Remote Desktop Services vs. VMware Fusion

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Remote Desktop Services
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Remote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A
VMware Fusion
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Vmware Fusion is a virtual user session software built to run Windows applications on Macintosh to run any Windows applications.N/A
Pricing
Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Fusion
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Fusion
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Fusion
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Fusion
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
8.9
3 Ratings
8% above category average
VMware Fusion
-
Ratings
Screen sharing9.33 Ratings00 Ratings
File transfer9.33 Ratings00 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session8.73 Ratings00 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Session record9.52 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Fusion
Small Businesses
Getscreen.me
Getscreen.me
Score 9.8 out of 10
Parallels RAS
Parallels RAS
Score 8.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
mRemoteNG
mRemoteNG
Score 9.7 out of 10
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
Score 9.1 out of 10
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Fusion
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(17 ratings)
9.1
(19 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
6.6
(2 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Performance
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
3.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Fusion
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Remote Desktop services are well suited for people looking to connect to Local computers/Servers after connecting to VPN or Local Area Network. It is easy to use and performs superbly without any issues. However, it does not have support for connecting to Non-Windows-based Devices and Applications like Teamviewer beat RDP when it comes to connecting to machines outside one's network.
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VMware by Broadcom
Due to its perpetual licensing model, VMware Fusion is a great option for users whose needs do not change as much over time. It is also great for occasional-use scenarios such as testing and preparing code to run on newer platforms. Fusion is not really recommended for running graphics-intense applications as graphics acceleration in Fusion is fairly limited in both performance and API support. It has, however, come a very long way and offers near-native performance for many tasks.
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Pros
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.
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VMware by Broadcom
  • Allows users to run Windows only applications on their Mac without switching devices.
  • Fusion is excellent for Windows image creation, and works exceptionally well on the Mac environment.
  • Assists a Mac user to virtualize Windows apps.
  • Excellent for installing Linux distros for penetration testing.
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Cons
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.
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VMware by Broadcom
  • With OSX - 10.14.1 and the latest version of Fusion - 11.0.2 the user interface has taken a step back IMHO.
  • I would like to see price decrease.
  • Better remote host connection capabilities - remote server connections are available but connections are spotty.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
VMware by Broadcom
For Apple workstations VMware Fusion is the virtualization software to use. No other application (free or paid) can do what Fusion can. The features and constant updates make Fusion an application that cant be beat.
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Usability
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.
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VMware by Broadcom
Sometimes the best surprise is no surprise and Fusion is just that. It's reliable and generally just works as expected every time (the only exception was running a boot camp install directly but that use-case scenario opens a can of worms due to how product activation works) The interface and settings are clean and simple and there is no hide and seek games to play.
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Performance
Microsoft
There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
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VMware by Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
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VMware by Broadcom
I have never contacted VMware, but there is a lot of support online on message boards, forums, StackOverflow, YouTube tutorial videos, and the like. VMware has been around nine years longer than its leading competitor, VirtualBox, although both seem to have a good presence of online user communities who can help solve issues that come up.
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
VMware by Broadcom
This is a workstation application and no install insights are needed.
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Alternatives Considered
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.
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VMware by Broadcom
I've heard of other/competitive software but frankly once I tried VMware, I never looked back. There is absolutely nothing that I need that this product does not deliver. It's fast, effective and seems to be extremely durable and reliable. My only concern (and minor) might have to do with memory resources, but frankly it has not been an issue yet.
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Return on Investment
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
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VMware by Broadcom
  • Users using a VM often don't need something as "fancy" as VMware Fusion, and instead can use a free option like Virtual Box, so we waste money on using an extra amount of VMware Fusion licenses.
  • Developers using and IT admins using VMware Fusion for testing saves us time and money. Simply, we know mistakes would take time and money to fix, but VMware is powerful, allows for proper and fast testing.
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ScreenShots