Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) vs. VMware Horizon

The RDCMan software is highly effective at allowing me to organize and manage a large number of servers, and desktop computers. It’s quick and easy to use. It’s also highly reliable. In all the years that I have used it, I have never once experienced a crash or any other sort of error.

Incentivized

VMware is well suited to a business where there will be many remote users needing to connect to the companies desktop. The installation on a remote computer is simple and is easy to use remotely but can be complicated to set up on the back end on the office system. It may not be worth the effort for a company that has few people who need remote access.

Incentivized

• Quick
• Easy
• Minimal work on user end

Incentivized

• It provides a robust, secure, rich desktop environment that is able to access all internal network resources.
• Addresses security and compliance concerns as all data resides within the internal network. All data accessed stays within the internal network and does not need to traverse a VPN to the local desktop where it may be cached, etc.
• The connection is thin client that does not require large amount of bandwidth.
• Client application is available for all common devices and O/S’s.
• No need to install, configure and maintain applications on local desktop.

Incentivized

• When trying to connect to a server/machine, and it doesn't connect, there is a "Disconnected" message that is displayed in the thumbnail. There is no information beyond this that explains why the server/machine did/could not connect. It would be helpful to the IT Administrator to know this information, even if Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) kept a log somewhere where this information can be analyzed.
• There doesn't seem to be an option for connecting to a server that is usually only able to be accessed from a jump server. This will not connect if the server is set up as a server/machine within RDCman. This would be a beneficial feature to have within RDCman. Maybe one of the missing options is to be able to set this in the prospects for the jump server (within the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) window).

Incentivized

• Move away from Adobe Flash version in UI, currently on the path but they need to hurry up
• Speed up the boot process of the environment when servers need maintenance
• Provide clear steps on what should be upgrade path in terms of components, the order
• price! A bit too much

Incentivized

We are committed to VMware Horizon and we plan to stick with it for the future unless something drastically changes.

Incentivized

VMware Horizon is very easy to use. It is very easy and quick to log in remotely. It is very easy to install remotely. It is usable easily on many different operating systems. It is easy to set up which tools are available to each remote user so that each user has just what they need to perform their work without any extra tools cluttering up their space or bogging down the system.

Incentivized

Performance is excellent of you provide the needed hardware to support the sessions/connections. Pages load very quickly at the client end as the thin client application does a very good job and requires very little bandwidth. All applications function well, as they are running on a session on an internal server that is accessing data directly on the network

Incentivized

Plenty of information and support online, and with many things it's pretty straight forward for the average tech to navigate and work with. But with most things online you're not the only person that's had the issue before, and using a search engine you should be able to figure it out.

Incentivized

It is surely way better than Citrix, but it could improve a bit. Usually, they send us the solution without saying what was the root cause so we can avoid breaking something in the future. Besides that, VMWare support answers in an OK time-frame and even speaks our language (Portuguese).

Incentivized

RDCMan outshines TeamViewer in every possible way. It’s fast, more reliable, and easier to use. I have had frequent crashes and issues when using TeamViewer, while none with RDCMan. Screen responsiveness also seems much better with RDCMan versus TeamViewer. I would often experience lag issues when using TeamViewer.

Incentivized

Although I really prefer Microsoft Remote Desktop for accessing Windows servers (from Windows machines especially), and this can be done from off-site with a VPN, this entails much more effort, namely getting everyone's Active Directory in the correct group to have access. VMWare Horizon is a much simpler solution in terms of granting access. Chrome Remote Desktop and TeamViewer are really not viable solutions for remotely accessing servers in business settings, although they work alright for home servers and such, especially from off-site.

Incentivized

• One positive impact it's had was that it has made it easier to manage servers since this could be done from a central location and through only one program. This, in effect, has helped to increase efficiency and save the time of those doing server management.
• Another positive impact was that it is a product that could be deployed/installed by almost anyone, and one that fits reasonably quickly. It also doesn't use a whole lot of system resources when running, so this, in turn, helps the IT/Server Administrators still be efficient in the other work they have to do.

Incentivized

• Saved money on PC purchases.
• Save a lot of man hours by not having to image new PCs. We just create one Template VM and clone the others from that.
• Bit of a learning curve to get the deployment right for the environment.
• Ability to make sure VMs always turn back on once they are shutdown. This speeds up load times for users.
• Less management for our PCs. If one gets a virus or something corrupts we just refresh it and within 5 minutes the user is back to work.

Incentivized