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Visio vs iServer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

iServer
Ranking in Business Process Design
13th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (7th)
Visio
Ranking in Business Process Design
2nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Mind Mapping Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Business Process Design category, the mindshare of iServer is 1.6%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Visio is 12.5%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Process Design
 

Featured Reviews

Antonios Lazanakis - PeerSpot reviewer
Flexible, easy to use, and easy to import data
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization iServer is a very flexible platform for defining your own enterprise architecture model. It is very easy to import data, and we also have good integration with Visual Drawing Tools and SharePoint. The solution is…
Tugrul TASCI - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This flexibility is the most helpful part in the standard version."
"This is a flexible tool compared to some other solutions."
"Good and effective reporting features, which help in decision making."
"The most valuable feature is its reporting capability. It offers various packages for different types of reports, such as business and project management reporting packs."
"I have to think less with this solution. It's simple."
"The solution has wide use within Microsoft products. The integration with Microsoft products, and, in particular, Microsoft Office, is great."
"The initial setup is easy."
"Integrating the Microsoft documents to the product and visualization matrix where we can see the end-to-end relationship of the network is of great importance to our company."
"One of the things that I like is the automation from external data."
"It's my understanding that the initial setup is straightforward."
"Visio makes it easier than with other tools to do such tasks as changing things or coming up with one's own visual style for presentation purposes."
"The interface is the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"The Data Objects are hyperlinked to the Standard Operating Procedures, Letters, and Forms."
"Visio has improved our organization through an essential collaboration with the other Microsoft applications like SharePoint and Excel. So basically in the earlier days, what used to happen, a majority of the organization captured all the as-is process, the time and motion data in the form of Excel and then they used to create process diagrams using other freeware applications. Collaboration allows easy and convenient sharing with other stakeholders, that is really helpful with Visio."
"The solution is easy to scale."
"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."
 

Cons

"The one issue is that if you want to import predefined work, you need to put the licensing model in. So if you wanted to import work that was done before, you then need to buy a separate product for that."
"There can be some performance issues using the solution that should be improved. When you make modifications modify to files there are embedded data within that can take a while to process."
"Cannot see which activities are control activities."
"The modelling needs improvement, specifically forecasting capabilities and scenarios."
"It definitely needs help to improve the visual aspect of the solution."
"Requirements management needs to be improved."
"It runs relatively slowly."
"There could be features for process mining, process simulation, and analytics."
"The one particular thing which I would like to see improved is in comparison to other products in the market, and is still lacking in Visio, is publishing on a web application. For example, there is a freeware application business process modeling tool, Bizagi."
"If you look at ARIS, for example, or Signavio, the flowchart combines all the details and with the click of a button I can create a process manager. That would be something that Visio could add. It would cut my workload in half."
"The database modeling has deteriorated significantly in the more current versions."
"Visio should implement more complex tools or graphics to facilitate processing and use flexible templates. The tools supplied or provided are very basic, and there are not enough tools for design."
"Visio can be more user-friendly."
"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."
"The solution could improve by making it more modern."
"It would be nice if there is a database behind it. We have looked into this functionality, but all of the other solutions that have a database are very locked down, and you have to use them their way. You can't define your own stuff. For example, we have a system X, and I want to define system X myself and have it available. If I am ever going to make a change to system X, I want to pull up all the drawings that are associated with system X. I want to be able to search and pull all those drawings. Visio should have the ability to capture metrics associated with each step in the process. For example, based on a specific time, I should be able to link the data to a spreadsheet, which is kind of like the data analysis on the process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's about 13K to set up and 9K for the license for three months. I think it's about 20K a year, but we haven't firmed up on pricing yet because the price depends on how long we commit to the solution."
"The product has a moderate pricing."
"Aim for the exact number of people who shall define/review approve and view the processes, as it will impact the cost."
"They offer annual subscriptions for developing countries, which are not affordable for small or medium businesses."
"The solution is cheaper than its competitors."
"The price of iServer is reasonable compared to other solutions."
"I know you can pick it up in retail for under a thousand per person. You can also pick it up for cheaper than that. Microsoft has about 7,000 licensing models, and you get certain percentages off specific licensing. If you're a partner, you get specific numbers of licenses with the partnership price."
"While I don't recall the exact price I do recall that it was quite high."
"The price could be more flexible for infrequent users. If it's your main utility that you use daily, then it's a good price."
"My organization has paid for the solution. However, I have used it personally without payment. There is a free option available."
"The solution is expensive. The solution does come bundled in other packages."
"I think costs are on a per user basis."
"The licensing process is actually a breeze. Simply buy the license and download it from Microsoft, enter the license key in Visio to activate the software, and you're done."
"I pay for the license and it is very expensive. If you're only going to use this tool from time to time, you can save money by just using the available online tools. But if you plan on using it heavily, then it's worth it to invest."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
35%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iServer?
iServer has valuable features for workflow and document management.
What needs improvement with iServer?
iServer should invest in enhancing the capabilities of the embedded drawing tool, draw.io. draw.io is a drawing tool used to draw architectural diagrams, flow diagrams, etc. It is an alternative to...
What is your primary use case for iServer?
We use iServer to establish an enterprise architecture function in our organization.
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...
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.
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...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Visio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Barclays, Cathay Pacific, Deloitte, British Gas, MasterCard
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Visio vs. iServer and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.