Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Horizon 8 comparison

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Horizon 8

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Categories and Ranking

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citri...

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

124

Ranking in other categories

Application Virtualization (1st), Remote Access (5th), Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (1st)

Horizon 8

Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

111

Ranking in other categories

User Virtualization (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2024, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is 10.3%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Horizon 8 is 10.8%, down from 14.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Featured Reviews

DavidWood1

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Mar 16, 2023

Flexible Deployment, reliable performance, and fast transmission speeds

Provisioning Server is a fantastic option for image management in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. It offers excellent performance and reliability. On the other hand, while Machine Creation Services can be scaled easily, they can significantly increase storage consumption. For instance, creating a Windows 10 image in MCS typically requires at least 80 GB of storage, in addition to any separate disks needed. To store changes made by users in Machine Creation Services, the differencing disk must be equal in size to the base disk, leading to significant storage consumption. On the other hand, Provisioning Server uses image versioning, creating a new image version every time it's modified. As a result, virtual machines streamed from the server revert to their original state after a reboot, which is similar to their state during the first boot. Using the provisioning server, I start by configuring a virtual machine with either a 2016 or 2019 server operating system. I install the necessary Citrix client provisioning server target device software, followed by installing the required applications. After that, I capture the entire configuration to a file share. The image is then streamed from the file share to the hypervisor, which can handle multiple machines. In some large-scale deployments, we have used a single image to provision thousands of servers. Once the image is captured and stored on the file share, it is set to read-only mode, and any changes made to it are not accepted until it is put in read-write mode. When a virtual machine is rebooted, it returns to its previous state before the changes were made. This feature can be beneficial in situations like a virus outbreak, where a simple reboot of the virtual machines can remove any malicious code or changes. A provisioning server offers a faster recovery time from a bad change and is generally faster than machine creation services. With the provisioning server, changes are not accepted until the read-write mode is enabled, and if a virus outbreak occurs, rebooting the machines restores them to the previous state. On the other hand, machine creation services' speed is dependent on the storage's speed, and recovery time from a bad change can take longer, especially with a large number of devices. If a bad change is made with machine creation services, the replication process can take a while to revert, whereas, with a provisioning server, all machines can be rebooted quickly. Within thirty minutes, I can restore my system to its previous state using the provisioning server.

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RashidAnwar

Senior Project Lead at Tetra Pak

Feb 8, 2024

A product that offers an easy-to-use patch management option to users

The product supports remote work scenarios in our company, considering that we have different factory infrastructure devices, such as the remote operators in different areas of the plant, where it is used to access centralized applications from multiple types of devices, such as tablets, remote PCs, etc. The product facilitates virtual desktop management and deployment, which allows for centralized management. The tool allows our company to deploy multiple instances from one central repository simply. Security patches are much easier to deploy. The scalability part is also one of the advantages offered by the solution. The patch management is much easier, and access control of different devices is good in VMware Horizon View. The scalability or flexibility feature of VMware Horizon View enhances our company's IT operations by allowing us to use all the different security areas in the plant to be deployed and used in a few simple clicks. For production areas and warehousing zones, my company has created separate rules, after which we simply deploy from the central management and create clones of similar applications that are already designed during the first instance. I rate the user experience in terms of speed and reliability an eight out of ten. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Citrix is one of the companies that is delivering virtual apps and desktops in a big way. They are mature enough to understand the level of stability required and deliver it."

"It is user-friendly and easy to use."

"The scalability is fine. We have about 400 users, who are supported by six staff members. We use the product company-wide throughout 40 different locations, and we currently do not have plans to increase the scale of use."

"The user experience when using the solution's technology remotely is definitely superior to our VPN and/or Windows Remote Desktop. It's a much better user experience for those folks."

"ICA/HDX optimization policies."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the desktop virtualization, which allows me to connect from anywhere."

"Citrix is used by many organizations to make it possible to streamline the way different developers work together from different locations."

"There are many features that I like, but the stability over the Internet is exceptional. Even if there's bandwidth fluctuation or network jitter, it performs well, offering a seamless experience to end-users without noticeable disruptions."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) pros

"Users can log in from anywhere and from a variety of devices."

"Managing all operating systems in a single environment helped a lot in organizing and integrating it."

"We like that VMware is the top competitor in virtualization."

"It offers great flexibility, allowing us to access it as a complete virtual machine or even just as individual applications."

"The most valuable features of VMware Horizon View technology is easier to use and is user-friendly with the customers."

"The most valuable features are the ability to manage a great number of desktops at once and the remote access for users who are working from outside of the office or from a different office in the country."

"I think the tool is very useful for attracting new people, either new hires or consultants. Remote usage is also a significant benefit. VMware Horizon's security features depend on the customer and what they want. Of course, if they have multi-factor authentication, VMware Horizon supports that. It depends on their policies, but it works with pretty much anything."

"I appreciate how simple and straightforward the operation of VMware Horizon View is."

More Horizon 8 pros

Cons

"Direct connection of USB devices on the terminals to be used by streamed applications is very important for printing and the usage of token authentication, but the current version does not support this one hundred percent."

"The solution's technical support is not so good."

"The cost of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is high and has room for improvement."

"Integration with other vendors could be improved."

"Citrix's functionality depends on you having access to Microsoft Azure. Microsoft offers a broad range of features and solutions. Overall, it may make sense for some users to move all their services to Microsoft services."

"Citrix should consolidate the multiple tools currently required into a single platform."

"The product advances really fast. For some customers, we need better backwards compatibility."

"The initial setup is complex."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) cons

"In the area of automation, there are some improvements needed in the solution."

"The product integration on local client machines running Linux needs improvement."

"The solution isn't quite mature yet. It needs more time to mature and to get more market recognition."

"In the latest versions, the deployment of certificates on the console has been implemented. Although it is functional, it is not working as well as I would like. I hope this feature can be improved in the future."

"There should be a function where one can connect and work; whenever not required, one can deprovision it."

"The solution should provide easy configuration."

"The installation is complex and could be easier. The full installation with testing took a couple of weeks to complete."

"User profiles are something that needs to be improved."

More Horizon 8 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Their licensing model used to be on a per-year basis, where you would negotiate the cost per user for a year. For instance, if you had 25,000 users, you could negotiate the cost accordingly. However, they are transitioning to a subscription-based model where the cost is incurred monthly."

"In the past, the prices of the product were great. With the acquisition of Citrix by your company, the prices have drastically increased. For my company, it has become a bit of a problem to sell products from Citrix."

"We spent nearly 1,50,000 Euros for 250 licenses."

"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is an expensive solution."

"If one is a high price and ten is a low price, I rate the tool's price a three."

"It is a bit costly, but enterprise class features come with a cost."

"It's my understanding that the solution license fee for each user is around $300 US. If we buy a personal laptop for each employee every five years, then the total cost is five times $300 US, or $1,500 USD. So we could buy 100 personal laptops instead of the Citrix solution."

"The licenses are affordable, but the support is a bit expensive, though worth the value."

More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) pricing and cost advice

"There is a monthly subscription for the use of this solution and it is expensive."

"The pricing is quite reasonable."

"There are different editions available at different cost points."

"The product is extremely expensive."

"The price of the solution is affordable. However, there are extra fees for support."

"I would rate the pricing of VMware Horizon View a five out of ten. The price is average."

"Horizon 7 is cheaper than some competitors, like Citrix, because it includes solutions for the server side, the VDI side, and the hypervisor side."

"The pricing can be relatively competitive, but sometimes you have to go back to VMware and ask for additional discounts. You can make it competitive If you're prepared to put in the work. The list prices and standard discounts may not be competitive, but if you push hard enough, you can get the price to where you need it to be."

More Horizon 8 pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user8922

Architect at Unisys Global Services India

Aug 23, 2013

Comparison of VMware View 5.2 VS Citrix XenDesktop 5.6

Recently I attended the VMware Partner Exchange 2013 and there was a session called “Technical Battleground – View VS XenDesktop”. In this post I will try and cover the differences that VMware showcased during their session and I am going to add an additional column for my comments and thoughts on…

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Answers from the Community

Dante Dano

Systems Engineer at Evaluation Services Inc.

Oct 26, 2021

VMware Horizon View vs Citrix XenApp: which is the better product and why?

See 2 answers

Evgeny Belenky

Director of Community at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)

Jun 29, 2021

Hi @Abbasi Poonawala, @David Grudek, @Payman Maher, @Michal Sadlik , @Tonatiuh Torres Zamorano , @JacquesBodenstein, and @Dan Withrow. Can you help @Dante Dano with your professional experience? Thank you.

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Dan Reynolds

Director of IT at BLDD ARCHITECTS INC

Oct 26, 2021

I think VMware Horizon View is a very solid product. I think it is the most mature product on the whole spectrum. All virtual desktop environments require tuning for performance. Depending on the size of the company you don't need 1/10 of the bells & whistles that the vendors include. For example, I have a small environment - 70 employees. I don't use instant clones, personas, their analysis tools, ... Not only are they expensive (the tools) they overly complicate a complicated process. KISS. I have honed down the environment to what is just needed. Most of the industry will tell you otherwise. And I do all this as a one-man IT department.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?

My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?

I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

What needs improvement with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops?

I have found that Citrix DaaS is still a complex product, especially on the desktop side, which affects scalability. Although it works well on the apps side, the desktop aspect still has room for i...

How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?

VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...

What do you like most about VMware Horizon 7?

VMware offers a friendly environment, and it's easy to provide the user with the package. It is a bundled solution that is readily deployable. The advantage lies in its simplicity, it requires mini...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Horizon 7?

We paid a lot of money for software that is not really fully operational out of the box. We had to have patches from VMware to get it into production. Hence, we lost a lot of time implementing the ...

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Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)

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Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) report

Horizon 8

Download Horizon 8 product report

Also Known As

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps), Citrix Workspace

VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager

Learn More

Citrix

Omnissa

Overview

Enable secure, flexible work with the leader in virtual apps and desktops

Deliver desktop as a service (DaaS) from any cloud or datacenter

Get started with Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) in minutes to provide a familiar, high-performance digital workspace experience to your users. We’ll manage the infrastructure and security. You focus on your business.

VMware Horizon is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution designed to allow users to create secure and scalable virtual desktops and applications that work on any device, from any location. These virtualization capabilities help simplify and speed up application delivery and greatly reduce enterprise costs.

VMware Horizon’s centralized management console provides IT admins with comprehensive control over all of their virtual desktops and applications, making them simple to manage and secure. The solution enables using features such as identity and access management, multi-factor authentication, and encryption, to ensure ultimate data protection.

VMware Horizon benefits:

Some of key the benefits of using VMware Horizon include:

Increased security: VMware Horizon includes multiple security features such as identity and access management, multi-factor authentication, and encryption, to ensure a high level of security and data privacy.

Compliance: Meet regulatory and compliance requirements by providing users with secure and controlled access to data and applications.

Reduced costs: By using VMware Horizon, organizations can reduce the costs associated with managing and maintaining physical desktops and applications, as well as reduce the costs associated with providing secure remote access to these resources.

Easy management: VMware Horizon provides IT administrators with a user-friendly centralized management system, making it easier and faster to manage and secure their virtual desktops and applications.

Enhanced user experience: Users are able to access their virtual desktops and applications from any device, and from any location. Work from any location, without being tied to a specific device or area.

VMware Horizon features:

Some of the top features of VMware Horizon include:

Virtual desktops: Create secure and scalable virtual desktops, with a choice of operating systems and settings.

Virtual applications: Create virtual applications that can be run from any device or operating system.

Central management: Control and manage virtual desktops and applications from a single pane of glass.
Quick duplications: Clone virtual machines and applications instantly.

Scalability: VMware Horizon can scale on demand to meet the needs of any business large or small.

Reporting and analytics: Gain insight into user activity and behavior with detailed analytics and reporting.

Security features and ID management: Ensure the security and privacy of data with a wide variety of security features, including encryption, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on (SSO), and network security.

Seamless integration: VMware Horizon integrates easily with other VMware solutions, including VMware vSphere, VMware NSX, and VMware Workspace ONE.

Reviews from Real Users

VMware Horizon stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its high performance, flexibility, and powerful virtualization capabilities.

Natnael A., a consultant at IWM Network Solutions, writes, “The app virtualizing is a great feature. The system developers use it to deliver apps to targeted staff. It basically reduces the server infrastructure resource. The solution provides good functionality.”

Rob M., a systems administrator at Saint Tammany Parish Hospital, says, “The solution has provided flexibility by allowing an end user to remote in, log in, and get their VM. VDI session and have all the icons and applications they need to use and retain the same booking view regardless of location.”

Sample Customers

Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval

LCMC Health

Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Horizon 8