VMware Horizon Reviews

I use it for everything. I even contribute to the development of VMware exams.

In addition, I am a VMware, certified instructor. I am qualified to teach classes.

I work as an architect, consultant, and problem solver. I can do anything Horizon or related to Horizon, such as ControlUP.

We use VMware Horizon for virtualized desktop applications. 

It is a method of providing a user with access to centralized resources in the form of either a full desktop session or a hosted application, whether it is Windows or Linux.

The most valuable feature of this solution is secure remote access to resources.

A simple way to load-balance components has been missing for several years. Because VMware Horizon lacks a load-balancing component, you must always use a third-party solution. VMware recommends that since you have VMware vSphere underneath, you run NSX to get your load balancer from there. However, not every customer can afford to run NSX.

A simple way, particularly for smaller environments, would be to have load balance connection servers and unified access gateways would be extremely beneficial.

The backlog of the development team is extensive. We know the load-balancing is in the roadmap somewhere but it's unknown when it will get addressed.

I would like to see simple load-balancing for smaller environments that lack large solutions like F5, or NSX; it should be redundant or unavailable but in a simple way.

Perhaps limited to only two components; if more are required, a paid load balancing solution can be used.

Load balancing for simple environments, or simple redundancy, is sorely lacking.

I have been working with VMware Horizon for approximately eight years.

The first one I sold was version four.

We are working with version eight, and our customers run version seven and some are already on version eight. 

Except for the last long-term service release, version seven is already out of support.

The most recent version is 8.6, but they no longer use that numbering; it is now 2206. The new numbering reflects the month and year of release.

The stability of VMware Horizon is incredible for both Horizon version seven and version eight.

The only reason the basic component connection server failed was that there was something broken underneath, either storage or compute. Horizon itself rarely has any issues.

I believe at present VMware Horizon scales up to 250,000 concurrent sessions.

In my opinion, VMware Horizon is a scalable product. The most prominent companies in the world use it. Some require it to scale to that level, which is why it is capable of doing so.

I am the only person in our organization who is using this solution for myself.

We use everything cloud-based, there is no real use case within our company for a virtual desktop, except for one or two people that I am aware of.

I would rate the technical support a three and a half out of five. 

It has become a very large organization with many procedures and layers. It usually takes a long time to get to the right person who can actually solve your problem, if you get there at all.

I was better in the past, but it was also smaller, and that would have made it easier.

The response times are not an issue, but you must go through a couple of layers, especially if you have a more complicated problem, to get the right person involved. It takes time.

It can be deployed in your private cloud, a public cloud, or a hybrid of the two. 

VMware Horizon only has one license, which is a license to run desktops. They don't care if you run them on Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba, your own Data Center, or a combination of those.

There is a cloud platform included to be able to govern it.

The initial setup is dependent on what you compare it to.  

When referring to an on-premises installation, the infrastructure isn't that complex; otherwise, it's just the cloud, which is a service that you use, and that is not necessarily complex.

On-premises you have some components, and there is some designing involved, especially if the environment is medium to large.

The complexity is in your data, and your applications, not in VMware Horizon.

A PoC is set up in a couple of days.

The basic environment depends on the organization; for example, a complete infrastructure for a large company can take two weeks to set up. You are dealing with a lot of integration with other components, and setting up load balancers and certificates.

It is worth the investment. We have customer success stories about how great VMware Horizon is as a product and how it has solved problems for them.

One of the things I try to do as an architect is to give or provide the customer with a solution that actually fits, which is not always Horizon.

There are numerous methods for delivering a digital workplace to you; it does not have to be a virtual desktop; there are other options.

I am aware of the license models, but not the prices.

Our company became a VMware partner because they already had Airwatch as a very large product, and VMware purchased Airwatch.

We then did some Digital Workspace and complimented it with Horizon. We do infrastructure as well as network virtualization.

I would advise using a trial first. You can use a free trial version for 60 days for almost every VMware product that is available. Register for a trial, download the bits and you are ready to go. For two months you can spend some quality time to see if the solution is what you need.

There are also the VMware hands-on labs that VMware provides. 

VMware provides live labs that you can use. They are built on request just by clicking a button and one minute later you have an environment that you want to get acquainted with.

It allows you to open the console, change the configuration and do whatever you want, and when you are done, the lab gets destroyed and rebuilt for another person free of charge.

It's a friendly way to get to know a product and to get acquainted with the look and feel to see if it is something that would fit with your environment. Then you could try a trial in your environment.

I would rate VMware Horizon an eight out of ten. 

It is a complete product.

It is fully mature, easy to manage, and it is easy to design if you know what you are doing. 

It is stable and there are new features that come from the new release twice a year.

We are using it to provide our users with a personalized desktop experience when they're working remotely, especially during the pandemic.

We are using its latest version. We usually deploy it on-prem, but I know that there is a possibility to put it on the cloud.

It is simpler and faster to deploy new versions and updates. It is also easier to make sure that everybody is using a standard image or a standard setup.

One of the most interesting features in the enterprise version is the ability to do some support. There is a feature for remote control and debugging, which is something we didn't have before having Horizon 7 and the enterprise version.

It is safer in terms of viruses and other types of attacks. If a machine ever becomes compromised, you can just destroy it immediately by logging off and having it recomposed.

The most important feature that is missing is the ability to do some remote support on the client itself. For example, if somebody has a Horizon client installed on his machine, there should be a way to support his local machine as well. That's because most of the problems can't be solved very often due to the computer or the setup that someone is using on his personal machine. Because a Horizon client is already installed on the machine to access the environment, it would be nice if the client itself possessed some sort of remote control tool in it so that if needed, we could support both the virtual setup and the actual setup of the machine. It pretty much does everything well. It is mostly the support aspect that can be improved. You have perfect control over your in-house environment. You have a solution that can pretty much be used anywhere, but you have no control over the machine that's being used to access your environment. Definitely, that's where most of the features are lacking. There should be an option for remote control and maybe some options for conformity. For example, if somebody installed the Horizon client on their shared computer, there could be some safety features or safety checks that were implemented in the client itself to make sure that the person using it is not using a compromised machine or something like that.

Its integration with third parties can be improved. Sometimes, there is a lack of integration with third parties. For example, we had issues at some point with Adobe products running in virtualization. I know they have a very hard time running in a virtualized environment and performing correctly. They work, but they're very slow, and they're hard to support.

I have been using this solution for probably close to two years.

The solution is very stable. It is very robust. The most fragile factor is the actual VM or the OS that you run on it. You might have a good virtual desktop solution, but if your VM that is running has an actual bug in it, such as a faulty patch or a problem that has to do more with software, then you're stuck with it anyway. 

Its scalability is very good based on what I have seen so far. It is easy to scale it up or down, and I haven't seen any constraints of any kind.

Usually, at any given time, there are close to a hundred users who are using it. It is used by all departments. We use it everywhere, and it is used extensively. We don't really plan to extend it because it is already fulfilling all of our needs, so we don't need to upscale or downscale it. It is just perfect right now for our needs.

It often depends on who you end up with. I've seen some people who go the extra mile and solve your problems really easily and quickly. If they don't have a solution, they'll make sure that somebody is able to help you. I've also seen the complete opposite at times where you have trouble trying to get follow-ups. It really depends on who's handling your case, and the fact that their support center is in India doesn't always help. I don't know if it's a language barrier or a social barrier or something else, but it's not easy. They are on the better side than the worst, but there is definitely room for improvement.

We were using Horizon 5. Before that, I've used different technologies but not in this environment. I've used a Citrix Metaframe in a different environment and not at this job.

It was very straightforward. It was a lot simpler than previous versions.

It was an in-house job. We were using Horizon 5, so we already had some experience with the product.

For its maintenance, one or two people are enough.

We have definitely got an ROI.

It is hard to know for sure. It is definitely in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. It is quite expensive, but you do save money on desktop power, desktop upgrades, etc. You're able to extend the useful life of your previous desktops. Previously, we used to change desktops regularly, and now we just change them when they break.

If you're currently looking for a solution that's in-house, it's a great solution. If you're looking into something that's more cloud-based, then you should definitely try a successor, which is a Horizon 8 or Horizon Air.

I would rate Horizon 7 an eight out of 10.

The use cases mainly depend on our client's needs and requirements. One of the reasons is the high cost of hardware and associated maintenance and time it requires. When you have 300-600 systems, managing maintenance tickets and replacements becomes a significant challenge.

With a stable VDI in place, clients/end users experience fewer issues. A large number of users can easily have required changes in configurations across the entire stack on the back end without disruption to their work. VMware Horizon offers additional features in VDI that are not possible with localized systems or laptops. We are currently utilizing it partly with labs involving DNA analysis and with various forensic tools. However, its primary use case is for office environments.

It gives you better control and management options for adjusting performance requirements and securing the environment.

The use of VMware Workspace ONE with Horizon is quite impressive. VMware Horizon availability on both the cloud and on-prem and its flexible licensing options are worth noting. 

In addition, combined with ThinApp it offers efficiency and stability for the system, which is not always available in alternate solutions.

Speaking from my perspective, I think they could work on reducing the cost. There is room for improvement in the pricing model. 

I would like to see improvement in the license cost and the availability of perpetual licensing for Horizon. The solution offers a Term and subscription license.

We started setting up VMware VDI solutions many years ago, but the most recent deployment was completed in March 2023. The latest installation is of Horizon 8 and it's been a month since it was deployed.

It is stable. However, when shifting from a laptop or desktop environment, there are certain expectations that need to be set correctly. For example, users in some lab environments or universities have a habit of shutting down systems at day's end. It can be inconvenient and it either needs to be disabled or the VMs need to be restarted. These challenges can be addressed within a couple of weeks, and then everything becomes stable. So, stability improves over time with proper configuration and SOPs and as users grow accustomed to new environments.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. 

It is highly scalable. The architecture allows POD architecture/design, accommodating anywhere from 300 to 20,000 end devices/sessions. The scalability depends on the specific needs and the capabilities of the network infrastructure.

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten.

From a technical standpoint, VMware Horizon is quite reliable and stable when compared to other products. It certainly has an edge in terms of stability.

The installation can be either simple or complex, depending on your desired configuration and the type of integrations you need with active directories and shares. There are plenty of options available. 

If you want a basic setup, it can be easily configured. However, you should have a good understanding of how the product needs to be set up. It's not overly simple, but it's not overly difficult either. The documentation is very comprehensive and helpful. As long as you have knowledge of the product and its components, such as the Connection Server and the licensing features, you can successfully configure it. Some training and support may be required.

If you have the necessary training, it will be easier to handle the deployment process.

The deployment time depends on factors such as the number of applications, templates, clients, and desired features. Generally, you can deploy it within two to three days and start working. We have two engineers for the deployment.

The same two engineers handle the maintenance as well.

VMware Horizon has subscription-based TERM licenses with many flexible options. I would really consider it to be of great value if VMware starts to offer perpetual licensing which used to be available.

We work with Several Virtualization Technologies and HCI systems including VMware vSphere, Oracle OVM, IBM PowerVM, Sangfor, Huawei FusionSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, and H3C Workspace/VirtualDesktop. Nevertheless for VDI, our primary choice has been VMware Horizon to date.

If you have large contact center users or significant office users, and you are looking for a long-term ROI over a period of ten years or more, VMware VDI would be a suitable choice.

I have integrated this solution for educational institutions to help deploy applications to students and staff. I have also integrated this solution for a financial organization. This solution is deployed on-premises. 

The students and staff have different requirements, knowledge, and applications they need to install, so we segregate the VDI. I have master images and then whichever application a student or staff member needs installed, I'll install it on the master image, then deploy that image to that particular staff member or group of students. In a matter of minutes, they will have their application ready to use.

The ease of deployment is one of the most valuable features. If I want to install something, I can have a test phase to see what sort of impact it will have and whether it will affect production. So I can install it on my lab, make sure it is okay, and if it is, I can deploy it directly to the users or to the staff. 

Instant clone is one of the best features. Within seconds, we can create a new WEM based on the requirements. So whenever they log in, the system or VM will be able to use it. 

VMware Horizon could be improved with more integration. It is also very costly for Enterprise Plus, which is a drawback. The renewal costs for the license are very, very high. 

I have been integrating this solution for customers for years. 

This solution is stable and reliable. I would say it's one of the best options. 

VMware's support is tremendously good. I have never had any issues with their side, in terms of technical support. They have a very talented team and they'll fix your problem in no time. 

The initial setup is not straightforward. You need to be very careful because it's based on end user experience, which is very important. You need to look at all the aspects of it—networking, cabling, storage, switching—and if performance is what most users need, there should be no compromise on this. You need to understand what your requirements are, what applications you may be running on the system, and then you need to design the storage. For example, if a customer has applications that demand more IOPS, then I would consider going for all-flash storage or an HTI solution, like Dell. Performance demands are very important and you need to consider all the levels and aspects I listed. 

Planning is very important. Installation itself is not straightforward, and does take some time. It took me an hour and a half to two hours to complete the installation. I had a team of five to help me deploy VMware to cover the levels of storage, networking, computing, and cabling. 

I implemented through an in-house team. 

The license is very costly, as well as the renewal cost. We have the Enterprise Plus license. I recommend that my customers renew the support contract because they will inevitably have issues. VMware releases new features and if customers want to use these features, they definitely have to maintain their support contract. 

I would rate VMware Horizon an eight out of ten. 

I have several customers—a few educational institutions and one financial organization—who use Horizon in their infrastructure. I definitely recommend this solution, especially for educational institutions, because it's really good for them to have VDI infrastructure. This is one of the best solutions they can implement.  

We use this solution for delivering virtual desktops and applications.

Currently, we are using version 2006 which has an older model of provisioning and there are some compatibility issues that we are going to solve in the coming months. The latest version is 2103. However, there is not much difference between 2006 and 2103 it is almost the same.

The small differences are in adjunct functionality and regarding the transference relationship between domains. 

The benefits of this solution are that it is modern and it works perfectly well with the rest of the VMware environments we have. Having this vertical integration is what matters to us as an organization and this solution excels in this area. You deploy it and it works without much hassle.

The multimedia playback is not very good and they could improve it by increasing the quality.

In an upcoming release, there could be more integration support for Linux and better Linux user profile management. This is a feature we use in the universities but most other normal businesses will not be interested in Linux. 

I have been using this solution for approximately six years.

95% of the features work without any issues and 5% of them have issues that are normally difficult to pinpoint. However, since these small issues can normally be corrected by support, this solution's stability rating is high.

We have 5,000 users on the system but only 200 of them are using it together at the university. Scalability was not ever an issue.

We have contacted technical support and they have been responsive.

The initial setup is a moderate level of difficulty.

We did the implementation of the solution.

In my organization, we use a lot of VMware solutions for vertical integration and have evaluated other solutions, such as Citrix.

I would have said this solution needs to improve in profile management a couple of years ago because VMware does not have profile management that works out of the box. However, this issue was solved by Microsoft by releasing a solution that works very well with VMware Horizon.

Those who are wanting to implement this solution should consider the Cloud offerings for VMware Horizon. There is a possibility it could cut the time for delivery and it is more scalable. You will not have scalability issues.

I rate VMware Horizon 7 an eight out of ten.

VMware Horizon 7 is used for remote access to allow the users to work from home.

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.

I have been using VMware Horizon 7 for approximately two years.

VMware Horizon 7 could improve stability.

The scalability of VMware Horizon 7 is very good. We have 100 users using this solution in my organization.

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.

We previously used Citrix before we chose VMware Horizon 7. The pricing of Citrix was better.

The initial setup of VMware Horizon 7 depends but for most it is easy. It took us one month.

We used a consultant to implement this solution.

The price of VMware Horizon 7 is more than some other solutions.

I rate VMware Horizon 7 a five out of ten.

Most of the colleges are using Chromebooks but what I'm trying to develop is some virtual machines that have a common operating system to deliver to the student. They would be a virtual machine, similar to a Chromebook. This is what I am trying to develop.

The most important feature of this solution is the connectivity with every device, such as iPad, iPhone, and other terminals. The security of the solution is very good.

I have been using VMware Horizon 7 for approximately one year.

VMware Horizon 7 is stable. I think it is the strongest because I'm doing a lot of tests and the stability it's great. I have been very happy.

I'm using 50 users in my lab and I have been testing the performance, it's about 20%. It has excellent stability.

I have not used technical support. I bought some books and there are internet videos that I have used.

My deployment is complex and I hope it will only take a month.

The VMware Horizon 7 license is for three months. We are in the testing stage, we are still evaluating the product. We are sure now that we need to buy a license for the production environment.

The evaluation license has all the features already that we need. We are installing exactly what features we want for the level of license.

I rate VMware Horizon 7 a ten out of ten.

We are selling this solution, but my position is in IT. I provide technical support to our clients.

Our customers use this solution for virtualization.

We like that VMware is the top competitor in virtualization. Many customers have this technology for virtualization.

It integrates well with other systems.

There are some issues with RAM in the system. There are also some issues with Windows 10, which is running the platform.

Windows 10 has several applications that are available from the Windows Store, and these applications may not work correctly.

We would like to see some of the features that are offered in the highest edition also included in the Standard Edition.

The higher edition has some tools or functions that are called Horizon Smart Policy. It is a very good function that should be included with the standard edition. 

I am certified in this product.

It's a stable solution now. With the latest version, it is very stable. It is now moving to Horizon 8, which has made a lot of changes.

Because it is our job, it is not difficult. We have experience when it comes to implementing Horizon for our customers.

It is important in the beginning that you have some experience or some kind of training.

There are different editions available at different cost points.

I would rate VMware Horizon 7 a nine out of ten.