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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Parallels Access comparison

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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
377
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in Remote Access
16th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (18th), Network Access Control (NAC) (11th), SSL VPN (8th), Access Management (13th)
Parallels Access
Ranking in Remote Access
23rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.9%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.8%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 1.8%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune4.9%
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)1.8%
Parallels Access1.8%
Other91.5%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

HA
Senior Business Development Executive at Digitaltrack
Centralized device management has automated onboarding and improves remote security compliance
One thing I feel Microsoft Intune could improve is troubleshooting visibility. In many cases, when a policy or application deployment fails, the error messages are a bit generic. So, admins still spend time checking logs manually or testing on devices one by one. Compared to the simplicity of deployment, troubleshooting sometimes feels less mature. I also think reporting and real-time monitoring could be stronger. The dashboard gives useful information, but in large environments, many teams still depend on additional tools or scripts for deeper reporting and analytics. If I had to focus on one area first, I would probably choose troubleshooting and reporting. Deployment through Microsoft Intune is generally straightforward, but when something fails, identifying the exact root cause can still take more time than expected. Error messages are sometimes too generic, and admins often have to dig through logs, sync status, or multiple portals to understand what actually happened. I think user experience and policy management could also improve further. Microsoft Intune has become much better over the years, but sometimes the admin portal still feels fragmented because certain configurations open in different sections or redirect to older interfaces. For new admins, especially, it can take time to understand where everything is located. Another thing is policy conflict handling. In larger organizations, multiple device policies, compliance rules, and configuration profiles can overlap. When conflicts happen, the visibility is not always very clear, so admins spend time figuring out which policy actually won or caused the issue.
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.
JP
CEO at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Allows users to access and operate their computers remotely
When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't always work. I'd have to turn on the Bluetooth a lot of times and transfer it that way on both devices, which was troublesome. However, it would sometimes randomly work. I could go on my iPad, find whatever I wanted to do, click copy, then go over to the computer through Parallels Access, click paste, and it would randomly work. I had to call Parallels many times. They would log in and try something, which would temporarily work, but then it wouldn't. When it worked, it made integration between the two things great. That was a very helpful feature that didn't get polished.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is more efficient to have one solution rather than having security parts spread across three, four, or five solutions."
"Based on my experience, I would recommend Microsoft Intune to organizations looking for management of a large number of devices and enterprise environments."
"It is helpful for managing devices anytime and any place without requiring dependency on the local networks."
"It has improved our organization through the remote management of non-domain joined devices."
"I can control applications, and I can secure applications by using the MAM policy, which is very effective and very helpful in protecting our users' data on mobile devices such as iPhones and Android phones."
"Microsoft Intune has been a valuable solution for improving endpoint management, security compliance, and remote administration in my environment; it has highly simplified device management operations and improved overall visibility and control over managed devices."
"The solution is easy to use and it has good performance."
"I can see that the patch management process is much improved with the bundled patch management option available in Microsoft Intune compared to the KPI deployment required by the other deployment solutions."
"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
"The portal access was very good."
"F5 is great for handling complex issues, and most of our big customers, including banks and insurance companies, like it because it's such a robust platform that enables them to do almost anything."
"The tool is reliable and easy to configure."
"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."
"The load balancing features are valuable."
"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."
"It's got a very easy-to-use interface."
"It's great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."
"Parallels Access has flexible licensing policies, which is beneficial for customers who have intermittent usage or users who are on and off the system."
"What seems to be the most valuable from the customer side is the ease of operation, and the overall experience they have."
"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."
"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is good."
"The application used to publish for mobile devices is very good and the desktop publishing is very, very good."
 

Cons

"A new Intune feature allows application packaging, but it incurs additional licensing costs for a significant number of applications."
"I have a lot of Apple products in my environment. It would be nice to have an improved integration of Apple products with Microsoft Intune without Jam."
"Issues such as Windows 32 app failures occur frequently, and detailed manual detection rules are often necessary."
"Its configuration is fairly complicated. You have to do quite a bit of discovery to be able to deploy it for a customer. You have to ask them a lot of questions. So, its initial deployment is the biggest challenge. They should make it easier to deploy with the use of Wizards or something else. During the deployment stage, there could be profiles for the customers who are particularly wanting to use certain feature sets of Intune."
"We are facing issues with Apple products. With macOS and iOS, there are some difficulties with the updates because we cannot get full control of Apple products. In the case of Windows, it is fine, but in the case of Apple, we have some difficulties. We cannot control everything through Intune."
"I have experienced downtime, bugs, and glitches. I rate it a seven because when we have bugs or instability in Microsoft Intune, we need to wait for the backend from Microsoft Intune to resolve issues and we can't deliver solutions to clients because we need to wait for action plans and related processes."
"We are not satisfied with technical support. Some improvements might be required."
"Not all technicians are knowledgeable of the Microsoft solution, so they have to work on that as well."
"The technical support’s response time must be improved."
"The operational deployment is not great and can be improved."
"The stability of the F5 BIG-IP APM could be better."
"The solution’s GUI looks very old."
"The solution is quite costly."
"The main improvement needed for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is to integrate into the cloud-delivered services from F5."
"The solution is pretty technical. The initial setup is complex."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) does not have a direction for SaaS."
"They could improve the reporting."
"When you want to transfer a file from your iPad or remote device to the computer, the copy-and-paste feature doesn't always work."
"One challenge we do notice is that the application is limited to Windows servers only. If a customer has a Linux server, things get complicated. They should open it up a bit to be more compatible with different types of servers."
"The scalability is great for small or medium-sized businesses. However, it may not scale well for enterprise-level entities."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."
"The solution may not scale well for enterprises."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune is a cost effective choice. It is less expensive than other products on the market."
"The solution is cost-efficient."
"The cost of the license and the features are justified for myself as a technical person."
"Microsoft Intune is moderately priced. There is a monthly license required to use the solution and it is approximately eight dollars per month."
"If you're ever going to buy an Office 365 environment, then pricing is reasonable given all that it does, but if you're not, then you might find the pricing expensive."
"Microsoft Intune costs about $7 per user per month, which is somewhat on the pricier end. That said, it's a reliable product, so it's fair."
"The price of Microsoft Intune is reasonable."
"The Intune license model is costly."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"The product is very expensive."
"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Construction Company
6%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Construction Company
11%
Transportation Company
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise9
No data available
 

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 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 primary use case for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
I am using F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) along with Bot Management, API Gateway, API Security, and F5 Cloud. ...
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Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
F5 Access Policy Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Gilt Groupe K.K.
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Parallels Access and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.