Share your experience using Parallels Access

Parallels Access is an amazing product and a total game changer. The solution allows me to access and operate my computer through my iPad because I can't physically operate it.

Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely. There are many more people in my unique situation with physical limitations who can't access a computer, mouse, keypad, or keyboard. This tool allows me to access it and accomplish anything I want. Hence, it's very important.

When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't always work. I'd have to turn on the Bluetooth a lot of times and transfer it that way on both devices, which was troublesome. However, it would sometimes randomly work. I could go on my iPad, find whatever I wanted to do, click copy, then go over to the computer through Parallels Access, click paste, and it would randomly work.

I had to call Parallels many times. They would log in and try something, which would temporarily work, but then it wouldn't. When it worked, it made integration between the two things great. That was a very helpful feature that didn't get polished.

I have been using Parallels Access for seven years.

I have experienced some lagging at times with Parallels Access.

Technical support had to guide me through turning on certain file permissions. The support team had to log in remotely, and sometimes, I'd spend an hour or two on the phone to do that. The solution’s technical support is good.

Positive

The solution’s initial setup was pretty easy.

It took around an hour to fully set up the solution.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

The primary use case is VDI. 

Parallels Access is a very easy-to-deploy and secure solution. It is good for small as well as large setups. We can start with 15 users, and then it can go up. 

There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive. Since it is not very resource hungry, it doesn't require dedicated servers like high-end solutions do, so it's easier for customers to integrate it into their own solutions. 

In future releases, maybe more support for Macs and Unix so that customers with setups on those platforms can also benefit from the solutions.

I have been distributing this solution for four years. 

We haven't faced any major challenges with the product. Once the installation is done, it's there. We rarely receive troubleshooting prompts from customers. For the most part, it's stable. I haven't heard about any escalated issues coming to us at our level.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. 

It is very easy to scale. It can handle up to maybe 500 to 1000 users, but not more than that. It's not suitable for very large installations. However, for around 100 to 150 or 200 users, it's still manageable to scale up from a small setup. Overall, we found it pretty easy to scale up. 

Additionally, Parallels Access has flexible licensing policies, which is beneficial for customers who have intermittent usage or users who are on and off the system. It's a great opportunity for them as well.

I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

The initial setup is very easy. It does not take a lot of time. 

The deployment model is both on-premises and cloud. When it comes to cloud providers, sometimes it's Microsoft, but nowadays, there are also local cloud providers available because their solutions subsidize expenses. So customers, especially SMB customers, don't mind opting for smaller providers to save on costs.

We have seen at least a 50% increase in the number of users in the past six to nine months. And very few customers have downgraded their licensing. Only some customers who had acquired these licenses due to COVID or other temporary solutions. Some of them have downgraded the number of licenses. Maybe one or two customers even stopped using it because it became an additional requirement for remote work operations. After COVID, people started going back to the office.

It's around $125 per user per year. It is a one-time charge for installation and implementation, which is a small cost we charge to our customers. However, it's not from our solution side. Basically, customers need to have Microsoft RDP, which incurs additional costs from a deployment perspective.

The pricing model is fair enough. It's a pretty decent price compared to the competition. 

I would definitely recommend using this solution. Overall, I would rate it a nine out of ten.