition by Broadcom, followed by the sale of the digital workspace pillar, which includes the Horizon product. Horizon may have established its own company as part of this migration process, leading to issues, particularly with the portals.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Our primary use case for VMware Horizon is facilitating remote access to our compute clusters for our developers. VMs predominantly run on Linux systems, specifically utilizing RHEL 8. The developers connect from various locations in Europe.

The product integration on local client machines running Linux needs improvement.

We have been using VMware Horizon for four months.

We have approximately 100 VMware Horizon users in our organization. We never encounter any challenges for scalability.

We have escalated the issues related to backup during the USB tunnel integration process for virtual machines.

Positive

The initial setup was easy, including the onboarding process. It took us two and a half months to complete, which was longer than expected due to the vacation season. We have to update the triggers for maintenance.

We took help from a third-party vendor for implementation.

At present, they provide decent pricing in terms of bundled licenses. However, they might increase the price after the acquisition.

VMware Horizon has proven to be the only best product for enabling individuals across Europe to efficiently run jobs on our compute cluster while accessing the graphical user interface of their Linux machines. The main benefit lies in robust security features.

From the point of view of virtual desktop deployment, it gives standardized access to our users. Its most valuable feature is the rapid and versatile access from clients operating on various Windows, Linux, and MacOS systems. It has benefited users in terms of speed and reliability of the connection, including security aspects. We never encountered any issues related to the reliability and uptime of the platform.

One area for enhancement in VMware Horizon that would greatly benefit our use cases involves improved support for USB connectivity, allowing seamless tunneling of USB devices from laptops to the virtual machines running in the VDI. Additionally, addressing a bug related to integrating Active Directory and Linux environments is crucial for reliability.

We have designed an independent IT infrastructure for Horizon. Thus, the scalability creates no disturbance to our overall infrastructure.

We have compared a few features of other open-source products. VMware Horizon is better in terms of graphical user interface for Linux users.

I advise others to consider infrastructure, virtualization, network, and storage requirements before making a purchase decision.

I rate VMware Horizon an eight out of ten.

In my previous project, we used Horizon to connect three remote offices with the main headquarters for centralized business applications.

It's centralized and secure, making it great for business.

There is room for improvement in support. The response time could be faster.

Configuration and driver support could be simplified. Integrating profiles with Active Directory [AD] is still complex.

I have experience with this product for five to six years. I have worked with v5, v6, v7 and v8.

It is a very stable product.

We can upgrade it and even add new features. So, it is a scalable product.

There are delays. When you're stuck, they answer the call and find someone, but resolving the issue might take one or two days.

Neutral

We used Citrix in non-production environments. But for production, we prefer VMware.

As a technical expert, it was easy to implement. I have a technical background spanning over 17 years. 

But for someone less experienced, it could be trickier, especially setting up client-side agents and drivers and integrating with AD services. But those issues can be fixed. So, deployment is easy.

The pricing depends on the use cases. It depends on the company's needs and budget. For us, it was okay, not too expensive.

Our company is a vendor for over 200 clients. We specialize in migrating infrastructure, on-prem data centers, Hyper-V, VMware, Boxmark, Citrix, any platform, any server, any application database, Oracle, Postgres, SQL Server, EDS, and anything. We move it all to Azure for replication, backup, and high availability.

Just find the right vendor. Check for local experts and certified vendors. You might need their technical help later.

Local vendors usually have technical guys and certified experts who can help with any scenario. I've dealt with upgrades and daily issues for over six years now.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.