Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Reviews

We have some of our client applications deployed onto the RDS platform, and we need to test those applications through RDS Web Access. We need to test how external users access these applications from different networks, like the cloud gateway or external locations. As a part of the QA team, I need to check if users can access the applications without any issues.

Basically, I also work with Citrix, and I think the most important thing is getting access to Citrix. Microsoft developed the RDS solution for this purpose, and we don't see any issues accessing applications from Microsoft RDS. It's a good solution.

Users have reported that sometimes when we try to initialize an application, the session disappears one out of ten times. So, maybe it can be one of the areas of improvement. We are still investigating the issue, but we believe it might be due to a network or server issue.

Because this was the only issue I experienced was with the initialization of the session, which affected the stability of the service.

It's a project-based thing for me, so I move into different technologies depending on the project. I worked on Microsoft in June, and now I am into RDS. Currently, I am working on a project for RDS, and once that's done, I may move on to another technology. So, I've been using RDS for around three to four months.

It is stable, but users have reported that sometimes when we try to initialize an application, the session disappears one out of ten times. So we have to download the session file again and re-initiate the session. This issue occurs occasionally, and we must click on the application to reinitialize the session.

We are actually trying to get some insights on the issue with the initial initialization of sessions from the architect, also.

Overall, I would rate the stability a seven out of ten because we still need clarity from the architect. Is it something in the world of technology, or do we have the same issue? Or is it something that we are getting this issue because we moved to a new enrollment? We are just awaiting that.

It is scalable. Currently, we have 19 host servers, and each host is serving around 20 sessions or so.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten, where ten is very scalable. I haven't compared it with other solutions, but as an end-user, I believe it is quite scalable.

We have around 600 people, but about 300 to 400 users use the solution concurrently. Nowadays, we are using it regularly due to people working from different locations, but previously it was mainly used when people were working remotely from home.

The customer service and support team is good. 

Positive

The initial setup is not that difficult. I have gone through the RDS initialization steps, which only seem easy.

I would rate the setup around eight because I haven't compared it with other tools yet. But overall, I'm comfortable with the solution.

For the deployment process, in the current scenario, we have this solution from one vendor, and we are migrating it to a new platform. So it's not a complete configuration but rather a lift-and-ship process from one platform to another. We've been working on it for a long time.

We have around four to five people for the deployment and about four to five people for testing the applications after migration. There are a couple of architects who are looking into all the configuration changes in the lift-and-ship process. And there are also a couple of managers and a few quality assurance people.

For maintenance, the client has a partnership with Microsoft for maintenance as part of this deployment.

I would recommend the solution to people, especially for its security aspects and device compatibility.

I would give it a nine, it's good overall.

I primarily use the solution for online work.

The initial setup is simple. 

It is scalable.

The solution is stable.

I don't really like the solution in general. It's like Microsoft made me use it. I didn't have a choice per se.

The price is too high.

I can use a VPN and get the same results while using an actual desktop.

I'd like to have more courses or training available. 

I've been using the solution for a few years. I've used it since around 2019. It hasn't been an extremely long amount of time.

The solution is really stable. I'd rate it ten out of ten. I've had no issues with reliability. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

The scalability is good. You can basically keep adding licenses as needed when you have new users. We have four or five users at this time.

I've never had to use technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they would be. 

I have used TeamViewer in the past, however, it's quite different from this product. I used the consumer version, not the enterprise version.

I found the initial setup to be quite simple and straightforward. You only have to add a Remote Desktop license. There's no need to call or involve anyone else. 

The solution comes at a high price. It was not cheap. 

I'm a reseller.

I could recommend the solution to others if they need it and it makes sense for their use case. 

I'd rate the solution six out of ten. It's too much of a cost.

The most valuable aspect is it is handy. We just start up the servers, and we can call the remote desktop, and it's connected. And that's it.

The product is stable.

It is easy to set up.

The solution is highly scalable. 

The performance depends on connectivity. The refreshing screen rate is based on the internet and the bandwidth. It can therefore be unstable. 

It would be nice if they had a portable version. This would make it much better. Sometimes we cannot install it on some machines. We just want to use it once and don't need to actually install it anyway, yet we can't. 

I've been using the solution for 20 years. 

The stability depends on the connectivity. If there is terrible connectivity, it will be unstable. In general, if the connectivity is there, I would rate it four out of five in terms of stability.

The scalability has been very good. 

We have about 20 licensed users on the solution right now. 

I've never called technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are. 

I'm familiar with TeamViewer and Desktop Anywhere. They are good, however, we are concerned they have issues surrounding security. That's why we prefer this product.

The initial setup is simple. It's not a complex process. 

The solution comes in a bundle, which offers a cost-savings to customers. 

I'm not sure of the exact price. I don't deal with that directly.

I'm just an end-user.

It's on-prem and we have a server or a cluster to form a group of servers to provide. We are our access from other countries as we have some colleagues working in Britain.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

The solution is primarily for remote desktop services. It's used to start up a desktop service, and we can use a password and a user name to work remotely on other servers.

The product is very easy to use. 

The solution's implementation process is simple. 

It's pretty stable. 

It can scale well.

I can't think of an area that is lacking currently.

We had some instability during the implementation process. This has since been resolved. 

We've used the product for two years now. It was implemented at the beginning of COVID.

The stability is okay in most cases. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, we had some problems. However, that was due to the implementation of this solution. At this moment it's very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

The scalability, as far as I know, is not an issue. We moved all employees to this solution. We started with a few, and now almost a thousand colleagues are using this solution. Therefore, for us, in our experience, the solution looks very good if you need to scale.

I've never been in contact with Microsoft technical support. 

Before this solution, we used Citrix.

The solution has a straightforward setup. It's not very complex at all. 

Its deployment took a few weeks. 

The organization, during the start of COVID, had a lot of colleagues started working from home, and it seemed that the Citrix solution was not capable of doing that, so the ICT offices switched to Remote Desktop Services to accommodate people working from home. Our strategy was to have that capability.

The deployment and maintenance are handled by a third party. They aren't necessarily dedicated, however, they are they if something needs to be done. 

We had a third-party integrator that assisted with the implementation. 

I haven't witnessed an ROI. 

We use the solution. We're customers.

We're using the latest version of the solution. 

We use Microsoft Authenticator to log on, which is straightforward. 

I would recommend the solution to others. I suggest they just go for it. It's a very good solution. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We use the solution for support and remote access to servers.

We use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for its convenience and remote access capabilities.

Using our Active Directory policies, we can connect again and then do remote printing and file copying. We use it on our SAP system.

The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it.

I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for 10 years.

The product is stable.

I rate the solution’s stability a seven or eight out of ten.

One or two people are using this solution.

The initial setup is simple.

We don't need to buy licenses because we are a Microsoft partner.

We use cloud remote support because we need to assist our customers. It allows them to connect from the web. It's designed to be faster but unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to effectively use it. We primarily work behind the firewall.

Integration is straightforward because it integrates well with Windows Server.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We predominantly use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to access our server. Our team works remotely and needs to log in to perform tasks such as billing. We had two options: either use our existing internal infrastructure or move to the cloud. However, we also required remote printing services so that team members could print from their local desktops. To achieve this, we implemented terminal printing services, VPN, and remote desktop. The purpose was to enable both on-site and remote team members to perform billing tasks, invoicing, and tracking truck movement.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services meets all our requirements.

We encounter challenges with portability, especially for users of iOS devices. It becomes particularly difficult for us to manage if both ends have iOS devices, whereas having the same infrastructure with Microsoft Windows environments on both ends works seamlessly. The licensing of iOS presents problems for third-party integration and has room for improvement.

I have been using the solution for eight months.

I give the stability a nine out of ten.

I give the scalability an eight out of ten.

The initial setup is straightforward. We activated the solution smoothly and completed the deployment within a day. Beforehand, the distributor's tech team came to discuss our network and gain an understanding of everything. It took them a day to configure the solution. Although everything went smoothly thereafter, we encountered some initial challenges. Specifically, we faced issues connecting to the local and remote printers, as printing services were not functioning properly. To address this, we worked on it for a day and met our requirements within two to three days. It's worth noting that the solution isn't entirely plug-and-play, and there are challenges that require mitigation.

The implementation was completed in-house with the help of the distributor techs.

The cost is fair.

I give the solution a ten out of ten.

We have around 70 people using the solution within our Accounting, Billing, and Sales departments.

I recommend Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to others.

We primarily use the solution as a remote desktop.

The solution's capabilities are great. I like the remote capabilities.

It has a lot of features. We have everything we would need in a remote desktop.

The solution is stable.

It is scalable.  

Technical support is helpful.

The solution offers good value for money.

For Microsoft, maybe bandwidth optimization is one of the areas that need improvement. They also need better support for video applications, like Teams.

I've been using the solution from the beginning. 

The stability is fine. If we have the right bandwidth, I would rate it nine or ten out of ten in terms of reliability. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

If you have enough bandwidth, yes, it's scalable. However, if the bandwidth is limited, there is a problem. There should be better optimization for bandwidth utilization.

About 50% to 60% of the company uses the solution. 

I've occasionally reached out to technical support. They are helpful and responsive. 

Positive

We used Splashtop solutions, not TeamViewer, and this is also quite a good solution and offers good quality. However, Microsoft's solution offers better support and a more convenient way to optimize support from one administrator to many users. Microsoft's processes are much smoother.

The initial setup's level of difficulty depends. For the administrator, it is simple. For the VDI solutions, it's quite complex.

While the solution is more expensive, it is worth the cost. I'd rate the value you get out of the solution a four or five out of five. 

Usually, at the moment, in Poland, the customers are implementing a hybrid solution. We are looking at this approach as well for our customers. The solution can be implemented on-premise and in the cloud. Certainly, most vendors try to position it as a cloud solution. However, sometimes it's quite challenging to convince the customer that the cloud isn't possible. That's why we are looking at vendors who offer broader implementation options.

We are an end-user and also a Microsoft partner. 

We have the solution on-premise; however, for the VDI solution, which is not a technical remote desktop. We can see the Remote Desktop for administrators or for end users. For the administrator, it certainly is on-premise; for the end user, the VDI solutions, in Poland, we have on-premise and also pure cloud solutions.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. I'd recommend the product to others. 

The first use case was related to the development and testing environment. Before COVID, it was also for remote connections for work from home, to have access to a protected environment.

The solution has improved a lot.

It's simple to set up. 

It is stable. 

The solution can scale according to the hardware available. 

The solution isn't as good as the Citrix option.

I used the solution for ten years. 

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

There are some limitations in terms of the the ability to expand. It's scalable according to the hardware limitation or the virtual environment limitation.

I've also used Citrix. I prefer Citrix to Remote Desktop connections. The management and flow are better.

Hyper-V is also challenging Citrix. However, Citrix has a strong reputation still.

The initial setup was not complex at all. It was very straightforward. 

The connection for the client is embedded in the system. You just need to configure the servers and credentials. 

We did not calculate an ROI, however, it does offer more features than we needed and therefore offers great value for money. 

I'm not sure about the licensing. The licensing policies are changing in the Microsoft environment, so I'm not sure how it's licensed at this time. 

My understanding is that it is expensive. Even if we negotiate, it depends on the business you have and the volumes you run an issue for.

With the rules changing, the licensing can be complex. 

I was a reseller and partner. 

I'm not sure which version of the solution I used. 

We started using the solution on-premises and then deployed it to the Azure cloud. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. It's simple to deploy. Users just need to negotiate a price and handle tasks around their server license.