Executive Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Provides a lot of options and functionality for technical reporting
Pros and Cons
  • "It is ideal for putting out flowcharts and swim charts. It's really good. It has all the various options to use, particularly depending on what kind of audience you have. It provides you different kinds of options to insert the pictures and explain things."
  • "One thing that I always felt was missing was the ability to integrate with other Microsoft products, particularly with things like SharePoint or other Excel Office tools. It may be available, but it is not as good as it could be."

What is our primary use case?

I use Visio for pretty much all of my landscape diagrams and for anything for management reporting, particularly on the technical side.

What is most valuable?

Visio has been something that I've been using for many, many years. It is ideal for putting out flowcharts and swim charts. It's really good. It has all the various options to use, particularly depending on what kind of audience you have. It provides you different kinds of options to insert the pictures and explain things. It really suited my requirements and I love it.

I have been able to get most of my things done using what's already been provided. It comes with a lot of functionality.

Another good thing I like about it is that it is already in the cloud. It's well integrated and I don't have any additional requirements at this point.

What needs improvement?

One thing that I always felt was missing was the ability to integrate with other Microsoft products, particularly with things like SharePoint or other Excel Office tools. It may be available, but it is not as good as it could be. There are some other tools that are very well integrated, but maybe they bought the product from a different company but it looks like the integration is not as seamless as other products that I work with.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio for many years.

Buyer's Guide
Visio
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I really have not encountered any issues. It is very simple to use. I never had formal training or anything of that kind. I just started using it and I learned it as I was using it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, Visio is single user, right? There's no challenge in terms of scalability.

It's open for everybody. It's a part of a package that we negotiated as a part of our licensing agreement with Microsoft. It's available to more or less all the users.

How are customer service and support?

We have Microsoft support but I have never had a need to reach them. I think they're doing a pretty good job. There is a quarterly business review that we do for any issues that we have. That's not for Visio as such, but it is for all the enterprise products that we have from Microsoft.

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

I have never used anything else. I've always been using Visio.

We have multiple options available in the organization and Visio is one of them that I use. Of course, I use a lot of PowerPoint too, but Visio is among my favorite ones.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple.

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

I don't know pricing in particular for Visio, but since it is a deal that is negotiated, I'm assuming it's good. It's a part of the package that we have from Microsoft for all the tools that we procured from them.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to anyone would be to try it out. Not many people are very familiar with it. A lot of people probably use PowerPoint. All the people who use PowerPoint should try it out, particularly if you are using a lot of detailed pictures. It's good for the techies, primarily for explaining things to the management. I think people who are into the techno-functional and mid-management level, who also have a technical background and are moving up to the management roles, it's a great tool for those people. It is pretty flexible. It provides a lot of options and it is very user friendly and it definitely provides a lot of value.

Particularly for enterprise architects and for people who are looking at drawings or putting together landscape diagrams and trying to document things at a high level, it is very good. Not necessarily at a very granular level, but at a high level, it's a great tool.

On a scale of one to ten, for me Visio is a 10. I don't think I've ever encountered a situation where I couldn't do something with it.

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
Principal Architect at a government with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Stable, easy to set up and a very popular product within the market
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
  • "There are too many features."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is primarily used for diagramming. I use it for a couple of different things, however, it's mostly for diagramming and documenting data center infrastructure including racks, wide area networks, logical designs, physical designs, and conceptual models.

How has it helped my organization?

The ability to clearly demonstrate and create labels has helped the organization immensely. To be able to create and to provide detailed configuration guidance on what ports to plug wires into, et cetera, is useful.

We use it to discuss design, network, and configuration options, as well as provide detailed guidance to the engineers on how to connect and how to configure our data centers.

What is most valuable?

The product itself is useful due to the fact that it's widely accepted. I can go out on the internet and I can pull down stencils in VisioCafe. I can easily get pre-drawn stencils for whatever I need and that makes life a lot easier.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward.

The solution is stable. 

What needs improvement?

There are too many features. One of the things I find most annoying about Visio is the automatic connections. They're just like everything Microsoft does. They overdo it. There are too many features - especially when I have people who are not familiar with the tool. 

Users will start creating text boxes for objects that already have a text feature. For example, if you've got a computer and you take a picture of a computer or a stencil of a rack-mounted server, people wind up putting text boxes next to it instead of double-clicking on the box and adding the title there. It's mostly user error, however, it's overwhelming for new users. They don't realize what can be done.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Visio since before Microsoft bought it. It's been anywhere from 15 to 30 years. I've definitely used it for more than a decade. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable for the most part.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I use the desktop version of the product and cannot speak to how scalable the product is. It's only limited by the resources of the laptop itself. 

In our company, we have 10,000 users on the product. It's used extensively. All departments use it.

I can't say if the organization plans to increase usage or not. 

How are customer service and support?

I never need to call technical support. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are. 

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

Our organization has used the solution for decades. We haven't used anything else. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward. That said, I've also been doing this for three decades and therefore have had a lot of experience handling the process.

It's installed pretty cleanly. It's a Microsoft install and there's not really a whole lot of issues. If I don't have a stencil for what I'm drawing, I can go on VisioCafe and a couple of other websites to get them. You can get stencils for network devices, switches, routers, hubs, servers, and all sorts of fun stuff.

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

I cannot speak to the exact pricing. It's not an aspect of the solution I handle. 

What other advice do I have?

We're a customer and an end-user.

Visio is one of the only approved products where I work, and it's one of the best.

I don't know if there's a newer version out, however, the only one I'm allowed, the only one the government provides me with is, is the 2013 version.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. The only real problem is that there are too many features and it's somewhat overdesigned. 

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
Visio
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Executive Director, Global Technology Director at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
A stable diagramming and vector graphics application with a useful automation feature
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the way you can hypertext across tabs so you can actually create an interactive that you can export as a website. You can also extend it to a monitoring tool if you really wanted to."
  • "The price could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use Visio extensively for creating architecture, network and workflow diagrams. Also used for UML Class diagrams and various types of flow charts 

How has it helped my organization?

We use it to create diagrams used for architectural review. It's a great tool to create diagrams to show how an infrastructure or software architecture has being designed and then review that with the other domain architects.

What is most valuable?

I like the way you can Hyperlink objects to a URL, local file or other tabs within the same diagram. I use this to create an Overview tab with a high level digram and then link objects in the Overview to other tabs with more detail on that object. You can also save the diagram as a html page and then host on a local server to create an interactive diagram. You can also automate the creation of diagrams with PowerShell

What needs improvement?

Would be nice if visio viewer didn't require active-x.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio for over 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution. It's Visio. It just works.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is fine. It runs on each individual client. I haven't used any of the team integration hooks. We have a lot of technologists that use it and we're trying to make a move to move those architecture diagrams to be more driven by code by leveraging C4 and then model driven design through MagicDraw and that's a new journey for us. I think there are still going to be a large number of teams that still end up using Visio as it's very versatile. 

How was the initial setup?

It's all automated for our firm by our department. I run it on my Mac as well, and it's super simple to set up.

What about the implementation team?

We do everything ourselves. We set up and deployed this solution.

What was our ROI?

It's better than using PowerPoint or something else to draw the diagrams. 

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

It's not the cheapest product, but it's extremely valuable.

What other advice do I have?

I would tell potential users that it depends on how you use it. You can use Visio for everything from designing networks to organizational charts. You can also use it for so much more as it's a very versatile tool. There are a lot of Visio stencils that are available on the web. Use those.

Just do your homework. But there's just a lot of people who have contributed to creating various open-source Visio stencils. Most product vendors have already created those stencils. You don't need to go and recreate it on your own. You can go to NetApp or VMware, or Cisco and download the stencil for their products. Then it makes it very easy to use and integrate.

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

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?

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sr. Industrial Hygienist at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Helps with organization by facilitating diagramming of complex procedures
Pros and Cons
  • "It works really well for flowcharting, it can label."
  • "It should be easier to transition into a new version without having to spend so much time in just one area."

What is our primary use case?

I am a health and safety professional. I use it for flowcharting, but I also use it for drawing diagrams. 

I will do a technical assessment of a workplace scenario of equipment as well as noise measurements, and I will use Visio to draw out the scale.

There are many images that you can put in there and data to create images of workplace exposures.

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved the way our organization functions.

It's a tool that helped me diagram complex procedures. More as a picture versus words. 

It also for training and letting other people know how to do that same procedure.

What is most valuable?

It works really well for flowcharting, it can label.

Also, being able to pull the finished drawing out and put it in a Word document is easy, and very useful.

It allowed me to do some things and save them really well. And I found many different things to do with it. It's beyond flowcharting.

The latest version has taken some transitioning and it's a bit of a workaround, but it's also been good. I found the ctrl 1,2,3 buttons that I didn't know about and have been very useful. If you hit ctrl 3 it lets you do your line draw.

What needs improvement?

I just uploaded the latest version and using it now, and I'm struggling with it. It's very different than the other version I have used, and I haven't done any tutorials. 

The previous version was easier. It was easy to intuitively figure out what it did. I learned it on my own and it didn't require the review of tutorials. But with this updated version, I am definitely struggling with it. I need to go through the training and go through the tutorials. So far it seems more complex, but maybe it's just different.

It may handle images well, but I don't know yet. It is something that I would like to see in this solution.

It should be easier to transition into a new version without having to spend so much time in just one area. Providing information on what has changed and how to do it would be very helpful.

I would like the option of going back to the way of doing things in the previous version. I don't understand the block system. I had the favorites that I have to build again because somehow they got lost with the upgrade.

In my favorites, I had shapes, fans, and other things. You pull up all of your basic images or search for them, and you could drag them over into your diagram.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio for approximately eight years.

We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not had any issues with stability. It's a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is easy to scale this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have never contacted technical support.

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

Previously, I did not use another solution. It was a discovery. 

I came across Visio, I saw what I could do with it, and I just continued to expand my uses.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. With this new version, it is a bit confusing. 

With the previous version, I was able to have all of my favorites, I was able to pull objects and do an arrow as a connector, and I had to stop and learn how to do that.

I like the way it was earlier, but it could be just my learning curve.

What other advice do I have?

If you have a need for flowcharting, organizing, or creating diagrams, I think you should check it out. It's worthwhile.

Based on my previous experience with the previous versions, I would 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
IT infrastructure manager at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 20
A tool that offers plugins with multiple products to offer a range of functionalities to its users
Pros and Cons
  • "The product's initial setup is really simple."
  • "There are some issues in Visio with the connectors, and it gets tricky when you want to connect objects with each other."

What is our primary use case?

I use Visio for high-level network design, and I use it for home planning since it is easy to use.

What is most valuable?

With Visio, one of its core features stems from the fact that you can get plugins for Cisco, Microsoft, etc. In general, Visio provides a plugin for sample diagrams, graphs, etc.

What needs improvement?

It will be a great improvement if Visio gets upgraded to provide its users more in the area of 3D. With Visio, when I plan for a house and the height of its walls, I should be able to view the walls in a 3D mode, which can be a huge product improvement.

SketchUp is a program that is not as easy as Visio to build 3D models. If I want to build a house in 3D mode with Visio, then I should be able to do so with one click that allows me to change the house model from 2D to 3D. I don't have the latest version of Visio, but in the version of Visio I use currently, I don't see any 3D mode provided to users.

There are some issues in Visio with the connectors, and it gets tricky when you want to connect objects with each other. The aforementioned aspect of Visio can be considered for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio for fourteen years. I don't have the latest version of Visio. I don't remember the exact version of the solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution. Stability issues only crop up in Visio when there are some normal issues related to Windows or Microsoft Office, which may arise in cases when the system hangs.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I am the only person who uses Visio in my company.

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

Visio is the first solution I have ever used, which is one of the major reasons why I still stick to it.

How was the initial setup?

The product's initial setup is really simple.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

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

If I want to buy Visio for myself, I think it will be around 80 to 120 USD, though it is important to consider that I am unsure of its actual costs.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the overall product 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.
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PeerSpot user
Mark Bielz - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Delivery Lead at Arq group
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
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?

We use the application for process mapping through architecture. It helps visualize the activities and interactions between 3,000 different systems on the network.

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.

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.
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PeerSpot user
President at Estrada Technology Associates LLC
Real User
Having the ability to visually depict a concept that we're trying to get across is helpful
Pros and Cons
  • "The thing I like most about Visio is the stencils. As the product has matured over time, it comes with more stencils and objects that you can just pick out of the menu and go with."
  • "It thinks that it knows what you want to do, but it doesn't. It has a way of behaving that can be very frustrating from time to time. Either it moves things about because it thinks its placement should be at a certain place, or it's keeping track of things that you don't necessarily see, so it moves something elsewhere."

What is our primary use case?

I use Visio for visual rendering of technical concepts. I use the stencils that depict different workflows, data flows, or architectural structures from an IT perspective that I could render in other documents like PowerPoint or Word documents.

How has it helped my organization?

Since we work in IT, we deal with very technical abstract concepts. So having the ability to visually depict a concept that we're trying to get across is helpful. When we write documentation, we have to write it for the broadest audience possible. If you can reduce the number of words, either in technical documentation manuals or others, and do it visually, that seems to register with the targeted audience.

What is most valuable?

The thing I like most about Visio is the stencils. As the product has matured over time, it comes with more stencils and objects that you can just pick out of the menu and go with. 

What needs improvement?

It thinks that it knows what you want to do, but it doesn't. It has a way of behaving that can be very frustrating from time to time. Either it moves things about because it thinks its placement should be at a certain place, or it's keeping track of things that you don't necessarily see, so it moves something elsewhere. So when the software requires more keystrokes than one would think to either capture or register a placement, or a drag and drop function that you think should be easily executed, it sometimes doesn't always work that way. Regardless of the skill, the user experience can sometimes be interesting. The predictive behaviors of it at times can be a little bit of a drag.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Microsoft Visio for twenty plus years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

More often than not, stability is not an issue, it's a fairly stable product. I've noticed that when I have multiple products open, like PowerPoint, Excel, Microsoft, and a couple of others, sometimes it begins to act flaky and then I have to start cutting down services or closing things. In general the Office suite, sometimes it can let you know that it's going to start acting funky, or the behavior begins to be flaky. You have to just know by experience that's your cue to cut down services, close windows, close applications, because the robustness of the applications are not allowing you to be as multitasking as you want to be.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is okay. It's like everything else, most people they use at most, 30% of the product's capabilities, so there's a lot of stuff in Visio that doesn't necessarily get used. You don't know that when you do the typical installation, that a good part of the product capabilities are never going to get used. The default configuration is to load everything, as opposed to custom, and it's just easier just to let it deploy everything. As a result of that, there's a lot of functionality that gets pulled in, and memory and CPU that may be consumed that the user would never benefit from. That's just the nature of the beast.

How was the initial setup?

Setup is mostly straightforward, but there are occasions where the installation process can be prone to some issues that may not always be apparent until after you deploy it. Sometimes the installation experience requires expertise. Sometimes it's not always clear if you're going to have compatibility issues with the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version, there's been those type of subtleties in the past.

What about the implementation team?

Since I've worked in different shops, sometimes I have installed it from my own product license that I purchased. So I've deployed it from a physical media and I've deployed it from an on-site provider because I purchased the key and there was no physical media. Then there are other times where the company that I worked for, their end user computing team, or their desktop support team, because they have to keep track of the licenses, they own the deployment and the push down to the user and make it part of their image. Because there's a cost to deploying that product in some variation of the product packaging, they tried to keep control of that. 

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

Just be mindful that the software, while it's helpful, it can behave in ways that can be a little frustrating. A lot of companies say go and find a Visio-like product that can do 70% of what Visio does, for free. There have been companies that I've worked for that said we will not pay the license fee for Visio, go and get a similar product that you can download from the web that can do 70% of what you need it to do. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Visio an eight out of ten. It's a product that's been known. Many people use it. It's got an established install base. It's not flawless by any means, but since it does allow some intimacy with the Microsoft products, that's probably its greatest thing, and in a business environment, that's important. Because of its cost structure, a lot of organizations are trying to figure out if there are alternatives out there, which there are. Those other products can do much of the heavy lifting that Visio does at a cost point that, in some cases, is very attractive.

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
Victor Claveria - PeerSpot reviewer
Logistics Division Manager at 3PL
Real User
Top 10
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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Visio Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Visio Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.