The users connect to a central server and share the physical or visual server resources. They use the remote desktop environment for office documents, operations, and company-specific programs.
system engineer at Yaşar Holding
Shares computer resources perfectly and provides the necessary security options
Pros and Cons
- "The tool shares computer resources perfectly."
- "Sometimes, the updates break the system."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The solution works perfectly. The tool shares computer resources perfectly. It provides the necessary security options.
What needs improvement?
When we update the environment, we face problems sometimes, and the users cannot use the system.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for about 10 years.
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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
October 2026
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The tool is stable. Sometimes, the updates break the system.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The tool is very scalable. We can add and delete objects from the environment easily. We have approximately 500 users.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is straightforward. It is easy to deploy. Microsoft provides the necessary documentation, including detailed steps to install and configure the servers. The deployment process can be improved. It can be made more easier.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool must be cheaper. It should provide an option to pay the license fee once in a year or once in two years.
What other advice do I have?
We don't use any support because we can easily find online documents to solve our issues. I recommend that everybody use the product. If any company wants to share one computer’s resources with many users, they can choose Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Student at Queens University Belfast
Saves time and is convenient to use, but the stability must be improved
Pros and Cons
- "The product saves time."
- "The stability must be improved."
What is our primary use case?
I use the tool to switch to my company’s Windows desktop from my personal system.
What is most valuable?
The product saves time. It is convenient to use. It is a smart solution. The security is good.
What needs improvement?
The stability must be improved.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the product’s stability a six out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have a bunch of users.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is easy. It took five to seven minutes. The solution is cloud-based.
What about the implementation team?
We can do the deployment ourselves. We install an application and connect to the server. We must provide our credentials to connect to the tool.
What other advice do I have?
People who want to use the product must do a bit of research before making a decision. We faced compatibility issues since some users were using different operating systems. So, our organization asked us to use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Windows is a very common operating system used all over the world. Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
October 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Technical Support Manager at It Outsourced
An easy-to-install and easy-to-use solution with a high a capacity of RAM
Pros and Cons
- "The installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was easy."
- "The biggest reason we don't use the solution for our company's clients is the solution's prices."
What is our primary use case?
My company uses Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for our company's accounting software, which doesn't have a cloud solution. In our company, we deployed a server with the help of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
What is most valuable?
The solution's most valuable feature is that it's a technology that we are familiar with in our company. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has been around since Windows NT 4 domain, making it a very familiar solution. It was easy to find a lot of clients familiar with the idea of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services since it was not a new concept to them. In general, the solution tends to work well. It is an easy-to-use solution.
What needs improvement?
The biggest reason we don't use the solution for our company's clients is the solution's prices. In our company, we do our own hosting through a hosting partner since this method offers a much cheaper price. Finding entry-level servers that are limited in the IOPS is frustrating. In our company, we feel quite restricted on the speed that we can get out of the entry-level type of service that we use, making it difficult to sell the solution, especially when clients compare the cloud solution to an on-premises solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for five to six years. I work at an IT support company that resells, implements, and offers support for Microsoft products.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
My company is happy with the stability of the solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I think it's a very scalable product. The product's scalability depends on how big our company's clients are, so it is not an area we need to worry about since you can use its gateway server for different servers.
My company works with small and medium-sized businesses using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support doesn't get covered under Office 365.
My experience with other Microsoft support, apart from Office 365, has not been that fantastic since I remember being quite shocked using the solution.
I haven't used support for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
How was the initial setup?
The installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services was easy.
The installation of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services takes around four hours.
The solution is deployed on the cloud and on-premises.
A single technician is involved with the deployment part of the product in our company.
What was our ROI?
In our company, we consider Microsoft Remote Desktop Services as more of an added service than something that generates income for us. We do make a little bit of income with the help of the solution, but most of all, it's just a value-added service that the product provides for our company. Our company won't get rich by selling Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is expensive. My company pays toward the monthly licensing costs of the solution, though we also have the option to opt for perpetual licensing offered by Microsoft. Microsoft licensing models are quite complex, so we tend to use a monthly subscription-based model in our company.
The additional cost, apart from the solution's licensing cost, is related to the technical support a user wants.
What other advice do I have?
Though not a lot, some maintenance is required for the solution. One person can do the maintenance of the solution.
I would tell those planning to use the solution not to underspec the server, especially with IOPS, while keeping in mind that the amount of RAM can be more than expected. I would say that the need for a VPN, owing to security reasons, is important.
I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
Professional : Quality at cigniti
Good solution for accessing applications and easy to setup
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is not that difficult. I have gone through the RDS initialization steps, which only seem easy."
- "The only issue I experienced was with the initialization of the session, which affected the stability of the solution."
What is our primary use case?
We have some of our client applications deployed onto the RDS platform, and we need to test those applications through RDS Web Access. We need to test how external users access these applications from different networks, like the cloud gateway or external locations. As a part of the QA team, I need to check if users can access the applications without any issues.
What is most valuable?
Basically, I also work with Citrix, and I think the most important thing is getting access to Citrix. Microsoft developed the RDS solution for this purpose, and we don't see any issues accessing applications from Microsoft RDS. It's a good solution.
What needs improvement?
Users have reported that sometimes when we try to initialize an application, the session disappears one out of ten times. So, maybe it can be one of the areas of improvement. We are still investigating the issue, but we believe it might be due to a network or server issue.
Because this was the only issue I experienced was with the initialization of the session, which affected the stability of the service.
For how long have I used the solution?
It's a project-based thing for me, so I move into different technologies depending on the project. I worked on Microsoft in June, and now I am into RDS. Currently, I am working on a project for RDS, and once that's done, I may move on to another technology. So, I've been using RDS for around three to four months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable, but users have reported that sometimes when we try to initialize an application, the session disappears one out of ten times. So we have to download the session file again and re-initiate the session. This issue occurs occasionally, and we must click on the application to reinitialize the session.
We are actually trying to get some insights on the issue with the initial initialization of sessions from the architect, also.
Overall, I would rate the stability a seven out of ten because we still need clarity from the architect. Is it something in the world of technology, or do we have the same issue? Or is it something that we are getting this issue because we moved to a new enrollment? We are just awaiting that.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. Currently, we have 19 host servers, and each host is serving around 20 sessions or so.
I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten, where ten is very scalable. I haven't compared it with other solutions, but as an end-user, I believe it is quite scalable.
We have around 600 people, but about 300 to 400 users use the solution concurrently. Nowadays, we are using it regularly due to people working from different locations, but previously it was mainly used when people were working remotely from home.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support team is good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not that difficult. I have gone through the RDS initialization steps, which only seem easy.
I would rate the setup around eight because I haven't compared it with other tools yet. But overall, I'm comfortable with the solution.
What about the implementation team?
For the deployment process, in the current scenario, we have this solution from one vendor, and we are migrating it to a new platform. So it's not a complete configuration but rather a lift-and-ship process from one platform to another. We've been working on it for a long time.
We have around four to five people for the deployment and about four to five people for testing the applications after migration. There are a couple of architects who are looking into all the configuration changes in the lift-and-ship process. And there are also a couple of managers and a few quality assurance people.
For maintenance, the client has a partnership with Microsoft for maintenance as part of this deployment.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend the solution to people, especially for its security aspects and device compatibility.
I would give it a nine, it's good overall.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Technical Consultant at Vincacyber
Easy to implement and offers good remote desktop features but needs more granular policy control
Pros and Cons
- "It's largely stable."
- "We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services."
What is our primary use case?
We use it on the customer side. We use the product as remote desktop services.
What is most valuable?
We've been satisfied with the product overall.
The remote desktop features are great. It allows users to work remotely. We can take a remote session on the server.
It's largely stable.
The solution is easy to implement.
What needs improvement?
We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services. Right now, we have a third-party solution that does this.
We need to control via group policies. We need to be able to implement these policies in a simpler way in order to control users in a more granular way.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution since 2010. I've used it for over ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is mostly stable. I'd rate the stability five out of ten. We are not able to control or protect without group policies. With a better ability to make policies, it will become stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have not attempted to scale the solution. We're using it for on-premises reasons only. All the customers are here.
How are customer service and support?
We do not contact technical support directly. We simply rely on Google and seek out our own answers if needed.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used different solutions in the past. We found it was easier to centralize control and maintain better security with it.
How was the initial setup?
For the most part, it is easy to implement. However, the management is dependent on group policies.
How many people you need to deploy the solution depends on the size of the environment required.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not aware of the exact pricing. I work on the implementation side.
What other advice do I have?
We had been working as a partner for Microsoft.
I'd rate the solution five out of ten.
Microsoft needs one centralized console to manage all of its components. That would make it better.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Head of Infrastructure and Application Support Department at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Straightforward with a good user interface and an easy setup
Pros and Cons
- "The solution works well as a remote desktop."
- "The pricing could be better."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for security purposes. For example, blocking copy-paste.
What is most valuable?
The solution works well as a remote desktop.
The security is good. It can block copy-paste attempts.
It's a straightforward product.
The user interface is good. It's just a plain Windows interface. It's easy to understand.
It is very easy to set up.
What needs improvement?
There isn't any feature missing.
I don't like Windows too much. The whole idea of the remote desktop is nonsense in the Unix world.
The pricing could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for 20 years. I've used it for two decades or so. It's been used by me for a long time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
While the solution is stable, it is sometimes slow. I'd rate the stability at eight out of ten. It is mostly reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Windows isn't really scalable. I'd rate it six out of ten in terms of scalability.
We use the solution enterprise-wide. We likely have 100 people using it. We do not have plans to increase usage.
How are customer service and support?
I've never used technical support in the past.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Citrix in the past as well. I used it for different use cases. We like Microsoft for its small-scale simplicity. It is not VDI, per se. It's just a remote desktop.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple and straightforward. The product is very simple.
Its deployment only takes a half-day. The software makes everything very easy. you just buy the license and install it. I'm not very technical and therefore don't know all of the steps.
One person who is knowledgeable can handle the initial setup. Typically, it doesn't require anyone with high skill levels.
What about the implementation team?
We can handle the setup ourselves.
What was our ROI?
The ROI isn't the best as it is a pretty expensive product.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You do need to pay for a license and it is expensive. We have a perpetual license. The more users you have the more expensive it can be.
What other advice do I have?
We are using the latest version of the solution. We are using the solution that comes with the Windows Server between 2019 and 2022.
I'd recommend the solution to others.
I would rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Service Delivery Manager at Almoayyed Computers
Highly secure, easy to configure, and straightforward installation
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration."
What is our primary use case?
We have many customers that are using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for publishing internal applications through the services. The process involves virtualizing applications for internal and external users and making them accessible through Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and reverse proxy services. By doing so, users can indirectly access the applications without logging into the server directly. The solution is used mostly for external company users.
How has it helped my organization?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services has helped the security posture of the organization by not exposing its internal applications. instead of giving internal direct access to their internal apps. They give access to only a secondary server with limited access to internal applications.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is its security and simple configuration.
What needs improvement?
The solution can improve the policies of the solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for approximately 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable, we are able to have more licenses or increase the load if needed.
How are customer service and support?
The solution is straightforward and we have not had any problems needing to contact support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not used a similar solution to Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is simple. It only takes a few clicks of the mouse to complete.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable. The solution can come for free for some clients with certain agreements.
What other advice do I have?
For customers who already have the Microsoft EA framework, the license for enhancing internal security when publishing web and internal applications to both internal and external users is readily available. By using this feature, customers can ensure that their applications remain secure without compromising access to their users. This eliminates the need for direct access, thereby enhancing the overall security of their systems.
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
IT consultant at Secoptrial
Stable, easy to set up, and lets you control your computer
Pros and Cons
- "What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely."
- "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."
What is our primary use case?
I was exploring a different feature, particularly trying to deploy active directory domain services. Hence, as an IT administrator, I needed to enable a Remote Desktop Service feature that allows me to connect remotely to the server in just a matter of seconds, so that was my use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
I was trying to install Microsoft Office on the computer remotely, which means connecting to the server through Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to see if the server has access to the internet or whenever an update needs to be installed.
What is most valuable?
What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely, and that's a good feature.
What needs improvement?
What needs improvement in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is the connection when I'm outside the network. It should be more accessible. For example, if I use a public network, I want to connect remotely more effortlessly, from my internal network, without much requirement.
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.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used Microsoft Remote Desktop Services twice, and if it's an emergency, I can use it immediately. From time to time, I use the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I found Microsoft Remote Desktop Services stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For me, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services doesn't require scaling compared to other services. It works fine, so you won't need to scale it.
How are customer service and support?
I have yet to contact Microsoft Remote Desktop Services technical support.
How was the initial setup?
I found it easy to set up Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. It takes a few seconds to enable your options on your computer, particularly for on-premise deployment. However, it takes about two minutes to deploy if you'd like to deploy the solution for a managed server in the cloud.
What about the implementation team?
I deployed Microsoft Remote Desktop Services with the help of a consultant because when I was trying to deploy on the cloud, there was a pop-up telling me to wait ten minutes to complete the setup. Then I could get assistance if I had a question, which I did.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows.
What other advice do I have?
The version of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that I use depends on the environment I'm in. For example, if it's Windows 10, I'll have a different version than Windows Server 2022 or Windows 11. It depends on the system version I want to run the solution on.
Most of the time, the deployment model for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is on-premises. Still, you can also do a hybrid deployment if you want to connect to a server in another region.
The IT team uses Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
I recommend the service to others.
My rating for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Southern Europe Customer Success Manager at Nexthink
Reliable, simple to set up and easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
- "It's simple to set up."
- "The solution isn't as good as the Citrix option."
What is our primary use case?
The first use case was related to the development and testing environment. Before COVID, it was also for remote connections for work from home, to have access to a protected environment.
What is most valuable?
The solution has improved a lot.
It's simple to set up.
It is stable.
The solution can scale according to the hardware available.
What needs improvement?
The solution isn't as good as the Citrix option.
For how long have I used the solution?
I used the solution for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable, reliable product. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are some limitations in terms of the the ability to expand. It's scalable according to the hardware limitation or the virtual environment limitation.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've also used Citrix. I prefer Citrix to Remote Desktop connections. The management and flow are better.
Hyper-V is also challenging Citrix. However, Citrix has a strong reputation still.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not complex at all. It was very straightforward.
The connection for the client is embedded in the system. You just need to configure the servers and credentials.
What was our ROI?
We did not calculate an ROI, however, it does offer more features than we needed and therefore offers great value for money.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not sure about the licensing. The licensing policies are changing in the Microsoft environment, so I'm not sure how it's licensed at this time.
My understanding is that it is expensive. Even if we negotiate, it depends on the business you have and the volumes you run an issue for.
With the rules changing, the licensing can be complex.
What other advice do I have?
I was a reseller and partner.
I'm not sure which version of the solution I used.
We started using the solution on-premises and then deployed it to the Azure cloud.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. It's simple to deploy. Users just need to negotiate a price and handle tasks around their server license.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner and reseller
Head of Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Issue free and allows for remote access to machines, but is not scalable
Pros and Cons
- "It works fine, and it is largely issue-free."
- "The product is not very scalable."
- "If you are deploying it as a VDI solution, then it is very limited; the product is not very scalable."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for remote desktop services. It can be used locally or on the cloud. It's on every single Windows machine.
If you need a remote desktop for Windows 10, or Windows 2016, you use RDP, which is Remote Desktop Services.
What is most valuable?
The solution is great for remote into machines.
It works fine, and it is largely issue-free.
The product is stable.
What needs improvement?
If you are deploying it, as a VDI solution, then it is very limited.
The product is not very scalable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's quite stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution scales minimally. It's not meant for scaling.
Everyone uses the product to some extent. We do not have plans to decrease usage at this time.
How are customer service and support?
I try not to contact technical support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using Citrix, which I found to be much better.
How was the initial setup?
The solution comes with the Windows Server. You simply enable the feature and begin using it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is bundled within Microsoft products.
What other advice do I have?
I wouldn't necessarily recommend the solution to others unless they had no other choices.
I'd rate the solution five out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Updated: October 2026
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