We use it to gain access to our organization's applications.
Information Technology Consultant at Eta2u
Flexible and secure access to virtual desktops and applications, enhancing productivity and enabling remote work with high performance, centralized management, and robust security features
Pros and Cons
- "It offers great flexibility, allowing us to access it as a complete virtual machine or even just as individual applications."
- "There is room for a more cost-effective pricing structure, as it could be more affordable."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
One of the most valuable aspects is that I can connect from home, and the system operates seamlessly. It offers great flexibility, allowing us to access it as a complete virtual machine or even just as individual applications.
What needs improvement?
There is room for a more cost-effective pricing structure, as it could be more affordable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for approximately four years.
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Horizon 8
August 2025

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability capabilities eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rates its scalability abilities eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Whenever we submit a ticket, there is a productive exchange of information, and more often than not, they manage to address our needs effectively. While there may be occasional challenges, the support is generally quite reliable. I would rate it nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use a combination of Citrix, Horizon, and Microsoft for virtual apps and desktops based on specific requirements and customer needs.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment was managed by our team, and I handled the installation. The client only had to perform the minimal configuration, such as setting the server's IP. It was highly adaptable and user-friendly, and it took approximately a couple of days.
What was our ROI?
We observed a return on investment in data protection, resulting in a time savings of around twenty five percent.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It falls on the more expensive end in terms of cost.
What other advice do I have?
You can consider using Microsoft Remote Desktop sessions, which provide a more basic set of features if you don't require all the advanced features offered by Horizon, such as speed optimization, visual enhancements, desktop printing, image resolution, and a seamless user experience. Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner

Project Leader and IT Transition Manager at Data Communication & Software i Grondal Aktiebolag
Stable solution and accessible from home or remote locations
Pros and Cons
- "From my standpoint, the desktop is the most valuable feature."
- "What I would like to see improved is not so much about the product. It's more about how to get information about products. It's always too much sales pitching and fancy works and stuff."
What is our primary use case?
In our case, it's for our own internal use. Let's say I am at home, and there's an issue with our customer. Something has happened. I can connect using Secureline and log on to this virtual desktop, accessing the system from there. So it's only for internal use.
What is most valuable?
From my standpoint, the desktop is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
What I would like to see improved is not so much about the product. It's more about how to get information about products. It's always too much sales pitching and fancy works and stuff. This helps you improve this and that but doesn't tell me how.
It's just hard to find information when you want to set up a system or find what can be good for a specific customer. You want to find something. That's where the documentation comes in, and explains how it will improve. So that's my biggest problem with everybody who makes a product.
It says this will make your life so much better. Yes, but how would it make it better? That's the hard part to find. That kind of information is hard to find, really. So it makes it hard to find products.
Therefore, I always have to call the vendor and ask for a meeting, and they have to make a demonstration. The process becomes so lengthy and exhausting sometimes because you have to make notes for everything. "Okay, this works like this," and "You can use it for that." And then you have to talk to the next one, compare. So I would like that to be my opinion. If they could think from the perspective of a technician, he doesn't want to hear all this fancy talk. That's my opinion.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for over half a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I've only used it a few times, and it was very stable. The performance was good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
About 15 of us in our organization are using the solution. Our current size is sufficient.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. It's a remote desktop, not that fancy. It's easy to manage with just one guy.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have used Citrix.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Horizon 8
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about Horizon 8. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Good virtual desktop infrastructure, but login capabilities could be better
Pros and Cons
- "The support from VMware is very good and they have amazing experts."
- "The system is not designed to allow the client to log in easily."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for this solution is the virtual desktop infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
We have found this solution valuable because it has cut our costs for purchasing new hardware.
What needs improvement?
The product could be improved by correcting how information is provided because we have issues with the client and the backend. The system is not designed to allow the client to log in easily and multiple passwords are required. This could be improved by requiring the client to input only the active directory username and password.
The primary problem we are facing is logging in locally on the SIEM client as a local, then click on the Horizon Seven and then call or connect to the server connection, then use the administrative username and password to log in, which is difficult for the students when we are dealing with the student. This is the most challenging stage because the rest of the backend is okay. We would like to see improvements to this problem and understand why there is no compatibility between the SIEM client and the backend.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for about four years and are currently working with Horizon Seven. It is deployed on-premises.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. There are 200 people using it in our organization. However, it is difficult to maintain because the handover from our third party was bad. There was no adequate knowledge transfer.
How are customer service and support?
The support from VMware is very good and they have amazing experts. Whenever I raise a case to VMware technical support team, they respond immediately and fix any issues we have. They are very professional.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was difficult. I rate it a seven out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
We used the resellers to set up. However, the reseller we used is no longer in the market anymore. The company closed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product has high license costs. I cannot give an exact figure on the price as our procurement department handles this. However, we would rate the licensing fees a nine out of ten because of how high it is.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution a seven out of ten. The product is good, but improvements can be made to how information is provided. We recommend this solution to new users who want to start working with it.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior IT Strategy Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It's relatively flexible and scalable.
Pros and Cons
- "Horizon View provides virtual desktops on demand."
- "Horizon View could be more stable."
What is our primary use case?
We use Horizon View to provide virtual desktops for internal use. There are about a thousand users.
What is most valuable?
Horizon View provides virtual desktops on demand.
What needs improvement?
Horizon View could be more stable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Horizon View for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate Horizon View's stability seven out of 10.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Horizon View is relatively flexible and scalable.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Horizon View is somewhat complex, but we got some professional services from VMware. It would probably be complicated if you tried to set it up on your own.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate Horizon View four out of 10 for affordability. It was pretty expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have performed some benchmark tests before deciding to go with Horizon View, but we chose VMware because most of our existing setup uses VMware.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Horizon View eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Enterprise Architect / Data Solution Architect at Hewlett Packard Enterprise
It simplifies management of remote devices, but support is kind of hit or miss
Pros and Cons
- "VMware Horizon View is easy to configure and deploy."
- "VMware support is okay, but sometimes it's a little bit hit or miss trying to get somebody who knows what they're doing and talking about."
What is our primary use case?
Horizon is used to create virtual desktops. It's helpful for people who want to transition from large desktops and laptops to more virtual desktops. More people are working remotely, and that freaks out IT departments when they can't get access to an employee's desktop. We are seeing a lot of demand for virtual desktops for remote working.
How has it helped my organization?
Horizon allows us to sell a solution to customers.
What is most valuable?
VMware Horizon View is easy to configure and deploy.
What needs improvement?
The cost of licenses is always a challenge. I would also like the deployment to be simplified and automated to be more streamlined. It would be helpful for managing. For example, if you are deploying 900, it would be nice to automate the management of groups of 30 or 40 or whatever you're doing. Automation and deployment tools would be good.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used VMware Horizon View off and on since it was first introduced in 2006. I have been messing around with VMware since early in my career. It's probably been about 18 months since I last did a direct Horizon solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Horizon View is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Horizon View has been scalable enough for everything I've done so far. The last deployment was about 900 users. It was a mixture of office workers and managers.
How are customer service and support?
VMware support is okay, but sometimes it's a little bit hit or miss trying to get somebody who knows what they're doing and talking about.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Our customers switched from more of a traditional laptop or desktop environment where they were maintaining 900 different systems and trying to keep them patched and updated. A VDI is helpful for tracking ransomware or viruses because you can lock down systems more easily when they're centrally controlled.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Horizon is probably not easy for an inexperienced person. You can't just read the manual and do it. You need some experience to set it up. It's not overly complex, but it also isn't so simple that you could deploy it yourself if you've never done it before.
It took about two or three months because you can't just roll it out. You have to migrate the users in batches. If you're rolling out a thousand users, you can't just turn it on and have at it with a thousand. You deploy 30 and migrate a department and then do another. That's the case with any virtual desktop solution. Rolling it out is always going to be a more gradual process than a big bang all at once overnight.
What was our ROI?
VMware has tools to calculate projected ROI. The customers don't hit that projection, but they get relatively close. Typically the projected return is higher than what customers actually see.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
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.
When you deploy the solution, the goal is to reduce normal operating costs by making it easier to keep your devices updated and patched. Obviously, there are hardware costs for running virtual machines, so there are additional costs depending on where you're running it, especially if you're using the standard hybrid cloud. If you use the Horizon Cloud, it's a different pricing model.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate VMware Horizon View seven out of 10. If you want to simplify management and retain control, give it some serious thought. If you're allowing users to work on their own devices, it's necessary. If everybody has their own laptops, you want to use something like Horizon or VDI to manage your corporate applications. It's absolutely essential for that type of environment.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Manager at Amidas Hong Kong Limited
Support and alternative deployments could improve, but highly scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of VMware Horizon 7 is its ease of use."
- "VMware Horizon 7 could improve by supporting the active-active data center. At this time we are only deploying it in the production environment. Our customer is considered to deploy the VMware Horizon 7 to a secondary data center, but we found out that it cannot fully support the user in the deployment in the active-active data center. Any improvement on this would be beneficial."
What is our primary use case?
VMware Horizon 7 is used for remote access to allow the users to work from home.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of VMware Horizon 7 is its ease of use.
What needs improvement?
VMware Horizon 7 could improve by supporting the active-active data center. At this time we are only deploying it in the production environment. Our customer is considered to deploy the VMware Horizon 7 to a secondary data center, but we found out that it cannot fully support the user in the deployment in the active-active data center. Any improvement on this would be beneficial.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware Horizon 7 for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware Horizon 7 could improve stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of VMware Horizon 7 is very good. We have 100 users using this solution in my organization.
How are customer service and support?
We typically open up the support page in VMware Horizon 7 for help. I did not find it very helpful but they tried their best.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Citrix before we chose VMware Horizon 7. The pricing of Citrix was better.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of VMware Horizon 7 depends but for most it is easy. It took us one month.
What about the implementation team?
We used a consultant to implement this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of VMware Horizon 7 is more than some other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
I rate VMware Horizon 7 a five out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
Manager Data Centre at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
It's great that users can log in from anywhere and from a variety of devices
Pros and Cons
- "Ability to log in from anywhere and from a variety of devices."
- "Ability to log in from anywhere and from a variety of devices."
- "sdfgdfg"
- "Users can log in from anywhere and from a variety of devices."
- "Reporting could be improved, we currently have to export manually."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for our virtual desktop infrastructure where the user's desktops are running the data center using Horizon. With the increase in the number of people working from home, we wanted a solution like Horizon. We are customers and I'm a resident consultant.
What is most valuable?
The major advantage of this solution is that users can log in from anywhere and from a variety of devices. Previously, it was difficult for us to manage but when we moved to VDI and people were able to log in from anywhere, it made a huge difference. I like that we're able to take a snapshot of the desktop.
What needs improvement?
Reporting could be improved. We have 200-300 users and it's difficult to know who has logged in and when. We have to do this manually so having a tool that would enable the export of reporting would be useful and save a lot of time.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and highly reliable. We haven't had any issues with bugs, users are able to plug in properly, and the VMs are working fine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is good. We initially started with four servers and within a month we have scaled it up, adding an additional four servers. We initially purchased 100 licenses and then another 100. It was simple and straightforward to scale up.
How are customer service and support?
We contacted support for implementing the SSL certificate and for enabling the MFA. The support was good and we were able to resolve our issues.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was simple and straightforward although it will be more difficult for anyone who doesn't have experience. We have around 200 users and deployment took about three days. We have one admin for patching and updating.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing is on an annual basis and quite costly.
What other advice do I have?
We use this solution heavily and I would definitely recommend it.
I'd like to rate this solution more highly, but because of the issue with reporting, I rate it eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Solutions Architect at shellsoft
Focused on VDI and application delivery but lacks stability
Pros and Cons
- "The console is straightforward and easy to understand for the end user. It can be deployed on any device, including iPads and Mac OS. Users can access their daily applications and resources provided by the VMware Horizon environment from any device."
What is our primary use case?
VMware Horizon is focused on VDI and application delivery. Organizations use VMware Horizon to deliver third-party applications to their end users. This is facilitated by Horizon's VDI solution, which provides the necessary infrastructure and management capabilities.
What is most valuable?
The console is straightforward and easy to understand for the end user. It can be deployed on any device, including iPads and Mac OS. Users can access their daily applications and resources provided by the VMware Horizon environment from any device.
It covers and deploy legacy applications to customers who are using outdated operating systems. Legacy applications run only on older computers, but with the power of Horizon, they can be deployed on any device. With recent changes, Horizon operates with a high degree of independence. It enables users to work anytime, anywhere, on any device.
What needs improvement?
VMware Horizon is best in class product, but they should the improve its connectivity of the agents deployed. They should create their own virtualization infrastructure to host their horizon moving forward.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware Horizon for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We encountered licensing issues. It uses a newer type of licensing, leveraging the cloud for auto licensing rather than using a traditional license key. This change should be discussed with the customer moving forward. To address this, we needed to replace some of our components to connect with the tenants for auto licensing.
I rate the solution's stability a seven out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability depends on the underlying infrastructure. Horizon operates with VMware vSphere. As long as the company regularly reviews the scalability and virtualization information, Horizon can be easily scaled up or down based on the requirements.
I rate it a seven out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Currently (Q1 of 2024), raising a ticket with VMware Horizon can be challenging with recent changes (Migration due to recent product acquisitions). Some of the customer portals and support portals are undergoing migration, making it difficult to access them directly and submit tickets.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Negative
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of VMware Horizon can be time-consuming since it involves deploying various components. There are separate components that you need to deploy as part of Horizon. You may have to deploy other components that can be integrated with Horizon. For instance, a Microsoft server that hosts the RDSH can be added to the Horizon environment. This kind of integration with different products can add complexity, making the implementation of VMware Horizon medium in terms of difficulty.
Deployment depends on the number of agents to be deployed on end-user devices & the number of VM's or VDI components to be deployed in the implementation. On average, it takes two weeks for deployment.
I rate the initial setup a six out of ten.
What was our ROI?
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Compared to other VDI providers like Citrix or other VDI provider, it stands on par in terms of cost. It is neither cheaper nor expensive, but comparable to the standard pricing in the market.
What other advice do I have?
VDI can be beneficial in many instances and use cases. One example is when you have existing users accessing the company network. For users who shift roles or locations but use the same laptop, VDI is advantageous. Instead of purchasing a physical hardware device for each individual user, you can build the infrastructure and deploy VMs for them to use moving forward. This approach simplifies onboarding and offboarding users, as VDI allows easy management of user accounts.
VMware Horizon is a key component in deploying and providing a comprehensive digital workspace for organizations. Horizon can be used independently or integrated with other VMware products to create a unified digital workspace. It supports VPN and enhances the digital employee experience by using AI functionality to learn user behavior. This AI capability helps seamlessly identify and analyze any issues within the company, ensuring a smooth and efficient working environment. It includes various networking and monitoring tools, such as those provided by VMware virtual infrastructure VMware, which contribute to a robust and secure organizational framework.
VMware Horizon is still undergoing a migration process. This could be attributed to VMware's acquisition by Broadcom, followed by the sale of the digital workspace pillar, which includes the Horizon product. Horizon may have established its own company as part of this migration process, leading to issues, particularly with the portals.
Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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Updated: August 2025
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