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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
18th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (19th), Network Access Control (NAC) (11th), SSL VPN (7th), Access Management (15th)
Parallels Access
Ranking in Remote Access
23rd
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 July 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 5.9%, down from 11.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 1.7%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune5.9%
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)1.7%
Parallels Access1.7%
Other90.7%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Centralized endpoint security has improved and supports hybrid work and BYOD policies
Regarding what I dislike about Microsoft Intune and its downsides, I would say that more Mac controls are needed because we have limited Mac and Linux control. When comparing controls and policies between Windows, Mac, and Linux, Windows has almost everything you can think of, while Mac and Linux have limited types of control. You cannot implement certain things on Mac and Linux that you can on Windows. The limited controls are a major issue. Additionally, if Microsoft could find a way to embed servers into Microsoft Intune, that would be beneficial. Microsoft Intune is not really designed for servers or Windows servers. It is more tailored towards Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. Windows servers are not fully supported. Enterprise organizations usually have both servers and endpoints, which are users' workstations. For servers, most people look for other solutions such as SCCM, which is Configuration Manager. However, SCCM is what Microsoft Intune is trying to replace. Both SCCM and Microsoft Intune belong to Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to transition organizations into Microsoft Intune, the native cloud solution. However, because this update is still in process, servers are not fully compatible with Microsoft Intune and cannot be managed by it. The current policy that has emerged from issues with clients is what they call co-management, which is relatively new, and I do not know if adoption is significant. Many legacy or older customers who have been using these products for decades still have SCCM. When it is time for them to manage their Windows devices, they use what is called cloud attach. Cloud attach is a term whereby your SCCM is connected to your Microsoft Intune. Most people do not know about it, but I have deployed it for several organizations. Cloud attach and co-management work together so that your device is in SCCM, but some policies are pushed from Microsoft Intune. It is like two different solutions working hand in hand. That is what they call co-management. Microsoft Intune does not bring all of your endpoint and security management tools into one place, which is the goal and how it should be. However, as I mentioned, servers are not included. If we talk about end users, Microsoft Intune does bring all your devices together. In a typical enterprise environment, you have end users with workstations, laptops, company-issued phones, and bring your own devices. You can create policies for all of these. However, for the backend, your servers do not have much coverage. Servers are not really covered by Microsoft Intune in that way.
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.
Binish Parikh - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President at ARK Infosolutions Pvt Ltd
Easy-to-deploy and good for small as well as large setups
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Intune has definitely reduced management burdens."
"Easy to use."
"Microsoft Intune saves eight hours per day, and during my work hours, I use my time to study and run tests on configurations I'm curious about and try them out in my environment."
"I haven't used other mobile device management solutions, but compared to SCCM, we eliminate a lot of on-premises infrastructure and maintenance by using Intune."
"The initial setup is not overly complex or difficult."
"Microsoft Intune brings all our endpoint and security management tools into one place, acting as a comprehensive solution where we can manage numerous devices and configuration profiles, and block specific URLs, among many other capabilities."
"I would advise others this solution is easy to implement in the organization."
"Microsoft Intune has positively impacted our organization by covering processes, improving security, and saving time."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."
"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."
"On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten."
"The F5 Access Policy Manager is something that I have experience with and I am happy with it."
"The product is stable, I haven't noticed any bugs or glitches, and I haven't seen it crash or freeze, so it seems to be reliable and the performance is good."
"It was very stable, the solution itself."
"Our organization is small - a college with about 3,500 students. We use F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager to protect our site, especially from the Iranian attacks we faced last year. We restrict access to only inside the country."
"We have seen a return on investment from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager. It provided access at a time when we didn't have it."
"It's great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."
"It's got a very easy-to-use interface."
"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."
"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is 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."
"The application used to publish for mobile devices is very good and the desktop publishing is very, very good."
"What seems to be the most valuable from the customer side is the ease of operation, and the overall experience they have."
 

Cons

"One big problem with Microsoft is that they're changing the names of the products quite often, or they're quite consistently doing so. Intune is now Endpoint administration. Constantly switching the user interface or the administrative interface makes it quite hard to keep pace. If you are on a two-week holiday and you come back and look at the same screen you have looked at for the last couple of months, it looks different, which is annoying. Changing things around all the time doesn't make it easy."
"Intune could be improved by organizing different solutions, like Defender and Sentinel, into a single package. This would allow us to focus on security while Microsoft manages other areas. Having a unified solution would drive better management of various sectors. Although the Intune user experience is good, we should continue enhancing it."
"We had an APNS certificate set to expire last week. We tried to renew it two days before it expired. We logged in to the APNS portal but could not find that certificate. We didn't know where it went. All the iOS devices stopped working. We contacted the Apple and Microsoft teams, and each blamed the other. This is something that Microsoft should take care of. Last week, we had so many escalations from high-profile users who couldn't access corporate data on their devices."
"One area for improvement is app deployment. Another is the Windows update rollout. If you're rolling out an object to a device that's offline, Intune stops trying to reach this device after it sits idle for a bit. We are forced to find a workaround that could help manage that."
"Could benefit from user having more control over devices."
"Microsoft Intune could improve its reporting and troubleshooting tools since diagnosing policy sync and deployment issues can still feel a bit complicated at times."
"The closest Microsoft Intune can be to GPOs, the better. There needs to be more granularity on application deployments. However, they have done better recently with the application deployments."
"We haven't really gone through all the features of Intune. We are just discovering them. Every day, we see a new feature that we want to apply, but what will be great for Intune is to be able to deploy apps in a simple fashion. We should be able to easily install various apps on the Windows platform, iOS, and Android. Currently, we have to write some scripts. It's not as straightforward as we would like it to be. It should be simplified so that we can do it just with three clicks—next, next, finish—without needing to write a script."
"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is not user-friendly and operates slowly."
"F5 BIG-IP APM disconnects when you leave it for long enough, but that is natural for IT solutions to do. That's a little bit frustrating."
"Regarding price, I'm not directly involved in purchasing, but our CIO thinks the product is very expensive. He's considering moving from the tool to Citrix NetScaler WAF because it's cheaper, and we already have Citrix for VDI. We got NetScaler almost free as part of our VDI deal. Three years ago, I convinced him to use the solution because it's better, but now, with budget constraints, he may want to switch."
"The operational deployment is not great and can be improved."
"The price of this product can be improved."
"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."
"The initial setup was not easy."
"They could improve the reporting."
"The solution may not scale well for enterprises."
"The scalability is great for small or medium-sized businesses. However, it may not scale well for enterprise-level entities."
"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."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Consider the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite rather than choosing specific sub-components, e.g. only Microsoft Intune."
"Intune's pricing is reasonable considering its benefits and the high costs it helps avoid."
"It's affordable for the protection it gives. There are no additional costs."
"The price of Microsoft Intune is reasonable."
"Microsoft Intune is available for individual purchase at a low per-device cost."
"Intune's pricing is competitive. For example, the license of Blackberry's Enterprise Mobility Suite was costly, but Intune is affordable. It is included as an additional feature when you buy security enhancements for your organization. For example, let's say I have fifty users in my organization and all of them are using Microsoft cloud services, like Teams, Office 365, and OneDrive."
"Licensing depends on how you are providing support to your enterprise, whether it's device-based or user-based."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The product is very expensive."
"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Construction Company
6%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Transportation Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business189
Midsize Enterprise65
Large Enterprise185
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: June 2026.
902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.