My current use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is connecting to services which are specific to a remote location because I am working from India. There are times that I need to connect to those services, so via Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, I access that system because I need to connect to VPN. Some services are specific to a particular location and shouldn't be accessed here, so I connect to that Remote Desktop to use it. It's mainly for support and management activities.

Win Remote Desktop Services SAL
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Secure Connections and Flexible Access Enhance Work Efficiency
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I find the ease of use of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services most valuable, as it allows me to have remote access and connect securely. Another valuable feature is file transfers, as it enables me to move files between local and remote machines efficiently.
The main benefits that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services provide to me include streamlining my working process, ensuring security, and offering flexibility to connect to virtual desktops and apps from multiple devices.
What needs improvement?
The only problem I see is that when I am connected, there is a certain lag because of the network.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for five, six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
For stability, I would rate the product an eight.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability, or ability to expand, a seven.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support from Microsoft is something I have never used, but I would give them a seven or eight.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What other advice do I have?
I am not working with products such as Intune, Remote Desktop, or storage solutions such as Azure. Currently, I am using all the Microsoft tools that are available such as Office and Power BI. I have completed some certifications for Azure, but I am not an avid user of Azure. I am not sure if I bought Microsoft Remote Desktop Services on AWS Marketplace or directly from Microsoft because it is provided through my organization. I have experience with virtualization, but I haven't used the session virtualization feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. I do not use the centralized application management function of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services or the centralized dashboard. The solution is cloud-based. I am using multi-factor authentication through Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, and I would rate it a nine. Overall, I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Offers seamless remote access with strong platform integration
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
For how long have I used the solution?
How are customer service and support?
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
What other advice do I have?
Accessing the same desktop experience from anywhere but user template creation needs improvement
What is our primary use case?
In a way, we have some virtual solutions, at least RDS from Microsoft Hyper V. That's what we're using today, but not for everyone. Some people do use it. It's more like remote desktop. It's been a long time, at least since Windows Services 2008 or around 2010.
Today, most of our users, among three or four companies sharing software like the ERP system, work on individual workstations or laptops. That's really the main use across the companies today, however, it would sometimes make sense to look at remote Desktop or VDI. My impression is that most solutions, especially today, make sense for large corporations with two thousand seats or more.
So far, we have not used anything besides remote Desktop for, for example, accountants working from various locations or not based in our offices. That's really how we do it today.
What is most valuable?
The main benefit, is that it's easy for us to get the same desktop and do things in the same way regardless of our location. However, it would sometimes make sense to look at remote Desktop or VDI. My impression is that most of the solutions, especially today, make sense for large corporations with 2000 seats or more. So far, we have not used anything besides remote Desktop.
What needs improvement?
We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic. Everyone wants to join some kind of cloud service today. We have decided to keep our ERP software on our own servers. For users, it should be easier to create a template and duplicate users. We have done it in an old-fashioned way.
It would be easier to set up, and upgrades should be easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
The cost we have today is quite low, to be honest. However, if we want to hire a lot of people, it would require quite a lot of work. As long as we have a small number of installations and users, it's manageable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It would sometimes make sense to look at remote Desktop or VDI. My impression is that most of the solutions, especially today, make sense for large corporations with 2000 seats or more. So far, we have not used anything besides remote Desktop, mainly for accountants or those working from different locations or not based in our offices.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have not used a different solution for a long time, to be honest. We have used Microsoft. Whenever I looked at competing solutions like Citrix or VMware, the benefit is great if we have many users, however, the cost would be too high for a few users. That's been my conclusion so far. We have not worked with other solutions in this configuration of companies.
How was the initial setup?
When it comes to users, it should be easier to create a template and duplicate users. We have done it in an old-fashioned way. If setting up a new user, it usually takes about two or three hours, not days.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
With Citrix or VMware, the benefit is great if we have many users, however, the cost would be too high for a few users. We have not worked with other solutions in this configuration of companies.
What other advice do I have?
Mostly we are quite happy with it. However, some of us want a more powerful desktop. When not present, we use a remote tool called Splashtop, which is a good solution for some users. We have about ten licenses for those who need a powerful workstation at the office.
We have not used many different tools. We are never in contact with Microsoft. These are quite basic configurations, to be honest. It's not complicated. AI is coming to or is already in some applications we are using. Not system-wise, however, it might be good.
I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. It's quite good, yet certainly not perfect.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Offers familiarity, provides virtual desktops and ease of use
What is our primary use case?
We use it primarily to provide virtual desktops to our end users, which allow them to access email, word processing, and other essential applications.
What is most valuable?
I like its familiarity. If you grew up Office environment, we use Outlook and software and everything, it's just familiar. Other than the initial login through the thin client, you don't even realize that you're on the virtual desktop. So it's just familiarity and ease of use.
It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely. But, we don't actually use the application publishing feature.
What needs improvement?
The current process I have to go through to get a Windows 11 VM up and running is difficult. Windows 10 worked a whole lot better than Windows 11.
For how long have I used the solution?
Probably about five years in its current form.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate it a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I've found it to be very scalable as long as took into consideration the number of users. If there is a sudden surge or drop of users, it might not scale as you like.
If you plan for your expected user base, it is not a problem. I tend to over-engineer my servers, so I've never run into problems like resource limitations. It's been both scalable and reliable for me.
I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. My current setup is, again, about 10 to 15, but in my past life, I've deployed it for over 150 people.
How are customer service and support?
The quality of the customer service and support depends upon what day of the week it is. They're very up and down with their support. Some days, I get really great support, and some days, it's not so great. So, on a scale of one to ten, I'd put them at a five.
It also depends upon what you're licensed for... I mean, if you're licensed for the top-level tier, which I was at my last job, the support was really great. But at this current job, we're not leveled at that level. So, I kind of know what's out there, and I'm left like the kid looking in the candy store with my nose against the window. And that's all because of budgeting and pricing. And I understand that.
Again, depending on who you get and what day you get them, you get great support. Or sometimes, if you get the summer intern, not so great support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with ten being the easiest. You do have to have knowledge. You have to know how to apply your licenses, allocate your resources, set up your drives, and everything.
We've built around it, so it integrates very well.
What about the implementation team?
Currently, it's just me, but in my past life, I had a team.
What was our ROI?
In my particular environment, dealing with classified networks, my biggest return on investment is being able to create a single image and deploy it multiple times rapidly.
When the updates come in, I only have to deploy them once instead of having to walk around to each machine because we're using them as virtual desktops. To me, that's really valuable because if I had to walk around to everybody's machine to apply a patch, that would be extremely inefficient.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I've never had an issue with it. I've always thought the pricing for RDS was reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend it, but depending on the scale of your operation and what you have.
So, like, if you're a small shop, one to two administrators, maybe ten to fifteen users, I would absolutely recommend it. If you start getting outside of that, you might want to start looking at other things because there's just some... well, actually, with the new PowerShell tools and everything, you could probably support up to more than that. But, again, it depends upon your needs and what your environment is going to be.
If you're going to be supporting thousands of people, I don't think I'd recommend it. But if you're just up to a hundred, I would recommend it.
Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten.
Offers ease of use and deployment to users
What is our primary use case?
My company uses the capabilities of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to connect with Windows from home.
What is most valuable?
I have never faced any issues working with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. You can say that the tool has remote access functionalities that every system or network admin uses. In some case scenarios, we also get the end user to use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. The tool is simple to use and simple to deploy.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft improves its UI experience in every upgrade.
In the past, my company had faced some issues related to the stability of the product. The product's stability can be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for more than 10 years. I am an end-user of the tool.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution an 8 out of 10.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an 8 out of 10.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was easy.
I haven't done the product setup process for a long time.
For those who use Microsoft Azure service, the solution is deployed on the cloud model. If someone uses Windows Server, the solution can be deployed on an on-premises or a local cloud model.
What was our ROI?
Actually, there are many many other products that provide remote access capabilities. If we compare Microsoft Remote Desktop Services with the other products, I would recommend the virtual network console and maybe a communication application that can be used with Linux OS. If you start with Microsoft, Remote Desktop Services is a very good tool.
What other advice do I have?
The remote work concept came into the picture after COVID-19. Before COVID-19, I was a network admin. Many people were using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for remote access. In my company, if we are at home and want to check if all the backups are taken care of by automated operations and other related activities, we use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to connect to the Windows Server.
My company uses many Microsoft products, like Office 365, Microsoft teams, MS Office, Excel and SharePoint. Every company uses Microsoft products. All the four companies I have worked at in the past use Microsoft.
I rate the tool an 8 out of 10.
Shares computer resources perfectly and provides the necessary security options
What is our primary use case?
The users connect to a central server and share the physical or visual server resources. They use the remote desktop environment for office documents, operations, and company-specific programs.
What is most valuable?
The solution works perfectly. The tool shares computer resources perfectly. It provides the necessary security options.
What needs improvement?
When we update the environment, we face problems sometimes, and the users cannot use the system.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for about 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The tool is stable. Sometimes, the updates break the system.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The tool is very scalable. We can add and delete objects from the environment easily. We have approximately 500 users.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is straightforward. It is easy to deploy. Microsoft provides the necessary documentation, including detailed steps to install and configure the servers. The deployment process can be improved. It can be made more easier.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool must be cheaper. It should provide an option to pay the license fee once in a year or once in two years.
What other advice do I have?
We don't use any support because we can easily find online documents to solve our issues. I recommend that everybody use the product. If any company wants to share one computer’s resources with many users, they can choose Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.
Easy to use, enables remote work, and establishes a simple funnel to servers
What is our primary use case?
I needed the solution to connect to a service. I need fixed IPs. When I'm working from home, I have a dynamic IP. One of our clients has opened a server with a fixed IP for us. We connect to the server using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution makes remote work possible. It has made my life easier because I don't have to travel. I can use it from anywhere.
What is most valuable?
I did not face any problems with the product’s performance. It is stable. The solution is easy to use. The application publishing feature is simple. The tool establishes a simple funnel to the server.
What needs improvement?
The stability could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for 1.5 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s stability a 9 out of 10.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is not an issue.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. The deployment took 10 minutes. I can do the deployment myself. The deployment was not very hard because the tool is part of Windows. We need to set up some parameters with the remote server. They are quite simple steps. I received credentials from the server operator and used them as parameters during the setup. We can reach all the physical servers using the tool.
What was our ROI?
The tool enables me to work without traveling.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We do not have to pay for the product.
What other advice do I have?
I don't know whether setting up a two-factor authentication in the product is possible. It is quite simple to access the remote server if the setup is done properly. Overall, I rate the product a 9 out of 10.
The graphical user interface enables users to connect to servers easily
What is our primary use case?
We have a lot of Microsoft services configured for different applications. We use the solution to access them.
What is most valuable?
Since the tool has a graphical user interface, it's easier for us to access the server. It's easier to connect to someone and explain it to them. It is easy to share and explain the features of the solution.
What needs improvement?
We face frequent disconnections.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for the past 4 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable enough. I rate the stability an 8 out of 10.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are quite a large organization with 14,000 employees. Almost everyone uses the product on a daily basis.
How are customer service and support?
The support team takes a long time to get back to us. The team takes almost 2 days to respond to us. The wait time is longer than that of Azure and AWS’s support teams.
What other advice do I have?
The tool is the only way for us to connect to the servers. I will recommend the tool to others. If an organization has a Microsoft ecosystem, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is the only out-of-the-box solution available. Installing anything else would be a hassle. Overall, I rate the solution an 8 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Saves time and is convenient to use, but the stability must be improved
What is our primary use case?
I use the tool to switch to my company’s Windows desktop from my personal system.
What is most valuable?
The product saves time. It is convenient to use. It is a smart solution. The security is good.
What needs improvement?
The stability must be improved.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the product’s stability a six out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have a bunch of users.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is easy. It took five to seven minutes. The solution is cloud-based.
What about the implementation team?
We can do the deployment ourselves. We install an application and connect to the server. We must provide our credentials to connect to the tool.
What other advice do I have?
People who want to use the product must do a bit of research before making a decision. We faced compatibility issues since some users were using different operating systems. So, our organization asked us to use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Windows is a very common operating system used all over the world. Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.
Provides support and remote access to servers with easy integration
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for support and remote access to servers.
How has it helped my organization?
We use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for its convenience and remote access capabilities.
What is most valuable?
Using our Active Directory policies, we can connect again and then do remote printing and file copying. We use it on our SAP system.
What needs improvement?
The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
I rate the solution’s stability a seven or eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One or two people are using this solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We don't need to buy licenses because we are a Microsoft partner.
What other advice do I have?
We use cloud remote support because we need to assist our customers. It allows them to connect from the web. It's designed to be faster but unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to effectively use it. We primarily work behind the firewall.
Integration is straightforward because it integrates well with Windows Server.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.