Apple Remote Desktop vs. RemotePC

I would rate this higher if I was confident that Apple is continuing to develop this utility. It has only received minor updates for quite a long time, and is not featured much in any of Apple's online material. It really is a useful utility, but it is starting to show its age and is fraying a bit around the edges in some respects. It could be very useful when integrated with the various MDM solutions (in our case, Jamf Pro) especially when an engineer needs to force something immediately and can't wait for a check-in, and also can't depend on the end user being able to (for instance) do a sudo jamf policy or sudo jamf recon.

Incentivized

While at the office, I needed documents from my home PC. I was able to use the browser at the office to access my home PC, grab the document and download it. You can also browse the web from work via your home PC, if you know what I mean. Framerates are great, so it felt natural the whole time. Also the app works on Android without any issues

• 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

• Easy setup, Within minutes of Installation I was up and running
• Security - OTP 2-Factor authentication, passed security testing.
• Performance - Though I have not fully pushed the boundary it performs as if I was sitting at my desk at home from an Android tablet in the parking lot of work.
• Value - We all have taken a gamble when buying a product. This is one of the purchases that I am actually happy with. It is a great value for what you get.

• I would like to see more included Unix scrips that can be pushed to clients.
• Inclusion of a way to remote control or screen share with Windows machines would be useful, as I manage a handful of Windows machines. While this would be possible using VNC on the Windows machines, including the ability to connect using Windows terminal connections would be awesome, for me.

Incentivized

• long waiting time to initiate connection compare to competitors
• total lack of keyboard translation between macOS - Windows. No keyboard configuration options at all. I don't recommend macOS users, and non-english keyboard layout users.
• Key combination transfer doesn't work or behaves strange

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

I still find value in this tool. If I needed to increase computers supported, I would need to revaluate pricing concerns.

Incentivized

Once it is set up, it is quite straightforward to use. However, currently, it requires both a script to run to set up permissions and controls, AND a command from the MDM to authorize it to be active. The MDM management command is manual. This is not conducive to an automated workflow, and sometimes gets forgotten. Then, the endpoint is not contactable until someone realizes that the MDM command was not sent or was not successful.

Incentivized

At this point I have no issue with RemotePC's overall usability. It continues to meet my needs for what is required for me to run my business. I would like to see continued improvements with RemotePC's allowing me to continue to work remotely. Waking or starting the computer would be a plus.

Incentivized

When i have needed support it was for Hardware not the software itself

Incentivized

Very quick and easy install with no real issues

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

Although TeamViewer stands as the top product for remote support, the same goes for its pricing. A small business like ours wouldn't be able to afford software like TeamViewer and we would never be using most of its features. On the other end, Splashtop is an affordable option, but its deployment is a little too complicated. RemotePC was our choice, with an easy deployment process and a pricing program that's easy to understand and within our budget.

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

• Zero friction remote access on demand
• Very competitive priced
• Saving 2 hours travel time per session
• Saving 30 min reporting per session

Incentivized