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ISL Online vs Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
384
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (3rd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
ISL Online
Ranking in Remote Access
32nd
Average Rating
9.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.6%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ISL Online is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.6%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.6%
Microsoft Intune4.6%
ISL Online1.3%
Other87.5%
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.
ErikDas - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at Cherub
Easy to deploy, stable, scalable and safe
I previously used TeamViewer. ISL Online is definitely the better choice compared to TeamViewer, as it offers a more secure connection that does not involve peer-to-peer transport, and all data is encrypted. A single license for ISL Online costs about the same as TeamViewer but with multiple licenses, ISL Online is cheaper.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability is good."
"The most valuable features are that users can make screenshots, and devices only need the minimal version of iOS."
"It helps us manage user certificates."
"Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management."
"Intune's integration with Defender and other security solutions is valuable because it offers a view into different security vulnerabilities and enables us to secure them more effectively."
"We have not had any issues with the scalability."
"What I like most about the tool is that it's now very easy to set up a device for someone to use. It also helps us tremendously in managing security. Before, we used on-premise management with a domain controller. It was difficult to manage security comprehensively. For example, it was hard to know which computers were updated. We weren't able to do that easily with our previous solution."
"The tool's most valuable feature is Autopilot."
"ISL Online is easy to use and it provides a single platform for various challenges we face in IT."
"Good communication is a key to good business and ISL helps a lot."
"The most valuable feature is safety."
"We are just much more responsive, we can be faster, and we can support our customers in a better way because when they have a problem, we can be on their computer immediately."
"Overall, we are very pleased with this solution, for us, it simply works 99.9% of the time."
"The stability is great; reliability is what's very important to me, as well as security, and this solution may have only had one instance of downtime in 14 years."
"ISL Online is easy to use. It provides a single platform on which we can do everything, and it's very low maintenance. After installation, you don't need an IT manager or staff to watch over it. It's secure. It's most important for us."
"Without ISL Online, I would not be able to work from home."
"We have deployed Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for logistics, CNC, and machine shop areas, and I think that it is very flexible in order to provide the correct maintenance and deploy the services."
"It's simple and easy to use."
"Everything is really good and it works well."
"It's built into the operating system and has a command line interface capability to insert credentials, IDs, a password, et cetera."
"The product is very easy to use, the solution's implementation process is simple, it's pretty stable, and it can scale well."
"For all users that love the convenience of being able to work from any location, Remote Desktop Services provides a secure network connection and has the potential of lowering developers cost, making it a great way to get more work from your employees at all times."
"The solution is stable."
"Installing Microsoft Desktop Services is straightforward."
 

Cons

"Also, Microsoft Intune relies heavily on its fellow products in the suite."
"It needs incorporation of Knox, ZeroTouch, etc."
"When I started learning Microsoft Intune, I struggled because it was not straightforward; everything is in forms and it takes time to understand. The UI is extremely bad; it has a lot of overlapping elements and is confusing in many senses."
"It isn't easy to use. It's very complicated, but as long as you take the time to learn it, you can do just about anything you want with your device."
"There is room for improvement in Microsoft Intune regarding Linux and Mac compatibility because some limitations exist."
"Issues such as Windows 32 app failures occur frequently, and detailed manual detection rules are often necessary."
"A major challenge is making all the products work within device management solutions like Intune. It would be beneficial if Microsoft removed support for older products much earlier in the process."
"The generic answer to what can be improved is that I hope that the reporting needs to be a bit more interactive."
"They should improve the integrations with other incident management software to be able to send the link directly from these platforms."
"There could be a section in the menu describing the new features and changes."
"I would like to have a little bit more information when new features are released. They have added features that I didn't know about in the past. It would be easier for me to implement new features and consolidate them with other systems in our network if I knew beforehand."
"They need to better advertise the features."
"There have been times during updates when something wouldn't work quite right, however, they are quick with updates and quick with fixes."
"It would be helpful if they had iSupport for supporting Apple phones."
"What bothered me the most was that when I connected to the computer at the office, I was afraid that someone would turn on the monitor and watch what I was doing."
"Updating the program could be improved. When they're pushing updates, you don't really know that there's an update available."
"Remote Desktop Services doesn't scale well."
"The stability could be improved."
"We had some instability during the implementation process. This has since been resolved."
"The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is not the easiest. You need to have a certain understanding of how Microsoft is provisioning the solution to be able to set it up and use it."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could be improved by providing a way to make it configurable without using VPN from the actual service itself."
"I want to connect easily from an external network even when I'm not in my enterprise or company. It should be easy to connect or integrate Microsoft Teams, for example, with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services."
"The product can be improved by ensuring that people can access it from anywhere and be leveraged on any kind of device virtually."
"Teams component can be a bit cumbersome to use. It takes some time to get it working as expected."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune has been incorporated into our Microsoft E5 licenses."
"It's a part of Microsoft 365 and E5 licenses. Microsoft's strategy of making every feature in Microsoft Intune paid needs optimization. Remote control is one of the basic features, not a luxury feature, yet we must pay for it. I"
"While Microsoft Intune boasts a wide range of features, its user-friendliness and bundled licensing cost are key considerations for me."
"The price could be better."
"Microsoft Intune is a cost effective choice. It is less expensive than other products on the market."
"It's a bit expensive from a licensing perspective, especially as we look to have organizations with tenants across the globe."
"There is a license required to use the solution. If you're core users in Office 365, for example, you have Outlook email and E3 license, this is only email. You have to buy an EMS license to have Microsoft Intune. It is expensive."
"In terms of the product price and licensing costs, my company finds the product to be reasonably priced."
"We have a pay-per-use license available for 500 minutes within one year for 95 Euros. However, this option is not popular. Alternatively, we can purchase a one-year license for 339 Euros; if we need two licenses, the cost is double, and for three licenses, the cost is triple with a ten percent discount. For 99 Euros a year, we can open multiple sessions on the same computer with a multi-session subscription."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"The solution is expensive. Since things are made to be a bit easier in the solution, the solution's cost is a bit on the higher side."
"The solution has a pretty comparable pricing."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements."
"The tool must be cheaper."
"We do not have to pay for the product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Performing Arts
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business195
Midsize Enterprise64
Large Enterprise190
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise36
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the pricing is based on licensing costs and the setup ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services can be improved in several areas. Currently, it requires a license cost, it has per...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Our main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is to allow multiple users to remotely access our Windows mac...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
Remote Desktop Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Mitsubishi Chemicals, Konica Minolta, Raifeissen bank, Terpel, Singtel, Teleroute, SOS Kinderdorf, Arsys, EMAAR, Dutco, Alterdata
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about ISL Online vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.