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Abul Fazal - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Delivery Manager at Almoayyed Computers
Real User
Top 10
Highly secure, easy to configure, and straightforward installation
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
  • "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."

What is our primary use case?

We have many customers that are using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for publishing internal applications through the services. The process involves virtualizing applications for internal and external users and making them accessible through Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and reverse proxy services. By doing so, users can indirectly access the applications without logging into the server directly. The solution is used mostly for external company users.

How has it helped my organization?

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has helped the security posture of the organization by not exposing its internal applications. instead of giving internal direct access to their internal apps. They give access to only a secondary server with limited access to internal applications.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration.

What needs improvement?

The solution can improve the policies of the solution.

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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
January 2025
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For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for approximately 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable, we are able to have more licenses or increase the load if needed.

How are customer service and support?

The solution is straightforward and we have not had any problems needing to contact support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have not used a similar solution to Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is simple. It only takes a few clicks of the mouse to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements.

What other advice do I have?

For customers who already have the Microsoft EA framework, the license for enhancing internal security when publishing web and internal applications to both internal and external users is readily available. By using this feature, customers can ensure that their applications remain secure without compromising access to their users. This eliminates the need for direct access, thereby enhancing the overall security of their systems.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
OğuzKalaycı - PeerSpot reviewer
System engineer at Yaşar Holding
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Shares computer resources perfectly and provides the necessary security options
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool shares computer resources perfectly."
  • "Sometimes, the updates break the system."

What is our primary use case?

The users connect to a central server and share the physical or visual server resources. They use the remote desktop environment for office documents, operations, and company-specific programs.

What is most valuable?

The solution works perfectly. The tool shares computer resources perfectly. It provides the necessary security options.

What needs improvement?

When we update the environment, we face problems sometimes, and the users cannot use the system.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for about 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is stable. Sometimes, the updates break the system.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is very scalable. We can add and delete objects from the environment easily. We have approximately 500 users.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is straightforward. It is easy to deploy. Microsoft provides the necessary documentation, including detailed steps to install and configure the servers. The deployment process can be improved. It can be made more easier.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The tool must be cheaper. It should provide an option to pay the license fee once in a year or once in two years.

What other advice do I have?

We don't use any support because we can easily find online documents to solve our issues. I recommend that everybody use the product. If any company wants to share one computer’s resources with many users, they can choose Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,997 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Donathon Ong - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Issue free and allows for remote access to machines, but is not scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "It works fine, and it is largely issue-free."
  • "The product is not very scalable."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for remote desktop services. It can be used locally or on the cloud. It's on every single Windows machine. 

If you need a remote desktop for Windows 10, or Windows 2016, you use RDP, which is Remote Desktop Services.

What is most valuable?

The solution is great for remote into machines. 

It works fine, and it is largely issue-free.

The product is stable. 

What needs improvement?

If you are deploying it, as a VDI solution, then it is very limited.

The product is not very scalable. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's quite stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution scales minimally. It's not meant for scaling. 

Everyone uses the product to some extent. We do not have plans to decrease usage at this time. 

How are customer service and support?

I try not to contact technical support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using Citrix, which I found to be much better.

How was the initial setup?

The solution comes with the Windows Server. You simply enable the feature and begin using it. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is bundled within Microsoft products. 

What other advice do I have?

I wouldn't necessarily recommend the solution to others unless they had no other choices.

I'd rate the solution five out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT consultant at Secoptrial
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Stable, easy to set up, and lets you control your computer
Pros and Cons
  • "What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely."
  • "I want to connect easily from an external network even when I'm not in my enterprise or company. It should be easy to connect or integrate Microsoft Teams, for example, with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services."

What is our primary use case?

I was exploring a different feature, particularly trying to deploy active directory domain services. Hence, as an IT administrator, I needed to enable a Remote Desktop Service feature that allows me to connect remotely to the server in just a matter of seconds, so that was my use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

I was trying to install Microsoft Office on the computer remotely, which means connecting to the server through Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to see if the server has access to the internet or whenever an update needs to be installed.

What is most valuable?

What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely, and that's a good feature.

What needs improvement?

What needs improvement in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is the connection when I'm outside the network. It should be more accessible. For example, if I use a public network, I want to connect remotely more effortlessly, from my internal network, without much requirement.

I want to connect easily from an external network even when I'm not in my enterprise or company. It should be easy to connect or integrate Microsoft Teams, for example, with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used Microsoft Remote Desktop Services twice, and if it's an emergency, I can use it immediately. From time to time, I use the solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I found Microsoft Remote Desktop Services stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For me, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services doesn't require scaling compared to other services. It works fine, so you won't need to scale it.

How are customer service and support?

I have yet to contact Microsoft Remote Desktop Services technical support.

How was the initial setup?

I found it easy to set up Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. It takes a few seconds to enable your options on your computer, particularly for on-premise deployment. However, it takes about two minutes to deploy if you'd like to deploy the solution for a managed server in the cloud.

What about the implementation team?

I deployed Microsoft Remote Desktop Services with the help of a consultant because when I was trying to deploy on the cloud, there was a pop-up telling me to wait ten minutes to complete the setup. Then I could get assistance if I had a question, which I did.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows.

What other advice do I have?

The version of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that I use depends on the environment I'm in. For example, if it's Windows 10, I'll have a different version than Windows Server 2022 or Windows 11. It depends on the system version I want to run the solution on.

Most of the time, the deployment model for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is on-premises. Still, you can also do a hybrid deployment if you want to connect to a server in another region.

The IT team uses Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

I recommend the service to others.

My rating for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Head, Technical Operation at mynic
Real User
Good features, fair pricing, and helpful support
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the way it can assess our system."
  • "We'd like them to continue to improve on security."

What is our primary use case?

The product helps assess our system.

What is most valuable?

I like the way it can assess our system. 

The features it has already serves or needs.

The initial setup is very simple. 

It is quite stable. 

The product offers good pricing.

Technical support has been helpful. 

What needs improvement?

I don't need any other new features. It works well as it is. 

We'd like them to continue to improve on security. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for quite some time. It's been around ten years or so.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable product. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It is reliable. 

I'd rate the stability seven out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Our system is on Windows, and we need to scale very little. As far as we're concerned, it scales enough for us. We have about 20 users on the solution currently.

How are customer service and support?

We use Microsoft 365, and if we have any issues, we contact support that covers that. We've been satisfied overall with the level of support we get. I have no complaints. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are also using TeamViewer. It targets different areas from Remote Desktop. For example, it allows others to access your system - not you. They each serve different purposes. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is great it's very simple and straightforward. I do not find it to be complex at all. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is good. I'd rate it five out of five in terms of affordability.

What other advice do I have?

I'm a customer and end-user. 

I seldom use the product; however, for me, it works exactly as I need it to. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Rostyslav Khomyk - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Owner IT Services at Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG)
Real User
Top 10
It's predictable but they need to develop better support for remote desktops for alternative platforms
Pros and Cons
  • "I like that it works. In most cases, it's predictable. You know what you get."
  • "Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliance for Mac."

What is our primary use case?

We use Remote Desktop Services for a few things. My experience started with Microsoft Remote Desktop when I tried to reuse really low power desktop machines to turn them from these desktop machines into class remote desktop terminals. That is my initial experience with Microsoft Remote Desktop. My most current experience with Microsoft Remote Desktop is using a specific Microsoft product on the servers where you don't have any chance to administer them using the web browser. SCCM, active directory administration and other Wintel server roles are most handy and the most secure to administer from the Microsoft Management Console. Therefore, you need to do it at least from some instance of the Microsoft windows server.

What is most valuable?

I like that it works. In most cases, it's predictable. You know what you get.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliances for Mac. This is really frustrating because if I'm on windows I can remove the Microsoft remote desktop applied for Windows, but I'm already using windows, I always have an option B. I can still plug directly with Microsoft management console from the windows station and still do something remotely. But on a Mac, I have to rely purely on the Microsoft Remote Desktop. 

If I need to pass second-factor authentication, not a one-time password thing, if I do a Microsoft remote desktop session, I have to reach the first server, which is my best one. From that server, you're actually going inside your protective network. Then on the second spot, you are not able to pass a YubiKey and go any farther. That creates the problem. We have had many support tickets.

For how long have I used the solution?

With this new company, I have been using this solution for two and a half years, but overall I have 15 years of experience.

It is being used mainly on a Mac platform.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would say it's stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In the last setup, we had 3,000 users. It wasn't the nicest experience.

How are customer service and technical support?

My experience with support is varied. It really depends. It varies depending on which support line you get. If you say you're a particular engineer then they won't really bother to support you. But if you say you have an enterprise contract and that you're a big company and you have a contract then they offer better support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Citrix. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a more developed version of Citrix.

I would recommend going for VMware.

How was the initial setup?

Microsoft programs are never easy to install but the installation wasn't something we didn't expect.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed it on our own.

We use enterprise orchestration so it doesn't take too long to deploy. Microsoft products do not really play along with the open-source orchestration platforms. Once you overcome this, it becomes easier.

What other advice do I have?

I would not recommend going with this solution because I wouldn't recommend going for a big enterprise setup. 

I would rate it a four out of ten. 

In the next release, they should develop better support for remote desktops for alternative platforms. It's really lacking consistency. If I have to support terminal server clusters and I have to do change management on the big cluster, then I actually run into a lot of issues both on the Microsoft Remote Desktop as well as Citrix. They should provide a consistent user experience. It's a pain to roll out changes into a different mode of the cluster and to propagate them over multiple modes. I end up in a situation where a portion of my users get the changes and the other portion doesn't.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Yousra Azzouz - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Systems Analysis at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Reliable, works well, and is quick to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is now stable."
  • "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.""

What is our primary use case?

We use it in our bank.

We have some servers, and more than two users go remotely with them. We prepare with the Microsoft engineer servers that take them and the license for the users when they need them.

How has it helped my organization?

It has generally improved how our organization functions.

What is most valuable?

The solution is now stable.

The initial setup is simple. It's quick to deploy.

It works well and does what we need it to do.

What needs improvement?

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."

For how long have I used the solution?

I’ve been using the solution for about one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

While we had a problem before, now everything is stable. It’s reliable now. We’ve dealt with our issues and no longer have troubles.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I can’t speak to the scalability. I’ve never attempted to scale. That’s handled by someone else in the company.

Right now, we have 50 licenses available to us. We use the solution quite extensively.

How are customer service and support?

I’ve never dealt with technical support for issues related to the stability problem. I can’t speak to how helpful or responsive they would be. Other team members deal with them. We do have a support contract with Microsoft.

I have dealt with them on Teams on Active Directory and found them to be helpful. I found their help to be excellent.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We already had a license with Microsoft, and therefore, it was natural to use this product as well.

How was the initial setup?

It’s not difficult to set up. It’s pretty straightforward.

The deployment is pretty fast. It only takes about an hour and a half. We only needed to have three people handle the deployment and maintenance.

What about the implementation team?

An engineer worked with us to set up the servers. We have machines joining the domain, and we have workgroup machines.

We handled everything in-house. We didn’t need the help of consultants.

What was our ROI?

I’m not sure if we have seen an ROI.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I cannot speak to how much the solution costs. My understanding is that it is moderately priced in that it is not cheap or expensive. We ended up getting it when we renewed our license. It’s an extra feature with the broader Microsoft license.

What other advice do I have?

I’m not sure which version of the solution we’re using.

I’d recommend the solution to others. It’s solved problems for us and worked well.

I’d rate the solution nine out of ten.

We have a partnership with Microsoft.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partners
PeerSpot user
Chinthaka Kannangara - PeerSpot reviewer
Network System Engineer at VSIS
Real User
Secure with a good level of performance and an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The performance meets our requirements and the stability is good."
  • "We'd like, in the future, if it would work with Linux or Unix-based operating systems or even Mac."

What is most valuable?

As an internal Microsoft product, we find it very trustworthy. It's quite secure. It connects easily to Windows operating systems on devices. 

The performance meets our requirements and the stability is good.

The solution scales well.

The setup process is easy.

What needs improvement?

The solution is under the Microsoft infrastructure and therefore does not allow for service under other operating systems. We'd like, in the future, if it would work with Linux or Unix-based operating systems or even Mac.

For how long have I used the solution?

Although I don't use it consistently, I have used it for ten to 15 years. It's a pretty old solution. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. The performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is okay. Sometimes we deploy a server-client scenario, so many clients can connect to the same server and they can log in at the same time simultaneously. There's no issue with scalability in that sense.

We have 50 users on the product currently.

How are customer service and support?

We've never had any real issues. I haven't dealt with technical support.

How was the initial setup?

In terms of the initial setup, the implementation process is simple and straightforward. It's not difficult. 

Since it is not a new solution, most of the engineers know how to deploy and how to operate it; we are not waiting for further technical documents for assistance.

What about the implementation team?

Since it was quite easy to deploy, we did not need any outside assistance from integrators or consultants. 

What other advice do I have?

While it's connected to the cloud, it's a solution that is currently on-premises. 

I'm not sure if we are using a specific version. Whatever options that come with Microsoft, we use that. Since they upgraded Microsoft (for example, earlier it was Microsoft XP, and Windows 7, 8, 9, 10, et cetera), the options come up throughout those operating systems. We use whatever they offer.

I would recommend the solution to others. I'd rate it at a nine out of ten. We've had a good experience with it over a number of years. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.