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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs Venn Software 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
355
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) (5th)
Venn Software
Ranking in Remote Access
38th
Average Rating
9.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (52nd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 7.1%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is 7.1%, down from 11.7% 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 Intune7.1%
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services7.1%
Venn Software1.0%
Other84.8%
Remote Access
 

Featured Reviews

Varun Mehra - PeerSpot reviewer
Collaboration Support Engineer at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Centralized device management has transformed security and streamlined remote provisioning
One area where Microsoft Intune can improve is the user interface. Sometimes the portal feels a bit complex and not very intuitive, especially for new users, and it can take time to find specific settings. Another point is troubleshooting. While logs are available, the diagnostic policies and sync issues can still be time-consuming and not very straightforward. I also feel that reporting could be more detailed and customizable. The built-in reports are helpful, but for deeper insights, I often need to rely on additional tools. Overall, it is a strong solution, but improving usability and troubleshooting experience would make it even better. While Microsoft Intune works very well within the Microsoft ecosystem, the integration of some third-party tools could be smoother and require less customization. Support is another area that could improve, as sometimes response times can be slow, and resolving complex issues may take longer than expected. In terms of features, I think more advanced automation and built-in remediation options would be helpful since common issues can be fixed automatically without manual intervention.
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

"The biggest benefit for me in Microsoft Intune is control; I can control my users and what they can do and enforce the policies that I want to enforce, and it is a great tool to control and put structure to take the organization to the place I want to take it."
"Using zero-touch deployment and Windows Autopilot in Microsoft Intune has significantly improved my workflow and organization."
"The biggest benefits of Intune are the ability to push changes and the added security. When we moved forward with Defender, we onboarded all those machines automatically. That helps dramatically. For a while, we were left with machines that weren't protected. We could see where people had done things they shouldn't have done, and Defender saved our skins a few times. It didn't happen a lot, but it happened enough that it made us glad we made that decision."
"Given all of the factors and things to consider, including features and cost, I would say that Intune has a slight edge over competing products."
"Microsoft Intune saves eight hours per day, and during my work hours, I use my time to study and run tests on configurations I'm curious about and try them out in my environment."
"I can reach devices or computers over the internet. I don't need to worry about the network connectivity between the offices. I can manage any device. That is the most important part."
"The most useful features in Microsoft Intune are the policy enforcement and conditional access."
"If you want to manage your mobile devices as well as your Windows 10 devices, Intune is the best option."
"I give the stability a nine out of ten."
"The initial setup is not that difficult. I have gone through the RDS initialization steps, which only seem easy."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has positively impacted my organization by helping us function efficiently when we're not physically at certain machines."
"The advice I would give to others looking into using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is to use it out of the box as it is one of the best and most valuable tools on the market."
"The solution works well as a remote desktop."
"It's built into the operating system and has a command line interface capability to insert credentials, IDs, a password, et cetera."
"It allows employees to log on to corporate resources remotely."
"The product saves time."
"We don't need to go to the physical office, and it only requires minimal supervision or assistance from our IT Team."
"Since the software is launched directly from the computer, not remotely delivered, it has minimized latency and response time."
"It allows us to improve our security and prevent company files and data leaks."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Intune lacks the ability to provide seamless remote assistance or remote control."
"In the future, I would like to see improvements in Microsoft Intune, especially related to policies and GPU."
"The reporting is subpar. That's the only issue we have with Intune. We use another solution for that purpose."
"Automations in Microsoft Intune can be more elaborated; KQL (Kusto Query Language) is available, but if multiple automation options were readily available, which would include PowerShell, KQL, JSON, and different interpreters like VS Code or Python readily available from Microsoft Intune, it would help administration and management much better."
"The interface can be a bit complex to set up initially, so a simpler interface would really help."
"Technical support is not that great."
"I heard some pain points. The main thing is the learning curve. It took time to implement. It was not the best product starting out of the gate."
"It's only good for a Microsoft environment. While it works very well for Microsoft users but if you have other kinds of operating systems, it's very painful to use."
"There are problems with using Microsoft Teams within a virtual desktop on a mobile device."
"There could be some improvement in the integration of the solution."
"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."
"The product is not very scalable."
"For Microsoft, maybe bandwidth optimization is one of the areas that need improvement."
"There are times I get disconnected from the service and when one or two attempts to establish a remote connection. Microsoft should show where the problem is, I have to find it by myself."
"I would like to be able to access the remote desktop using a web-based interface, rather than having to use the client."
"Microsoft Desktop Services is stable but it takes up a lot of resources in the CPU. It's a bit heavier than some solutions."
"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

"I rate Intune five out of 10 for pricing. It's expensive."
"There is a license needed to use the solution and we are on an annual license."
"Microsoft offers some licensing where it's included at no extra cost when customers are already using the licenses. In such a case, it's a really good value. If you have to buy the licensing for it, it's probably on par with other solutions. It isn't substantially more or less expensive. The great thing is that it is included in some of Microsoft's licensed packages. So, some customers don't have to spend additional money for it. Typically, most providers that support Intune do charge a management fee of some sort or some fee. Certainly, we're no exception."
"The product is offered as part of a Microsoft standard bundle. The pricing can be competitive to Airwatch, and Maas360."
"The clients pay for a license and each can have a different type of license, such as an E3 or E5."
"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."
"While I don't have access to high-level financial information, I believe we have achieved lower costs with this implementation."
"It's monthly for us, but it's built into the license cost that we pay our IT each month. It's maybe 129 Kroner per head, which translates to £10. There are some additional costs. Our IT had to set up and configure their own server, so there is an extra cost for that, but I'm not sure what that costs."
"I would say it's expensive as there similar products available for free."
"I am aware that for Azure we do have an extra license because we are leveraging on different tenants."
"I rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. We're on the educational or academic license, and our terms are good. We're very happy with the pricing."
"Microsoft Remote Desktop Services comes free as part of Microsoft Windows."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows."
"The cost of the solution is low."
"The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
University
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business151
Midsize Enterprise60
Large Enterprise177
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise36
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
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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?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has been easy. I don't th...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could be improved by providing a way to make it configurable without using VPN from...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services?
My main use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is remoting into computers that I don't have physical access t...
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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: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.