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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft 365

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.

    $5

    Per User Per Month

    Remote Desktop Services

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/ARemote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft 365Remote Desktop Services
    Editions & Modules
    Business Basic
    $5.00
    Per User Per Month
    Individual
    $5.84
    *Per Month
    Business - Apps
    $8.25
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - F3
    $10.00
    Per User Per Month
    Business Standard
    $12.50
    Per User Per Month
    Business Premium
    $20.00
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - E3
    $32.00
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - E5
    $57.00
    Per User Per Month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft 365Remote Desktop Services
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details*When billed annually.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft 365Remote Desktop Services
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    195 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    179 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    198 Answers
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    134 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    142 Answers
    88%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft 365Remote Desktop Services
    Remote Administration
    Comparison of Remote Administration features of Microsoft 365 and Remote Desktop Services
    Feature
    Microsoft 365
    -
    Ratings
    Remote Desktop Services
    4.6
    5 Ratings
    53% below category average
    Screen sharing00 Ratings8.25 Ratings
    File transfer00 Ratings4.65 Ratings
    Instant message00 Ratings1.01 Ratings
    Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
    Access to sleeping/powered-off computers00 Ratings1.12 Ratings
    Over-the-Internet remote session00 Ratings6.85 Ratings
    Initiate remote control from mobile00 Ratings3.64 Ratings
    Remote management of servers & workstations00 Ratings8.24 Ratings
    Remote Active Directory® management00 Ratings8.64 Ratings
    Centralized management dashboard00 Ratings2.23 Ratings
    Session record00 Ratings2.23 Ratings
    Monitoring and Alerts00 Ratings3.13 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft 365Remote Desktop Services
    Small Businesses
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    N-able Take Control
    Score7.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Remote Desktop Manager
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft 365 Business Premium
    Score9 out of 10
    BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft 365Remote Desktop Services
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.4
    (262 ratings)
    7.8
    (20 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.5
    (6 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.7
    (30 ratings)
    8.4
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (54 ratings)
    3.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft 365Remote Desktop Services
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    Microsoft 365 would be well suited for medium to large enterprises. This is where there are several hundreds or thousands of people. Since most everyone has used one of the applications the learning curve would be reduced. Another reason would be the ability to implement security measures to prevent access to sensitive data. This could justify the cost of an Enterprise license.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    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
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Chat with teams and the integrations with the other apps, and many more smaller ones, like to-dos, news, and the recent Outlook integration.
    • Easy embedding on SharePoint to broadcast all the content created in the different tools.
    • The office package is still robust with the good things from the past and new additions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • 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
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Slack is 1000x better than teams. Why put a 250 limit on a chat? Our company hasn't moved fully to channels and it's making us lose transparency. Plus, the teams channels we do have nobody is going to. 90% loss in visibility and engagement.
    • Teams for web meetings. I think the UI/UX should match Zoom which is the standard for all our customers. They don't like it when we use Teams.
    • Chats and Channels need to somehow be on one screen automatically without having to choose that view because majority of our company hasn't opened Teams Channels and only stays in chats.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • 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
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    There are many features of Office that we cannot replicate in any other tool. Plus people know it already. It's not going away anytime soon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Microsoft
    Microsoft 365 is the gold standard for performing project tasks in a professional environment, enabling the quick transfer and exchange of files and ideas for team members who work locally and remotely. Its suite of tools is familiar and has evolved to being cloud based, allowing for files to be updated in real time from near and far.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    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
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    Performance
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    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
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    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    Everything works and I use it all the time.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    Its very user-friendly, collaborative and efficient that boosts productivity using cloud tools. their security is strong and it provides data protection. There are regular updates that shields us from attackers too. It offers a wealth of learning resources, including tutorials, help articles and video guide to help users make the most of the application and personally upgrade their skills.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    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
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    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • We have a lot of nonprofit users, so they have a good ROI.
    • I like the constant updates without having to purchase the software repeatedly.
    • I used to purchase each Office (insert year here) often, so the software was up to date and had the newest options and connectors. I think my return on investment would have been much better if Microsoft had updated those versions to keep them current; after all, we did pay for them.
    • Microsoft 365's offering a monthly fee or a discount for a year helps, and you can look at it as a free backup if you have everything set to back up to One Drive. (Cloud-based document filing you can access anywhere ( with an internet connection)—you Can't beat that!)
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • 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
    Read full review
    ScreenShots