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

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Venn Software comparison

Sponsored
 

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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
378
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Microsoft Remote Desktop Se...
Ranking in Remote Access
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (3rd)
Venn Software
Ranking in Remote Access
38th
Average Rating
9.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (53rd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (29th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 6.3%, down from 10.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 6.7%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Venn Software is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune6.3%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services6.7%
Venn Software1.0%
Other86.0%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Centralized endpoint security has improved and supports hybrid work and BYOD policies
Regarding what I dislike about Microsoft Intune and its downsides, I would say that more Mac controls are needed because we have limited Mac and Linux control. When comparing controls and policies between Windows, Mac, and Linux, Windows has almost everything you can think of, while Mac and Linux have limited types of control. You cannot implement certain things on Mac and Linux that you can on Windows. The limited controls are a major issue. Additionally, if Microsoft could find a way to embed servers into Microsoft Intune, that would be beneficial. Microsoft Intune is not really designed for servers or Windows servers. It is more tailored towards Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. Windows servers are not fully supported. Enterprise organizations usually have both servers and endpoints, which are users' workstations. For servers, most people look for other solutions such as SCCM, which is Configuration Manager. However, SCCM is what Microsoft Intune is trying to replace. Both SCCM and Microsoft Intune belong to Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to transition organizations into Microsoft Intune, the native cloud solution. However, because this update is still in process, servers are not fully compatible with Microsoft Intune and cannot be managed by it. The current policy that has emerged from issues with clients is what they call co-management, which is relatively new, and I do not know if adoption is significant. Many legacy or older customers who have been using these products for decades still have SCCM. When it is time for them to manage their Windows devices, they use what is called cloud attach. Cloud attach is a term whereby your SCCM is connected to your Microsoft Intune. Most people do not know about it, but I have deployed it for several organizations. Cloud attach and co-management work together so that your device is in SCCM, but some policies are pushed from Microsoft Intune. It is like two different solutions working hand in hand. That is what they call co-management. Microsoft Intune does not bring all of your endpoint and security management tools into one place, which is the goal and how it should be. However, as I mentioned, servers are not included. If we talk about end users, Microsoft Intune does bring all your devices together. In a typical enterprise environment, you have end users with workstations, laptops, company-issued phones, and bring your own devices. You can create policies for all of these. However, for the backend, your servers do not have much coverage. Servers are not really covered by Microsoft Intune in that way.
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.
reviewer2110356 - PeerSpot reviewer
Growth Specialist at Digitrends Soultions
Great for hybrid workers, minimizes latency and delivers great performance
We haven't encountered major issues with the solution. We are really happy that we decided to purchase Venn Software, although they are quite new. The initial setup is seamless. It's not overly complex. In our experience, for the most part, the solution is reliable. We haven't experienced any bugs or glitches. That said, the performance could be a bit better. We'd like to see a bit more done with the deployment capabilities. The solution needs to offer better local or regional support to cater to offshore users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Intune's most valuable features are its device management capabilities, particularly its centralized integration with other Microsoft stack components."
"Autopilot is the most valuable feature."
"Using Microsoft Intune, we reduced device onboarding time by around forty to fifty percent, improved compliance visibility significantly, and reduced manual endpoint management effort through automated policy deployment and centralized administration while also helping lower security incidents related to unmanaged or non-compliant devices."
"The best features in Microsoft Intune that I appreciate the most are the strong security, encryption, and operating system version."
"Intune is a very good cloud solution for managing devices."
"The main value of Microsoft Intune is better asset management from a security perspective, ensuring that the security baseline is enforced on all devices, including mobile devices."
"Intune's most valuable features are the device, compliance, and configuration policies."
"Based on my experience, I would recommend Microsoft Intune to organizations looking for management of a large number of devices and enterprise environments."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to remote in rapidly and securely."
"The solution offers good value for money."
"The most valuable feature is that it gives me full accessibility to my servers."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is managing the remote desktop end user or remote server."
"The simplicity of the product has been most valuable to me."
"It's largely stable."
"The solution is really fast."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by leading to an overall productivity increase because it has simplified what used to be a physical task of going to certain users' machines for validation, allowing for remote management from geographically distributed locations."
"We don't need to go to the physical office, and it only requires minimal supervision or assistance from our IT Team."
"It allows us to improve our security and prevent company files and data leaks."
"Since the software is launched directly from the computer, not remotely delivered, it has minimized latency and response time."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Intune lacks live location tracking capabilities. Improvements should be made in terms of MDM platforms for other devices."
"Microsoft documentation is a bit hard to get around, so having more control over devices would be good."
"Intune should improve its software inventory to provide better metering of which software is used throughout the company. This is especially needed for reporting third-party software solutions."
"It should be easier to define policies and comply with those policies."
"Intune could be enhanced by automating application upgrades, similar to how it automates operating system upgrades."
"The most significant challenge is reporting and monitoring. The reporting accuracy for deploying applications and all aspects of Intune needs to be improved."
"Microsoft Intune could improve by being more user-friendly and having it geared toward device management. The graphic interface is not very good."
"In terms of the admin experience, it is straightforward, but the Windows enrollment experience could be improved. Sometimes, for enrollment, we have to reset devices and re-enroll them. Just configuring Windows, Azure, or Active Directory doesn't enroll the devices. We need easy enrollment for Windows."
"The pricing could be better."
"There is a limitation on the number of concurrent users. The limitation is 20, and you have to spin up more than one server, which is not needed at this stage because of customers."
"The only problem I see is that when I am connected, there is a certain lag because of the network."
"Teams component can be a bit cumbersome to use. It takes some time to get it working as expected."
"My customers are worried that the RDP protocol can be easily compromised and would like the option to use an alternative like Blast."
"If you are deploying it as a VDI solution, then it is very limited; the product is not very scalable."
"In the next release, I would like to see better performance over slower networks, and integration with Linux, but this is something that we're going to get out of Microsoft in terms of a unified solution."
"I have not seen a return on investment because it is free. Employee savings are not possible because if I need to take access, I still need to go to the seat and complete all tasks, so it does not save anything in that regard, but it is helpful."
"We'd like to see a bit more done with the deployment capabilities."
"It would be better to have the back end more efficient."
"Currently, Venn only uses two platforms/applications: Windows and Mac. It would be great if they could also add more platforms since some BYOD employees might be using an application other than Windows or Mac - for example, Linux."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license required to use this solution. However, it was part of a bundle package. Microsoft Intune is far less expensive than other solutions, such as Workspace ONE."
"The pricing is inherently reasonable, as Microsoft leverages market insights to maintain the total cost of ownership at around ninety to ninety-five percent of what would be incurred in an on-premise scenario."
"It is not a cheap solution. The price for a device when you start using it at a large scale can be improved. It is covered under our enterprise agreement. We pay once a year. I am not aware of any additional costs."
"The price is very reasonable."
"Microsoft Intune is pretty reasonable. We have difficulty with Azure, which is probably why we have not put many assets in Azure. Everything we put there is very expensive."
"The solution is cost-efficient."
"Any bundle package, such as Security E3, covers multiple things, such as AAP, BitLocker, etc. If you go for them individually, they would be more expensive. Bundling makes the price more attractive and competitive."
"Based on the features that it gives, it is cost-efficient. It is not necessarily on the expensive side of the scale. It provides a hefty number of features that any organization would want. It is in a good price range."
"The cost is fair."
"The solution has a perpetual license and it is purchased upfront."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"The solution is overly expensive."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is less expensive than some other solutions on the market."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"Although not an expensive product, pricing is always something that can be improved."
"The tool's pricing is high in the Slovenian market. I rate it a nine out of ten."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Access solutions are best for your needs.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
University
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise185
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise36
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 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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Alfalah Ltd.
Venn is currently being used by 700+ organizations. The newest version of our secure workspace is selling not only to our existing customer base but to new companies like Voya, ModSquad, TTech and many others.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. Venn Software and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.