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ISL Online vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services 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
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
255
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
ISL Online
Ranking in Remote Access
21st
Average Rating
9.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.4%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ISL Online is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 10.5%, down from 14.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
Stephen Yarrow - PeerSpot reviewer
Great for remote support sessions with no maintenance and excellent technical support
The remote support session is great. We really like ISL Light. That's what we use all the time. We use it almost every day. Some people use other solutions like Splashtop, for instance, where you can do unattended support. Personally, I don't like unattended support. I would worry if it would be secure. There's no way I'd want someone logging onto my machine when I'm not here. With this, I log to ISL, I give them a pin number, and they have to physically type in the pin number and physically agree to them sharing their screen. It's much more secure than some of the other solutions like TeamViewer and Splashtop where you can do unattended support. It's more secure than any of the other products out there, available at the moment. The stability is great. It's got very good uptime. The technical support is great. Setting up the solution is easy and there's no maintenance involved.
Terje Romen - PeerSpot reviewer
Accessing the same desktop experience from anywhere but user template creation needs improvement
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technical support of Microsoft Intune is good."
"The most valuable feature is the UEM capabilities."
"It is very easy to use. It has a very easy interface."
"The solution appears to be stable and scalable."
"The initial setup is not overly complex or difficult."
"The stability of Microsoft Intune is good."
"Intune's compliance features are valuable because they allow immediate visibility into ongoing situations."
"We can manage and standardize security across your environment, identify problems, receive alerts, and so on. That's its purpose, and that's also why it's so good."
"The most valuable feature is safety."
"The solution has a lot of features. It does what it is made to do and that's all we can ask for, really."
"It's much easier to connect with other services, and it's working great. We haven't had any problems."
"Setting up the solution is easy and there's no maintenance involved."
"I personally really appreciate the file transfer feature as it is really easy to use."
"ISL Online is easy to use. It provides a single platform on which we can do everything, and it's very low maintenance. After installation, you don't need an IT manager or staff to watch over it. It's secure. It's most important for us."
"The code can be delivered in multiple ways, including an email with a link for an unattended connection."
"We can also monitor our systems at any time from practically anywhere."
"Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost."
"Things can be made easier if someone is not with us or at a long distance since we can connect easily with those people. So, it's easy for us to use such features."
"It's part of the Microsoft Operating system and is free."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is managing the remote desktop end user or remote server."
"The tool shares computer resources perfectly."
"The installation is straightforward."
"The solution is stable."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
 

Cons

"Reporting needs to be better. Sometimes, it is way too slow, and it is not even accurate."
"It would help if administrators could pinpoint the exact location of a stolen device to help law enforcement retrieve it and apprehend the suspect."
"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."
"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 security features should be improved."
"I would like Intune to natively support easier report generation. This improvement would enable less experienced staff to run reports more efficiently without relying on additional tools or functions."
"The feature that allows us to import the business application from the configuration manager to Intune is not very good at this time."
"Reporting can be better. Only global administrators can see detailed reports at the moment, and I don't want to use the global admin."
"They need to better advertise the features."
"There could be a section in the menu describing the new features and changes."
"If there is an update or new feature on ISL Online, I don't know about it. I would be happy to receive a newsletter or notification of new features or updates."
"There have been times during updates when something wouldn't work quite right, however, they are quick with updates and quick with fixes."
"They should improve the integrations with other incident management software to be able to send the link directly from these platforms."
"We miss the possibility to communicate via head-set in ISL. At the moment, we combine ISL for visual communication with Skype for verbal communication."
"I would like to be able to access and manage all brands of smartphones."
"It would be helpful if they had iSupport for supporting Apple phones."
"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."
"The training profiles could be better."
"My customers are worried that the RDP protocol can be easily compromised and would like the option to use an alternative like Blast."
"There is a limitation on the number of concurrent users."
"For Microsoft, maybe bandwidth optimization is one of the areas that need improvement."
"We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services."
"The reliability of the solution could improve."
"The solution should introduce a chat feature for end users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune's pricing is reasonable."
"Intune is linked with Microsoft. We can deploy the Microsoft E365 license to users by Intune. There are different types of licenses, such as device administrator licenses, E5 licenses for device enrollment manually, and P1 and p2 licenses for device enrollment automatically. These are the licenses required for the administration."
"Pricing can be improved."
"The Intune license model is costly."
"Any bundle package, such as Security E3, covers multiple things, such as AAP, BitLocker, etc. If you go for them individually, they would be more expensive. Bundling makes the price more attractive and competitive."
"We are partners, so we receive some discount. However, from the customer's perspective, Microsoft Intune's pricing is competitive with non-Microsoft technology, and the price is good compared to other market competitors."
"While I can't provide insights from a business perspective, it's worth noting that the pricing may differ significantly, and the discount we received might not be reflective of standard business rates."
"It is not expensive."
"We have a pay-per-use license available for 500 minutes within one year for 95 Euros. However, this option is not popular. Alternatively, we can purchase a one-year license for 339 Euros; if we need two licenses, the cost is double, and for three licenses, the cost is triple with a ten percent discount. For 99 Euros a year, we can open multiple sessions on the same computer with a multi-session subscription."
"There is a licensing cost."
"It's not an expensive solution."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"The pricing could always be improved."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
20%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
I've never had an issue with it. I've always thought the pricing for RDS was reasonable.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
We would like configuration to be automatic and the price to be close to zero, however, that's not realistic. Everyon...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Mitsubishi Chemicals, Konica Minolta, Raifeissen bank, Terpel, Singtel, Teleroute, SOS Kinderdorf, Arsys, EMAAR, Dutco, Alterdata
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about ISL Online vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.