ScreenConnect vs. Remote Desktop Services vs. Splashtop

We often need to create an ad-hoc session with a device that is not under our management. We find ourselves doing this more than ever in the COVID world. Many people are working from home on personal machines with their employer, our client's permission and we are facilitating more support for these personal machines. Connectwise Control [(formerly ScreenConnect)] gives us a robust resource to control the device, navigate anywhere we need, execute various commands, and engage in an on-screen chat with the client. The session is very simple to create and very user-friendly to initiate. We do not recommend it for Android, Apple, or Chromebook applications. There is little to no support for these platforms.

Incentivized

This is well-suited if you need to log in to a remote machine on occasion to make updates or change configurations. It is also good for a production environment or for environments where people need to log in to use common applications, so you don't need to install the application on each individual client.

Incentivized

Based on the price of their basic plan, Splashtop is easily the best solution available for small installations like mine. I am confident with their security implementation and reconnection to devices after a remote restart have never failed me. They feature many higher-level tools and solutions but I've just never needed to use them.

Incentivized

• The interface is easy to use and makes sense. It's easy to understand how to organize a large number of machines involving multiple clients. But, it's also applicable for smaller set of machines too.
• The connection speed is very quick. I've used solutions in the past that take a variable amount of time to connect, or they just take a long time every time. Control is quick every time. It doesn't get in the way of being able to support the machines on the other end.
• The connections are reliable. I haven't experienced random disconnects throughout hundreds of instances. It was a breath of fresh air coming from the previous solution we used. I consider Control a gold standard for what a great remote connection solution can be.

Incentivized

• When you connect with RDS, everything looks and feels (and is) exactly like you're sitting at that desktop. This is great for us and for users.
• You can sign in with RDS and the desktop will be the same as when you left it (if you choose to set it up that way).
• Although they take some setup, RemoteApps are a very handy way to let users access a program without requiring them to actually connect to a remote desktop on the server.

Incentivized

• Seamless RMM Integration - Splashtop’s integration into Syncro is functionally invisible, but in a good way. I don't have to manage a separate contact list or worry about syncing credentials between my RMM and my remote tool. I click "Remote Desktop" in Syncro, and Splashtop launches instantly.
• High Performance Graphics & Low Latency - The frame rate and refresh speed are consistently superior to competitors I’ve used in the past. Even when connecting to a client with a dual monitor setup or a slower upload speed, the lag is minimal. The picture quality is crisp enough that I can read fine print on error logs without squinting.
• "SOS" Ad-Hoc Workflow - r clients who aren't on a managed contract (my "break/fix" customers), the SOS feature is a lifesaver. I don't have to walk a non-technical user through a complex installation. I just tell them to go to the site, give me the 9-digit code, and I'm in!

Incentivized

• I'd like to see the ability to selectively log off the remote machine via a button on the toolbar. Currently it's a setting to always lock on disconnect, or never lock on disconnect, requiring the tech to manually lock the machine if called for at the end of a session. Its a small time save that would add up!
• The chat feature could be expanded to be a lot more useful. Allowing clients to start conversations, and have conversations ping an email address if no one is monitoring the dashboard would be extremely valuable.
• Some clarity on licensing when providing host-passes to guest technicians would be a boon, especially for one-off support sessions with vendors.

Incentivized

• Remote Desktop Services currently does not support multiple monitors on the terminal server. Unlike other applications such as Teamviewer, there's no feature to toggle between multiple screens even if they were connected to the terminal server.
• Remote Desktop Services should provide an option to scale up or down the screen size after a connection is established. Currently you can only adjust the screen size prior to a connection is established. So you'll have to take a best guess at what display screen resolution will fit best on your screen.
• Remote Desktop Services should offer some kind of menu to send special key strokes like Ctrl+Alt+Del to the terminal server. Currently the substitute for that particular combination is Ctrl+Alt+End. But I have yet to discover a replacement for other combination keystrokes such as Alt+PrintScrn.

Incentivized

• Compared to our prior solution, Splashtop does not "organize" devices nearly as well. They need some some sort of tagging solution so that you can, say, pull up a list of "all machines at this campus" or "All Macs at this site"
• The Business App that runs locally feels clunky, and is presented in a weirdly-sized window

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

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

Incentivized

On the whole SC is a very powerful tool that is a vital part of the IT service arsenal. On-site visits are an "emergency" only type of scenario. Just "showing your face" is not winning any browny points for me. If my client sees my face, it's usually just to upgrade hardware or to deal other aspects of business. SC provides me and my client the bulk of the info I need to get projects done.

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

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

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

I recall one outage, and it wasn't very long. We use QuickAssist when someone's having a problem connecting with Splashtop on a Windows machine. Fortunately, that doesn't happen very often. QuickAssist is for the QUICK Assist. Splashtop is far better for addressing more complex support needs.

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

I've found occasional speed bumps and disconnects that are annoying. I don't know who or what to blame. If there was a way for Splashtop to survive through dropped packets, that might help. A tool like Microsoft Remote Desktop disconnects far more easily than Splashtop does, but Splashtop sometimes requires three to four sessions, or at least shows 3-4 sessions in the logs/reports for a given support call.

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 phone number is in the top right of each page of the website and app and when called, the person who picks up (before any automation delays the call) is ready to assist or immediately recognize the appropriate place for a transfer. If transferred to a different department, that department picks up immediately and each person is fully trained to help resolve a (typically user error) call.

Incentivized

I find ScreenConnect to be very simple and effective overall, with the main problem being that a number of my clients can't download the app due to existing firewalls and so on. Otherwise it does its job well, and I'm happy with it.

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

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

Incentivized

I have worked with Citrix, AnyDesk, LogMeIn, VNC Connect, and many others. I ultimately installed ConnectWise as a self-hosted solution, based on the incredible list of features and capabilities, and the pricing at the time. I continue to use the product as it is still one of the best solutions out there and is certainly capable of growing and expanding to meet the needs of my business.

Incentivized

We selected Remote Desktop Services based upon price alone. Other solutions on the market are significantly more expensive, but if your company can foot the bill you should seriously consider products that have been on the market for longer. The lack of an ability to easily upgrade farm servers has been a challenge for us - although it is still faster than updating an application on 2000+ machines. The lack of a centralized management console in 2008 R2 is also challenging, but you get by with the tools available to you. If you don't have the money to spend on Citrix or VMWare Horizon, Remote Desktop Services is a decent replacement.

Incentivized

I have not looked at TeamViewer in quite some time but I found Splashtop SOS for me to be at least a 1 to 1 feature switch. And right now connecting to mobile devices to see a customers screen is included with Splashtop SOS and it is a real value add. I hope it says that way. TeamViewer is just too expensive in comparison.

A colleague got a significantly better deal that did not allow him to use Groups. His savings/pricing was far more attractive than mine was. I tried to get that from sales, and they told me it was not an option. That was disappointing.

Incentivized

I have used multiple remote desktop support software in the past (Bomgar, Team Viewer, Logmein and Join.me) and this is far the easiest of the bunch to use. It is very easy to create a session and easy to maintain remote desktops from their access view (where you install the software and can get in at any time) I highly recommend this product from ConnectWise!

Incentivized

I bought service for 250 unattended machines. I anticipate the next level will be very expensive, so I may stop at 250. It works very well for our needs. Only recently have I needed to add a second team to add a group of computers, but it's all been great.

Incentivized

Do not use.

Incentivized

• Instead of waiting 30+ seconds to initiate sessions, they initiate and display a desktop in two or three seconds. The amount of frustration this avoids is immeasurable.
• Once installed it doesn't need more handholding, i.e., having the remote enter a username/password. It is always just there.

Incentivized

• Allowed remote users access from home
• Shared file access for multipolar users from a centralized location
• Cost to add additional users when maxed out
• Purchase multiple licenses for programs to run in virtual machines. Or unable to run on a virtual machine

Incentivized

• Remote support makes my business possible, period.
• Switching from TeamViewer to Splashtop has made a huge difference to my operation: the cost is both lower and more predictable, and getting from "answering the phone from a client in trouble" to "satisfied client" is much faster and easier.
• I apologize that I don't actually have hard numbers, but I can sincerely recommend Splashtop and Splashtop SOS. It will make your life and business better!

Incentivized