SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS) vs. ISL Light

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
DameWare Remote Support from Austin IT company SolarWinds is remote administration software for the remote control of desktops, laptops, and servers behind or outside the firewall, allowing registry editing, restart services, logging activity, account and password management, and more. The mobile app also provides access from a phone or tablet. DameWare Remote Support licensing is per technician, the number of end-user remote machines is irrelevant; one technician may receive a license for…
$520
one-time fee
ISL Light
Score 8.7 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
ISL Light is remote support and remote access software that enables SMBs and large enterprises to offer fast and efficient support and maintenance for Windows, Mac and Linux computers as well as mobile device support for Android and iOS.
$418
per year (1 concurrent user)
Pricing
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)ISL Light
Editions & Modules
Dameware Mini Remote Control
$370
one-time fee
Dameware Remote Support
$520
one-time fee
Standard
$34.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Self-Hosted
$44.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Premium
$54.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Enterprise (Managed Private Cloud)
$23,976
per year 20 concurrent users
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)ISL Light
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDameWare Remote Support and Mini Remote Control are licensed based on the number of technician users that use the software for remote administration. There are no limits or restrictions for the number of end-users supported or the number of remote endpoints/computers supported. As you buy higher counts of licenses, the per-seat pricing goes down giving you a reduced total price.ISL Online's pricing model considers the number of licenses purchased, which determines the maximum number of concurrent users within the organization. A concurrent user is defined as anyone running one or more sessions simultaneously from any device. There are no restrictions on the number of ISL Light users within a company or the remote devices managed. For example, with three licenses, an unlimited number of people in a company can use ISL Light and can access an unlimited number of remote devices, but only three users can use it concurrently. When one of these three users ends their session, a fourth user can begin their session, and so on.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)ISL Light
Considered Both Products
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)

No answer on this topic

ISL Light
Chose ISL Light
Simple UI with ease of use for the end user. ISL Light compability with a range of Windows OS's. Cost effective in relation to number of licenses versus active remote control techs. Great tech support and aftersale service puts ISL Light at the front of the line above the rest.
Features
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)ISL Light
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)
8.6
65 Ratings
8% above category average
ISL Light
8.1
91 Ratings
2% above category average
Screen sharing10.053 Ratings8.585 Ratings
File transfer10.050 Ratings9.385 Ratings
Instant message8.347 Ratings7.468 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication8.716 Ratings7.916 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers9.035 Ratings6.162 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session8.548 Ratings8.582 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile9.025 Ratings7.853 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations9.158 Ratings8.671 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management7.239 Ratings8.523 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard8.238 Ratings8.051 Ratings
Session record8.55 Ratings8.258 Ratings
Annotations7.94 Ratings8.443 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts8.75 Ratings7.835 Ratings
Multi-platform remote control7.131 Ratings7.965 Ratings
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User Ratings
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)ISL Light
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(66 ratings)
8.7
(91 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(13 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(10 ratings)
8.3
(54 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Performance
8.5
(2 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(9 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.0
(8 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Configurability
9.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(2 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS)ISL Light
Likelihood to Recommend
SolarWinds
I feel like this is a very robust solution that I would recommend to anyone who relies heavily on remote support. Most of the colleagues I work with already use SolarWinds products to one extent or the other. I feel the price for the solution is very fair and a good value for the product.
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ISL Online
ISL light is suitable for anyone who plans to provide remote assistance services on a medium to large scale. Due to the high entry price, it is less suitable for consultants with a smaller number of clients or remote stations that need management. Their smallest package in which minutes are rented does not seem suitable for most cases.
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Pros
SolarWinds
  • Troubleshooting computers remotely without the need for the user to even be around.
  • Install software that needs to be installed manually without having to travel.
  • Viewing what the user is doing specifically that triggers the issue, making replicating issues way simpler.
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ISL Online
  • Prikaz strani na kateri se nahaja uporabnik
  • Prikaz kontaktov uporabnikov
  • Zgodovina pogovorov s strankami
  • Možnost spreminjanja statusa dosegljivosti
  • Nalaganje datotek, zajemov slik,..
  • Klepetalnik, ki je enostaven za uporabo
  • Nas obvesti, da smo dobili sporočilo, tudi če smo izven klepetalnika
  • Display the page the user is on
  • Displaying user contacts
  • Customer conversation history
  • Ability to change availability status
  • Uploading files, capturing images, etc.
  • An easy-to-use chatbot
  • Notifies us that we have received a message, even if we are outside the chat room
Read full review
Cons
SolarWinds
  • It would be nice if the installed agent would be able to check in with the server so that I can connect to laptops, etc that have the agent pre-installed for when they are off network.
  • DameWare could do better with the mobile app. I cannot connect in from the outside with the mobile app to provide quick support if needed. This kind of defeats the purpose of a mobile app. If I am on the network, I probably have access to my workstation.
Read full review
ISL Online
  • Need a control toggle at least on AlwaysOn. User moves the mouse and you lose all control instantly.
  • Clipboard features are a bit wonky still, and your clipboard seems to get emptied a lot. So if you're trying to copy and paste you might lose something
  • Passwords for the systems are saved per machine, so if you work from multiple devices it can be tricky if you have complex passwords
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Likelihood to Renew
SolarWinds
This application is one of my most used tools when it comes to supporting end users and the network as well. I don't have to run all over the place to get things done when I can access multiple computers on the network at the same time to accomplish multiple tasks in a minimal amount of time.
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ISL Online
We are renew the license for 10 years now and we do not see why would change that. It just gets better with every new version.
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Usability
SolarWinds
Because it has enhanced my ability to trouble shoot more issues during the day. Instead of having to go to each machine and spend time at the machine, I can remote in from my desktop and assist the person 90 per cent of the time. I also use it from home to remote in which saves me the time from having to return back to the workplace.
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ISL Online
Everything works well and quickly, and that's all we need. ISL Light always works, and we've never had a situation where the server was inaccessible or the website was down. It simply gives us a 100% guarantee that we can always log in to our customers' systems. We can install the ISL Light client at our customers' sites without any problems, even though security is high.
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Reliability and Availability
SolarWinds
Yes, always available.
Read full review
ISL Online
During the entere time of use, I have never come across any availability issues.
Read full review
Performance
SolarWinds
The application always seems responsive to me
Read full review
ISL Online
High performance!
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Support Rating
SolarWinds
I use a Samsung mobile device; DameWare Mobile was working and then after an Android update it started crashing. I reported the issue to DameWare and worked with the technicians and developers to gather data for them to correct the issue. They quickly published a beta release for me to test (which corrected the crashes) and then published an update to the Google Play Store.
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ISL Online
We had issues with mouse skipping on mobile devices. Support is immediatly availabe, they examined our case and in one of the new versions of the app this problem was gone.
Read full review
In-Person Training
SolarWinds
It was excellent
Read full review
ISL Online
No answers on this topic
Online Training
SolarWinds
The videos were more than sufficient to learn the product
Read full review
ISL Online
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
SolarWinds
It helps greatly if you know someone already using DameWare Remote Support. I was fortunate as my tech support guys were using it at their hospital and assisted me through the purchase, download and implementation of remote support. As well as, knowing how many licenses to purchase at the time. You have to make sure that anyone assisting in IT can have access to the program with their own license.
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ISL Online
It was so easy!
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Alternatives Considered
SolarWinds
We previously utilized LogMeIn. They increased the pricing of their solution which made us reconsider it. I inherited LogMeIn. I am not a big fan of hosted solutions for some vital IT processes. There was convenience in LogMeIn, but there were also risks about the solution that I was never completely comfortable with. I had utilized DameWare at a previous company, so I knew what I was getting with it. It was an easy decision for me to make. DameWare is an exceptional product.
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ISL Online
Multi-monitor handling is super easy with ISL Light. The licensing model of ISL Light's self-hosted version is unbeatable. Great technical support, which often used before I purchased. The unbelievable price increase during and after the covid time of remote tools, has ended, when I found ISL Light. ISL Light is really a underdog in the remote utility market. I'm glad that I found it.
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Scalability
SolarWinds
You get an 8 because of the constant initial freeze on most connections. Takes a reconnect to have it work.
Read full review
ISL Online
Easy to deploy onto new devices. Ability to group devices so they can managed remotely efficiently.
Read full review
Professional Services
SolarWinds
No answers on this topic
ISL Online
No professional services used
Read full review
Return on Investment
SolarWinds
  • DameWare has allowed us to maintain our non-traditional approach to IT support. It allows our administrators to work from anywhere and has extended their reach to clients domestic and abroad.
  • Return on investment was realized as soon as we purchased the licenses. We don't have to maintain a large office space or overhead costs due to the flexibility it allows our administrators.
  • First call resolution has increased drastically since implementing DameWare company-wide. The user no longer has to wait to reproduce an error. We can screen share and view it as it happens and mitigate the issues.
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ISL Online
  • Saves time: able to help our customers right-away. No need to visit them physically
  • Fastest aid in problem-solving: customer happy and more likely to return
  • Negative: not much negativity about ISL Light, although I get even less in-person contact with clients :-)
Read full review
ScreenShots

SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS) Screenshots

Screenshot of DameWare Remote Support Management ConsoleScreenshot of Remotely Connect to Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X ComputersScreenshot of Over-the-Internet Remote Session via Secure Proxy ServerScreenshot of Connect to Remote Computers from iOS and Android Mobile Devices

ISL Light Screenshots

Screenshot of remote access control in ISL Light.Screenshot of unattended access setup. Access can be allowed to as many computers as desired.Screenshot of a connection with a remote client, which can be set up by sending an email or sharing a link.Screenshot of interactions with the Windows UAC on a remote device.Screenshot of the dual panel File Manager, used to transfer files.Screenshot of the web console where remote desktop sessions can be managed from a web browser.