Item: Apple Remote Desktop
Rating: 9
Author: Mike McCloskey

Overall Satisfaction with Apple Remote Desktop

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I depend on Apple Remote Desktop to keep highly productive users on track. It lets me remotely access computers, whether they be in the same building, down the street, or across the state. I can use it to maintain systems. I can use it to train. I can use it for keeping track of system logs, and software updates.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Remote control the allows different levels of participation from the host user. I can have just monitor their action, shared control, full control on my end, and blank their screen.
Remotely perform Maintenance, updates, and monitor system logs.
Allows all done in a secure connection
Butter smooth operation.
Keeps a table of accused Macs for easy access

Cons

I do wish that when I have the screen lock there would be a message informing the user. I don't use this feature very much so it's not a dealbreaker in anyway.

Return on Investment

Makes me more productive keeping our fleet of Macs updated
Allows me to support multiple factions without travel time of cost.
Stays on top of the latest Mac OS functionality.

Usability

It works exactly how you would expect a Mac App to. Plus, it is really slick to perform system chores and to execute UNIX commands from the GUI.

Alternatives Considered

ARD is far better for maintaining Macs.

Key Insights

Do you think Apple Remote Desktop delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Apple Remote Desktop's feature set?

Yes

Did Apple Remote Desktop live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Apple Remote Desktop go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Apple Remote Desktop again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, Proton VPN, Proton for Business, Proton Pass, Ubuntu, Synology DiskStation, QNAP NAS, SanDisk SSD, Apple iCloud Calendar (iCal), Apple iCloud, Squarespace

Likelihood to Recommend

Obviously, it's ideally suited in a Mac environment. That being the case; I don't see a scenario that it doesn't work. I does require access to the Mac App Store it installs quickly and can be running is no time.

It is not as useful when the remote user cannot be accessed with a static IP.

Apple Remote Desktop Feature Ratings

Comments

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