Apple Remote Desktop (ARD), from Apple, is a remote administration tool for managing Apple computers running OS X across a network.
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ISL Light
Score 9.6 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
ISL Light is remote support and remote access software that enables SMBs and large enterprises to offer fast and efficient support and maintenance for Windows, Mac and Linux computers as well as mobile device support for Android and iOS.
$34.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Pricing
Apple Remote Desktop
ISL Light
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Standard
$34.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Self-Hosted
$44.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Premium
$54.90
per month (billed annually) per concurrent user
Enterprise (Managed Private Cloud)
$23,976
per year 20 concurrent users
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apple Remote Desktop
ISL Light
Free Trial
No
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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ISL Online's pricing model considers the number of licenses purchased, which determines the maximum number of concurrent users within the organization. A concurrent user is defined as anyone running one or more sessions simultaneously from any device. There are no restrictions on the number of ISL Light users within a company or the remote devices managed.
For example, with three licenses, an unlimited number of people in a company can use ISL Light and can access an unlimited number of remote devices, but only three users can use it concurrently. When one of these three users ends their session, a fourth user can begin their session, and so on.
Apple Remote Desktop is very Apple specific, which as both good and bad aspects. We actually use both Bomgar/BeyondTrust and Apple Remote Desktop because each is good at certain aspects and bad at certain aspects. For instance, BeyondTrust is very good at ad hoc sessions with …
Apple Remote Desktop is far simpler than TeamViewer, especially for MacOSX. With Apple Remote Desktop native within OSX, it is simple and easy to use, and can be used with other Mac users with ease. I selected it because it has a much simpler design and is already integrated …
Apple Remote Desktop is Apple specific. There is no other software suite that controls the Mac like ARD. Apple built it specifically for Apple products and it has abilities that are definitely MacOS ONLY. If you administer Macs it is a must-have over the other solutions …
Apple Remote Desktop still requires more work on its functionality, but the other market giants are way ahead of it when it comes to utilities and services. Teamviewer was the first software that we used and it was so good, we wanted to try something else so we switched to …
Microsoft Remote desktop tends to perform better, especially over the internet and has multiple implementations, including open source. AnyDesk is multi platform (both server and client) and more suitable for ad-hoc remote sessions.
Apple Remote Desktop is a good product when you have a need to manage Apple computers on-site and don't want a cloud solution with a recurring cost. We prefer it as an alternative or secondary solution in case your primary software has issues. I wouldn't use it as my only …
For apple/mac products - hands down has the upper advantage when it comes to remote administration. It lacks in some areas that Datto and Kasyea have the upper hand on like some system monitoring. Overall, if I had multiple macs I needed to monitor and service, I would use …
I think that the one feature that sets ARD apart is the UI when in a remote session. There have been times where I've used Zoom, TeamViewer, etc. and couldn't access a part of the menu bar or accidentally closed a session due to the third-party UI that's been applied on the …
Chrome Remote Desktop is cross-platform but lacks the cool features especially automation related features like Apple Remote Desktop does. For supporting Mac computers, Apple Remote Desktop was a clear choice.
I would feel much more comfortable having one of these alternative solutions as our Remote Desktop management tools. Each has their drawbacks and expenses associated with them, but we simply have too large of a deployment to not be considering alternatives. If it is the only …
If you are managing Apple systems, ARD is hands down the number one way to manage these systems. It beats every other product out there with its deep macOS integration. No other product has as much focus on Apple as this one. We are primarily a Mac environment so it makes total …
I actually use ConnectWise and ARD, if within my LAN. If I have VPN access I use ARD, if it's a new client and I haven't worked on their network or it's too small to warrant a VPN setup then I'll use ConnectWise
Apple Remote Desktop is the best device we were able to use for education that served the function. Being a school with all Apple products and Mac labs, using Apple Remote Desktop was the most logical choice. The only other alternative was to use the Adobe screen share software …
For multi-site remote support we utilize TeamViewer and for enterprise-wide device management we are using Cisco Meraki System Manager. ARD is a great Mac tool, but there are many options out there, that are cloud-based, that don't require you to have network tunnels into your …
Systems Administrator/Technology Support Specialist
Chose Apple Remote Desktop
Apple Remote Desktop allows me access and control that Casper doesn't always have. I love the use of the Remote sessions to be able to get on and see what exactly is going on and then to be able to fix it without having to run across campus to that classroom.
I use Teamviewer with users who are having trouble connecting to the VPN. I think TeamViewer is a good alternative when ARD isn't working. However supporting the number of users we support, Teamviewer can come with a pretty hefty price tag.
I have used the above two remote desktop services and have found it to be much harder than using the Apple Remote Desktop. They are slow to login with a lot of errors, time outs constantly, and interface its self moves incredibly slow. I felt a sense of relief when I started …
Fast, quick, nonsense free, can downgrade picture quality for clients on mobile broadband
The three above mentioned softwares like CWA, Splashtop and Teamviewer can require you to lookup information on how to use the software, in-comparison to ISL where it's easy graphically.
Much more intuitive when compared to remote desktop and as no changes are required on the firewall on the server side, it's a much more secure connection.
Support is always quick and responsive, although I only had to contact support for license renewals over the past few years, so in essence, once a year. We made use of ISL Online at other companies too, at that time there was no real contender in the market according to my …
ISL Light is easy to use and covers all our permanant access devices but is also easy to manage our ad-hoc clients, the only negative over some is you can't automate remote tasks
I used LogMeIn Rescue for several years, and it has more features rich but is horrifically expensive compared to ISL Light, which was the main reason I changed. Chrome Remote Desktop must be viewed as a threat in the remote desktop application sphere. The features and usability …
Functionality is similar but that where it end for us. If you prefer value for money, no surprising price increases (or any increase!), instant support from UK based team who can resolve any product related query then I think ISL Light is product for you.
Multi-monitor handling is super easy with ISL Light. The licensing model of ISL Light's self-hosted version is unbeatable. Great technical support, which often used before I purchased. The unbelievable price increase during and after the covid time of remote tools, has ended, …
ISL Light has support. At AnyDesk, I've paid for 6 years, but after four years, they wanted more money, as they had a new license with only one concurrent session. ISL Light has support, but AnyDesk Support almost does not exist. The ISL address book works fine, but AnyDesk has …
More user-friendly. More affordable. A Slovenian product (which means it supports the Slovene language). User support is very satisfactory and responsive. Simple installation and does not require additional knowledge from colleagues.
Price fit our needs, and it had all the functions we needed. The others all had issues that were preventing me from using it as we do on a day to day basis. Teamviewer especially has declined to a horrible state, and they trap you in with forced renewals which is seriously …
At first we were impressed by how easy it is to get help from a remote partner. Later we found out that ISL Light is also a local product and we are happy to support local businesses.
While these are all good products and provide a solution in other use cases, at the time we were searching, ISL Light fit our use case best. It is a completely self-contained and privately hosted solution with a tool for each step, user contact, information gathering, remote …
We chose ISL Light because of ease of use for our customers and end users, as it's the fastest way of getting a connection to the mentioned user or PC. A big role also plays the reliability of secure connection.
ARD for me is based on a LAN, but can be used over WAN via VPN, but the latency makes ARD a less ideal tool. There are other cross platform tools that can do what ARD does which to me add value when managing a mixed environment
Perfect for remotely accessing user machines. Better than any of the competitors such as Anydesk etc. Feels a lot safer and the auto rollout makes it perfect for large organisations and small Cannot think of a case when it's less appropriate!
Need a control toggle at least on AlwaysOn. User moves the mouse and you lose all control instantly.
Clipboard features are a bit wonky still, and your clipboard seems to get emptied a lot. So if you're trying to copy and paste you might lose something
Passwords for the systems are saved per machine, so if you work from multiple devices it can be tricky if you have complex passwords
It is a fairly unique tool in the level of integration it has with Apple Desktop products. It definitely needs some engineering attention, and it should be expanded to the iOS arena. It is not perfect, but it is very useful and fills an otherwise fairly empty niche in the support toolkit realm. The built-in screen sharing app in macOS handles the direct screen control or viewing function fairly well, but it does not have all of the other mass control features that Apple Remote Desktop supplies.
Once it is set up, it is quite straightforward to use. However, currently, it requires both a script to run to set up permissions and controls, AND a command from the MDM to authorize it to be active. The MDM management command is manual. This is not conducive to an automated workflow, and sometimes gets forgotten. Then, the endpoint is not contactable until someone realizes that the MDM command was not sent or was not successful.
It is very easy to use. You hardly need any computer knowledge to learn how to use it, as everything is displayed in easily recognizable icons. Although its appearance does not look cutting-edge, it could have a more modern look, but it must be said that everything is understandable, and with just a couple of taps on each icon that appears, you already know what each thing is for, and it allows you to use it skillfully and fluidly. Everything is perfect in this regard.
We had issues with mouse skipping on mobile devices. Support is immediatly availabe, they examined our case and in one of the new versions of the app this problem was gone.
I would feel much more comfortable having one of these alternative solutions as our Remote Desktop management tools. Each has their drawbacks and expenses associated with them, but we simply have too large of a deployment to not be considering alternatives. If it is the only solution you can afford, it is OK to start here. I could see where this would have a return on investment, but it is really only suitable for a very small and localized scale. If employees are at all mobile, the duct taping of products necessary (VPN, distribution points, script repositories) would be very cumbersome.
In our specific case user console simplicity in ISL light is a major positive for ISL light. ISL always on agent for unattended access is vastly superior to TeamViewer's solution. TeamViewer has become bloated in recent years, changing things for the sake of changing them, rather than improving their offering. One advantage TeamViewer has is a copy-paste file function that does not require the use of cumbersome file transfer tool.
Apple Remote Desktop has a positive return on investment because for the expense to the school, the value it brings to teachers is important. The return on improved student performance is very difficult to measure financially, but there is a definite return.
The overall objective of education is to increase student learning, ARD does that phenomenally. Parents see the tool used and are impressed at what the capabilities of the tool can do and how it impacts how active their students are as well as how well they can learn.
One negative impact is that teachers rely too much on this tool rather than on actually teaching sometimes.