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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Parallels Access comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
377
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in Remote Access
16th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (19th), Network Access Control (NAC) (11th), SSL VPN (7th), Access Management (13th)
Parallels Access
Ranking in Remote Access
24th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.8%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.8%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 1.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune4.8%
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)1.8%
Parallels Access1.8%
Other91.6%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

HA
Senior Business Development Executive at Digitaltrack
Centralized device management has automated onboarding and improves remote security compliance
One thing I feel Microsoft Intune could improve is troubleshooting visibility. In many cases, when a policy or application deployment fails, the error messages are a bit generic. So, admins still spend time checking logs manually or testing on devices one by one. Compared to the simplicity of deployment, troubleshooting sometimes feels less mature. I also think reporting and real-time monitoring could be stronger. The dashboard gives useful information, but in large environments, many teams still depend on additional tools or scripts for deeper reporting and analytics. If I had to focus on one area first, I would probably choose troubleshooting and reporting. Deployment through Microsoft Intune is generally straightforward, but when something fails, identifying the exact root cause can still take more time than expected. Error messages are sometimes too generic, and admins often have to dig through logs, sync status, or multiple portals to understand what actually happened. I think user experience and policy management could also improve further. Microsoft Intune has become much better over the years, but sometimes the admin portal still feels fragmented because certain configurations open in different sections or redirect to older interfaces. For new admins, especially, it can take time to understand where everything is located. Another thing is policy conflict handling. In larger organizations, multiple device policies, compliance rules, and configuration profiles can overlap. When conflicts happen, the visibility is not always very clear, so admins spend time figuring out which policy actually won or caused the issue.
SÜ
Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem
Has provided reliable policy controls and secure web access for large enterprises
I consider Cloudflare when evaluating centralized access control features; Cloudflare utilizes multi-factor authentication and full API support, while F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) needs to enhance its API support. I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) for large companies such as Tüpraş and Ford. Tüpraş is one of the biggest companies in Turkey, along with other customers such as Tofaş, Euroko, Koç Holding, and more. For on-premises deployment, I would rate it a 10. For cloud deployment, I would rate it a seven. I primarily use it on-premises. I rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) eight out of ten.
JP
CEO at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Allows users to access and operate their computers remotely
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune for me is its fully cloud-based nature, allowing me to work from anywhere, whether I am using my mobile phone, Windows, or macOS devices, so I can access it from any place at my convenience."
"The ability to (somewhat) manage full Windows 10 computers including EXE-based or MSI-based application deployments using Azure Active Directory as Identity."
"The security features are most definitely valuable. If I have to give an example, the lockdown features that prevent employees from configuring anything or downloading company data are valuable. We get high-quality device protection, malware protection, and information protection at the same time."
"The best features of Microsoft Intune include helping to know if computers are configured correctly and if users have access to apps or the platform."
"It saves time, money, and resources; when there was a local liaison, managing everything was a significant challenge, but with Microsoft Intune, it has become much easier—around 60% to 70% easier—and in terms of reliability and ease of use, it excels."
"Technical support is good."
"Microsoft Intune policies, remote wipe, and using corporate and private profiles are valuable features, but MFA is the most valuable feature as it ensures that the end user is authentic."
"What I have found most useful in Microsoft Intune is creating an environment where customers or clients need someone to work immediately with an out-of-box experience."
"The F5 Access Policy Manager is something that I have experience with and I am happy with it."
"The performance of the solution is valuable."
"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."
"On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten."
"A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on."
"It was very stable, the solution itself."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) provides excellent WAF and bot defense solutions."
"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."
"What seems to be the most valuable from the customer side is the ease of operation, and the overall experience they have."
"It's got a very easy-to-use interface."
"The application used to publish for mobile devices is very good and the desktop publishing is very, very good."
"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 great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."
"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is good."
"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."
 

Cons

"Lacking ability to leverage more iOS device management internally."
"The most important thing is reporting. They should improve their reporting. They should give a free hand to users. In SCCM, I can create my own reports. For example, in SCCM, I can create an inventory report for my PC or for all PCs, but in Intune, we don't have an option to create any report. Microsoft claims that Intune is a successor of SCCM, but SCCM is more powerful than Intune. So, they should develop Intune more and make it equivalent to SCCM. Then, their product will be great in the market."
"Microsoft Intune could improve in reporting data for endpoints and fleets. Enhanced capabilities to run queries and gather specific device data to identify trends or issues would be beneficial. The feature parity for MacOS and handling devices from an MDM perspective is not comprehensive. Consolidation of these functionalities within Intune would simplify processes and finances."
"The difficulty of the the roll out is surprisingly difficult considering this product is supposed to be an integrated part of the 365 suite."
"There were several bugs with stability."
"They could also make it easier to use because there are some other products that may be easier to use in terms of the look and feel of the dashboard."
"There are some issues using the solution with macOS and iOS, and it offers limited granular control with them. Intune works better on Windows and Android."
"From an end-user perspective of Microsoft Intune, I haven't experienced any challenges since installation. However, some customers have reported experiencing slowness when using lower versions of the Android system."
"I have had a lot of issues in the past few months with the agents, which was disappointing."
"I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal."
"In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side."
"The stability of the F5 BIG-IP APM could be better."
"The technical support’s response time must be improved."
"The initial setup was not easy."
"The operational deployment is not great and can be improved."
"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."
"One challenge we do notice is that the application is limited to Windows servers only. If a customer has a Linux server, things get complicated. They should open it up a bit to be more compatible with different types of servers."
"The scalability is great for small or medium-sized businesses. However, it may not scale well for enterprise-level entities."
"The solution may not scale well for enterprises."
"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."
"They could improve the reporting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its pricing seems reasonable."
"Licensing depends on how you are providing support to your enterprise, whether it's device-based or user-based."
"There is a license required to use this solution. However, it was part of a bundle package. Microsoft Intune is far less expensive than other solutions, such as Workspace ONE."
"I recently got to know that the AD P1 license is compulsory to use Intune Autopilot, which was surprising for me. Earlier, this was not the case. It is the wrong thing to do. We now need to purchase AD P1 licenses for us and for our customers. I would rate it a seven out of ten for pricing."
"The pricing is competitive, but it is not cheap."
"We work in the charity sector, so a lot of our clients get Microsoft Premium licenses or Business Premium for free. They get ten licenses free, and a lot of our clients do not have more than ten staff members. They are getting the tool for free, so its cost is not an issue."
"It is average. Some of the costs are quite high depending on what the customer currently uses, but overall, it is not bad. I would not say that I would not recommend Intune based on the cost. I definitely would, but they can definitely improve on the cost. So overall, its cost is not bad."
"Intune is cost-effective as it is included in some of the Office 365 packages."
"The product is very expensive."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Construction Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
11%
Transportation Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise9
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchas...
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is not user-friendly and operates slowly. Additional features for architecture ...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
I am using F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) along with Bot Management, API Gateway, API Security, and F5 Cloud. ...
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Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
F5 Access Policy Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Gilt Groupe K.K.
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Parallels Access and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.