Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) and Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Application Virtualization solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"I use Citrix DaaS to connect to devices.""The app protection feature is one of the most valuable because it provides good security, as nobody is going to be able to look into your screen while you are sharing the screen. And if someone has installed a keylogger in your system, your keystrokes will be jumbled up and they would not make any sense to the keylogger. App protection is one of the coolest security features that I have encountered on any platform.""XenDesktop has helped our users to work remotely with a better user experience.""The ROI for us has been that when we had Hurricane Harvey last year, Xendesktop came in very handy for us. Even though people had electricity in Texas, many networks were down. Our offices could still get into our network and do work that was needed. It is an excellent virtual office that works anywhere, anytime and anyplace. It is worth our investment.""ICA/HDX optimization policies.""It has the best remote working features.""Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a stable solution.""Citrix offers a range of products that can be used straight out of the box."

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"You have the opportunity to virtualize applications in different locations. Everything is in one pane or one window, which is quite good.""It is robust. We have some 75 users using it and it doesn't lag. It's very speedy.""We use RAS to publish cloud desktops to our clients. The ability to easily publish resources to a subset of users is what we find most valuable.""We can publish apps and desktops on Terminal Servers and seamlessly share printers. We also combine Parallels with Deepnet Security to get two-factor authentication.""Valuable features include the ability to set up security groups for accessing certain apps, and the ability to add apps easily and centrally without touching the servers they’re hosted on.""It permits us to control the applications that our users are able to get to, in a seamless manner. We're able to distribute applications to users' desktops, just like those applications are on each user's computer, but they're not.""The stability is ok - once I finished the setup, the system was quite stable.""The most valuable feature is the ease with which you can publish applications to different groups of users, by integrating with Windows Active Directory."

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Cons
"There are many latency and slowness issues, which are things looked after by Citrix.""The product advances really fast. For some customers, we need better backwards compatibility.""Tech support can be slow if you do not receive help from the US representatives.""The initial setup is complex.""My only issue with Citrix is that they frequently rebrand their products. I'm using the app and everything is fine but after a couple of years, it's entirely different. There were an enormous number of Citrix tools readily available. My immediate concern was selecting the correct ones.""There is room for improvement because it has a lot of dependency on Active Directory and other things. If they could come up with something similar and native, a complete solution portfolio would help.""I would like to see simplification in the management of the on-prem infrastructure component of Citrix DaaS, particularly in the studio tool used to manage the DaaS infrastructure.""I think they can improve the troubleshooting to make it easier for users to solve problems on their own. For example, it could provide an error code and some instructions on how to reconnect to the database or do something proactive to fix the issue with the system."

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"Opening a ticket should be available from the actual RAS console. It is cumbersome to go to a portal, hunt around for five minutes for a link to open a ticket, answer questions meant to direct you towards FAQs instead of live support, then fill out information (license #, version #, etc.) which could more easily be supplied by sending a ticket straight from the console with all of that information automatically specified.""Improvement is needed in performance monitoring of the client's endpoint, and automatic re-connection of the client in the event of circuit disruptions (this works well generally but can present challenges).""Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved.""The product does not utilize SQL for reporting purposes. Also, it does not support some hypervisors similar to Citrix. These particular areas need improvement.""We have had significant, ongoing issues with printing. It would be great to have a best practice for dealing with printing that we can offer to our customers.""We would like the ability to provide a popup message, such as a maintenance notification. That same notification on the Parallels client would be awesome.""From a seller's point of view, there are a lot of things that they could do better in the sales cycle.""We use several gateways because access to our secret zone requires two-factor user authentication. It is a lot of hassle differentiating among users with or without two-factor. Of course, we could use two farms, but that would mean more management too."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "You have to do some hard work in order to get the suitable licenses."
  • "The licenses are affordable, but the support is a bit expensive, though worth the value.​"
  • "The product, XenServer, is free to use, and XenApp has a one month free license."
  • "It is a bit costly, but enterprise class features come with a cost."
  • "It is quite expensive, but so are the competitors on the market."
  • "I think it is a little high priced."
  • "I suggest using the concurrent user licensing scheme."
  • "A perpetual enterprise license costs approximately $300 USD."
  • More Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The pricing has always been competitive, and the new SPLA licensing model works great for our business and clients."
  • "I think the new pricing is a little bit high. If the price was lower, we could use it for many more customers. If there was one improvement to be made to this product, it would be a small-business version, at a much lower price point."
  • "Work with the vendor, as this is a fairly new product and they want use cases. Deals can be made."
  • "Comparable performance to Citrix for our use case at a significantly lower cost. Pricing is clear and there are relatively few options or other pricing considerations when compared to similar products. Just be sure not to forget the Microsoft licensing that goes along with a Parallels deployment."
  • "Just compare it to Citrix and you will see the value in it."
  • "Pricing is a little steep."
  • "It justifies the price. In terms of licensing, initially when we got the product it was an unlimited licensing strategy. We knew would grow in the coming years. So initially, we took a plan which had no limit. After a year or so the strategy changed and we were being limited to 105 licenses, that was the minimum... If there was flexibility for increasing the number of licenses that would be great because you never know how much you are going to grow in the next year."
  • "We currently use Parallels side-by-side with an Azure cloud-hosted solution. This may be from a lack of product knowledge on my part, but we still need to work out the most effective way to shut down servers outside of hours, thereby reduce hosting costs. I am not entirely convinced Parallels does this well yet."
  • More Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:My focus has primarily been on publishing virtual applications.
    Top Answer:In the past, the prices of the product were great. With the acquisition of Citrix by your company, the prices have drastically increased. For my company, it has become a bit of a problem to sell… more »
    Top Answer:Pricing and technical support need improvement.
    Top Answer:The solution is powerful, and it has good speed and performance.
    Top Answer:The product is not expensive. I rate its pricing a three or four out of ten.
    Top Answer:Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved.
    Ranking
    Views
    2,276
    Comparisons
    1,380
    Reviews
    23
    Average Words per Review
    592
    Rating
    7.5
    Views
    765
    Comparisons
    509
    Reviews
    3
    Average Words per Review
    283
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenDesktop, XenApp (Citrix Virtual Apps)
    Parallels RAS
    Learn More
    Parallels
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    Enable secure, flexible work with the leader in virtual apps and desktops

    Deliver desktop as a service (DaaS) from any cloud or datacenter

    Get started with Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) in minutes to provide a familiar, high-performance digital workspace experience to your users. We’ll manage the infrastructure and security. You focus on your business.

    ApplicationServer delivers applications, data and virtual desktops from a central location, providing continuous availability, resource-based load-balancing and complete network transparency.
    Sample Customers
    Exelon, Aeronamic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alameda County Medical Center, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Aloysius Stichting, Amarchand Mangaldas, AmBev, Amnet Technology Solutions, Arval
    Arsari Group _ PT Netmarks Indonesia, Izhevsk Elektromekhanicheskiy Zavod (IEMZ) _ Kupol, Abilene Diagnostic Clinic, Fylde Borough Council, YARSTROYREZE LLC, VSK Insurance House, Melenkovsky District of Vladimirskaya Oblast, Sofrigam SA, Antenna International, KingsGate Community Church, Norwegian American Hospital, Island Hotels Group, Medway Council, Medway Council, Voices of September 11th, MacDonald Training Center, Kansas Childrenês Service League, Scope,Next Generation Clubs, WTC Communications, Opera Australia, HSE Integrated, Danier, Bridgwater College, Kern County Mental Health, Tony Tiendas, Spears Manufacturing, Managed Insurance Services Inc., Intuitive Medical Software, M.J. Soffe, Mazda Motors, Israel Military Industries (IMI), Telfair, Upic Solutions, Teleflora, Fisher & Company
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Insurance Company8%
    Energy/Utilities Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company13%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Government8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Government15%
    Construction Company15%
    University15%
    Local Government8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise56%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise63%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business52%
    Midsize Enterprise8%
    Large Enterprise40%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise56%
    Buyer's Guide
    Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is ranked 1st in Application Virtualization with 90 reviews while Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is ranked 5th in Application Virtualization with 24 reviews. Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is rated 8.4, while Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) writes "Flexible Deployment, reliable performance, and fast transmission speeds". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) writes "Provides good scalability and a secure environment". Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) is most compared with VMware Horizon View, Citrix Workspace, Amazon Appstream, Amazon WorkSpaces and Apache Guacamole, whereas Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is most compared with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Citrix Workspace, VMware Workstation, NVIDIA GRID and Parallels Desktop. See our Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) report.

    See our list of best Application Virtualization vendors and best Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) vendors.

    We monitor all Application Virtualization reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.