If you operate solely in the world of proprietary software, it’s easy to think that Microsoft‘s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) emerged as the preeminent remote-access solution a long time ago. But in a sign that the battle for this niche is hardly over–and that cross-platform compatibility is key to winning it–Splashtop, an alternative to RDP, recently announced support for Ubuntu Linux in its desktop streaming platform, making it easier to access Ubuntu PCs from anywhere.

RDP, of course, is hardly the only desktop-sharing solution available today. There are plenty of alternatives, such as VNC (which is implemented in a variety of different clients, the most popular being RealVNC and TightVNC) and NoMachine NX. And if you’re a geek, there are lots of other more interesting ways to connect to remote computers, like sharing X11 sessions over SSH.

But in many enterprises, RDP has become the only real game in town for remote access. It’s built into the Windows desktops that employees use, and often also into their PCs at home. And with RDP clients available for all major operating systems, including Linux–and integrated into Canonical‘s Ubuntu Business Remix–the protocol is hard to avoid even for sworn enemies of Microsoft.

Splashnote Streamer for Ubuntu

Splashnote, however, thinks its desktop sharing solution, called Streamer, is better than RDP and other alternatives. Claiming performance superiority of up to 15 times faster video rates frame and 10 times lower latency than its competitors, Splashtop also offers SSL and 256-bit AES encryption, eliminating the security issues that plague some other remote-access products.

And now, Splashtop Streamer–which already worked with Windows, OS X and mobile platforms–supports Ubuntu as well. Beta packages for the product are available in the Ubuntu Software Center, and the company expects them to become particularly popular among the following groups:

Some Linux fans may be disappointed to learn that Streamer–unlike some implementations of VNC and the open source fork of NoMachine NX, FreeNX–is proprietary. But so is RDP, and the Ubuntu version of Streamer at least offers users the opportunity to hack its configuration file in order to perform more fine-tuning than some competing platforms allow.

In addition, Splashtop’s membership in the Linux Foundation should provide the company with another “in” among Ubuntu users. Canonical may continue for the time being to position RDP as the main remote desktop solution in Ubuntu Business Remix, but the situation may not stay this way forever.