Remote Desktop Manager (RDM) from Canadian software company Devolutions is a remote administration and credential management tool for securely centralizing multiple remote connections and sensitive data.
$20
per month per user
Parallels Desktop for Mac
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Parallels® Desktop for Mac is used to run Windows on Intel or Apple silicon. Users can switch between Mac and Windows applications, while retaining the macOS appearance, or use the familiar Windows desktop aesthetic.
Parallels Desktop ends up filling the sweet spot between free, but basic application (VirtualBox), and fully featured enterprise application (VMware Fusion.). Even at this point, we don't use all of the features of Parallels, but the perceived performance boost over VirtualBox …
If you have lots of servers to manage, lots of credentials, different protocols, documents, other files, and need a single tool to manage it, this is the tool. Active Directory integrated, user and groups permissions, audit everything, keep data in encrypted files or in a database, customize everything, even the installer,
Parallels is great for an end user that is primarily a macOS user, but occasionally needs Windows access to a specific application or service that is Windows only, or Windows primarily. It obviates the need for multiple desktop units or remote VMs where spin up time is an issue. It is not quite perfect due to the ARM version of Windows requirement, but that particular case is common to all ARM use of Windows.
Occasionally there is a UI bug where the sidebar goes missing and you have to delete some files in %localappdata% to bring it back
Would be great if it could also connect to serverless SQL instances like Azure SQL
If computer sleeps and wakes with Remote Desktop Manager open it will comtimes ask you to re-login for no reason - as when you close and reopen Remote Desktop Manager it works
I've been using RDM for about 10 years now. I started with the free version, which I used for a few years, and eventually switched to the Enterprise version. I can never go back now! I use this tool for everything and cannot see doing my job without it! Whenever we have someone new come in or bring in a vendor/contractor, they always ask me what RDP tool I'm using. Once I explain about it's features and all, they're usually instantly sold on it. :)
Users are familiar with the application which will keep us going for a little while. However since we are seeing a decline for a need for the software, I wouldn't be surprised to find that this answer changes dramatically in the near future. We would probably keep it to some extent, but we would probably reduce our licensing count.
Due to the way our business works, the use of Remote Desktop Manager is limited to the IT staff. For that reason have given it a rating of 8, but only a limited number of employees benefit from this solution as the bulk of our consultants that support customers can not benefit from this solution due to security mandated separation between internal and external systems
It has a good integration, including the connection of peripherals. Taking files back and forth works well and I can attach my Home drive as a network drive in Windows. There is even integration with iCloud and other macOS services. There are also a few different display modes which are useful and fleixible (coherence, windowed, full-screen with multiple screens)
I've never had to use support as I've never had an issue. That said, you can open a support ticket right from the UI. The user forums are active, and there are thousands of threads covering many topics. Very easy to get support if needed. This is an easy ten.
The Parallels documentation and support websites are great. I have not had much use for them, but a cursory check shows richly documented features aimed at both the layperson and the power user or software developer. Their website is well-designed and information is easy to find, and their list of known issues as well as bugfixes on point releases is clear and transparent. They aren't trying to hide any of the limitations of their software, and seem to be regularly updating it to fix new bugs that arise with Mac OS X updates.
VisionApp is not in the list. This is the application we used before we got introduced to RDM. VisionApp was great but it did not have the same features as RDM did. Perhaps VisionApp has had some updates but we haven't found any reason to switch applications again
Main two features that made the balance decission go to the Parallels Desktop were the possibility to pause the Windows partition easily (allowing to consume less resources in Mac and save battery) and the other one is the user interface feature called "Coherence" with allows you to show the Windows application windows as if they were native to the macOS, allowing for a better user experience.
A common place for storage for all users. Instead of employees using multiple different password management systems, they all use Remote Desktop Manager to store them now.
We don't have to buy licenses from multiple vendors when everyone uses Remote Desktop Manager.
Saves money on having to buy a Windows and MacBook, as the MacBook can run almost 99% of all Windows software and usually run it faster and share between your MacBook transparently.
Gives employers the most flexibility with regards to which OS to adopt across an enterprise
We are a media company and everyone uses Macs in our industry, Fortune 500 companies also use Windows and MS Project, Parallels gives you the most flexibility for almost all of these use cases
Improves efficiency as the MacBook Pro M3 systems are much faster than some of the fastest corporate issued Windows laptops. What takes me 3-10 seconds for a video export can take 5 minutes on a similar Windows laptop
