Microsoft App-V vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft App-V and Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Featured Review
Dan Patriche
AJ Hartenberg
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"It is very easy to use from an administration point of view.""The most interesting and powerful feature for us is the fact that we can upgrade any kind of app instantly."

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"It is a stable solution.""Simplicity of the interface is a valuable feature.""You have the opportunity to virtualize applications in different locations. Everything is in one pane or one window, which is quite good.""The management capability from the RAS portal provides greater control than using pure MS inbuilt into RDS capabilities.""The connection is compressed so we don't need a lot of resources to run it.""We use Cloudpaging to package and deploy the vast majority of our applications to our standard Windows 10 desktops. With the use of Parallels integration into Software2 AppsAnywhere hub, this means we can use the same packages to deliver Windows applications to almost any device - Windows, mac OS, iOS, Android, Linux, Xbox One, PS4 - just by ticking a box.""It provides flexible access to Windows applications from many types of devices.""Thin client management (Windows 10 client) provides an easy way to lock down client connection to the remote infrastructure. Policies are very helpful for preconfiguring client behavior. Finally, client management is easy."

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Cons
"The downside is that Microsoft bought this product and they are going to discontinue it in 2026. This is worrisome for us.""If it were possible to integrate App-V with a cybersecurity solution then we could implement a documentation registry, which would be useful."

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"The main issue we have with all of our users is printing. Randomly, a printer will disconnect or someone won't connect to it and I will have to reset the print service and then nobody can print. That's the big headache we've had over the course of the five years.""HALB is not stable in our environment. When running two HALBs we have stability problems, so we use an active one and a passive for backup. Also, it would be nice to implement an upgrade of the environment without having to stop the servers. As it is, this must be done during off-hours.""From a seller's point of view, there are a lot of things that they could do better in the sales cycle.""Generally, it is a very good solution. The main thing that I would improve is their presence here in Mexico. They don't have strong local support here in Mexico. They should have a worldwide presence so that we don't have to do everything through the people in the US. The initial setup was a little bit complex because we were migrating from Citrix. For customers who are migrating from another platform like VMware or Citrix, it would be great if they can provide an automated migration solution.""We would like to be able to re-label the OTP (One Time Password) popup so our users can easily recognize that they are to put in their DUO code on that line. Most users see OTP and ask what that is.""We use several gateways because access to our secret zone requires two-factor user authentication. It is a lot of hassle differentiating among users with or without two-factor. Of course, we could use two farms, but that would mean more management too.""Improvement is needed in performance monitoring of the client's endpoint, and automatic re-connection of the client in the event of circuit disruptions (this works well generally but can present challenges).""Since I've been here less than a year, I have had to upgrade the system three times. The first time was the major upgrade but they have upgraded twice since, and I think that's too many times in that time span."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The pricing of this product is competitive."
  • "Clients do not pay licensing fees."
  • More Microsoft App-V Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The pricing has always been competitive, and the new SPLA licensing model works great for our business and clients."
  • "I think the new pricing is a little bit high. If the price was lower, we could use it for many more customers. If there was one improvement to be made to this product, it would be a small-business version, at a much lower price point."
  • "Work with the vendor, as this is a fairly new product and they want use cases. Deals can be made."
  • "Comparable performance to Citrix for our use case at a significantly lower cost. Pricing is clear and there are relatively few options or other pricing considerations when compared to similar products. Just be sure not to forget the Microsoft licensing that goes along with a Parallels deployment."
  • "Just compare it to Citrix and you will see the value in it."
  • "Pricing is a little steep."
  • "It justifies the price. In terms of licensing, initially when we got the product it was an unlimited licensing strategy. We knew would grow in the coming years. So initially, we took a plan which had no limit. After a year or so the strategy changed and we were being limited to 105 licenses, that was the minimum... If there was flexibility for increasing the number of licenses that would be great because you never know how much you are going to grow in the next year."
  • "We currently use Parallels side-by-side with an Azure cloud-hosted solution. This may be from a lack of product knowledge on my part, but we still need to work out the most effective way to shut down servers outside of hours, thereby reduce hosting costs. I am not entirely convinced Parallels does this well yet."
  • More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Top Answer:The solution is powerful, and it has good speed and performance.
    Top Answer:The product is not expensive. I rate its pricing a three or four out of ten.
    Top Answer:Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved.
    Ranking
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    2,697
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    N/A
    Views
    765
    Comparisons
    509
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    3
    Average Words per Review
    283
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    App-V, MS App-V
    Parallels RAS
    Learn More
    Parallels
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    Overview
    Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) enables you to make applications available to end users without installing the applications directly on end user computers. App-V transforms applications into centrally managed services that are never installed and don't conflict with other applications.
    ApplicationServer delivers applications, data and virtual desktops from a central location, providing continuous availability, resource-based load-balancing and complete network transparency.
    Sample Customers
    The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), GDDKiA, P&V, Etisalat Lanka, Hellenic Petroleum
    Arsari Group _ PT Netmarks Indonesia, Izhevsk Elektromekhanicheskiy Zavod (IEMZ) _ Kupol, Abilene Diagnostic Clinic, Fylde Borough Council, YARSTROYREZE LLC, VSK Insurance House, Melenkovsky District of Vladimirskaya Oblast, Sofrigam SA, Antenna International, KingsGate Community Church, Norwegian American Hospital, Island Hotels Group, Medway Council, Medway Council, Voices of September 11th, MacDonald Training Center, Kansas Childrenês Service League, Scope,Next Generation Clubs, WTC Communications, Opera Australia, HSE Integrated, Danier, Bridgwater College, Kern County Mental Health, Tony Tiendas, Spears Manufacturing, Managed Insurance Services Inc., Intuitive Medical Software, M.J. Soffe, Mazda Motors, Israel Military Industries (IMI), Telfair, Upic Solutions, Teleflora, Fisher & Company
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Government11%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    REVIEWERS
    Government15%
    Construction Company15%
    University15%
    Local Government8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government8%
    Company Size
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise65%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business52%
    Midsize Enterprise8%
    Large Enterprise40%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise56%
    Buyer's Guide
    Application Virtualization
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix, Microsoft, VMware and others in Application Virtualization. Updated: March 2024.
    768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Microsoft App-V is ranked 2nd in Application Virtualization while Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is ranked 5th in Application Virtualization with 24 reviews. Microsoft App-V is rated 9.6, while Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Microsoft App-V writes "Stable, scalable, easy to install, great support, and it upgrades and deploys apps easily". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) writes "Provides good scalability and a secure environment". Microsoft App-V is most compared with VMware ThinApp, Numecent and Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service), whereas Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is most compared with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service), Citrix Workspace, VMware Workstation and NComputing vSpace.

    See our list of best Application Virtualization vendors.

    We monitor all Application Virtualization reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.