MSP's review of Parallels RAS - this company is NOT just for Windows on a Mac

The whole organization uses Parallels Remote Application Server to replace normal terminal server access methods requiring a VPN or publishing through the web.

While we haven't explored the VDI aspect yet, simply focusing on RDS and application publishing has been fantastic. Take an application like QuickBooks where end users are on a Mac - traditionally, they had to VPN and Remote Desktop to a server to access QuickBooks. Now, with the Parallels Remote Application Server client installed on a Mac, they can have a QuickBooks icon published to their Mac for single-click access straight to the remote application for a very seamless experience. The addition of having a printer and drive mappings and the flexibility of also exposing the full RDS interface if needed on a user by user basis is incredible. Simply put, we're fans!

Sometimes we're on the go, and choosing an iPad over a laptop is a very nice option of convenience made ever so more realistic now that we can publish apps and RDS via the Parallels Remote Application Server app to an iOS device. However, if a user is unexpected without such a device, having a secure manner to access via HTML5 interface is a nice alternative.

We primarily roll Hyper-V for our clients - but having the flexibility to support VMWare is nice as well, knowing we won't have to learn a new solution to support either direction. However, we're still not leveraging the VDI capability provided by Parallels Remote Application Server. Simply, we've been enamored with the ease and options to publish Parallels Remote Application Server differently than in the past.

Specifically, having groups or individual users' ability to have granular sets of permissions (or exceptions) has been a lifesaver. With the HTML5 gateway, we expected SSL protection as a given - anytime you're exposing authentication against Active Directory, you need as much security as possible. Implementing 2FA in conjunction becomes a necessary approach, and we'd like to see additional documentation specifically around this topic and best practices approach to ensure policies are in place to protect AD from malicious behavior.