No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services vs Horizon 8 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell Virtual Desktop Infras...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
2.2
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Hosted Virtual Desktop Services (1st)
Horizon 8
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
User Virtualization (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services is 1.1%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Horizon 8 is 6.8%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Horizon 86.8%
Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services1.1%
Other92.1%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

SA
IT Lead at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Centralized virtual desktops have boosted secure client access and daily productivity
Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services is hosted centrally in data centers where I log in to the virtual desktop interface to work on client applications. I get access to all client applications on a daily basis, including application permissions and working access, all related to client applications with the help of a VPN network. Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services has had a huge impact on getting connected to a customer's application. It provides seamless access to the client's network, and with the help of a VPN, I connect to the client system and take a remote session to work on daily tasks. It has increased productivity significantly, and Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services is stable and scalable. It has been able to grow with our needs.
SF
Architect at Softcat plc
Architects have improved desktop environments and now optimize operations for diverse clients
From my perspective, there is significant room for improvement in Horizon 8. Many customers are actively seeking alternatives to VMware due to recent licensing changes after Broadcom's acquisition, necessitating upgrades or bundles that they often do not require. Given that Omniser builds on VMware technologies, this creates a negative perception, pushing customers to consider different brands or solutions.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It has increased productivity significantly, and Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services is stable and scalable."
"Dual E5-2600 v3 Xeons, DDR4 memory and the best storage potential makes the PowerEdge T630 a highly versatile server."
"In the past, students had to physically go to labs to access software, but now they can access them from any device anywhere, and don’t have to login via VPN because of the security server part of Horizon."
"sdfgdfg"
"It is a very stable product."
"VMware Horizon View is easily scalable. Its onboarding is easy and comes with flash provisioning features."
"We used to have desktops in our class rooms, and now 30% of our classrooms are on VDI, which is very easy to manage centrally and has reduced complaints about PCs in classrooms to less than 5%."
"VMware's technical support is good."
"VMware offers a friendly environment, and it's easy to provide the user with the package. It is a bundled solution that is readily deployable. The advantage lies in its simplicity, it requires minimal expertise."
"The best thing about this product was the ease of customizing the terminal, including the ability to add or decrease memory."
 

Cons

"The service needs to work on strong integration with the VMware ecosystem and improve vendor support."
"Technical support is only average and can be improved."
"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."
"The remote connection, bandwidth usage, and error connection can be improved. Working with the load balancer sites should also be improved. For example, with Horizon, we can use two clients with a one megabit connection, but with Citrix, we can use four or five clients with the same bandwidth through ICA protocol. VMware must improve remote connection, connection stability, and load balancing."
"The solution’s stability and initial setup could be improved."
"In VMware Horizon View, app volume is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"This solution is expensive."
"From a performance point of view, we do have stability and reliability issues with Horizon 8. Especially with the integration of NVIDIA, we experience multiple problems including crashing applications, crashing desktops, spontaneous logoffs, black screens, and systems that no longer respond or cannot reconnect."
"I think that simplifying cross-platform use on different devices could be better. Different client versions sometimes don’t work quite as well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"The license for this product is paid on a monthly basis."
"For long-term use, perpetual licenses are more cost-effective, and for short-term use, subscription-based would be more cost-effective."
"The solution can be costly for customers who do not run mission-critical applications or who have less than 50 users."
"VMware Horizon View's licensing cost is not expensive."
"We have a three-year contract, for which we pay about ten euros per user per month."
"The product is extremely expensive."
"VMware Horizon is expensive and I would rate it an eight out of ten."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions are best for your needs.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise45
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services?
Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services can be improved by integrating more features with AI and incorporating an AI bot. Additionally, it should have strong integration with the VMware ...
What is your primary use case for Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services?
Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services functions as a peripheral for virtual desktop infrastructure that I use similarly with Citrix Virtual Desktop apps to work in a customer environme...
What advice do you have for others considering Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services?
Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services works on multifactor authentication to authenticate each user according to their MFA access, which secures registered users and gives permission t...
How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?
VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware User Environment Manager?
Regarding the pricing aspect of Horizon 8, I find it currently quite acceptable. After VMware was bought by Broadcom, the pricing was ridiculous, but now that Onmises has VMware Horizon 8, the pric...
What is your primary use case for VMware User Environment Manager?
I have experience with products from Horizon 8, and I am currently working with Omniser version. I have been working with Horizon 8 from Omniser for nearly two years now. I am currently working in ...
 

Also Known As

Dell Hosted Virtual Desktop Services
VMware Horizon, VMware Horizon View, Mware Dynamic Environment Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Royal Opera House, University of the Sciences, Noritz America, University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), Fulton County
LCMC Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services vs. Horizon 8 and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.