Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Citrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Virtual Desktop
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Azure Virtual Desktops are a comprehensive desktop and app virtualization service running in the cloud.N/A
Citrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
Citrix Virtual Apps Essentials was a tool to deliver Windows applications and shared hosted desktops from Microsoft Azure to any user on any device. It is discontinued.N/A
Pricing
Azure Virtual DesktopCitrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure Virtual DesktopCitrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Azure Virtual DesktopCitrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)
Best Alternatives
Azure Virtual DesktopCitrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Omnissa Horizon
Omnissa Horizon
Score 5.5 out of 10
Omnissa Horizon
Omnissa Horizon
Score 5.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Omnissa Horizon
Omnissa Horizon
Score 5.5 out of 10
Omnissa Horizon
Omnissa Horizon
Score 5.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Azure Virtual DesktopCitrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure Virtual DesktopCitrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
  1. Users with older machines and when the IT department is facing the crunch in procuring the actual system due to ongoing pandemic.
  2. Users with more computing power can use these machines, which can work at better speeds and give out better results and faster speed.
  3. If the end user internet is not perfect that is it is low speed or ping then it is not recommended to use these systems
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I would recommend citrix essentials to smaller companies or to anyone who does not need the most up to date, easiest client interface, or ability to have constant real time updates. In our market, the product is not our first choice, but it does suit the needs of other smaller, more managed shops.
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Pros
  • You can publish as many host pools as you need to accommodate your diverse workloads
  • Brings your own image for production workloads or test from the Azure Gallery
  • Reduces costs with pooled, multi-session resources.
  • With the new Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session capability exclusive to Windows Virtual Desktop and Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) role on Windows Server, you can greatly reduce the number of virtual machines and operating system (OS) overhead while still providing the same resources to your users.
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  • It is flexible to log in, once you know how to do it, and then add and subtract applications in Google Chrome as the browser connected to Citrix Essentials.
  • We appreciate that we can have another complicated password plus the multi-factor authentication and this was relatively easy for IT to set up for us.
  • The price point was very reasonable since our IT group is currently a user and quickly deployed it to our finance department.
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Cons
  • While it is PaaS it would be nice to have some monitoring insights into some parts of the offering
  • Migrating user sessions from one host to another (to be able to downscale) would be awesome
  • It would be nice to have a more seamless deployment of FSLogix in a AVD Enviroment
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  • Lack of capability for expansion
  • Brand recognition
  • Reputation in tech
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Usability
AVD has performed well for us and allowed us to migrate away from Citrix.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
For us Parallels RAS is still more a "onpremise" solution, with Azure Virtual Desktop we can really leverage the power of the cloud. We can spin up additional hosts if the load is too high and spin down hosts in the night to cut costs. Not being bound to onpremise hardware makes this extremely flexible. Seeing as most of our customers already have a M365 license that includes Azure Virtual Desktop licensing it doesn't cost us additional CAL's for Parallels RAS
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Frankly, there were limited alternative products besides Citrix Essentials, and maybe we just need to learn more. We did not have the time to process complex Request for Proposals, obtain RFP responses, do a short-list, reference checks and a final selection with oral presentations, so IT helped Finance with moving forward and we appreciated their technical advice, speed, and guidance.
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Return on Investment
  • More people can work from home which is a positive contribution to company’s objective of promoting work life balance
  • Reduced building operating costs with more staff working from home
  • At any point in time
  • Significantly reduced loss of data if a
  • user loses or damages a work laptop
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  • Quicker time to value for sure
  • Customer Satisfaction
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ScreenShots