We use Visio for describing processes, port authorities, requests, exchange of documents, and authorizations. The main use is for business processes and descriptions.
SKA LOW AIW Lead Engineer at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
Reliable, with good support, and is easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to use."
- "The user interface could be simplified and easier to use."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
It is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The user interface could be simplified and easier to use.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Visio for a couple of years.
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Visio
October 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is an area that we did not explore as it was not necessary for us to scale. It was not a requirement.
We had 10 customers using this solution.
We don't have plans to increase our usage. I am with a different company.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support was fine. I did not have any issues with the technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before Visio, we used Bizagi.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It was easy to install.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented this solution ourselves. We did not use an integrator.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate Visio an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. Developer Relations Engineer at a tech company with 201-500 employees
Valuable features include different chart options and the ease of building them up
What is most valuable?
Valuable features for me include the different chart options and the ease of building them up.
How has it helped my organization?
It was very useful for the high level and detailed design phases of my projects.
What needs improvement?
There are some performance issues on a different operating system which could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for three years. It is used, mostly, for design phases.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is highly scalable for the design.
How is customer service and technical support?
Not applicable.
How was the initial setup?
It is very easy to install. You just need to get the Microsoft license.
What other advice do I have?
This is great software for designing workflows for the HLD and DLD phases of the project.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Visio
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
NOC Manager at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
A stable and scalable solution which is easy to install and to use
Pros and Cons
- "I like the solution's ease of use and its the integration with different templates from a variety of manufacturers."
- "The solution should have better integration capabilities with MacOS and Linux."
What is our primary use case?
We do not use the latest version.
I am a network engineer and we use the solution for drawing network diagrams.
What is most valuable?
I like the solution's ease of use and its the integration with different templates from a variety of manufacturers.
What needs improvement?
The solution should have better integration capabilities with MacOS and Linux.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Visio since 2010.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have never contacted technical support concerning Microsoft Visio.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is easy to install. It took, perhaps, 15 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
One can do installation on his own.
Just a single manager is responsible for the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a licensing fee, but it is fairly priced. It is on a monthly basis.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate other options before going with the solution.
What other advice do I have?
There are five people, network engineers, who use the solution in my organization.
I would recommend it to others.
I rate Visio as a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. IT Project Manager at a university with self employed
Stable with a good interface but not included with the Office 365 Suite
Pros and Cons
- "The interface of the solution is very good. It's easy to navigate."
- "The solution should be included in Microsoft Office 365. For some reason, it's not. It should be bundled in with everything else."
What is most valuable?
The interface of the solution is very good. It's easy to navigate.
We've found that the technical support has been pretty helpful overall.
The project management and the business process are both very good.
The initial setup is pretty straightforward.
The stability of the solution is very good.
What needs improvement?
The solution should be included in Microsoft Office 365. For some reason, it's not. It should be bundled in with everything else. If they did, clients and customers would benefit a lot.
Just because you have technical support for other Microsoft products does not necessarily mean you will have it for Visio.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for ten years at this point. It's been a decade. It's been a long time. However, currently, I only use it occasionally.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable. It's reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's been very good over the years. That said, I haven't used it as much as I used to recently.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Not too many people use the solution in our organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
While we do have technical support for other products, we don't have any for Visio.
That said, in general, Microsoft does offer very good technical support. We just done get it for this product.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not complex. It's straightforward and pretty simple. However, I myself have a lot of experience with Microsoft. I've been working with Microsoft for 25 years and have handled fairly sizable products in the past.
What other advice do I have?
We use an older version of the solution. We don't use the latest one. It might be either the 2015 or 2016 version.
We're customers and end-users. We aren't consultants or resellers. We don't have a business relationship with the company. We are big clients, however. We have a volume license.
Overall, I would rate the solution seven out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Multimedia Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
I use it primarily to create functional drawings. I would like the ability to change quickly between tools.
What is most valuable?
It is a good diagramming application. I am an AV systems design engineer. I use it primarily to create functional drawings. I also use it for the basic floor plan and wall elevation drawings.
How has it helped my organization?
I don't have to hand-sketch my engineering concepts. The work that I hand off to other departments is clear and easy to read.
What needs improvement?
The ability to change quickly between tools, such as pointer, connector, drawing, and text tools. Perhaps utilizing right-or-center clicking of the mouse could be an excellent addition. Also, the means of turning off Dynamic Grid by default would be a good thing.
Currently, it is on by default and has a habit of getting in the way of what I'm trying to do. A long-time Visio glitch involves the length of lines.
Sometimes, if I use the size and position window to enter a specific length of any type of line, including dimension lines, Visio simply takes it upon itself to make that line a different length of its choosing. This glitch has persisted in every version of Visio that I have used since Microsoft bought the product from its original developer.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been a Visio user since 1995.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In the sense that the product has been on the market for more than 25 years and is sold by Microsoft, it is very stable. In terms of its potential to destabilize my computer, it is not dangerous.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In companies where I have worked, its adoption rate among people in similar job functions to mine is often left to the individual. Some may be more comfortable using other solutions (Adobe Acrobat, AutoCAD). I have not seen the Visio product ever rolled out across an entire company's engineering staff. However, I suppose that this could happen.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is hit and miss. When glitches come up, it can be difficult to engage with a true expert on the Microsoft side. Some glitches in this product have persisted through the years, and versions, even when they are brought to the attention of the Microsoft Visio team.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Computers and OSs get old and need to be replaced. When they are replaced, the newest versions of any software are the ones that run best under the newest OSs.
How was the initial setup?
I have the product on both my home and work PCs. My company's IT department handled the installation and setup of Visio 2013 on my work machine. At home, I installed and set up Visio 2017 with no problems.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Microsoft and AutoDesk.
In my evaluation, my main criteria/question I asked was: "Do they have the best product to accomplish what I need to get done?"
What other advice do I have?
Whatever you use, it has to work for you. If the GUI is not intuitive from your point of view, you won't want to use it, and it won't be a good investment.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Partenaire, CEO at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Good availability, really professional, and very easy
Pros and Cons
- "I like all the features. I go online, and everything pops there. It is in the cloud, and everything is there. Even if there is a crash, everything is still there. I don't lose anything. That's what is the most valuable and likable. It is really a professional solution for designing. The designs look really nice in the PDF."
- "They have to improve shapes. It has good shapes, but it certainly can have more shapes. There are no U shapes. It also requires more customizations. There are a lot of icons, but they can be modernized more. These icons have to be more customizable so that we are able to change the color and things like that. It should also have more integration so that we can use it with other tools on the web. We don't use Microsoft Teams. We use Discord, which is more for gamers. It would be helpful if Visio is integrated with Discord. I can then show my work to my team. We use Visio, and it is a must-have solution for us, but being a startup, we don't have the money to use the whole Microsoft system. Some day we will use Office. For companies like us, there should be connectors for other software. We should be able to use a connector with the software that we are using or with the new generation solutions. Connectors will make it very easy to transfer data."
What is our primary use case?
I use it to design business models, cyber defense portals, and pictures. We are using the latest version of Visio.
How has it helped my organization?
We tried other design tools from Google and other companies. We also tried a few open-source solutions, and frankly, you don't get that professional finish in any other solution. Visio is more professional and accurate.
What is most valuable?
I like all the features. I go online, and everything pops there. It is in the cloud, and everything is there. Even if there is a crash, everything is still there. I don't lose anything. That's what is the most valuable and likable.
It is really a professional solution for designing. The designs look really nice in the PDF.
What needs improvement?
They have to improve shapes. It has good shapes, but it certainly can have more shapes. There are no U shapes. It also requires more customizations. There are a lot of icons, but they can be modernized more. These icons have to be more customizable so that we are able to change the color and things like that.
It should also have more integration so that we can use it with other tools on the web. We don't use Microsoft Teams. We use Discord, which is more for gamers. It would be helpful if Visio is integrated with Discord. I can then show my work to my team.
We use Visio, and it is a must-have solution for us, but being a startup, we don't have the money to use the whole Microsoft system. Some day we will use Office. For companies like us, there should be connectors for other software. We should be able to use a connector with the software that we are using or with the new generation solutions. Connectors will make it very easy to transfer data.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Visio for three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. I never had a bug.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. We are a small organization. We are a part of a startup, and there are about five to seven users who use it, which is not a big number, but it is enough for us. Architects and web designers are some of the users of this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
I never needed their service. It is so easy to use and stable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used a workflow, which was free, but it wasn't better than Visio.
How was the initial setup?
It is really easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are some cheaper as well as free solutions.
What other advice do I have?
It is natural and professional. It is very easy. You just align and drag and drop elements. That's the only thing Visio needs.
I would rate Visio a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Management Analysis and Control Advisor at VdM
Draws BPMN diagrams but lacks timing features
What is our primary use case?
Process modeling.
How has it helped my organization?
It's not easy to share and modify by colleagues.
What is most valuable?
Drawing BPMN diagrams.
What needs improvement?
Sharing, and add timing features.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Infrastructure Architect at a government with 10,001+ employees
Integrated well with Microsoft tools and the Office suite, but it needs better support for third-party tools
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is that it is integrated with other tools in the Microsoft Office suite, as well as at the backend with products like SharePoint and Microsoft Teams."
- "I think that it feels a bit outside with respect to the icons that are available."
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is that it is integrated with other tools in the Microsoft Office suite, as well as at the backend with products like SharePoint and Microsoft Teams.
What needs improvement?
I think that it feels a bit outside with respect to the icons that are available.
It should be easier to integrate with other platforms like Confluence, or other content management platforms for exporting and collaborating on drawings.
It would be helpful if Visio could open drawings from other kinds of tools.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Visio for at least 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution and we plan to continue using it for the foreseeable future.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Visio is a scalable product. We have perhaps 300 users in the company.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not been in contact with technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not use another similar solution before this one.
What about the implementation team?
Our in-house team installed the product for me.
What other advice do I have?
If you are using other Microsoft products then I can recommend using Visio.
I would rate this solution a six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: October 2024
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