Visio Reviews

We mostly use this solution for process management and for diagram modeling. Functional diagrams or BPMN partition diagrams — that's all. Some nice drawings for presentations.

Almost all of our employees use bundled Microsoft products and because they have no administrative rights, they cannot install additional programs. We use Visio to present our diagrams to our employees as it's too complicated to explain how to use our services over and over. If we had a BPM platform and a diagram modeling solution, we would not use Visio.

Within our organization, there are roughly 100 people that use this solution.

I am not sure if our company has plans to keep using Visio — it's not up to me. If we were to stop using it, I wouldn't miss it.

To me, Visio doesn't really stand apart from similar solutions that I have used. When it first came out, it was quite a progressive product. As it's simply for drawing and painting diagrams, lines, flowcharts, the price is too high. I do not understand why this product is not included in the Microsoft Office package.

I personally wouldn't buy Visio even if it were 10 times cheaper because I only use it at work for diagram modeling; it's not a unique product anymore. 

It's both stable and flexible, but many features are complicated. The application grid seems to be unreliable which makes simple tasks complicated. It's not very easy to make diagrams the way I would like them to look.

It should be easier to convert to other vector graphic file formats. Auto error-correction features would also be a big help. If you have a diagram and you scroll your mouse too far, you'll lose your diagram. 

I have been using Visio for nearly two years. 

Visio is stable.

We contact them from time to time. I am satisfied with them.

My boss signed a decision and an IT support unit installed Visio. It only took a couple of minutes. There were absolutely no problems regarding the installation of the product.

Personally, I think the price of this solution is too high. I need this product for my work. I have also bought Office 365 for myself, for my personal office. But if I want to work at home, I can't use Visio due to the price.

No. But currently, we are in the process of studying other business process management solutions, including Microsoft Dynamics. 

In the near future, I would like to see an updated product with diagram usage in BPM systems.

I would recommend Visio to other companies if money is not a problem. Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of eight.

The most valuable features are that the user experience is simple, and it's customizable. You can customize it and connect it to data.

It has also many features that allow it to integrate Visio with SharePoint, which might be very useful in many applications.

In earlier versions, there was better database modeling. The database modeling has deteriorated significantly in the more current versions.

In Version 2000, the database modeling was pretty decent. Since then, it has deteriorated and a lot of the functionality has disappeared from Visio.

I have been using Visio for five years.

I am working with the latest version.

Now it is stable. In the past, it wasn't perfectly stable. with richer functionality, at least for the databases, but right now it's pretty stable.

The scalability has limitations. It could not model large sets of entities. 200 is probably a reasonable limit.

The initial setup is easy. It took a maximum of 15 minutes to deploy but it can be less. 

Yesterday when I installed it, it only took five minutes.

It's cheaper than other solutions.

I would recommend this solution as a starting point and as a benchmark to evaluate other tools because it is much cheaper. Also for starting modeling, database modeling, other UML, as well as other templates for modeling and business process modeling.

It integrates well with SharePoint.

It's a good tool to start working with and to use it as a benchmark with some more expensive tools. If those tools don't provide more features than Visio then they are not worth investing in.

I would rate this solution a six out of ten.

Without this product, I would struggle to do my work. That is as a business analyst. I use it to develop all of my processes.

I have no issues with Visio from an end-user perspective. It is our environment. It's not utilized by too many users, about three or four end-users every week now.

I enjoy the fact that I can go into detail with Visio. In shared communications, I can inspect for any fault in my processes. That's what I enjoy the most.

Transferring data was one of the issues that I expected Visio to have resolved. I use the older version. I'm not sure if the later versions have already addressed some of the issues.  

To improve Visio, make it easier to transfer into other Microsoft products. For example, if I copy a Visio diagram into Word. If I open it in the Word version, it doesn't work so well. 

Visio's stability is the best I've ever used. I compare it with other tools that are out there. There's some competing software that has a lot of features. I am very happy with the stability of this application.

I'm sure Visio is very scalable. From my personal use, I've had absolutely no issues with scalability. I'm able to go on and develop complex processes. 

I haven't, fortunately, had to engage with Visio's technical support.

Some people prefer to use Flow. Some people prefer to use Draw.io. I also used Draw.io a little bit and found it tedious to use. It is not as user-friendly and I found my way back to using Visio.

The installation was straightforward.

It was a couple of in-house IT guys that came over to do the installation.

I would tell somebody considering this solution to understand why you want to use the product in the first place and have a clear understanding of what your goals are. What would you like to achieve with having that product? Ensure that the goals are measurable, then implement.

I would rate Visio a seven or an eight. 

I find the library of shapes very helpful. I do appreciate that shapes are tied to various templates because it makes it easier/quicker to complete a diagram when the type of diagram you choose automatically loads the shapes that are tied to it. I frequently load additional shapes into the program to keep my diagrams fresh and promote a certain type of individuality to my designs.

We have used this solution since 2009.

The first thing that comes to mind is the layering feature of the software. It is not easy to work with and definitely needs some revisions to help users modify/control the layers easier. Even after all the years I have used this software program, I still have issues with the layering aspect and features. The reason it’s not a 10, is because when I first began learning how to use this program, I found it very difficult and not very user-friendly. I have not used the newer versions of Visio, so I am not too sure if the newer versions are any more user-friendly than prior versions. Hopefully, they are.

There were issues with stability. When attempting to have more than three diagrams open at a time, the system frequently crashes; however, I have never experience a crash with only one diagram open.

There were some scalability issues. While new shapes can be added, there is still the issue with compatibility problems with other versions of the Visio software.

Not too sure. I have never contacted tech support for this product.

I did not use a different solution. I used Adobe Photoshop for other needs that are sometimes similar, but for diagramming MS Visio is the best.

Initially, the program looks very similar to other Microsoft Office products, however once you get into the program, it is difficult to understand where to start. I tried using the software without training, in the beginning, and only became frustrated at not understanding how to use the program. However, with a moderate amount of training, creating basic 1-layer diagrams becomes fun and easy.

I obtained this software when I was attending the University of Phoenix, so with the student discount I think I paid $10, back in 2009-2010. I still have and use the same version because the software is a bit pricey and the version I have works well for my needs. I would advise others to try to get discounted pricing through educational institutions, if possible.

I did not evaluate other options. The software was originally needed for completing my college assignments.

I would recommend first determining the needs of the company and what the expectations are for the software. I would then view basic training videos available, to truly see if their needs aligns with the features and outputs of the software program.

• Network diagrams tools
• Flow charts

• Offers a wide range of diagramming tools.
• Being able to visualize an architecture for a network solution.
• Map a business process.
• Document fitout of a rack solution for on-premise.
• It allows the accurate recording and disseminating of information.

Importing templates can sometimes be a bit hit and miss.

More than five years

No, the product is quite straightforward to deploy.

Earlier versions would occasionally lock up, but recent editions have significantly improved performance.

I haven't pushed the limits of Visio. For what I have used it for, it has been able to handle everything I've thrown at it.

We've not had any need to raise a support issue in relation to Visio.

I can't comment on technical support for Visio. I haven't had to make any support tickets regarding it.

I used some basic open source drawing programs in the past, and came across Visio whilst looking to purchase Microsoft Office some years ago. I found it did everything I needed and never looked at anything else since.

Very straightforward.

In-house

Best way to express ROI for Visio would be the quick and consistent documentation that it helps create, provided that the product is used consistently for diagramming.

Just license alongside Office 365, the monthly fee is always up-to-date

No.

Does what it says on the tin, produces very nice standardized diagrams, and has some very powerful tools.

I'm into designing, so I'm using Visio for creating diagrams. Mostly it's for network, architecture, or data flow diagrams, depending on what the customers need.

What I like best about Visio is that it's flexible.

Sometimes, if I need to draw quickly, I use Microsoft PowerPoint, but if I need icons, which Visio has, I use Visio.

I also like that the solution gives me a much more powerful range of options.

The improvement I want to see in Visio is being able to edit it more quickly, particularly when pulling it out of another software and then editing it on that non-Visio software. Currently, the process affects the overall performance because it's not as quick as I want it to be.

If I were to add a new feature in Visio, and if I went wild, it's the feature of creating new diagrams from Visio, even if I'm on another document. If Visio is running in the background while I have another document open, it would be interesting to be able to draw diagrams on that document.

I've been using Visio for a few years now.

I didn't contact the Visio technical support team, and from what I know, the IT team didn't have to contact support either. Once, there was a bug, and the IT team couldn't do the installation until the next day, but even then, there was no need to contact the Visio support team. As a product, it's intuitive.

Setting up Visio is easy because you just need to check the block, click, and then it'll be set up, but that's because my company uses Microsoft 365. Setup-wise, I'm rating it as eight out of ten.

I'm not involved in the licensing of Visio for my company. However, for Visio licenses for my customers, I am.

Around fifty people use Visio within my company.

People in the company use Visio whenever necessary, but I use it more frequently. I talk to customers a lot, and I'm part of the sales process, which means I need to create diagrams, so I use Visio a few times a week. My usage is usually greater than other developers in my company.

I don't have any particular advice for people who want to use the solution, but Visio is a user-friendly product and easy to use.

My rating for Visio is eight out of ten because it's a good product.

My company is a Microsoft user.

I'm using only this tool for our full architecture block diagram development. We're using it for our action projects, what are we are running.

It's a part of our process where architecture and detailed document development are needed. That's it. From the architecture and flow diagram preparation perspective, when it comes to detailing the documentation before implementing other components can be done in Visio.

The solution is stable.

The scalability is good. We can reuse it as a model. It can be modified.

The tool is user-friendly. 

We are able to bring out what we want in terms of our architectural or detailed block diagrams.

The installation is easy.

I'm now used to the user interface. I like it. 

I can't speak to any missing features. It's been fine so far.

I've used the solution for a while. 

The product is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable and the performance is good.

We have found the solution to be scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so.

Most people in our organization use the solution. It is meant for all engineers and then architects. Managers also use it when it comes to representing some project flow processes from the point of view of management.

We haven't dealt with technical support. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are.

The initial implementation is very easy. However, I cannot recall how long it took to actually deploy it.

Our IT team handled the implementation in-house. We did not need outside assistance from integrators or consultants. 

It's just a supporting tool. I can't speak to any direct ROI.

While I know that we do have to pay a licensing fee, I can't speak to the exact details. I don't handle that aspect. I'm not sure if there are extra costs on top of the license itself.

We're a customer and an end-user.

We're using the latest version of the solution.

I'd recommend the solution. It's always a useful tool. Instead of using other drawing tools, I'd say that this one is likely the best option.  

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

I use it to create architecture diagrams. 

It serves purpose to help one get started, but it is not designed to create Modern day Data pipelines or to visualize and Manage Enterprise Architectures.

It is very easy for people to start using this tool, and we can import Visio templates that are already published by vendors such as Azure without any issue.

a) Its integration with other vendors can be better and support for other formats. For example, when we import a JPEG, we cannot customize it. Similarly, we can't utilize the BPML kind of diagrams.

b) It should natively enable importing diagrams or reference architectures from any of the vendors whose solutions are used by the customer or proposed by solution providers such as DXC

For example: AWS, GCP, VMWARE etc

We can't work in isolation in a multi-cloud or hybrid cloud world. This is a necessity.

c) The tool has to support more collaboration capabilities so that I can co-create architectures  within the organization or with my vendor partners or customers

d) As compared to some of the other vendors like Lucidchart, Visio is quite old-fashioned in terms of visual presentation. It is not up-to-date. Its visual presentation should be improved.

e) Rather than static diagrams, the tool should support API level integration  like SAP Power Designer or EA tool from SAP so that deployment of solution becomes easier.

I have been using this solution for at least five years.

I have not called their tech support. If I want to know something, I normally find YouTube videos, and I have been able to manage so far.

Its installation is easy nowadays. It is not complex.

I did the installation. 

I use Corporate subscription-based model, and the subscription is done on a yearly basis. Of course, we need internal approvals in place to get license.

It is a good tool for beginners or medium-level users. It is also good for those users who have experience in using Microsoft solutions. However, I don't consider it as an enterprise-architecture tool. It is a very generic visualization tool.

I would rate Visio a seven out of ten for its ease of use for beginners.