Likelihood to Recommend For a small deployment of macOS, I can see where Apple Remote Desktop could suffice. I can see where a company that is strapped for cash could benefit from a knowledgeable employee using it to automate some tasks. I am not comfortable giving an estimate number-wise. For a large deployment of macOS or iOS, this would be a very inappropriate tool. There are far too many obstacles for an app like Apple Remote Desktop to successfully manage a large fleet of macOS computers or really any number of iOS devices. You simply need an MDM solution in this day and age. This will become increasingly necessary, even in small numbers, but MDM providers have started to provide solutions for customers in these situations.
Read full review For any organization that is looking for an easily administered remote desktop solution, perhaps remote access for employees, or for remote IT support, I would say to look no further than Splashtop. If you have a large team, the price definitely increases, but they do offer a discount on bulk licensure (20% on 4 or more accounts, 25% on 10 or more accounts).
Read full review Pros 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. Read full review Splashtop lets me see what my clients see. Splashtop usually works even when my client's computer isn't in great shape. I can sometimes do things remotely that an onsite user cannot. Splashtop lets me work on many computers from one location, without leaving my own desk. Splashtop allows me to serve clients who are hundreds and even thousands of miles away. I can do work for people I've never met. My clients can usually install Splashtop by themselves, preventing the need for a costly and time consuming site visit. Splashtop lets me create installation links for remote access that have been configured specifically to my particular needs and the needs of my clients. Read full review Cons 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. Read full review Web Access should be available to all Splashtop Versions so support personnel do not need to have their laptop with them or Executable on USB Drive etc.. Remote access and scaling of screens sometimes is very difficult and have to resort to using keyboard commands to Navigate a screen because the mouse does not show where it is accurately on the remote screen no matter what changes you make on the client although I think this has been improving. Intermittent loss of streamer access and showing that a system is online in the Dashboard has been flakey lately. What I mean by this is systems show offline then they come back online their own then offline again - intermittent Read full review Likelihood to Renew We use it on a daily basis and works well in our environment and could see how other Apple owned organizations would benefit.
Read full review I believe that I will renew Splashtop without any problems in the coming years as eating stable costs without increases even in critical periods such as the Covid virus, Splashtop allows access to 25 unattended stations and has continuous updates and new features. It also allows resale to users with sub-accounts
Read full review Usability The user interface is amazing. You don't have to dig in to look for options. It's not overwhelming and yet a powerful utility.
Read full review It's hard to find any significant faults with Splashtop. It offers a very responsive remote access experience with clear and simple interface. There's very little learning curve as it's toolbar mimics other popular remote access solutions graphical user interface. It's gives you access to your remote computer quickly and stays out of your way
Read full review Reliability and Availability I've never had any issues with it, nor any connectivity issues. They always say when they'll be maintaining the system and it's always in the odd hours, so nobody uses then. But I've never had any issues.
Read full review Performance Pages and servers load fast, normal speed. It doesn't lag or anything like that. I don't integrate it with anything else.
Read full review Support Rating Apple support is great.
Read full review Tickets lingered in the support queue. Our environment is complex and some solutions never work in it but inconsistency and long turn around time on seemingly simple support issues force our pursuit of alternative solutions. Our environment is atypical and should not be used as a litmus test for solutions however we found the support issues were more wide spread with other orgs voicing the same delays.
Read full review Implementation Rating Very quick and easy install with no real issues
Read full review It couldn't have been any easier to setup and I have had no issues with it since it was implemented. It's a great product and makes remotely connecting to another device so simple and quick. I can't recommend it enough
Read full review Alternatives Considered I use
TeamViewer with users who are having trouble connecting to the VPN. I think
TeamViewer is a good alternative when ARD isn't working. However supporting the number of users we support,
TeamViewer can come with a pretty hefty price tag.
Read full review Splashtop Business Enterprise is actually easier to implement and get it up and running, all users have to do is download the standard or personalize file and run it, then share the code with you and you are all set to go, i like it because you can even do it from your phone if necessary
Read full review Scalability It's a product that allows us to work remotely and access our servers from anywhere in the world. Our team works from different parts of the world and it's a great tool for us.
Read full review Return on Investment 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. Read full review It has made supporting remote workers seamless and easier if we did not have it. Has saved a lot of time that would have been spent trying to get users to accurately describe their issue. Easy enough to use that even someone who isn't super tech savvy can use if needs be. Read full review ScreenShots