Action1 vs. Apple Remote Desktop

Any place that has multiple computers that need to be managed can benefit from using Action1. Currently that means Windows PC's and servers, Linux PC's and servers and devices running MacOS can be managed by Action1 and benefit from their patch management and software management tools. Mobile OS need not apply at this point.

ARD for me is based on a LAN, but can be used over WAN via VPN, but the latency makes ARD a less ideal tool. There are other cross platform tools that can do what ARD does which to me add value when managing a mixed environment

Incentivized

• Automations. We utilize scheduled tasks that we define within Action1 to provide additional controls for reporting, alerting, and for endpoint management. It is a unique way to expand functionality by use of centrally managed scripting events.
• Able to create and view reports showing detailed information of all types of endpoints within my enterprise. We can also create custom reports from a large set of available data points and can also create custom alerts based on these data points.
• Vulnerability detection and resolution management. Able to detect vulnerabilities and apply controls or actions based on the vulnerabilities found. Along with the Security patching, this adds and extra layer of visibility and control to secure my environment.
• Custom application deployments. Action1 provides a large set of third part applications you can deploy and patch updates for, but if you have custom applications built in-house or just an application that is not available in the software repository that Action1 has, you can build your own custom deployments easily.

Incentivized

• Automator Actions: This is a very cool feature and cost saving as it reduces human effort by automating the workflow of tasks.
• Curtain Mode: This lets you block your local user's view of the desktop while performing administrative tasks.
• Spotlight Search: It can perform lightning fast searches on machines using the spotlight search feature of OS X and thus saves a lot of time.

Incentivized

• Remote Access could use added functionality
• The deployment screens for update deferrals can be hard to understand at first and easy to skip since it carries some default info when you create a new automation rather than a more conspicuous prompt to update.

Incentivized

• It's onsite only without setting up a VPN or some other form of remote network access.
• It can be a little slow sometimes when compared to local access.
• It seems to be a neglected product by Apple and not continually developed.

Incentivized

it is an excellent product

Incentivized

It is a fairly unique tool in the level of integration it has with Apple Desktop products. It definitely needs some engineering attention, and it should be expanded to the iOS arena. It is not perfect, but it is very useful and fills an otherwise fairly empty niche in the support toolkit realm. The built-in screen sharing app in macOS handles the direct screen control or viewing function fairly well, but it does not have all of the other mass control features that Apple Remote Desktop supplies.

Incentivized

Easy to use. Straight Forward. No hidden settings or stuff that's buried several layers deep and you have to watch a video before you do it. Point. Click. It works and I can feel assured that my CVE issues are being handled.

Incentivized

It can be more usable, and if you are not in the Apple ecosystem, most likely you haven't even heard of it. Does it need improvements? Absolutely. Will it get improved? Most likely not. I believe this app is just part of the system app, which is nice to have, but any user will most likely choose some other option from the available apps.

Incentivized

I never contacted support services

Incentivized

I've never had to get support for ARD, so I can't give a real opinion.

Incentivized

very easy to start using it.

Incentivized

None, very easy to setup and install.

Incentivized

Freshdesk and Freshservice are great products with Freshservice being the better of the two. However, in comparison to Action1 with regards to our budget, it was an easy choice to select Action1. I selected Action1 not only because of the "free" price tag, but also because I didn't need a full fledged ITSM product. Action1 is cheaper, easier to setup and use, and is cloud based as well so you don't need to install it on a server to utilize.

Incentivized

I would feel much more comfortable having one of these alternative solutions as our Remote Desktop management tools. Each has their drawbacks and expenses associated with them, but we simply have too large of a deployment to not be considering alternatives. If it is the only solution you can afford, it is OK to start here. I could see where this would have a return on investment, but it is really only suitable for a very small and localized scale. If employees are at all mobile, the duct taping of products necessary (VPN, distribution points, script repositories) would be very cumbersome.

Incentivized

• It's pretty hard to negotiate investments / costs in IT when you have a small team in a mid size company. Everything is seen as useless cost and not investment. As of now, I'm pretty sure that if we ever cross the free-tier, I'll have no problems with investment approval since the tool is proven and useful on a daily basis. I believe this was the single most importat decision that Action1 took in their sales model.

Incentivized

• Apple Remote Desktop has a positive return on investment because for the expense to the school, the value it brings to teachers is important. The return on improved student performance is very difficult to measure financially, but there is a definite return.
• The overall objective of education is to increase student learning, ARD does that phenomenally. Parents see the tool used and are impressed at what the capabilities of the tool can do and how it impacts how active their students are as well as how well they can learn.
• One negative impact is that teachers rely too much on this tool rather than on actually teaching sometimes.

Incentivized