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Falling behind the competition
March 26, 2022

Falling behind the competition

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Parallels Remote Application Server

The goal with Parallels Remote Application Server was to make a few specific Windows applications available remotely and in emergencies while a user's computer was being repaired or replaced. We were drawn to it because of how happy we were with their desktop offerings.
  • Remote access
  • Intuitive
  • Affordable
  • Complex
  • Does not play nicely on all cloud platforms
  • Difficult to maintain
  • Lost time for I.T. staff
  • Added unnecessary cloud compute expense
  • Remote access to specific applications
Parallels Remote Application Server seems to be behind the offerings of both Amazon and Azure. Their product functions more as a traditional Windows Server application that just happens to run on the cloud or on-premise servers. Both Amazon and Azure's offerings are cloud-native and far easier to manage as a result. They also use less compute resources.
While Parallels did technically deliver for the end-user, it did not deliver for the I.T. department tasked with managing the system. The user's interface was very well done, but only after a significant effort by the I.T. department to make that happen.
Our users were able to run applications on any device, but in the end, the best experience is still with the dedicated app on a traditional Windows or Apple desktop or laptop. HTML5 rendering is in need of work and improvement.
This specific feature was not important to us. We are "cloud-first" in all our application/service offerings to our users. We had hoped Parallels to support all the major public cloud providers equally, but they do not. It was a reason we chose to not continue with Parallels Remote Application Server.
These layers of security were non-negotiables for us. The capabilities within Parallels Remote Application Server allowed us to provide greater security and control to making applications accessible outside our LAN. This was especially important because two of the applications running contained our most sensitive operational data.
While the sales team talked big during the demo, trial, and initial days of our installation, they totally disappeared by the time I paid the bill. Tech Support was unable to provide the technical support level that the sales team led me to believe I would get. No one reached out about the renewal or to check in about our experience.

Do you think Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) delivers good value for the price?

No

Are you happy with Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)'s feature set?

No

Did Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) live up to sales and marketing promises?

No

Did implementation of Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) go as expected?

No

Would you buy Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) again?

No

This product would be better suited for medium to large size organizations with the infrastructure and I.T. staff needed to properly install and maintain it. It is also better suited to organizations wishing to offer more than just a couple of applications. Smaller organizations with limited cloud operations and staffing should seek out other solutions.

Using Parallels Remote Application Server

20 - We are a small organization, our users represent all "business functions" within our organization...executive, to finance, to I.T., to facilities/maintenance.
2 - Due to our size, our I.T. department only has 2 employees. Both had to learn Parallels Remote Application Server and all underlying technologies by fire as we went through the setup process.
  • Remote application access
  • Remote PC usage
  • Temporary use while devices were being repaired
  • None unfortunately
  • None
We chose not to stick with Parallels Remote Application Server because it was overly complicated for the total price we were paying, including indirect cloud computing costs.