GoToMyPC vs. Remote Desktop Services

I highly recommend GoToMyPC if you need to more than a mere data access, but need to virtually be sitting in front of a remote computer. The ability for the user on the other end to watch your actions is also very helpful

Incentivized

Remote Desktop Services provides access to work environments from any device. This allows us to ensure business continuity in case of disaster. It provides admins more control over access and security. Remote Desktop Services simplifies software updates and compliance management by reducing the need to act on end users devices.

• I am able to easily access both of my home monitors on GoToMyPC by simply clicking on a slider bar.
• I have access to all of my drives and programs as if I were sitting in my office.
• GoToMyPC allows me to print to my office printers so I can complete paperwork and print it for my colleagues back in the office to use.

• Relative ease of setup: in comparison to some of the other solutions on the market (Citrix, etc.), Remote Desktop Services is rather easy to set up and get configured in your environment.
• Feature set: Microsoft offers a good deal of the same features many competitors offer in the same space including a mobile app and the ability to have a "native" app feel for a remote application.
• Inexpensive Licensing: in comparison to other solutions on the market Remote Desktop Services is inexpensive.
• Move LOB applications closer to their server counterparts: this goes for all remote solutions, but if you have a line of business application that makes a great deal of calls across the network to your data center, your remote office users will likely benefit from the performance and stability side by moving those client side applications into the data center.

Incentivized

• On occasion an email or a program document does not print at home.
• I save to hard drive at home and will have to log out of GoToMyPC to access the file on my external hard drive, email it, and the log back in. Not a big deal.

• Advanced configuration is required.
• Off-site access from a different network is very insecure unless a VPN can be used.
• It's complicated and relatively costly for multi-user environments, as each user or device requires a CAL on top of the server licensing.
• Incredibly complicated licensing strategy from Microsoft.

Incentivized

I have been using GotomyPC for 20 years and it's gotten better with time. It's the best remote app that I've tried. The others were harder to use and not as functional. It allows us to work from anywhere just as if we were in the office. Even being able to print to my remote location is a wonderful way of doing work. I don't have to drag it to my remote device, It will just print without any hassle

Incentivized

Really easy to use-even if you forget your password frequently like me. The reset password feature is not cumbersome and does not require phoning Customer Service. Just a few clicks and a bit of creativity to come up with a new password. I like this "easy button" approach. Definitely recommend.

Incentivized

Once set up it works well and is extremely easy for users. Getting it right can be difficult, it is easy to setup insecurely. Maintenance can be difficult with only a single broker and with manual switchover required for redundant gateways. Troubleshooting access issues can also be difficult

Incentivized

I've never had a problem unless the host computer itself is having an issue - such as being off line.

The performance is dictated by the internet connection speed. As long as I have a good connection, the performance is great. And GoToMyPC has a warning when either the host or the client has a poor connection

Incentivized

There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.

Incentivized

I have never had to contact support. The product is so easy to use I have not needed help (yet). But if I had to contact them, I am sure they would be just as great to work with as the product itself is.

Incentivized

As with any Microsoft Server product, support for Remote Desktop Services requires a paid support package. These are license-based and very costly, on top of the already costly product licensing. Microsoft's licensing is complicated to begin with, so setting up licensing alone essentially requires a licensing expert's counsel. There is community documentation and support available on Microsoft websites, as well as community websites.

Incentivized

It set up quickly and assigning log ins to various computers was simple. I don't think you need many insights into the product. It's easy to implement and easy to use. Since it's a work tool, it needs be that way. I wouldn't want the tool to have any learning curve when some of the people using it are not tech savvy. They are accessing their work computers for files or to work on apps that their remote devices might not have loaded.

Incentivized

I have used some other programs that only allowed file retrieval, but I couldn't use some of the files because you had to have the program on the remote computer and, therefore, had limited use. I also tried using Windows remote capability but ran into issues that made it difficult for a non-IT person to easily deal with.

Incentivized

We used RDS on-site primarily because of how easy it is for users to transition from their own desktop to a remote desktop. However, from off-site, there are VPN and other security considerations to take into account, and the process gets a little more complex. In this situation, especially if you're trying to support a user who is outside the local network, it can be easier to use something like Chrome Remote Desktop or TeamViewer. However, the Windows functionality of RDS is totally unmatched.

Incentivized

I can use it on all of my devices - even my Galaxy phone. Once you log into your device, you work on it as if you were physically in front of it. Not much complexity in that. If you can work on your own device, you can work on it through another device - even a phone.

Incentivized

• GoToMyPC has had a positive impact on my ROI as a small business.
• After completing the last questions, it appears that I am not fully utilizing all the features that are available and I could have an even greater experience if I am able to learn more about these unused offerings within GoToMyPC.

Incentivized

• Remote Desktop Services has had a major positive ROI impact at our firm. There were a number of times when our staff was traveling abroad to business meetings with a laptop that had missing presentations. But once they had internet access, a Remote Desktop Services connection is established, and presentation data can now be shown directly from their laptops as if theyr'e sitting in our office.
• Remote Desktop Services has made it possible for Mac staff users to use their computing devices to access our network system to run Windows applications and access all our network data.
• Remote Desktop Services has made it possible for our staff to successfully work remotely from outside the office. There were many occasions when emergencies came up which prevented staff from coming into the office to work. But as long as they have a computer with an internet connection, they used Remote Desktop Services to connect to our terminal server and successfully ran the programs to modify data files on the network without losing a beat.

Incentivized