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Senior Manager at Macro Systems Limited
Real User
Reliable, simple implementation, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable."
  • "Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having graphical acceleration."

What needs improvement?

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having graphical acceleration.

For how long have I used the solution?

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

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is good.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
January 2025
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How are customer service and support?

I have not needed to call the support from Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because the solution is easy to use.

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

I have previously used other solutions, such as Citrix and VMware. Citrix is the best choice of the ones I have tried.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is very easy.

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

The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

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

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
it_user125988 - PeerSpot reviewer
Client Technologies Manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
The most valuable features are resilience and thin provisioning.

What is most valuable?

  • Resilience: Has alllowed our 24/7 acute hospital to run electronic prescribing on the wards with limited downtime or post-setup configuration.
  • Thin provisioning: Our core applications mean that our WiFi connected devices can drop-off the network without causing patient record locks.

How has it helped my organization?

It has enabled our clinical staff to get real-time medicine prescribing information at the patients' bedside with a near 100% service uptime.

What needs improvement?

I think that the Single Sign-On (SSO) could be improved.

At release time, there was not a lot of information around. We invested some long hours researching. The documentation from Microsoft was difficult to find. Now there are plenty of step-by-step guides around.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used it for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Initially, the configuration I setup used DNS round-robin. This was changed to a NLB setup on our session hosts.

This has improved the stability of the clients' Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connectivity. It has given us granular control over stopping connections for downtime/maintenance windows.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We did not encounter any scalability issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

We actioned this with a limited budget. We completed it all in-house with no external technical support other than searching on the internet and testing.

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

We run Citrix alongside this solution for our internet connected clients. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (RDS) was used primarily over our LAN/WAN.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was a little complex. Like any thin client setup, some applications are trickier than others.

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

I could not see the benefits of using Citrix as you require RDS CALs regardless. We see this solution as a very good value.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Citrix.

What other advice do I have?

  • We have found this to be very stable with a quite straightforward setup. However, Single Sign-On (SSO) certificates are a little fiddly.
  • Ensure that the underlying infrastructure is fully tested, robust, and scalable.
  • Our early problems stemmed from our hypervisor issues. Because clients only heard it was the RDS farm, I took a lot of heat on issues that were out of my control.
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.
CEO at iSolute Ltd
MSP
Top 5
Affordable solution and has an easy installation process
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution performs well and is easy to use."
  • "It could be more user-friendly."

What is our primary use case?

The solution helps users to access desktops remotely.

What is most valuable?

The solution performs well and is easy to use.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft's desktop versions have a limit of only one concurrent session. It needs to be improved. Also, they should enhance the solution's user interface. It could be more intuitive compared to TeamViewer and AnyDesk. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution's stability as a nine.

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

We have used VNC Viewer, UltraVNC, and TeamViewer before.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is easy to install.

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

The solution's license is affordable.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend the solution to others and rate it as a nine.

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
Security engineer at ARCEP Togo
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Reasonably priced with good functionality and updates often
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost."
  • "It could offer better security for enterprises."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution as a remote desktop. It allows us to access Windows services.

What is most valuable?

The solution offers good access to desktops remotely. It makes work easier. 

The user interface is fine. 

It offers reasonable pricing. Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost.

The solution is stable.

It can scale well.

The initial setup is simple. 

It offers good centralized security features. 

The solution offers many updates. Every week we get updates.

It offers very good functionality.

What needs improvement?

The solution is not missing any features. 

It could offer better security for enterprises. They are not always on top of security.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable If the network k is very stable, you won't have issues. I'd rate the stability eight out of ten. We haven't had any issues. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. It extends well. I'd rate it ten out of ten.

We have about five network and system administrators on the solution. If we increase resources, we may increase usage. It's very easy to increase users as necessary.

How are customer service and support?

We have never used Microsoft technical support. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward. 

The deployment only takes ten minutes. 

We simply need the remote server parameters in order to make the connection and finalize the setup.

We only need one technical person to deploy and maintain the product. A system admin could easily manage it. 

What about the implementation team?

As long as I have the remote server parameters, I can handle the setup myself. 

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

We do have to pay a licensing fee. The pricing is not too expensive. It's very reasonable. 

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. I'd recommend the solution. Microsoft of very reliable, and its remote desktop is great. However, there needs to be more security.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Independent Consultant at Business Connexion Namibia
Consultant
Helps us connect to the legacy system with a straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
  • "We use it to connect to the legacy system."
  • "There is a limitation on the number of concurrent users."

What is our primary use case?

We use it to connect to the legacy system.

What is most valuable?

It is still in the early stages, and the features are purely for connectivity.

What needs improvement?

There is a limitation on the number of concurrent users. The limitation is 20, and you have to spin up more than one server, which is not needed at this stage because of customers. So they reduced it to 12 active users. So if you want to deploy more than 12, you should assess other solutions.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for three months, and it is the latest version. It is deployed on cloud.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We had issues with stability in the beginning, but it is good now. The stability depends on connectivity in terms of the latency of the internet link.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not tried to scale it. We have 40 users using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

I rate the technical support a six out of ten. It took them a while to understand the technology.

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

We chose this solution because it's a Microsoft Cloud and end-to-end all solution, Cloud 365. In addition, it's all Microsoft, so it made sense to stay with the same VDI solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. The deployment was done with BCX, and it took one week.

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

The licensing came with the product, and the solution had no additional costs.

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution an eight out of ten. Regarding advice, it depends on the requirements and what you need. In this case, it's just for one legacy system. So if you assess more functionality and scalability, we would look at different products because the customers would be prepared to pay for those products.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Ahmed Nagm - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Solution Consultant at PCS
Real User
Top 10
Manages the remote desktop end user and easily transfers files between your desktop and the remote site
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is managing the remote desktop end user or remote server."
  • "The solution should introduce a chat feature for end users."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for remote access. I use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to troubleshoot or reboot the service of my mobile or tablet applications.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is managing the remote desktop end user or remote server. It is much easier to transfer a file between your desktop and remote site using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

What needs improvement?

The solution should introduce a chat feature for end users.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for more than ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

More than 30 people use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services in our company.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

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

The solution has a pretty comparable pricing.

What other advice do I have?

I do recommend Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for my clients. It would be good if we could manage client-server applications through the remote interface.

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

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1319745 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Analyst at a university with 201-500 employees
Real User
Great screen draw feature; option of using two monitors is very useful
Pros and Cons
  • "Good screen draw feature and ability to use two monitors."
  • "Lacks a notification feature when internet is down."

What is our primary use case?

When I'm in the office I use the solution to connect to another server to look at files or services that are running, things like that. When working from home I use it to connect to our VPN and then to my work computer and pretty much do everything that way. I'm a senior software analyst at an educational institution and I believe we have a partnership with Microsoft. 

How has it helped my organization?

Because of Covid, the solution has given those stuck at home the ability to continue working.

What is most valuable?

I think the price of this product is great. The solution allows me the option of using two monitors. I like the screen draw in Remote Desktop, it's better than GoToMyPC, which I've used previously although the improvement could also be related to a better internet connection over the past six months. 

What needs improvement?

It would be helpful if there was a feature that notifies you when the internet is down so you're not working for nothing, it should be something that pops right up where you can see it. The internet is always going to go down and the product seems to notice that it's down before my VPN notifies me that it's gone down. You're working and nothing's happening and it takes time to get the notification. 

For an additional feature, I'd like to see Remote Desktop specify which computer Zoom meetings will run on. I've joined a couple of sessions from home, and when I turn on my video, all you see is my empty desk chair at the office.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for six months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is not really relevant but the solution is used by a fair number of the IT staff. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I've never needed to use technical support. 

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

I previously used GoToMyPC because I used to do upgrades from home at night. We were paying for that solution which wasn't necessary with the free Microsoft option. I used both of them for a short time and realized Remote Desktop really seemed to draw the screen better and also everybody else was using it. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. You've got to have the IP address of the computer you're connecting to - in our organization it's managed by our network manager.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. 

I rate this product an eight out of 10. 

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
Surojit Dutta Roy - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IT Lead at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Convenient and secure solution
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable part of RDS is that it allows you to work from any location and check the server through a VPN connection."
  • "Users have to re-enter their ID and password every time they log on, which is tedious and repetitive."

What is our primary use case?

I use RDS to connect our servers.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable part of RDS is that it allows you to work from any location and check the server through a VPN connection.

What needs improvement?

Users have to re-enter their ID and password every time they log on, which is tedious and repetitive. It would be better if the system could save users' passwords between sessions.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using RDS for around ten years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The cloud version's scalability is better than on-prem.

How are customer service and support?

Microsoft's technical support is helpful, but its speed could be better.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate RDS 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
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.