AppTunnel vs StrongDM

StrongDM is a strong enterprise access platform, very similar to Teleport. It excels at secure access but completely ignores the application layer.

What StrongDM Does Well

  • • Excellent just-in-time access and RBAC
  • • Strong auditing and compliance features
  • • Good database and server access controls
  • • Solid security posture for infrastructure access

Where StrongDM Falls Short

  • • No desktop application deployment or management
  • • No handling of COM registration, .NET assemblies, or legacy installers
  • • No built-in update mechanism for Windows desktop apps
  • • You still need a completely separate solution to get the actual application onto the user's machine
  • • No intelligent tray client experience

AppTunnel's Advantage

While StrongDM gives users secure access to resources, AppTunnel gives them a complete experience: the application is intelligently deployed, updated, and connected via always-on encrypted tunnels to any database or backend service. SQL Server, cloud DBs, proprietary protocols — any TCP/UDP destination, transparently, without VPNs or complex networking.

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