Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) vs VMware Player comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) and VMware Player based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) vs. VMware Player Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
AJ Hartenberg
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Ease of use in publishing apps and installing the agent. The Interface is fairly intuitive after some tinkering. Although I inherited the app only two-thirds deployed, I was able to complete the deployment and service it over the last year without referring to any documentation.""It provides flexible access to Windows applications from many types of devices.""The management capability from the RAS portal provides greater control than using pure MS inbuilt into RDS capabilities.""Setup was straightforward. Our particular use case involved an Active Directory forest involving two data centers and three domains. User authentication against Active Directory was the easiest to set up and validate of any application installed in the last three years.""You have the opportunity to virtualize applications in different locations. Everything is in one pane or one window, which is quite good.""Client compatibility with many systems makes it very versatile. The reporting that is included is awesome.""Simplicity of the interface is a valuable feature.""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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"VMware Player's best feature is the ability to run different OS's simultaneously.""The most valuable feature of VMware Player is the ability to snapshot with or without memory.""VMware Player helps you to virtualize and install Ubuntu or any other operating system, even on a Windows laptop.""The solution's technical support team is excellent.""It's really easy to build testing environments with VMware Player."

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Cons
"We would like to be able to re-label the OTP (One Time Password) popup so our users can easily recognize that they are to put in their DUO code on that line. Most users see OTP and ask what that is.""Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved.""From a seller's point of view, there are a lot of things that they could do better in the sales cycle.""Since I've been here less than a year, I have had to upgrade the system three times. The first time was the major upgrade but they have upgraded twice since, and I think that's too many times in that time span.""The main issue we have with all of our users is printing. Randomly, a printer will disconnect or someone won't connect to it and I will have to reset the print service and then nobody can print. That's the big headache we've had over the course of the five years.""A web-based management interface for administration and reporting would be nice, instead of needing to log into a remote server.""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).""Sometimes you need to understand how to use load balancing and the gateway in order to scale, which means the team may need some additional technical knowledge."

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"VMware Player should provide a cloud version with no limitations to hardware resources.""Its networking features need improvement.""VMware Player isn't downgradable, so if you have a later set of VMs, you need to upgrade it or figure out a workaround.""The tool has limited scalability.""When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player."

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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 →

  • "It has the best licensing modules."
  • "The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
  • "With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
  • More VMware Player Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    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.
    Top Answer:The most valuable feature of VMware Player is the ability to snapshot with or without memory.
    Top Answer:When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player. You'll see it on your web front, and you'll be unable to change the resolution. You can't… more »
    Top Answer:We use VMware Player mostly to connect the server hosting the client. I use the solution more like a manager.
    Ranking
    Views
    2,388
    Comparisons
    1,565
    Reviews
    3
    Average Words per Review
    283
    Rating
    8.0
    Views
    3,869
    Comparisons
    3,632
    Reviews
    5
    Average Words per Review
    281
    Rating
    8.8
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Parallels RAS
    Learn More
    Parallels
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    Overview
    ApplicationServer delivers applications, data and virtual desktops from a central location, providing continuous availability, resource-based load-balancing and complete network transparency.

    VMware Player, or VMware Player Plus, is described by VMware as the easiest way to run a virtual machine on Windows or Linux PCs in a commercial environment. If you want to deliver a managed desktop to your employees, customers, students, contractors, or partners, then this virtual desktop solution is the way to go.

    VMware Player provides the most advanced virtualization platform available, which is capable of supporting even extremely demanding applications. Even though the platform is so advanced, the user interface is simple and easy-to-use.

    There is seamless integration with Windows XP and Windows XP applications even if the machine itself is a Windows 7 PC, a Windows 8 PC, or even Linux-based. It also gives your IT person the capability of restricting the virtual machines by requiring runtime passwords, adding an expiration date, blocking USB devices, or encrypting the machines. By using VMware vCenter Converter, VMware Player can even convert old machines into virtual machines without you needing to re-configure or re-install any applications.

    Sample Customers
    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
    Akademiska Hus
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Government15%
    Construction Company15%
    University15%
    Local Government8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Government8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company14%
    University9%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business52%
    Midsize Enterprise8%
    Large Enterprise40%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise56%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business50%
    Midsize Enterprise33%
    Large Enterprise17%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business24%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise62%
    Buyer's Guide
    Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) vs. VMware Player
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) vs. VMware Player and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is ranked 12th in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 24 reviews while VMware Player is ranked 8th in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 10 reviews. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is rated 8.8, while VMware Player is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) writes "Provides good scalability and a secure environment". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VMware Player writes "A highly stable solution that has the ability to snapshot with or without memory". Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is most compared with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service), Citrix Workspace, VMware Workstation and NVIDIA GRID, whereas VMware Player is most compared with VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation, VMware Horizon, Citrix Workspace and Parallels Desktop. See our Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) vs. VMware Player report.

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

    We monitor all Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) 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.