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VP of Networking and Infrastructure at NJA LLC
Real User
A popular diagramming and vector graphics solution that's easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "Just the fact that a majority of the industry uses it, and you've got third-party templates that were created."
  • "The only downside to Visio is the learning curve."

What is our primary use case?

I use Visio for diagramming configurations.

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved the way my organization functions because diagramming is almost similar to mind-mapping. It's a good way to get the message across and for people to understand at all levels.

What is most valuable?

Just the fact that a majority of the industry uses it, and you've got third-party templates that were created. All my vendors have templates for their products and services. It's also easy to use Visio.

What needs improvement?

I would help if they had something like a Microsoft Viewer. They also need to make this available across other platforms and not just Windows.

It would also be nice to have a portal within the product, with some agreement with third parties to get those templates through the Microsoft project portal and not have to go out there and spend time locating the templates. 

The only downside to Visio is the learning curve. Nobody off the street can pick it up that quick, and they have to learn it. They need to get some training, some tutorials, which applies to just about anything these days.

Buyer's Guide
Visio
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
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For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio for more than 15 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Visio is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If they allowed cloud deployments, you could scale it laterally or vertically.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a lengthy process, but it's easy to install. But you have to import your templates, depending on whether you want to use generic ones or specific ones.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I think costs are on a per user basis.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise potential users of Visio to explore the third-party templates and not limit themselves to what is provided because it's not enough.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Visio an eight.

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
PeerSpot user
Founder at AC Lean
Real User
Easy to use and very basic, but it's hard to manage attributes
Pros and Cons
  • "I haven't needed to reach out to technical support the entire time I've used the product. It's very basic and very simple, and therefore I've never run into any issues I haven't been able to deal with personally."
  • "To be able to extract a report for business project management notations would be ideal."

What is most valuable?

I find it really easy to use. 

You can customize the process very easy. 

You can also communicate with people ad they don't even need to have the tool. They can see the processes on the internet which makes it easy to collaborate with people that don't actually choose to use the tool. 

It's easy to use generally, due to the fact that it's really basic. 

It has also a lot of Planteria, I know how to paint in it, however, you can use different samples, depending on the structures that you want to draw. It has a lot of possiblities.

What needs improvement?

I'm working with Visio Plan 2. I find some lags on this tool. For example, I cannot manage the attributes. For example, for each figure of the process map, I cannot add any further information about it. I can't add the activity or the role that I'm using to relate to other activities. It is very limited by the information that I can use. Managing data is quite limited.

I would love to see five samples for each attempt that I include in my process. I would like to be able to add some extra information. For example, to be able to add some attributes for each item. 

To be able to extract a report for business project management notations would be ideal. Another solution, ARIS, lets you configure each item that you add to the Visio model process, and you can add some attributes that we cannot currently add. For example, calls to activity, main indicators, or a lot of descriptions, etc.

After that, to be able to export a report that shows the relation between the functions and the roles that you have related would be great. If it were possible to see different functions for each role and export it, that would be ideal.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for a very, very long time. It's been about ten to eleven years at this point. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is quite stable. We haven't had any issues in that respect. It doesn't crash or freeze and it's not buggy or have glitches.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't needed to reach out to technical support the entire time I've used the product. It's very basic and very simple, and therefore I've never run into any issues I haven't been able to deal with personally.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I'm actually currently looking into different options as I am finding Visio's capabilities a bit dated and limiting.

What other advice do I have?

I'm just a customer. I don't have a business relationship with Visio.

For how I use the solution, it's quite good and does what I need it to do. It's unique in terms of drawing processes. That said, it is getting a little bit old. There are other solutions out there that offer many more functionalities and users can work with more information on them. That's really useful. Visio, on the other hand, doesn't have the same kind of capabilities.

That's why I'm currently looking for another application to use. I want to be able to export more information from the business process management notations. Visio could potentially improve on this, and, if they don't I will have to look elsewhere for a solution that can handle this.

Overall, I would rate the solution at a six out of ten due to its general limitations at this point.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Visio
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Business Process Management Specialist and Business Continuity Management Coordinator at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Very fast with great documentation but has limited scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "The fact that it's on-premises allows you to get fantastic speed. It's got a faster response rate, it doesn't lag, and it doesn't have any latency when you're working on it."
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for business process design.

What is most valuable?

The simplicity of the solution is great. It doesn't have a lot of menus, so it's easy to navigate. 

The fact that it's on-premises allows you to get fantastic speed. It's got a faster response rate, it doesn't lag, and it doesn't have any latency when you're working on it.

The solution has a very comprehensive set of icons. It has a BPMN location and a lot of other different locations you can use at the same time.

Microsoft offers great documentation of the product.

What needs improvement?

The reason we're moving from Visio to another program is the fact that you can link the library on ARIS or Signavio. These you have to save them on the save drive which as a collaboration. It's not working for us.  There needs to be better configuration at this point. We need something a bit more flexible in that sense.

The scalability is limited.

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. Currently, once I'm done with drawing the flowchart, I need to take it and put it in that document and then explain what the flowchart is.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for four to five years at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. It's reliable. It doesn't crash on us, or freeze. I don't recall any bugs or glitches.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is average. It's not as scalable as other options. Organizations that need to expand it may run into issues.

We have about five to ten users on the solution at our company.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've never required technical support. I can't speak to the level of service they provide.

That said, there is great documentation, so it's pretty easy to troubleshoot by referencing those if you need to.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We've tried ARIS and Signavio. We're still looking for a solution that can replace Visio for us. We're looking for something that can link our library.

How was the initial setup?

In our organization, the IT department takes care of the initial setup. I wasn't part of the deployment process.

What other advice do I have?

We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with Microsoft.

We're using either the 2015 or 2016 version of the solution.

The first question a company needs to determine how complex the processes are and how much depth, how much detail they want to document. If it's simpler and they want to get away from the flow chart and then present it somewhere else (such as on a PowerPoint or a report) Visio is a great option.

However, if you want to actually manage your processor, simulator, have a database, or have workflows in order to get approval within different departments or, for example, create documents after a flowchart, then I'd recommend other programs.

Overall, I'd rate the solution seven 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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1392906 - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Enterprise Domain Architects at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
A very easy-to-use tool that provides stability to its users at an affordable price
Pros and Cons
  • "Visio is a very easy tool in general, making it easy for anyone to understand."
  • "The export and import functionality from Visio to other tools and the import and export functionality from other tools to Visio are areas with shortcomings."

What is our primary use case?

Visio is used as a diagramming software for ITM.

What is most valuable?

Visio is a very easy tool in general, making it easy for anyone to understand.

What needs improvement?

Visio is a very good product.

The export and import functionality from Visio to other tools and the import and export functionality from other tools to Visio are areas with shortcomings. Widening the export and import functionality of Visio will be a great improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio for twenty years. I am using the solution's latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Visio is a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is used to buy a single user at a time because it is meant to be client-side software, so scalability does not apply to it.

For my company, we have around one hundred licenses.

I don't know what the license cost is, but we are not planning to extend the usage of the solution in our company.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I had previously used Sparx Enterprise Architect. Every company has its own standards, which is why you use what is meant for the company, provided by the company, which is not a big deal.

How was the initial setup?

Visio's setup phase was very straightforward and easy. I bought a license to use Visio at my home.

An hour at the most was needed to deploy the solution.

One needs just to purchase the license and download it from the internet as a part of the deployment process.

The solution is deployed on-premises.

What about the implementation team?

The installation phase of Visio was carried out in-house.

What was our ROI?

I never calculated the ROI, but Visio provides me with far better than what I am paying.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

My company does pay toward the licensing costs of Visio. It is a cheap product based on my experience, and since I purchased Visio for my own use.

What other advice do I have?

To those planning to use it, I would say that it is the simplest tool.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine 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.
PeerSpot user
Adel Alfeky - PeerSpot reviewer
PMO Director | Principal Enterprise Architect at InnovationTeam
Real User
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.
PeerSpot user
Group DWH and BI Senior Manager at Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa
Real User
Easy to use, flexible, and responsive support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to understand with some hands-on experience."
  • "Microsoft should include Visio as part of their Office 365 offering."

What is our primary use case?

Visio is mainly used for documentation purposes. For example, drawing flow charts or network diagrams. It can also be used for defining schemas or application development.

In my organization, people from multiple departments use it, especially the IT team. They prepare documentation on the network architecture. Additionally, the data team uses it to create flow charts, sequence diagrams, and schemas.

What is most valuable?

The solution is easy to understand with some hands-on experience.

What needs improvement?

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

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Visio for approximately 10 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?

The solution is scalable and flexible.

We have approximately 15 people using the solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

Microsoft technical support is convenient. They have an online community for Visio and if we have created a ticket with the support they always respond promptly. We have not had any problems with the support.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is easy, it only takes approximately five minutes. You only need to go to the vendor website and download an executable file and then it is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We did the implementation ourselves. The solution does not require a technical team for implementation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

You can purchase a corporate license for more users to use the solution. We have purchased a stand-alone license and which could be cheaper.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Visio a nine 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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1628574 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Director, Digital Engg. & Enterprise Arch. at a pharma/biotech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Very intuitive and simple to use; user interface could be simplified
Pros and Cons
  • "Simple to use and very intuitive."
  • "Portability from Visio to PowerPoint and vice versa could be simplified."

What is our primary use case?

We are end users of this solution. I'm a senior director of the company and a digital engineer.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has helped us get our life cycle diagrams right and show the accountability across groups. It affects the business process sometimes at a very high level. Although it's not a BPA tool, a management tool, it has been utilized in some of those aspects and has been helpful to draw the handoff and the handshake across teams and across roles as we draw the life cycle diagram. With the various tools that come out of the box, it's been pretty helpful to get that in a pictorial fashion as it makes it easier to explain.

What is most valuable?

I like that it's simple to use and a very intuitive solution. The tools that it provides out of the box are pretty good. The out of the box categorization of flow charts helps. Its ability to take it to PowerPoint is easy as well. 

What needs improvement?

I'd like to see the portability simplified from Visio to PowerPoint and vice versa. With other products coming on the market, Visio is losing a little ground and as a result, I mainly use PowerPoint now and Visio much less. The user interface could be simplified enabling non-technical people to use it. There's something about it that makes it complicated to use. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for a few years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a pretty stable solution, I haven't had any issues around it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I haven't seen any issues from a scalability perspective. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used Confluence, PowerPoint and Precio, which have similar features in terms of what they're trying to do. They may not be out of the box, but you end up drawing it yourself. Visio is really a complementary solution as it merges when you're drawing deeper  solutions, more technical and when you're wanting clip art and pictures. It's being more in that space rather than really drawing technical stuff.

What other advice do I have?

It's important to understand your objectives, understand who the audience is and your needs. You can then make a call as to which solution suits. It's not an easy solution for non-technical folks and is generally used by technical staff in technical IT departments within corporate companies. I started as a technical person so haven't had issues with it. I really like that it's easy to draw stuff out. You don't need PowerPoint for a standalone diagram that you have only from a collaboration perspective, like the confluence etc. If you're doing a standalone diagram, trying to communicate the message in a visual format, Visio is great. 

I rate this solution a seven out of 10. 

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.
PeerSpot user
Project Development at INECO
Real User
Intuitive with an easy setup and a good interface
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution makes it very easy to make exciting pictures and designs. Everything is very intuitive and simple to figure out."
  • "The user interface could be more robust."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use the solution to make new core designs. I connect the designs to the projects I'm involved with. 

What is most valuable?

I love that interface a lot. I've been involved with design my whole life, and this solution is an excellent program in terms of assisting with design projects. You can work on quite large projects with Visio.

I've used the solution for so long, and I have so much experience with it, I'm quite comfortable using the technology.

The solution makes it very easy to make exciting pictures and designs. Everything is very intuitive and simple to figure out.

What needs improvement?

I'm not sure of the features that are missing. It's a pretty complete solution.

In some instances, I do feel that AutoCAD is a better solution to use. I find AutoCAD makes better lines and has a few better capacities.

The maintenance of the solution could be better. It might be better on a PC. I'm not sure.

I'm not sure if Visio is the best for 3D designs. One does have to make a bubble. It's typically better to do such designs in AutoCAD.

I find that, in order to get money, advertisers, etc., AutoCAD is a better solution.

The user interface could be more robust. It can export to AutoCAD, however it doesn't do so very effectively. You really struggle with exports as they end up exporting in different forms. It doesn't translate exactly. What is white in Visio ends up being black in AutoCAD. Ultimately, you have to go and fix everything. It's not that easy. You end up losing quality.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used Visio in the past 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In general, the solution is pretty stable. However, occasionally, we do experience a bug or glitch. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution depends on the project. You can only put it on so many devices. We have a rather large company, so we have quite a few people on the solution. Not everyone in our organization uses it. It's just specific departments. We're in telecommunication, and we use it in our department specifically.

How are customer service and technical support?

I'm a big fan of support. They've been very helpful in the past. I'm satisfied with the level of service they provide to me.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I'm also used to AutoCAD and I can make beautiful designs with it. AutoCAD is more complicated, the final drawings are not better than with Visio. That's the main difference.

However, when you have to sell something like Architectura, the screen isn't as clean on AutoCAD.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup isn't too complicated. It's straight forward.

You have to spend your time with it in order to funny understand the solution in the beginning. It can be a little crazy at first due to the fact that there are a lot of rules we don't use. That said, it's not difficult to learn.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I'm not sure what the pricing is for the solution. I know that AutoCAD is very expensive, therefore, it's possible Visio is comparable.

What other advice do I have?

I'm using the latest version of the solution.

I use Visio now, and I'll use it going forward. I imagine I'll always use it. I have used AutoCAD, however, I prefer Visio. It's my favorite as I'm so comfortable with all of the aspects of the solution after working with it for so long.

Overall, I'd rate the solution nine 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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Visio Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Visio Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.