Remote Desktop Services vs. NinjaOne

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Remote Desktop Services
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Remote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A
NinjaOne
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
NinjaOne automates the hardest parts of IT, delivering visibility, security, and control over endpoints. The NinjaOne endpoint management platform increases productivity for IT teams and managed service providers, and comes with unlimited onboarding, training, and support.N/A
Pricing
Remote Desktop ServicesNinjaOne
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Remote Desktop ServicesNinjaOne
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsNinjaOne is a subscription service with a charge rate per month. For more detailed pricing information, contact NinjaOne directly to request a demo or to start 14-days free trial.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Remote Desktop ServicesNinjaOne
Considered Both Products
Remote Desktop Services
Chose Remote Desktop Services
Because it is a built-in, free solution for a small set of managed computers. No extra licenses required. No budget. Setup and configuration is instanteneous.
NinjaOne
Chose NinjaOne
NinjaRMM is much better than other competitors we've used before called Kaseya. Usually those competitors only provide device monitoring features without a way to defend against virus attacks. NinjaRMM comes with antivirus protection called Vipre. Vipre provides protection …
Features
Remote Desktop ServicesNinjaOne
Remote Administration
Comparison of Remote Administration features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
8.9
Ratings
9% above category average
NinjaOne
-
Ratings
Screen sharing9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
File transfer9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Access to sleeping/powered-off computers8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Over-the-Internet remote session8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Initiate remote control from mobile10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote management of servers & workstations9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote Active Directory® management9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized management dashboard9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Session record9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring and Alerts8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring Tasks
Comparison of Monitoring Tasks features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
-
Ratings
NinjaOne
8.9
Ratings
18% above category average
Remote monitoring00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Network device monitoring00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Activity Monitoring00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Management Tasks
Comparison of Management Tasks features of Product A and Product B
Remote Desktop Services
-
Ratings
NinjaOne
8.6
Ratings
14% above category average
Patch Management00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Policy-based automation00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Remote Desktop ServicesNinjaOne
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Panda Systems Management
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Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.0 out of 10
Action1
Action1
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Remote Desktop Manager
Remote Desktop Manager
Score 9.0 out of 10
TeamViewer
TeamViewer
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Remote Desktop ServicesNinjaOne
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(0 ratings)
9.4
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
6.0
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.6
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
3.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Remote Desktop ServicesNinjaOne
Likelihood to Recommend
Remote Desktop Services provides access to work environments from any device. This allows us to ensure business continuity in case of disaster. It provides admins more control over access and security. Remote Desktop Services simplifies software updates and compliance management by reducing the need to act on end users devices.
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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.
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Pros
  • Relative ease of setup: in comparison to some of the other solutions on the market (Citrix, etc.), Remote Desktop Services is rather easy to set up and get configured in your environment.
  • Feature set: Microsoft offers a good deal of the same features many competitors offer in the same space including a mobile app and the ability to have a "native" app feel for a remote application.
  • Inexpensive Licensing: in comparison to other solutions on the market Remote Desktop Services is inexpensive.
  • Move LOB applications closer to their server counterparts: this goes for all remote solutions, but if you have a line of business application that makes a great deal of calls across the network to your data center, your remote office users will likely benefit from the performance and stability side by moving those client side applications into the data center.
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  • 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.
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Cons
  • Advanced configuration is required.
  • Off-site access from a different network is very insecure unless a VPN can be used.
  • It's complicated and relatively costly for multi-user environments, as each user or device requires a CAL on top of the server licensing.
  • Incredibly complicated licensing strategy from Microsoft.
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  • 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.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
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.
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Usability
Once set up it works well and is extremely easy for users. Getting it right can be difficult, it is easy to setup insecurely. Maintenance can be difficult with only a single broker and with manual switchover required for redundant gateways. Troubleshooting access issues can also be difficult
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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.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
Availability is very good
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Performance
There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
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The software loads quickly for the most part
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Support Rating
As with any Microsoft Server product, support for Remote Desktop Services requires a paid support package. These are license-based and very costly, on top of the already costly product licensing. Microsoft's licensing is complicated to begin with, so setting up licensing alone essentially requires a licensing expert's counsel. There is community documentation and support available on Microsoft websites, as well as community websites.
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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.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
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.
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
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.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
Use of Organizations and locations
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Alternatives Considered
We used RDS on-site primarily because of how easy it is for users to transition from their own desktop to a remote desktop. However, from off-site, there are VPN and other security considerations to take into account, and the process gets a little more complex. In this situation, especially if you're trying to support a user who is outside the local network, it can be easier to use something like Chrome Remote Desktop or TeamViewer. However, the Windows functionality of RDS is totally unmatched.
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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.
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
Overall the software is very reliable
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Return on Investment
  • Remote Desktop Services has had a major positive ROI impact at our firm. There were a number of times when our staff was traveling abroad to business meetings with a laptop that had missing presentations. But once they had internet access, a Remote Desktop Services connection is established, and presentation data can now be shown directly from their laptops as if theyr'e sitting in our office.
  • Remote Desktop Services has made it possible for Mac staff users to use their computing devices to access our network system to run Windows applications and access all our network data.
  • Remote Desktop Services has made it possible for our staff to successfully work remotely from outside the office. There were many occasions when emergencies came up which prevented staff from coming into the office to work. But as long as they have a computer with an internet connection, they used Remote Desktop Services to connect to our terminal server and successfully ran the programs to modify data files on the network without losing a beat.
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  • 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.
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ScreenShots

NinjaOne Screenshots

Screenshot of the NinjaRMM dashboardScreenshot of the NinjaRMM mobile appScreenshot of NinjaRMM automationScreenshot of NinjaRMM device detailsScreenshot of NinjaRMM network monitoring - NetFlowScreenshot of NinjaRMM virtual machine monitoring