Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.0
Companies report cost savings, enhanced security, and productivity benefits from Microsoft Intune, especially when bundled with Microsoft 365.
Sentiment score
6.8
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager offers cost savings, quick ROI, and enhances security by ensuring crucial access and reducing costs.
Sentiment score
4.6
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is efficient and feature-rich but expensive, appreciated for task management and problem-solving, not revenue-generating.
Everything we've gained from it makes my job easier day after day, and I see value in it as an engineer.
IT Systems Engineer at Syracuse University
Microsoft Intune not only saves costs by reducing the number of personnel needed but also offers a comprehensive solution for managing laptops, applications, security, individual access, and enrollment.
Subject Matter Expert at Engage IT Services Pvt Ltd
With Microsoft Intune, tasks such as device provisioning, policy deployment, application delivery, and compliance enforcement require less manual effort than in more traditional management models.
Endpoint Cloud Solution Architect at Lutech
By unlocking a locked situation, I mean we couldn't connect to a server in any other way, so we had to use RDP.
AWS Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
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.
System Engineer, Grid Software MEA at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.6
Microsoft Intune's customer support is inconsistent, with varying experiences depending on the support package, indicating room for improvement.
Sentiment score
6.8
F5 BIG-IP APM customer service receives mixed reviews, with some praising responsiveness and others citing delays and communication issues.
Sentiment score
4.0
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services customer service experiences vary widely, with issues in responsiveness and documentation quality impacting user satisfaction.
When a support ticket is submitted, it directly reaches someone with Intune support expertise.
Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
When I contacted Microsoft, they had the same expertise, if not more, which is phenomenal because I felt heard and my problem was solved.
IT Systems Engineer at Syracuse University
Sometimes, the support provided is excellent, and the representative is knowledgeable, while other times, the service needs improvement.
Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Even if they respond, they don't update me with the process or what's going on.
Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees
Most of the technical support is managed in-house due to our extensive experience with F5 products.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
F5 technical support is responsive and helpful.
Solutions Manager at Macroview Telecom Limited
I would rate the customer support of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a 10.
Sr. Compliance Analyst at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Interacting with Amazon's customer support seems to route the request to the correct team almost immediately, resulting in quicker responses.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Intune is highly scalable, efficiently managing diverse organizational sizes and infrastructures with broad user satisfaction despite minor OS issues.
Sentiment score
7.3
F5 BIG-IP APM scales for diverse deployments, offering flexibility and effective tools, though hardware limitations might challenge scalability.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable but may face complexity and cost challenges, especially in larger deployments.
The scalability of Microsoft Intune is ten out of ten.
Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Ideally, we want to automatically segregate devices based on user properties like primary use, but currently, dynamic groups seem limited to device properties.
Engineer, Systems Admin . at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
It supports organizations with 200 endpoints and those with more than 15,000 endpoints.
Director at Provisioned
The product's flexibility and company culture contribute to resolving these challenges.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
I would rate the scalability of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) between seven and eight.
Solutions Manager at Macroview Telecom Limited
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services scales very well; I could scale it to however many users I would want.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
My impression is that most of the solutions, especially today, make sense for large corporations with 2000 seats or more.
CEO & Owner at Mono AS
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Intune is highly rated for stability, offering seamless device management with occasional syncing issues but 99% uptime.
Sentiment score
7.9
F5 BIG-IP APM is praised for reliability, performance, and minimal bugs, with minor suggestions for log clarity improvement.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is highly stable and reliable, with occasional disconnections but generally consistent daily performance.
We have not experienced downtime, bugs, or glitches.
Head of IT at TWM SOLICITORS LLP
It appears Microsoft Intune undergoes changes without informing customers.
Support Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
In my experience, Microsoft Intune is a stable platform as it is a cloud-based service, and updates are regularly delivered by Microsoft.
IT Administrator at Newrest Inflight España, S.A
On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten.
Solutions Manager at Macroview Telecom Limited
Sometimes, the logs are not quite informational or easy to understand.
Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Intune requires better compatibility, user interface enhancements, cost-effectiveness, security, and third-party integration for improved user experience.
F5 BIG-IP APM requires improvements in pricing, cloud integration, user interface, documentation, support, and additional features for enhanced performance.
Users report Microsoft Remote Desktop Services needs better integration, security, cross-platform capabilities, improved UI, and performance enhancements.
Features like unlocking devices sometimes fail, and the support offered for other operating systems is insufficient.
Strategy & Portfolio Advisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now.
Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Many third-party companies offer single-pane-of-glass reporting that shows you what your update environment looks like, how your patch is doing, application status, etc., but Intune's reporting is not intuitive.
Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
If I could copy and paste objects instead of picking and configuring them from scratch each time, it would be great.
Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees
The main improvement needed for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is to integrate into the cloud-delivered services from F5.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
The ability to run the Anycast feature would be valuable, as the current solution only operates on-premises.
Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem
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.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
On macOS, we sometimes experience keyboard connectivity issues.
AWS Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services can be improved by better integrating it within Teams or providing a Teams integration to connect to customer support teams or other systems' accesses using Remote Desktop internally, rather than as a separate individual tool.
technology consultant at Bank of America
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Intune is competitively priced, especially with Microsoft 365, though may challenge smaller businesses with its standalone cost.
F5 BIG-IP APM is costly but valued for high performance, with unpredictable cloud pricing and additional fees for features.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers fair pricing with flexible licensing, though additional costs can arise from complex client access licensing.
Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs.
Senior Systems Architect IV at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees
The Intune suite and add-ons, such as batch management and remote help, are costly.
Technical Sales Professional (Microsoft Modern Workplace) at Alnafitha IT
It costs approximately forty euros per user per month.
Cyber Security Officer at Gudu
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
These licenses are not cheap, as they add up in cost.
Chief Technology Officer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
I understand it can get quite expensive and also complex to manage these different licenses.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
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.
Sr. Compliance Analyst at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Intune excels in integration, security, and remote management, streamlining device management and reducing IT overhead with ease.
F5 BIG-IP APM offers secure remote access with SSL VPN, multi-factor authentication, and comprehensive integration and security features.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers secure, reliable remote access, easy setup, centralized management, and seamless integration with Microsoft platforms.
Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
Microsoft Practice Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow.
Engineer, Systems Admin . at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management.
Director at Provisioned
APM is quite flexible for customers to use, providing secure remote access through various host-checking conditions for both machines and users.
Solutions Manager at Macroview Telecom Limited
It provides robust security and offers integration with multi-factor authentication systems, which is crucial for an organization's security policy.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on.
Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees
The main benefits that Microsoft Remote Desktop Services provide to me include streamlining my working process, ensuring security, and offering flexibility to connect to virtual desktops and apps from multiple devices.
Technology Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has helped my team save time and improve productivity because we had Microsoft servers that were impossible to connect from our MacBook Pro laptops, and once we started using RDP, we could connect and move forward to deliver the project.
AWS Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The best features Microsoft Remote Desktop Services offers include providing me administrator access, certain inbuilt client tools, and the ability to remotely access enterprise applications, as well as helping me validate whether certificates exist or are missing, or near to expiry.
technology consultant at Bank of America
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
335
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in Remote Access
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (13th), Network Access Control (NAC) (8th), SSL VPN (5th), Access Management (11th)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.2%, down from 10.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.4%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 8.2%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune9.2%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services8.2%
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)1.4%
Other81.2%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem
Has provided reliable policy controls and secure web access for large enterprises
I consider Cloudflare when evaluating centralized access control features; Cloudflare utilizes multi-factor authentication and full API support, while F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) needs to enhance its API support. I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) for large companies such as Tüpraş and Ford. Tüpraş is one of the biggest companies in Turkey, along with other customers such as Tofaş, Euroko, Koç Holding, and more. For on-premises deployment, I would rate it a 10. For cloud deployment, I would rate it a seven. I primarily use it on-premises. I rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) eight out of ten.
reviewer2795433 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Secure remote access has protected sensitive country data and supports strict compliance needs
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.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Access solutions are best for your needs.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business124
Midsize Enterprise53
Large Enterprise167
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise34
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchas...
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is not user-friendly and operates slowly. Additional features for architecture ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for 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...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
I understand from the IT team managing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that it is complex to set up the multiple ro...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
F5 Access Policy Manager
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.