Apple Remote Desktop vs. NinjaOne

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

Incentivized

Whether you are an MSP who needs an all-in-one solution for device management, or you are in-house IT who needs a single pane of glass to manage your devices, NinjaOne fits the bill as a top tier solution. The amount of flexibility in scaling to your organization's size is impressive as the platform can be as simple as just using it for remote access, all the way up to deploying comprehensive automation packages in the form of a compound condition that bases its actions on the results of other conditions or scripts.

Incentivized

• Automator Actions: This is a very cool feature and cost saving as it reduces human effort by automating the workflow of tasks.
• Curtain Mode: This lets you block your local user's view of the desktop while performing administrative tasks.
• Spotlight Search: It can perform lightning fast searches on machines using the spotlight search feature of OS X and thus saves a lot of time.

Incentivized

• With Ninja, we are able to have all of our IT tools and management under one umbrella making it extremely easy to keep an eye on all of our servers and workstations.
• Their support team is OUTSTANDING and gives quick and helpful answers to our questions. Our account manager calls us personally to review any issues and ensure we are running smoothly.
• Ninja gives us automated patch management of our important devices, and has a nice security log to see what's been done.

Incentivized

• It's onsite only without setting up a VPN or some other form of remote network access.
• It can be a little slow sometimes when compared to local access.
• It seems to be a neglected product by Apple and not continually developed.

Incentivized

• NinjaOne does support Mac, however I would like to have more options for automation and scheduled task on Mac devices.
• I would like it if NinjaOne also provided an MDM solution.
• It would be nice is NinjaOne could integrate a PAM solution as well.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

I have not had any real issues with NinjaOne and as long as it keeps doing what it is meant to do, I do not plan on looking elsewhere. I need software to be stable and NinjaOne is stable.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Ninja's interface is clean and simple. Overall usability from an interface perspective is good. Some items, policies and scripting for instance, are a bit cumbersome and it's really not clear how to implement with a best practice mind-site. Ninja RMM got the job done for us but as we pushed our needs more into automation and efficiency we felt it wasn't keeping up with our speed of growth. There is definitely usability in the product, and it will get the job done, but there are other RMM's out there that fit better in our business.

Incentivized

Availability is very good

Incentivized

The software loads quickly for the most part

Incentivized

I've never had to get support for ARD, so I can't give a real opinion.

Incentivized

Support has been very responsive and my account rep Brian K. has communicated with me continuously making sure we had everything we need. Not like other MDMs where they sign you up and that's the last you hear from them. NinjaOne makes sure you use the product to its best application and you are successful and continue as the product features grow.

Incentivized

Easy to learn and all of the functions and features were easy to learn. Once I started learning all of the features and functions, it made my everyday tasks much easier and more productive. The user interface is very easy to use. If I did have any questions, the Ninja Dojo was a big help.

Incentivized

It was nice and self paced learning. The sections were easy to understand and the functionality was very worthwhile. The online training was very easy to learn and intuitive. I did not feel the need to ask for any clarification or assistance with any of the sections. I am still learning a lot of the functions but fined it very easy to use.

Incentivized

None, very easy to setup and install.

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Use of Organizations and locations

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

We used Auto Task and Datto. We felt that NinjaOne was a more user friendly platform. There was a large training curve for new employees to learn to use Auto Task. We have noticed a shortened training curve for NinjaOne. We really like the layout and the Ninja Academy.

Incentivized

Overall the software is very reliable

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• NinjaOne is a monthly payment with no commitment, this is much better suited to an MSP than other competitors that try to wrap you up into a 3-5-year contract. As an MSP, we could lose a client at any moment and it sucks to be stuck in a contract where we can't lower our agent counts.
• NinjaOne helps my techs be more efficient and productive. Saving time and money.

Incentivized