Above and beyond RDP with Parallels Secure Workspace

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For today’s IT admins, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is omnipresent in different forms. It has been around in some manner since 1998, but now it can be leveraged to access clients and servers remotely. For the end user, that typically involves installing and using an RDP client on their endpoint (a laptop, tablet, or other device). Currently, most technologies that enable remote access into Microsoft Windows-based clients and servers rely on RDP as a foundation.

The HTML5 gateway in Parallels Secure Workspace translates the RDP (and xRDP) streams into HTML5, making them available via the browser on any device, from anywhere — without the need to install RDP agents on these devices. And it goes even further by adding Zero Trust security, aggregation, and collaboration.

Increased security

Let’s be honest — security is one of RDP/S’s main challenges. Parallels Secure Workspace has extensively researched the use of RDP, and a 2020 McAfee study found in 4.1 million and counting RDP ports to be open and available for hacking.

But not only are many environments vulnerable because of their setup, the protocol itself has been prey to many vulnerabilities. Using RDP and RDS securely implies a continuous effort and investment in additional tooling.

Below, you can find a wide variety of out-of-the-box security capabilities that come with Parallels Secure Workspace. Hover for more information!

A time saver for the IT admin

Parallels Secure Workspace is an all-in-one solution, meaning that all features are part of the same solution and can easily be enabled or disabled.
It acts as a gateway leveraging standard protocols, making installation and rollout quick and easy (in some cases it can be done in a matter of hours) and streamlining upgrade management.
Finally, end user support is simplified, with no clients that can breakdown on the endpoint, admins will get a lot fewer support tickets. When tickets do come, support engineers can easily take over the end user session or check the audit logs.

Increased mobility and cross-device usage

Parallels Secure Workspace renders apps and desktops in HTML5 in the browser. As such, users can opt for whatever device they prefer to get work done. This can be a tablet (e.g., Apple iPad), a Google Chromebook, or a Windows laptop. Even a Tesla or connected fridge will do the trick.

By default, Parallels Secure Workspace does not limit access to certain another device. If this is desired, partner solutions are available — such as the Blackberry Digital Workspace or OpsWat MetaAccess.

Optimized for service providers and ISVs

For Service Providers (M/CSPs) and ISVs, Parallels Secure Workspace comes packed with a whole set of specific capabilities that elevate the pure RDS characteristics. This is particularly interesting for anyone that already has an RDS-based platform in place. By design, Parallels Secure Workspace is multi-tenant, has an open API, enables direct links and aggregation and is completely brandable/can be white labeled.

Everything in the browser, behind one login

Often, users don’t just rely on RDS enabled applications. They also need access to SaaS services and other web services as well as file servers. With Parallels Secure Workspace, you can aggregate all those components together in one single unified workspace that can be accessed from a single login. Furthermore, Parallels Secure Workspace offers extensive Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities.

You can enable RDP via VPN, but that’s hardly secure enough. Furthermore, there are Citrix products — but those that come with a lot of overhead, are harder to use and turn out to be a lot more costly for our clients. Keeping those things – security, cost and ease-of-use – in mind, Parallels Secure Workspace turned out to be the best option.

Jente Vandijck
Solutions Architect, VanRoey.be

How does Parallels Secure Workspace work?

Parallels Secure Workspace is a secure virtual appliance that can be deployed in your infrastructure of choice. It connects via standard protocols such as RDP, CIFS, and LDAP into backend applications, desktops, and file servers and renders these services into HTML5 via its proprietary RDP gateway. As such, users can securely access services that reside in other networks via their browser. Unlike a VPN or traditional VDI, nothing needs to be installed on the end user device, making the roll out smooth and free of complexities.