ScreenConnect vs. Remote Desktop Services

I feel [ConnectWise Control (formerly ScreenConnect)] works on all sizes of implementations. I've used it with about 1000 endpoints and I've even used it for managing a couple family machines to make remote support easier. It works super well and does exactly what you want it to. It has not disappointed me at all and I'd recommend it to any employers I work for as well.

Incentivized

Remote Desktop Services provides access to work environments from any device. This allows us to ensure business continuity in case of disaster. It provides admins more control over access and security. Remote Desktop Services simplifies software updates and compliance management by reducing the need to act on end users devices.

• Self-hosted - this is great for me and makes it easy to control my data, which is important for my clients.
• Mobile Access - being able to quickly diagnose and resolve an issue while on the road is great.
• Persistent - "always on" connections with screen capture.
• Great User Interface and chat works exceptionally well.

Incentivized

• Remote Desktop Services does an excellent job in providing a way for our staff to be working outside the office as if they're actually sitting inside the office. As long as the staff has an internet connection and a computer, he can use Remote Desktop Services to access files on our network.
• Remote Desktop Services also eliminates a need to have a very fast internet connection to access files on the company network. Once a Remote Desktop Service session is established, the only bandwidth it takes up is the transfer of images you see on the display. It's like surfing on the web because you are using the company server as the resource to run the applications.
• Remote Desktop Services provides a way for users to transfer files back & forth to/from staff's offsite laptop to/from the company network . There would be times when staff forget to copy a particular file onto the laptop for a presentation. So the way to retrieve the data from the network is to establish a Remote Desktop Session and then using Windows standar copy & paste feature to transfer the file from the network onto their laptop for use.

Incentivized

• If CWC integrated with more RMM software other than LabTech it would be great as LabTech is way too expensive and convoluted at this point so we discontinued using it in favor of a simpler and much less expensive option.
• Though it does support multiple monitors well, it would be nice to have the ability to have it automatically pop each remote monitor out to the local monitors if so desired.
• Right now it uses email for multifactor authentication, I would rather it use an electronic key that can be stored on cell phone or user desktop.
• The ability for it to automatically login to a Windows desktop would be a big help as well. It will store a username and password but you must manually send a control-alt-delete and then click a button to have it fill. Tying to something like Lastpass along with an autologin feature would be great.

Incentivized

• No centralized management: unlike other products on the market, Remote Desktop Services in 2008r2 provides no single management console. Users are managed through a console on the connection broker, web apps are managed on a per server basis (even when those servers belong to a farm).
• Image Management: because no use of an agent like PNTools is made, bringing up servers and adding them to the farm is inconvenient. Static IPs are a must and round-robin load balancing is really your only option with the connection broker. Updating a farm of 5+ servers becomes a chore, but still easier than updating 2000+ machines.
• Still a very green product: while Microsoft offers a lot of the same features as the big guys, it's obvious that Remote Desktop Services is still in it's infancy and has a lot of room for growth. I have discovered and requested fixes for a number of bugs in the mobile app alone - something about the QA process for these apps seems to be lacking.

Incentivized

I would recommend this product for both internal remote control of end user workstations and remote access to other clients over the internet. It provides a secure and feature rich product that allows me to complete any necessary tasks without ever leaving the office. I will continue to renew as I'm eager to see what they do next. I would however wish the cloud service had a better API to work in conjunction with team collaboration or chat services to make it easier to connect with end users who use multiple workstations. (Slack or Stride provide this functionality)

Incentivized

If you're a support noobie or a seasoned admin, this product is everything you are looking for. Join with a code - CHECK! Hop onto a permanent session installed on a PC/Server - YOU GOT IT! Wake up a remote sleeping computer - no problem. Need to customize access to different roles in your organization - BUILT RIGHT IN!

Incentivized

The initial setup for Remote Desktop Services is complex, and licensing is costly. Each user connects to their virtual desktop hosted by a single server or group of servers, so a change or issue with servers quickly impacts every single user at the same time. Aside from that, users appreciate seeing their same personal desktop from any device or geographical location.

Incentivized

In my 5 years of using the product, I am only aware of one time when the service was down and is was due to a backbone outage upstream.

Incentivized

It performs well. It also has full control over windows security and does not get hung up like GoToMeeting when trying to install remote software at the prompt to install as admin / override. I have used TeamViewer, WebEx, LogMeIn and GoToMeeting. This is by far the best at spontaneous, remote control. It is also very easy to get a novice user connected to the session.

Incentivized

There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.

Incentivized

There have been two times when something has went wrong and I needed immediate assistance in order to be able to use Screenconnect to be able to help clients and response has not been immediate. The response time has been within 24 hours. Both times if there had been easier to navigate self help I would have been able to help myself. With better self help and a speedier response it would definitely be a 10 as they always respond and help. Just a little more difficult or slow than it should be at times

Incentivized

As with any Microsoft Server product, support for Remote Desktop Services requires a paid support package. These are license-based and very costly, on top of the already costly product licensing. Microsoft's licensing is complicated to begin with, so setting up licensing alone essentially requires a licensing expert's counsel. There is community documentation and support available on Microsoft websites, as well as community websites.

Incentivized

the one I attended didn't grab my attention the way I thought it would. Maybe because of the way I use the product; or because of how I am using an online instance, not a locally installed version. Some of the discussion got more technical and off the topic, it seemed.

Incentivized

ConnectWise has done everything they could to help us in any situation. Great support team and their new updates are always providing features that we need. Its a simple solution that works the way we need it to. Their legacy pricing model is still much better than their subscription based model however it is still fair pricing

Incentivized

We have used Beyond Trust occasionally for one of our White Label clients, but have found it is not as robust as ConnectWise Control. The seamless integration of Control with ConnectWise Automate makes it the best and most effective choice for our technical teams to deploy and manage our client machines.

Incentivized

Overall, remote desktop is so much easier to use if you are OK with the limited tools that it offers. If you're just looking to simply connect to another computer and make some quick changes, it is the way to go and the fastest way to do it. It is very simple and no frills!

Incentivized

As far as I can see there are no real barriers to scaling up - as and when we need more subscriptions, we can add them in with no negative impact to the existing way that we're using the tool

Incentivized

• Quite simply our business could not function without a form of remote control software. Control has done an amazing job at filling a core foundation pillar of our business model as an MSP, having some clients in very remote destinations, we can still service them through the use of Control.
• We pay per technician for an unlimited number of endpoints, and this pricing model has served us very admirably. As a smaller startup MSP, the cost of paying per endpoint would only serve to hurt our growth. Being able to pay a flat rate based on staffing is very desirable.
• The whole experience using Control is polished and speedy. I couldn't imaging going back to a slower solution, the value Control brings is palpable in our business model.

Incentivized

• Overall RDS has helped us provide services and programs to our users with relative ease.
• The only "negative" impact is that users can have a bit of difficulty understanding how RDS works and what it means to access a remote desktop, but that isn't any fault of the program, it just takes a little extra training for users.

Incentivized