VMware Workstation 17 Player is a platform for running a single virtual machine on a Windows or Linux PC to deliver managed corporate desktops. Organizations can use Workstation Player to deliver managed corporate desktops, while students and educators use it for learning and training.
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RealVNC Connect
Score 7.0 out of 10
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RealVNC® Connect is a secure remote access solution from RealVNC. It can be used to connect to a remote device anywhere in the world to view its desktop in real-time and take control as though sitting in front of it.
$8.25
per month (billed annually) per concurrent session
Pricing
VMware Workstation Player
RealVNC Connect
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Essentials
$8.25
per month (billed annually) per concurrent session
Plus
$16.50
per month (billed annually) per concurrent session (add up to 3)
Premium
$29.75
per month (billed annually) per concurrent session (add up to 5)
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
per year
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
VMware Workstation Player
RealVNC Connect
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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Plans work on a Per Concurrent Session basis. Each plan gives access to a bundled number of devices, but limits apply to the amount of devices that can be connected at any given time.
The Premium plan includes On-Demand Assist, a useful tool for providing just-in-time remote support to end-users without them needing RealVNC Connect installed on their device.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
VMware Workstation Player
RealVNC Connect
Features
VMware Workstation Player
RealVNC Connect
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
VMware Workstation Player
-
Ratings
RealVNC Connect
7.3
Ratings
11% below category average
Screen sharing
00 Ratings
9.00 Ratings
File transfer
00 Ratings
8.00 Ratings
Instant message
00 Ratings
6.10 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication
I think Vmware Workstation Player is great for test, dev environments allowing you to easily spin up virtual machines on a number of OSes. It is not as well suited for large enterprise environments as there are other more robust solutions from VMware that would work better. If you want to spend little or nothing this is your solution.
It is very easy to use if the remote device is already set up to receive connections, so if you are setting up devices before deploying them, it is a great tool to have. It is well-suited to use when shadowing users or using it as a teaching tool. There are other products that are better if you are trying to help someone on a one-use basis.
Some of the confusion of VNC upon installation is you need to be connected to the internet for it to function. This is not the case, but is unclear upon installation.
The licensing model is not ideal for locations that do not use the internet and function off of the grid.
I give a rating of 8 because VMware Player has its use cases, for example it requires the host OS to be logged in, and the VMware Player application to be opened and the Guest VM started. Only one VM can run at a time. I'd give a 9/10 to VMware Workstation because you can run shared VMs at startup without logging in or starting the workstation application. and i'd give ESX a 10/10 because ESX is the leader in enterprise visualization.
VNC is a solid product for the price. It simply works and its reliable across different platforms. Some products state they work well in the Mac environment but don't deliver. This one does what it says. Connections are reliable, but of course, this depends on internet connections. The product works well over wireless connections as well. It delivers on what a remote tool should deliver on. My technicians are happy with the product and customers appreciate the ease of use when letting us connect to their systems. Some also appreciate the remote support while they are multi-task.
Great product. Its user-friendly GUI and overall performance are really the biggest strength of this tool. The reason why I don't give a higher note is because of the price. Although it's decent (starting at around $200 for a license), there is a good free alternative in VirtualBox. Not everyone values friendly GUI as something worth paying for. For people that are more tech-savvy, I would recommend looking into VirtualBox as they might actually like the model better (with downloadable add-ons and packages).
It's a niche product and in that niche they try to cater to as many use cases as they can. Other as a TCO aspect i don't see many use cases where you can't use this product as the one tool for all remote session use cases in your company
Integration isn't really relevant here but I see this question more as an OS compatibility for the VM. They state that they support over 200 different OS versions. I honestly have never tried anything else other than Ubuntu and Windows myself but nonetheless, this is impressive. I have not hit any limitation in my use of this software in terms of limitation or conflicts with other software.
VMware support is very knowledgeable on their products, eveything from AirWatch to ESX clusters. VMware is easy to contact, they stay in touch and see the issue through to the end and a final resolution. They keep you up to date on your issue status and don't leave you waiting for answers.
VNC Connect is a reliable product that has been around for a long time. It is reasonably priced and works well in the Mac & PC environment. When you have a small team that supports many users we need tools that we can rely upon and that will get the job done on the first try. Many customers appreciate the quick assistance and can multi-task while our team works on their computer issues remotely. From a customer service point of view, this tool gives us transparency and efficient effectiveness.
The training is very informative, quick and to the point. All of the details one would need are present so the user doesn't have to go searching for additional information just to use the application. The layout of the training was also neat and concise, some of the other training sessions for other companies I've done in the past were confusing and not well thought out, this one is much more superior
Installing the application was easily completed on the twenty computers that needed VMware Player. Once those 20 users were configured we copied our virtual machine template to the 20 users and turned on their newly provisioned virtual machines. We then configured unity mode so the user could easily work from within the virtual machine from their host desktop.
I haven't used VirtualBox a lot but I didn't find it as intuitive as VMware workstation. The later was much more simple for me to use. The Oracle tool is free however so it is definitely something to take into consideration. Also, VirtualBox needs you to get some additional packages depending on what you want to create/run as a VM. No big deal but you might be doing some tweaking before actually being ready to go as to with VMware, it's already part of it. Finally, and I'd rather mention that my memory is a bit fuzzy about that but, VirtualBox seemed a little less optimal when it comes to running VMs. If true, it might have been my type of usage. I did not have an extended experience with VirtualBox so you should definitely try it for yourself.
VNC Connect stacks up very well to other competitors. With this simple program, you can remotely connect and access other computers with the same VNC Connect agent installed. The only reason we're moving away from using this is that our current Ninja RMM Tools computer monitoring agent includes the TeamViewer tool for us to use.
For me the benefit was really high as I could use a solution that had a free educational version with VMware player. Without it, I would've needed to buy the SAS software itself which would have cost a few thousand dollars.
Although I have no details about the ROI, I know that software testing teams that use the software are saving a lot of money buy using virtual machines. It is obviously a great saving both in physical machine count but also in workstation lab sizes.
I have just used the software for about 1 month and so far so god. I am saving time whenever I can access my client's computers from my desk as opposed to having to leave my office to go to their offices. Saves me time and the client money.
