We use the application for process mapping through architecture. It helps visualize the activities and interactions between 3,000 different systems on the network.
Principal Delivery Lead at Arq group
Intuitive product with easy deployment and maintenance processes
Pros and Cons
- "The product efficiently visualizes various business processes, including building and networking architecture."
- "In terms of features, it could provide more automation to display data flowing through architecture."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The product efficiently visualizes various business processes, including building and networking architecture. It is quite intuitive, and there is a lot of training documentation available. We can import an Excel Spreadsheet with all the essential data, and Visio can build the diagram using it.
What needs improvement?
In terms of features, it could provide more automation to display data flowing through architecture. It should give a real-time data update.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Visio for 20 years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable application.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 30 Visio users in our organization, but soon, we will roll out the product for about 200 users. It is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I take help from our internal IT staff in case of technical issues. If they need further assistance, they approach Visio’s technical support team.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Draw.io before. It is free software and designs diagrams quickly. However, it has very limited functionality and is not suitable for enterprises. I would recommend Visio for working on business processes on a day-to-day basis.
How was the initial setup?
The product is easy to deploy and maintain. It takes a few minutes to complete the process and requires one admin executive to work on it. It received automated updates.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is inexpensive if you already have Microsoft products in your environment. The license encompasses all the required services.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Visio to others and rate it a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
SQL Server Developer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Stable and lets you create data models and diagrams
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Visio is diagram creation. If you have a presentation, you can create your data model using Visio."
- "An area for improvement in Visio is pricing. It's a costly tool for my company because it only uses Visio occasionally."
What is our primary use case?
The company uses Visio for a maintenance project occasionally. I use Visio for infrastructure architecture and create data models on it.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Visio is diagram creation. If you have a presentation, you can create your data model using Visio. The tool has Microsoft components you can find in Microsoft Power BI, particularly the drag-and-drop functionality and link creation between the two components.
What needs improvement?
An area for improvement in Visio is pricing. It's a costly tool for my company because it only uses Visio occasionally.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've only used Visio four or five times in the ten years it's been in my company.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, Visio is an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I didn't see the option to scale Visio because it's one user at a time and installed on your local machine, so I'm not sure about its scalability.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for Visio is easy because it's a Microsoft product.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Visio is a pricey tool. It's a five out of ten, cost-wise. It would be great if it had a pay-per-use licensing model because my company uses it sparingly. If Visio had a two-day use license, that would be helpful.
What other advice do I have?
My company uses Visio, but not very frequently.
My rating for Visio is eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Buyer's Guide
Visio
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
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Lead architect at Tech Mahindra Limited
Useful and easy to use
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is how easy it is to use."
- "Visio could be improved by adding more features. If you look at draw.io, they have more features. Also, if you want to design something for the cloud, Microsoft Azure still isn't enabled, so you need to install the plugin. This prototype is easily available, though."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case is for designing the architecture diagram and the network diagram.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is how easy it is to use.
What needs improvement?
Visio could be improved by adding more features. If you look at draw.io, they have more features. Also, if you want to design something for the cloud, Microsoft Azure still isn't enabled, so you need to install the plugin. This prototype is easily available, though.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for almost ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is quite good. There is not much maintenance really required. If it's on your desktop and something goes wrong, it is usually available to repair again. You don't need anyone else to maintain it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used the Sparx System Enterprise Architect, but my experience with it was limited. It was discontinued because they stopped the licensing.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was straightforward. It takes about five to ten minutes and you can do it yourself.
What about the implementation team?
I implemented myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
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.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this product an eight out of ten. I recommend this product to others because it's a useful tool for designers and architects.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
A standard and easy-to-use solution, but it needs more flexibility
Pros and Cons
- "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."
- "It is not flexible in terms of functions and modeling deliverables. When you speak of processes, the program has to describe the activities and the deliverables. You have to tell your robots how to deal with and input something, and you should have something more flexible from this point of view."
What is our primary use case?
We use Visio for mapping all the processes. It is a BPMN solution for us.
We are most probably using its latest version.
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
It is not flexible in terms of functions and modeling deliverables. When you speak of processes, the program has to describe the activities and the deliverables. You have to tell your robots how to deal with and input something, and you should have something more flexible from this point of view.
For how long have I used the solution?
I got Visio just a few months ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I don't know. At this moment, it is just used to map and see where we are. We are just trying to use this. At this moment, we like it, but we'll see with time.
How are customer service and technical support?
I didn't have to call Microsoft so far, but I might do so in the future.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used MEGA, and I feel Visio is better than MEGA because it is a BPMN tool, and it is standardized.
I have also used the free version of Camunda. It is a service, and it is easy and very fast, but it is not so well known.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is a free solution for us. It is integrated with our pack. We are trying to use the solutions that we already have.
What other advice do I have?
I am not sure if I would recommend this solution. It is not perfect, of course, but it is also not so bad. It is just a modeling system. If you want to go further and simulate the processes, you will have to use other tools.
I would rate Visio a seven out of 10.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Logistics Division Manager at 3PL
Easy to deploy, is stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is user-friendly."
- "The performance sometimes lags and has room for improvement."
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution for process mapping and improvement.
What is most valuable?
The solution is user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
The performance sometimes lags and has room for improvement.
The price has room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I give the scalability an eight out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment took under 15 minutes by following the documentation.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was completed in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay annually for the Visio license and it is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution a nine out of ten.
Visio is user-friendly and I recommend the solution to others.
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.
PMO Director | Principal Enterprise Architect at InnovationTeam
The data analysis is not good but has good stability and is easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to scale."
- "There is a limitation in Visio."
What needs improvement?
There is a limitation in Visio. The solution is not aligned with a database. I can't submit more than one request at a time or do any calculations or have multiple users, or multiple procedures.
Microsoft needs to put more effort into data analysis around the tips and workflow related to the number of skills, procedures, and any small analytical information.
I would like Visio to use AI to evaluate the processing side because currently, it is not logically based.
I would like to have reports added to the solution. For example, if I drove a business process that related to a service, and this service related to another service, I would depict some servers. Reports which predict that from more than the related service would be very beneficial. These related procedures or related processes would take place on the solution's servers, database, and application.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I give the stability of the solution a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is easy to scale.
We currently have around 20 users.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is easy to access and receive resolution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I give the cost of Visio a five out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution a five out of ten.
There may be other solutions that are better than Visio on the market but when we complete an analysis we can conclude that the cost and ease of use of Visio are good.
I recommend the solution to other users.
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.
Data Center Design Architect at a tech company with 201-500 employees
A stable diagramming tool with a useful grouping feature
Pros and Cons
- "I like that once you create what you need, you can group that, at least within that drawing, and you have access to that new stencil object or that custom object throughout that drawing."
- "The auto-routing feature could be better."
What is our primary use case?
I build either diagrams for solutions or use Visio to create illustrations for slide decks and white papers.
What is most valuable?
There's a much better library of stencils than there used to be. But I still have to create many composite objects to illustrate a software-defined data center or software-defined networking. I like that once you create what you need, you can group that, at least within that drawing, and you have access to that new stencil object or that custom object throughout that drawing.
I do know that Microsoft has extended the ability of Visio to interact with other Microsoft applications. I know you can use Visio elements in spreadsheets and Excel. I know that doing a copy and paste from Visio into a PowerPoint slide is very easy and clean now. It used to be a nightmare.
What needs improvement?
The auto-routing feature could be better. Around 2018, the auto-routing of lines was pretty close to perfect, but it's started to go downhill from there. Keeping the lines attached to endpoints while you manipulate how they run and how they interact with other shapes or near other shapes is becoming very tedious. I would like them to give us the option of opening up the rules for auto-routing and make checkbox selections of what rules we want to apply and what rules we don't.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Visio for about 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Visio is stable. It's gotten to be much more robust since Microsoft took over. It used to freeze or crash with very complex drawings, and I haven't had a freeze or a crash in years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I think it's scalable. I don't think I challenge what it can do the way I used to. I think Microsoft has probably improved how it uses memory, or they may have solved some memory leak problems because I did not have any issue with the size of a drawing.
I've never reached a limit on the size of a drawing, and usually, autosave is turned on by default. Again, right about the time Microsoft acquired Visio, the autosave function took much longer than it does now. I can also open more additional applications while Visio is running, but it used to hit its limits on that. They have improved its ability to run in the same environment with other big apps.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is getting much easier. The deployment piece was actually just part of my license. The IT team can set up definitions of which engineers get what features in Microsoft. That was completely transparent to me this time.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Visio a nine.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
Director of Mortgage Banking Projects at a writing and editing position with 1-10 employees
Easy to set up, simple to navigate, and offers good stability
Pros and Cons
- "It's a very meat and potatoes type of product and isn't overly designed. It's very easy to find your way through the solution, as it's not too complicated."
- "Occasionally, the automation feature that helps you easily add the "next step" goes crazy and it will move a bunch of stuff."
What is our primary use case?
My use case could be anything. What I like to use Visio for is business process design work. Even when we're doing a systems implementation project, I'll use it. One of the things that I tell my clients is that "Before you implement a system, you really need to check your business processes that the system is automating, to make sure that you're not automating a bad process." Therefore, we have a whole methodology on how to do business process design sessions, facilitated sessions. The outcome of those sessions is documented largely in Vizio.
Sometimes, for example, if I've got a good person working on my team, I'll be with the client, facilitating the session and we'll have sticky notes on the wall that represent the process steps, and the outcomes, and the inputs, and all that stuff. We'll be moving those around. And then somebody on my team will be sitting there with Visio, recreating it as we go. If they aren't able to do that, we just take pictures of it and then recreate it in Visio. We clean it up and make it nice looking. However, we use Visio primarily for business and/or project process flows.
How has it helped my organization?
It's a very good visualization tool that helps package everything professionally. It helps clients see where we're going. We're able to capture what we need to capture and we're able to manipulate it the way we want and make it look the way we want, and present it to our clients the way we want.
What is most valuable?
One of the features I like is the automation involved in creating a process. It's really improved over the years. At this point, when you have step one - let's say it's a rectangle with step one in it - and then you're ready for step two, you can just hover the cursor over one side, and then it will automatically add an arrow going to the next box and automatically add a new box. It saves a bit of time there. It's one less aggravation to deal with when you're creating things.
The solution hasn't changed much in 20 years. It's a very meat and potatoes type of product and isn't overly designed. It's very easy to find your way through the solution, as it's not too complicated.
What needs improvement?
Occasionally, the automation feature that helps you easily add the "next step" goes crazy and it will move a bunch of stuff on me. Usually, that's very easily recoverable, however, that's just a little aggravation we have to deal with. It's like an ongoing glitch of sorts. You need to be careful when you are moving the whole image.
If there was a way to make the finished product more interactive somehow, that could be interesting.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for decades. It's been a very long time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable. To my recollection, I haven't really had to deal with any crashes or big bugs. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I'm just a small consulting firm. Basically, it's just me and a group of trusted subcontractors that I network with across the country. The biggest project and the biggest team of people I've ever had on a project is 25.
We don't have enterprises that we deploy to. We just put it all on our computers or on our laptops and that's it.
How are customer service and technical support?
I don't ever recall using technical support, and if I did, it was likely well over ten years ago at this point. Therefore, I can't really speak to their knowledgeability or responsiveness.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. All you do is implement or install it on your laptop. It has a few defaults that I don't like, however, that I can change. For example, the process boxes might be colored purple or something, and I just want them clear, so that's not a big deal. There are some pre-settings you can adjust so that it defaults to how you need it to look every time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I have a subscription to Microsoft 365 that automatically updates all of the versions to whatever is the most recent. I have to have a special subscription to get Visio though. Therefore, I've got one subscription to Microsoft that has all of the basic Office products, and then another one for Visio and Microsoft Project.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did run across at one of my clients several years ago, another process building software. I don't remember the name of it. I'd have to look it up, however, I recall it was really slick and nice and cool. In my mind, it was a little too over-engineered and overly complicated for what I like to do. I'd have to be careful that we're not losing sight. We're not missing the forest for the trees when we get into the business process design. Therefore, I didn't really feel I was missing out by not adopting it.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a consultant.
I tend to use the latest version of the solution. I try to keep everything up to date. That said, I'm unsure as to which version I'm on right now.
We're a small consulting shop. Right now, there's three of us and the roles are generally around facilitating business process design sessions. That's what we usually do is. Typically, I will stand up and facilitate with the client. We'll have a room full of clients - maybe 10, and sometimes it has the vendor - and our team. I will facilitate, we'll capture all of the discussions. We'll put everything on sticky notes, on a wall, with our methodology. And then my folks will capture all of that on Visio and on Microsoft Word. Then we go back to clean it all up and make it presentable.
Overall, it's very easy to use. It's very intuitive and if you're documenting business processes, it does the trick. It's not like there's no other software out there that will do something similar or something as well. However, I've used Visio for so long. It's just a habit and I don't see any reason to try anything else.
I'd rate it ten out of ten. There's a reason I've been using it for so long. It does everything I need it to do without having too many confusing bells and whistles
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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