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

Microsoft Intune vs Parallels Access comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 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
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)
Parallels Access
Ranking in Remote Access
24th
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 October 2026, in the Remote Access category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.8%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Parallels Access is 1.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Access Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune4.8%
Parallels Access1.8%
Other93.4%
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.
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

"Based on my experience, I find Intune very flexible for managing Windows devices. We can use scripting, and we can make use of the self-service portal or the company portal to publish some of the applications for Windows."
"It's very informative when there is an error. It allows us to backtrace where the error is and resolve that ourselves. It's a bit of a Swiss Army penknife. We find that it fixes most issues."
"We saw approximately forty to fifty percent reduction in manual device setup time with Microsoft Intune as onboarding became fully automated."
"The main advantage is that Intune performs its intended functions effectively."
"From my perspective, I appreciate the scalability in Microsoft Intune and the portal management, which is extremely intuitive and very simple to use."
"The feature that we need occasionally but is really important is the ability to remotely wipe a device, control it, and perform similar functions."
"Generally for the organization, Microsoft Intune has been a good investment for managing a lot of the company resources, saving a lot of money compared to using the on-premises version of the software."
"Intune makes our organization more secure and flexible."
"Parallels Access has flexible licensing policies, which is beneficial for customers who have intermittent usage or users who are on and off the system."
"We don't have problems with stability. Everything is good."
"Parallels Access gives me full access and control of the computer, and I can do anything I want remotely."
"It's got a very easy-to-use interface."
"What seems to be the most valuable from the customer side is the ease of operation, and the overall experience they have."
"It's great that the total deployment can happen completely remotely."
"The application used to publish for mobile devices is very good and the desktop publishing is very, very good."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Intune has potential for improvement; I would like to see a lot more customization in the reporting tools."
"I rate Microsoft support four out of 10. Support is one area where Microsoft needs to improve a lot. I recently raised a ticket for a Microsoft Azure issue, and it took two and a half weeks for support to reply. They need to improve support across their entire catalog of products."
"The user interface should be more user-friendly, as it can sometimes be challenging to navigate. Microsoft often relocates features, making it difficult to consistently find what I need."
"In Microsoft Intune, error messages are an area that has room for improvement. Regarding error messages, I would like to see more detailed logs added."
"The generic answer to what can be improved is that I hope that the reporting needs to be a bit more interactive."
"When Microsoft Intune is used with different android devices it does not always work as it is supposed to."
"The interface is easy, but it is not user-friendly when evaluating the overall user experience of Microsoft Intune."
"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."
"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 solution may not scale well for enterprises."
"The scalability is great for small or medium-sized businesses. However, it may not scale well for enterprise-level entities."
"They could improve the reporting."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing policy. The price point is pretty aggressive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The purchase of the product was handled by someone else."
"While Microsoft charges for actual usage, it lacks discount options."
"Microsoft Intune has been incorporated into our Microsoft E5 licenses."
"We have a limited budget for security investments, so Microsoft should consider reducing pricing in our region. This would make investment more viable, especially since larger businesses in other countries can afford it easily."
"The tool is cheaper than our company's other MDM tools."
"The cost of the license and the features are justified for myself as a technical person."
"Intune is inexpensive. It also comes bundled in some Office 365 licenses, so you can choose to purchase it separately or as a package."
"Microsoft Intune is reasonably priced for large organizations that already have Microsoft Enterprise licenses, but it is less affordable for smaller businesses."
"The licensing costs are about $100 per user."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Remote Access solutions are best for your needs.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
10%
Transportation Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business191
Midsize Enterprise63
Large Enterprise187
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 it easy to control security and manage the usage of mobile apps when you have a ...
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 the things I like about it: Pros: Protected productivity: Intune gives you th...
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 access to both Microsoft’s user community as well as around-the-clock customer s...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Gilt Groupe K.K.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Intune vs. Parallels Access and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.