Win Remote Desktop Services SAL

My main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services  is when data is highly secure and country sensitive, so it needs to stay within one data center and only individuals who have access to that country-only data can use it. Rather than having the data locally on my laptop, which could be insecure, only specific users have the ability to connect to these servers to view the data, so the data can be seen on my local laptop, but it never actually exists on the laptop. It is just the pixels being transmitted to me. I have used it for security reasons.

To view customer data and validate that it was sent correctly to a server, I have used Microsoft Remote Desktop Services , so rather than the data existing on my laptop, I would connect to that server to then validate the data.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers several best features, including the security aspect because sensitive data stays within the server in the data center. It is only really the UI; the pixels are transmitted to myself and other users, making it brilliant for data residency because the data never exists and is never sent to my laptop. I am just viewing it from connecting to the server within a specific place, which is great for data sovereignty.

It is also advantageous for managing lots of users because I can have one massive, powerful server with loads of different users connecting to the same server to share resources, and from a scalability perspective, the IT team managing the application can keep it up to date and maintain it on one server, which is then transmitted to everyone connecting to it, rather than having the application exist on everyone's machines with all of those needing updates.

From the security perspective of using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, the fact that the data never exists on my laptop and is always centralized in just one place on that one server is great because it means there is a much lower chance of data being leaked, especially if it needs to stay within the country. It highly reduces the risk of the data being sent accidentally to individuals outside of the country, which could break compliance.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by increasing our security.

I have noticed the increase in security from using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services through improved compliance, as we are able to confirm 100 percent that data which needs to stay within the country does so because it only exists on the server. Then we connect to the server to view the data, but it never leaves the server, allowing us to hit 100 percent compliance very easily without worrying if someone can accidentally send the data somewhere else.

From the compliance perspective, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has provided a massive compliance benefit, as we are able to ascertain 100 percent that data stays within the country because it stays on the server.

I understand from the IT team managing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that it is complex to set up the multiple roles, certificates, and networks required. Networking is quite complicated. Even though on the data center side it is quite simple, maintaining the farm of other connections that connect to that server is the complex piece. I understand there are more modern systems replicating what this solution does, which are easier to use, such as Azure Virtual Desktop  within Microsoft Azure  Cloud or Amazon WorkSpaces , which I have used before. Rather than having to manage all the complex networking, you could abstract it away a little further in the cloud for easier use. I also understand that this tool is in an end-of-life state now, with Microsoft actively pushing people towards Azure Virtual Desktop  or Windows 365.

I do not believe further features will be rolled out due to its end-of-life state, making it a legacy solution now.

I have used Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for around one year.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable, as I have never had any instability issues.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services scales very well; I could scale it to however many users I would want. From the functionality perspective, it is fine, but from the cost and operations perspective, it gets quite difficult because I have to purchase numerous licenses and track them. So while it is possible to scale very easily, it is complex to manage that scaling.

I have interacted with Microsoft customer support before; their support is fine, but I would not say it is the best in the industry. I have noticed, along with other team members, that when trying to reach Microsoft for customer support, it has to go through many different teams to reach the right place, leading to delays. In contrast, interacting with Amazon's customer support seems to route the request to the correct team almost immediately, resulting in quicker responses.

In a different organization, I have used Amazon WorkSpaces , which is a good tool that makes it easier to manage because it is within the cloud, with much of the networking and overall management abstracted away. However, I found that there was a big latency issue with WorkSpaces, and if there was a connection error, I could not access my desktop environment, causing significant problems. Therefore, I feel that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a bit more reliable.

I did not evaluate other options before choosing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

I was not involved in the pricing and licensing perspective, so I cannot speak too much on that. However, I know that two license types are needed: the Windows Server  license and another client license. I understand it can get quite expensive and also complex to manage these different licenses.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a good tool that does what it is meant to do, and from a security perspective, it is brilliant. However, there is a lot of overhead with managing it, which modern tools do not have, especially tools that exist in the cloud. Also, it is in an end-of-life state right now, so there probably will not be any new features rolled out, and one issue is that you have to have Windows server licenses to use it, as well as an additional license type for every user or device that connects to the server. This can be expensive and complex to track from the licensing perspective.

I would advise others looking into using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that it is a good tool to use, but I would not recommend starting to use it nowadays because it is in end-of-life support. Azure Virtual Desktop  or Windows 365 is probably the better way to go since they are more modern tools. For what it is, it is a good tool; it is just being phased out as a legacy piece now.

I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an 8 out of 10.

My main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services  is to access the server infrastructure of our Customer, which I support in my role as a technical support personnel.

A specific example of how I used Microsoft Remote Desktop Services  in that role is that we have some applications running on servers which I need to restart regularly, and I normally use remote desktop to access it and then restart the services on those servers.

The best feature that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers is the ability to connect to server infrastructure from anywhere I am; no matter the country I am in, as long as I have an internet connection, I am able to log in to our servers and then carry out my duties.

I appreciate the security features of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services where it ensures that anyone connecting to the server infrastructure is an authenticated individual from a device that is trusted by our systems.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by enabling us to work on multiple projects at once; all we need to do is have the login credentials for the different customers we are serving and then we are able to support them remotely.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has led to measurable improvements in faster response times and increased productivity for my team as I work in a team that is spread across different time zones, and having access to remote desktop enables us to collaborate across those time zones.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services helps my team collaborate across projects or locations as we are across multiple time zones; I can pick off where one of my colleagues leaves off, and it enables us to work efficiently across those time zones.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could be improved because when I am connected to a larger screen like an external monitor, the window for remote desktop is not able to fill the screen entirely but remains at a section of the screen; I am unsure if it is a setting on my system or a remote desktop-specific issue.

If there were an easier way to save logins so that I do not need to keep entering passwords for different servers every time I need to access a specific server, that would be beneficial.

Regarding the interface, I would rate it a nine mainly because it still looks like an old application, and if it could be modernized, that would be appreciated.

I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for about fourteen months.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable.

I cannot provide metrics on the scalability of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

I have not had to raise any form of customer support request, so I cannot provide input on that regarding Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

I have only used Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and did not previously use a different solution.

Before choosing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, we evaluated other options, but it was a standardized application for us to use in my organization.

We use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services as a standalone application and not integrated into any workflow at the moment.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has helped us to be efficient; we are a team of five serving the entire region of Africa and the Middle East, and it has truly improved our overall efficiency as a team.

I do not have a view into the financials as the cost was handled externally regarding Microsoft Remote Desktop Services' pricing, setup cost, and licensing.

My company has a global partnership with Microsoft, and we utilize most of our business systems as Microsoft Enterprise systems, so my company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

I would advise others looking into using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to make sure they have a good network connection and to take security seriously, especially for the local device with which they will connect to servers, because if someone has access to that device without any authentication or security processes, it could lead to a huge security event.

I would give Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a rating of nine out of ten.

My main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is to log in remotely into a different environment. I have an appliance that we can log in to and be able to get onto different servers and navigate, and we get there through Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

The best features Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers include being able to log in and being able to control other machines.

Controlling other machines helps me in my role as it improves our workflow, allowing us to get in rapidly and do our work.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to remote in rapidly and securely. The secure aspect of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services helps my team stay secure by supporting MFA, which allows us to secure who logs in.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services helps my team collaborate and work together by allowing us to put everything in one ecosystem with the integration, and it works very well with Windows Server, Active Directory, and Azure.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services handles updates and maintenance in my environment easily, as it is easy to manage. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services performs very well in terms of reliability and uptime for my organization, and I appreciate this feature.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services integrates with my existing security tools and policies and is compatible with our security stack, as we are a Microsoft shop, and it works well with us.

When multiple users are logged in at the same time, we have not noticed any issues with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. The user experience for my team with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is intuitive and easy to use.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services can be improved by addressing the single session limitations and also clarifying the licensing, which can be confusing.

I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for five years.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable.

The scalability of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services performs well.

Microsoft has good customer support. I would rate the customer support of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a 10.

I cannot share any metrics on return on investment, but I appreciate the features and the use of it.

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was that the licensing was acceptable, but I think the cost was fair.

Before choosing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, I evaluated other options, particularly Citrix.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a good product and I recommend using it. I would rate this product a 9 out of 10.