We use Remote Desktop Services for a few things. My experience started with Microsoft Remote Desktop when I tried to reuse really low power desktop machines to turn them from these desktop machines into class remote desktop terminals. That is my initial experience with Microsoft Remote Desktop. My most current experience with Microsoft Remote Desktop is using a specific Microsoft product on the servers where you don't have any chance to administer them using the web browser. SCCM, active directory administration and other Wintel server roles are most handy and the most secure to administer from the Microsoft Management Console. Therefore, you need to do it at least from some instance of the Microsoft windows server.
Product Owner IT Services at Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG)
It's predictable but they need to develop better support for remote desktops for alternative platforms
Pros and Cons
- "I like that it works. In most cases, it's predictable. You know what you get."
- "Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliance for Mac."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I like that it works. In most cases, it's predictable. You know what you get.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliances for Mac. This is really frustrating because if I'm on windows I can remove the Microsoft remote desktop applied for Windows, but I'm already using windows, I always have an option B. I can still plug directly with Microsoft management console from the windows station and still do something remotely. But on a Mac, I have to rely purely on the Microsoft Remote Desktop.
If I need to pass second-factor authentication, not a one-time password thing, if I do a Microsoft remote desktop session, I have to reach the first server, which is my best one. From that server, you're actually going inside your protective network. Then on the second spot, you are not able to pass a YubiKey and go any farther. That creates the problem. We have had many support tickets.
For how long have I used the solution?
With this new company, I have been using this solution for two and a half years, but overall I have 15 years of experience.
It is being used mainly on a Mac platform.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would say it's stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In the last setup, we had 3,000 users. It wasn't the nicest experience.
How are customer service and support?
My experience with support is varied. It really depends. It varies depending on which support line you get. If you say you're a particular engineer then they won't really bother to support you. But if you say you have an enterprise contract and that you're a big company and you have a contract then they offer better support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Citrix. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a more developed version of Citrix.
I would recommend going for VMware.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft programs are never easy to install but the installation wasn't something we didn't expect.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed it on our own.
We use enterprise orchestration so it doesn't take too long to deploy. Microsoft products do not really play along with the open-source orchestration platforms. Once you overcome this, it becomes easier.
What other advice do I have?
I would not recommend going with this solution because I wouldn't recommend going for a big enterprise setup.
I would rate it a four out of ten.
In the next release, they should develop better support for remote desktops for alternative platforms. It's really lacking consistency. If I have to support terminal server clusters and I have to do change management on the big cluster, then I actually run into a lot of issues both on the Microsoft Remote Desktop as well as Citrix. They should provide a consistent user experience. It's a pain to roll out changes into a different mode of the cluster and to propagate them over multiple modes. I end up in a situation where a portion of my users get the changes and the other portion doesn't.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

System Organizer at a translation and localization position with 1-10 employees
Helps to connect with remote workers but needs to improve security
Pros and Cons
- "The solution works on Microsoft servers."
- "Microsoft Remote Desktop Services needs to improve its security."
What is our primary use case?
We have a group of users who work remotely for us, as well as others who connect to our computers from various locations.
What is most valuable?
The solution works on Microsoft servers.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services needs to improve its security.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services' stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool's scalability a nine out of ten. My company has 80 users.
How are customer service and support?
We don't use technical support from Microsoft. We have outsourced it to another company.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We chose Microsoft because it was cheaper.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services' deployment is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool's pricing is high in the Slovenian market. I rate it a nine out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a nine 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
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
May 2025

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857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Software Engineer at Apmosys Technology Pvt. Ltd.
An exceptionally scalable tool requiring a straightforward setup phase
Pros and Cons
- "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."
- "There have been some network issues in the solution. So, when we used to connect it, the solution suddenly got disconnected. So the network part needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
If any of our clients using the internet are facing an issue, we connect Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and troubleshoot the exact issue.
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
There have been some network issues in the solution. So, when we used to connect it, the solution suddenly got disconnected. So the network part needs to be improved. Also, for a long duration, if we share Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, then network issues come up, so I suggest improvements in the aforementioned areas. Also, the pricing could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for one or two months. Also, I am using the solution's latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The network issue is something that causes us to invest longer time duration in connecting, after which it gets disconnected. Hence, I rate the solution's stability nine and a half out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. Around five to ten of our clients are users using the solution. Also, the solution is being used extensively.
I do have plans to increase the usage of the solution. The number of users is increasing. In the last month, we have had two or three potential clients in the pipeline. In the near future, its usage will increase.
How are customer service and support?
I have never contacted technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup process was straightforward. The deployment process took around a week.
Deployment steps are followed. For every network deployment, it is necessary to generate a single token. Once this token is generated, payment will be required. Once we obtain the UI connector, it is essential to verify that everything is running smoothly. Only then can it be directly connected, ensuring that the deployment process takes place without any issues.
Regarding the deployment of one server, if done by someone knowledgeable with Microsoft products, then it can be done directly. Else it will take a month since we need time to learn all these things. An engineer looks into a few things.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation can be done in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is expensive. Since things are made to be a bit easier in the solution, the solution's cost is a bit on the higher side.
What other advice do I have?
I will recommend it to others when I think it's quite an easy tool, especially if its implementation is easy. We should also be able to connect and solve our problems through troubleshooting issues remotely. For long-distance purposes, the tool gets quite easier for its users. I will recommend that everyone should use it.
Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Beneficial central management and overall good reliability
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services are unification, central management, and accessibility."
- "The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is not the easiest. You need to have a certain understanding of how Microsoft is provisioning the solution to be able to set it up and use it."
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services are unification, central management, and accessibility.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for approximately 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable if you have reasonably good hardware. Overall the reliability is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable. You can add nodes, remove nodes, and there is load balancing embedded into the solution too.
We have approximately 30 to 50 users using this solution in my organization.
How are customer service and support?
I am in contact with support from Microsoft Remote Desktop Services approximately twice or three times a year for a particular topic. They typically have been able to resolve our issues, but it is sometimes difficult to be passed over to someone who understands the issue we are facing through the different levels of support.
I rate the support from Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a four out of five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are using a mixture of Remote Desktop Services and Citrix solutions. Citrix is more prevalent based on this solution category.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is not the easiest. You need to have a certain understanding of how Microsoft is provisioning the solution to be able to set it up and use it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for somebody who needs to have centralized control applications, users, or the setup of applications.
I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an eight 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
PAM Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Light, built into the operating system, and requires no implementation
Pros and Cons
- "It's built into the operating system and has a command line interface capability to insert credentials, IDs, a password, et cetera."
- "The only problems that you're going to have with the remote desktop are going to be firewall ports, security, and NLA, which is a net network level access control, or TLS transfer layer security or some other SSL-type of security."
What is our primary use case?
I use Remote Desktop to do a credential swap where it goes from being the explicit user accessing the endpoint to a privileged credential.
What I do is, in the connection process with RDP, the user logs into the PAM tool as first name.last name, which is his normal domain account. However, BeyondTrust, with the remote desktop connection, substitutes the user's first name.last name with a privileged credential that looks like his name. It would be like A-first.last. This is so that we can also perform session recording and keystroke logging, as well as keep a detailed log of who is connected to which desktop and which account.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable suite feature for us is that it's light. It's built into the operating system and has a command line interface capability to insert credentials, IDs, a password, et cetera.
What needs improvement?
If anybody who's going to be using this, I’d warn that some of the dependencies that are very helpful when the window servers are running it would be best if they have network-level access enabled. It can speed up authentication. However, it really it also works well with TLS security as well as others on the certificate level. That said, I really don't know if I would start swinging in the dark after that.
Usually, during a privileged session, you don't want the privileged credential password being visible, nor maybe would you want keystrokes or screen scrapes to take place.
One of our first problems was the only time RDP ever gave me a problem was when an organization would build a new server. They would automatically build it. They would name it. They would put the connection settings on it. And then they would also put a certificate on it. Then the engineering team that ordered the server would then rename the server, which would nullify the certificate. That's the only time that RDP or remote desktop ever gave me a problem. And that was not the remote desktop's problem. It was a process flaw.
The only problems that you're going to have with the remote desktop are going to be firewall ports, security, and NLA, which is a net network level access control, or TLS transfer layer security or some other SSL-type of security. Those are the only times you get into any issues. And that's only due to the fact that the originating site is not compatible with the target site. However, that's rare. That said, even then, that's more on the rare side. I'm a PAM architect, a privileged access management architect. I usually knock down those problems before we get to them since I ran it all a hundred times.
For how long have I used the solution?
I’ve used the solution for 20 to 25 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is rock solid. It’s stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn’t crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The sky is the limit in terms of scalability. It’s not a problem at all if you need to expand. The only limiting factor is the budget. Obviously, the more you grow, the more you pay.
Tens of thousands of people use the solution. The primary use is to segregate a user from a direct login to a desktop.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is actually built into the larger product. We pretty much just have to secure the connection.
It's actually maintained as part of the standard windows update tools and also could be updated manually with specific patches that might be something more specific to your organization. I've only experienced that once and that was years ago.
What about the implementation team?
I’m implementing the remote desktop for customers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It’s built-in. It’s free. It doesn’t cost extra.
What other advice do I have?
We are Microsoft partners.
The deployment is both on-prem and cloud. If I was working with an organization that is a monster and they're distributed or maybe even a multinational or multi-state, I would use Azure Cloud and do use the Azure remote desktop solution.
There are so many different types of uses. In my use case, it is so painfully specific for connection brokering. We use it as part of the built-in connection process with our PAM tool. You can actually just sit down at your desktop and then do a start run, and then run MSTSC, which means micro soft terminal services client, which is a remote desktop. You can connect to one of your own computers at home, or you could connect to a server. However, you have to know the ID and password to connect. I circumvent that by doing a command line connection where I insert the credentials and the users connect, not even knowing what ID or password they're using to connect with.
I’d rate the solution ten out of ten. It’s a meat and potatoes product.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Highly reliable and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is highly stable."
- "Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is only available for the professional version of the Windows operating system. This restricts a lot of users. The feature should be available for all versions."
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is only available for the professional version of the Windows operating system. This restricts a lot of users. The feature should be available for all versions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for more than 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I did not have a problem with the stability because I was using it for personal use, not for business use. The solution was scalable for my needs.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used the technical support from Microsoft.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Engineer at Saudi Customs
Straightforward installation and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The installation is straightforward."
- "There are times I get disconnected from the service and when one or two attempts to establish a remote connection. Microsoft should show where the problem is, I have to find it by myself."
What needs improvement?
There are times I get disconnected from the service and when one or two attempts to establish a remote connection. Microsoft should show where the problem is, I have to find it by myself.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for approximately 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to be stable.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
ENGINEER IT at SYAC
An easily scalable solution
Pros and Cons
- "We have scaled the solution and find this easy to do."
- "The solution should have better security."
What is our primary use case?
We use the latest update.
What needs improvement?
The solution should have better security.
It is overpriced.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution lacks stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have scaled the solution and find this easy to do.
How are customer service and technical support?
While the Microsoft support is good, it would be nice if they would have faster response time.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is difficult and there is a lack of adequate documentation. The process should be simplified.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is overly expensive.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, the solution is good.
I would recommend it to others.
I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services as a 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

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