ARIS Cloud vs Visio comparison

Software AG and Microsoft are both solutions in the Business Process Design category. Software AG is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.5, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.9. Software AG holds a 2.0% mindshare in BPD, compared to Microsoft’s 12.3% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Software AG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

ARIS Cloud

Read 13 ARIS Cloud reviews

1,173 Views
957 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Visio

Read 105 Visio reviews

8,469 Views
6,677 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

ARIS Cloud

Visio

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Visio and ARIS Cloud are competitors in the diagramming and business process modeling software category. Based on the analysis, ARIS Cloud appears to have the upper hand due to its strength in BPMN 2.0 validation and collaborative capabilities.

Features: Visio offers seamless integration with Microsoft Office, a wide range of templates, and an intuitive library of shapes, making it ideal for quick diagram creation. It supports BPMN diagrams and is suitable for users familiar with other Microsoft products. ARIS Cloud stands out with its BPMN 2.0 validation, enabling effective business process standardization, and offers a collaborative BPM portal that allows diverse teams to work together efficiently.

Room for Improvement: Visio lacks support for XPDL file import/export and struggles with pen input on devices like Microsoft Surface, affecting usability. Additionally, it requires more intuitive layer management and better collaboration platform integration. ARIS Cloud could enhance its cost management by offering clearer license transparency and making the platform more user-friendly for non-technical users, although its pricing is generally competitive.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Visio is used across various environments, including on-premises and cloud setups, but its technical support is inconsistent, leaving users to rely on documentation and forums. ARIS Cloud benefits from flexible deployment options across public and hybrid clouds, with license models focused on functionality, although more straightforward customer onboarding could improve user experience.

Pricing and ROI: Visio provides multiple pricing options, with the Professional version being more expensive, but users often find the cost justified by its features and integration capabilities. ARIS Cloud offers a leaner licensing model that can deliver more features for the price compared to competitors, with significant ROI demonstrated through improved process management and flexibility.

To learn more, read our detailed ARIS Cloud vs. Visio Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ARIS Cloud vs. Visio

January 2025

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Helped 832,138 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

ARIS Cloud

Ranking in Business Process Design

17th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business Process Management (BPM) (30th)

Visio

Ranking in Business Process Design

1st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

105

Ranking in other categories

Mind Mapping Software (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of ARIS Cloud is 2.0%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 12.3%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Process Design

Featured Reviews

BPMexp67

BPM Expert at a consultancy with 1-10 employees

The dynamic and flexible approach, akin to outsourcing, is beneficial for both small and large enterprises

Security is a consideration when migrating to the cloud. It's crucial to address potential risks and include security measures in the contract with the cloud provider. While there haven't been issues so far, acknowledging the risks is essential, especially when dealing with applications like ARIS. With the increasing capabilities and advancements in technology, many current challenges are likely to be resolved in the future. Despite security concerns, utilizing opportunities in the cloud and the internet offers significant advantages. Regarding areas for improvement, security remains a key consideration, especially when deploying ARIS in the cloud. However, this is not solely a product-specific concern but also pertains to the cloud environment. Beyond security, the strength of ARIS lies in its ability to serve as a unified repository for enterprise architecture. Having all information in one place facilitates alignment with the company's vision, strategy, and business objectives. Reducing redundancies across departments is crucial for maintaining service quality and minimizing costs. It ensures that everyone is on the same page, fostering collaboration and preventing discrepancies in information and services. While I currently use Guardis for this purpose, the concept of enterprise architecture is applicable, and ARIS stands as a valuable tool to support business processes and technology alignment within the company.

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Tugrul TASCI

IT Professor at Sakarya University

We have seen return on investment in the form of time savings but should have more design tools

I am generally using Visio to create some diagrams Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates. It should allow users to easily drag and drop some previously created diagrams. The tools supplied or provided are very basic, and there…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"In the end, what stands out to me is the ease of using the cloud. I don't see any distinct or unique advantages in business process modeling software compared to other application software. The cloud simplifies operations and removes many operational complexities, which is a significant benefit."

"This solution has improved the way our organization does training."

"It's very easy to collaborate with. It's very user-friendly"

"Signavio is more intuitive, allowing users with no prior knowledge to navigate and understand its functionality more readily."

"Aris Connect opens collaboration opportunities between team members within the organization where they can actually submit change requests, navigate processes, and offer comments. It opens up the potential for BPM within the organization. I didn't see such an angle of a BPM portal with any other products. So I would say that's the best selling feature."

"From a total cost of ownership perspective, running this on the cloud is more efficient than having someone in the company take care of the infrastructure."

"It has proved that it also works in complex circumstances."

"In terms of UX design, somebody who has not had experience with ARIS will be able to use it very easily."

More ARIS Cloud pros

"The solution is easy to scale."

"A lot of built-in templates are really phenomenal. They cut down the time when you're trying to get something out. They reduce the complexity that technical folks like to put into things that have to be given to technical folks."

"The solution is finely stable."

"I enjoy the fact that I can go into detail with Visio. In shared communications, I can inspect for any fault in my processes."

"It is a standard and easy-to-use solution from Microsoft, and you benefit from the general functions of Microsoft solutions. It integrates easily with SharePoint, which is a useful tool from Microsoft."

"The most valuable aspect of Visio is enabling comprehensive coverage of architectural elements."

"It is easy to learn and implement."

"I like the solution's ease of use and its the integration with different templates from a variety of manufacturers."

More Visio pros

Cons

"The stability was poor, with frequent outages."

"ARIS' flexibility and power add a certain complexity. And if ARIS could be more streamlined, I think customers would have a better handle on what to do with it in the end. So if you're not a tech geek, you might struggle to understand what you should do with it as a customer because it's that powerful."

"On an enterprise level, the ability to onboard somebody quickly is cumbersome because it just has too many things in it. It's got something like a hundred or more techniques and things in it."

"The support team of ARIS Cloud has certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

"I would like to see more support for architectural diagrams."

"The trial version of this solution does not give you enough time to learn how to use it, so it should be extended to one year."

"The price is quite high. This is one weak point of the solution."

"If you have multiple tiers of approvals into that update of the policy, or the process design itself, it takes ages to prepare those internal flows within the system."

More ARIS Cloud cons

"Microsoft should include Visio as part of their Office 365 offering."

"Visio requires a lot of memory, and it is not good for a small design."

"The only downside to Visio is the learning curve."

"Lacks stencils for new technologies in the solution."

"Sometimes, there is a little bit of a learning curve with it, especially while doing complex network diagrams and getting the lines to snap the way you want them and not overlap or be confusing. It would be great if there was a built-in tutorial. It is not that you can't YouTube, but it would be nice if they gave you some free training. I've been using it forever, but every now and then, I got to do something complicated with it and I wonder how do I do that again. Maybe they do have such information, and I don't know. I have not done research on it because a bunch of people work for me, and some of them are better at it than I am, so I just ask them to do this for me."

"Visio could improve by simplifying the application to allow the business user more understanding. This will allow us to bring the solution deeper into the organization for use. It can be difficult to navigate and some users tend to rely on third-party applications for auditing, compliance, and policy configuration."

"Its support team could be well-equipped with the required information."

"There could be better integration between Visio and Word, especially when it comes to importing graphics from the one to the other."

More Visio cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a student version of this solution that can be used for free."

"The licensing model of ARIS Cloud is leaner and more beneficial to the customer. The new license model is great. With the on-premise, you needed to subscribe to many more types of licenses. Now there are licensed bundles available on the cloud."

"The cloud deployment is not more expensive. In the cloud, you pay for what you use, and there's no need for maintaining infrastructure or additional personnel, making it cost-effective. On-premises deployment, on the other hand, involves infrastructure costs and maintenance expenses."

"We probably have an M-365 E3 license."

"Our license for Visio is including with the Office 365 subscription."

"If I want to buy Visio for myself, I think it will be around 80 to 120 USD, though it is important to consider that I am unsure of its actual costs."

"We pay annually for the Visio license and it is expensive."

"There is a licensing fee, but it is fairly priced."

"The popularity of a product is an indicator of its price. Because of the popularity of Visio, its price is on the higher side. We need better pricing for it."

"We're in a Visio plan that is like $15 a month per user. At the moment, it is just the standard licensing fees that I'm aware of."

"Personally, I think the price of this solution is too high."

More Visio pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Energy/Utilities Company

12%

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ARIS Cloud?

The solution's most valuable feature stems from its being very easy to use, making it a very user-friendly tool.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ARIS Cloud?

From what I understand, ARIS Cloud is a very expensive solution. The company opted for a cost-effective route, leading to limited functionality.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ARIS Cloud?

The mapping capability of ARIS Cloud lags behind other less recognized players, making it difficult to map processes. The platform was not intuitive, leading to a complex setup and requiring signif...

See all answers

How easy is it to migrate process flow charts (modeled using tools like Visio) into Bizagi?

I have been using Bizagi with a major project for a state government agency for about four years now. It is pretty straightforward to load in files that are BPMN 2.0 compliant. The option to load V...

See all answers

What do you like most about Visio?

The diagrams Visio creates are quite impressive in the sense that we can cooperate with more colleagues in one task and see the flow of the process.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Visio?

One of the main problems with Visio is its licensing options and associated issues, which lead to discussions about the price with a Microsoft representative. If asked to rate the price, I would gi...

See all answers

Comparisons

ARIS Architect and Designer vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 29% of the time

IBM Blueworks Live vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 19% of the time

SAP Signavio Process Manager vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 17% of the time

Salesforce Platform vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 7% of the time

ADONIS vs ARIS Cloud

Compared 4% of the time

More ARIS Cloud Competitors

Bizagi vs Visio

Compared 18% of the time

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect vs Visio

Compared 13% of the time

Visual Paradigm vs Visio

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Blueworks Live vs Visio

Compared 9% of the time

Lucidchart vs Visio

Compared 7% of the time

More Visio Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ARIS Cloud

February 2025

Download ARIS Cloud product report

Buyer's Guide

Visio

January 2025

Download Visio product report

Also Known As

Process Live, ARIS Simulation, ARIS Aware, ARIS Connect

Microsoft Visio

Overview

ARIS is the market-leading solution for professional business process management and modeling. Whether you want to document the "as-is" state of your operations for quality or certification reasons or design the "to-be" in terms of continuous improvement in your transformation program, ARIS is the best choice for establishing a single source of truth regarding all process excellence topics in your organization. It is for any organization looking to digitally transform their business, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution. ARIS helps you to make the most out of your processes with Process Mining, Risk & Compliance Management, RPA and much more.

What makes the difference?

The most comprehensive platform for process excellence in the market

Easy to use

Covers business & IT architecture from all angles

Full flexibility and >100 diagram types

Customer-driven development based on best practices

Strong partner ecosystem

ARIS is the market-leading solution for any organization and ideally suited to digitally transform the organization, increase operational excellence and customer experience and ensure compliance in execution.

Software AG

Visio is an innovative collaborative solution that enables users to quickly visualize data-connected business process flows with a host of integrated intuitive features that bring the power of Microsoft 365 to Visio. Visio allows users to easily create professional diagrams, graphs, and other visual data, easily anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. Users are able to confidently and easily transform data into creative powerful visuals. Visio provides dozens of easy-to-use templates along with thousands of customizable colorful shapes that bring a user's best ideas to life. Visio is available for all Microsoft 365 commercial users and is available on desktop and Web applications.

Visio Features

Visio can easily create visual data for today’s business needs. Some of its most useful visual data include:

Flowcharts: Users can easily bring business concepts to fruition with Visio’s robust flowchart features. Visio provides a huge library of shapes, stencils, and templates to transform numbers and data into impactful, easy-to-understand business stories.
Organizational charts: Visio makes it easy to design articulate org charts to better visualize team, reporting, and hierarchy structures. Users are then able to seamlessly share the charts with stakeholders, teams, and employees.
Network diagrams: Users are able to creatively display how a system design processes function and visually illustrate how devices and networks interact with each other using a variety of network shapes, templates, and connector tools.
Brainstorming: Visio makes brainstorming simple and actionable with a wide range of templates designed specifically for interpreting problems and mapping out solutions, including fishbone and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) diagrams.
Floor plans: Users can design ergonomic workspaces, retail store layouts, new homes, and more with accurate, scalable templates and tools to help them better visualize function, flow, and overall aesthetic appeal.
Accessible: Visio is able to integrate with a wide variety of accessibility tools, such as Narrator, Accessibility Checker, and high-contrast support, to ensure Visio diagrams are available to your entire team.

Reviews from Real Users

“Visio has improved my workflow by making it easy to create charts, diagrams, and essential illustrations to use in my client reports and proposals. It has saved me a lot of time I would otherwise spend creating visuals for clients manually.” - Michael B., Principal Consultant at Lexington Consulting

“I use it for diagramming networks, racks, data centers, data flow applications, etc. It is a useful tool to map data flows, network objects, and computer science technology and to show to clients. It does what I need it to do. It's a tool I've used the longest, so I know it the best, and that's probably the claim to fame.” - Greg S., Director of Solution Architecture at Winslow Technology Group

“We use Visio for architecture modeling. We also use it to facilitate communication with other people. The feature I like most about Visio is that it acts as a facilitator of communication, as it displays information in a way that's easier to understand.” - Guy M., IT/Business Architect at a financial services firm

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Tesco, Weifu, Airbus, Siemens, Proximus, Alicorp, Sekerbank, Bancor, Philips,Sky, Emirates NBD, Dubai Municipality, Suva, U.S. Army, Australia Post, Westfalen Weser Energie - ARIS serves customers across all industries and of every size worldwide. Companies trust ARIS as the market leader for process excellence with more than 30 years of experience in the market and 10 million users worldwide, from 1 user companies to the Fortune 500.

Thomas College, Hamburg Port Authority, Portigon AG, Conseil G_n_ral du d_partement des Hautes-Alpes, AAA Auto a. s., Commonwealth Financial Network, ICA, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company

Buyer's Guide

ARIS Cloud vs. Visio

January 2025

Free Report: ARIS Cloud vs. Visio

Find out what your peers are saying about ARIS Cloud vs. Visio and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

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