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it_user710529 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Developer Relations Engineer at a tech company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Valuable features include different chart options and the ease of building them up

What is most valuable?

Valuable features for me include the different chart options and the ease of building them up.

How has it helped my organization?

It was very useful for the high level and detailed design phases of my projects.

What needs improvement?

There are some performance issues on a different operating system which could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product for three years. It is used, mostly, for design phases.

Buyer's Guide
Visio
May 2025
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
853,868 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is highly scalable for the design.

How are customer service and support?

Not applicable.

How was the initial setup?

It is very easy to install. You just need to get the Microsoft license.

What other advice do I have?

This is great software for designing workflows for the HLD and DLD phases of the project.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
it_user708486 - PeerSpot reviewer
Multimedia Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
I use it primarily to create functional drawings. I would like the ability to change quickly between tools.

What is most valuable?

It is a good diagramming application. I am an AV systems design engineer. I use it primarily to create functional drawings. I also use it for the basic floor plan and wall elevation drawings.

How has it helped my organization?

I don't have to hand-sketch my engineering concepts. The work that I hand off to other departments is clear and easy to read.

What needs improvement?

The ability to change quickly between tools, such as pointer, connector, drawing, and text tools. Perhaps utilizing right-or-center clicking of the mouse could be an excellent addition. Also, the means of turning off Dynamic Grid by default would be a good thing.

Currently, it is on by default and has a habit of getting in the way of what I'm trying to do. A long-time Visio glitch involves the length of lines.

Sometimes, if I use the size and position window to enter a specific length of any type of line, including dimension lines, Visio simply takes it upon itself to make that line a different length of its choosing. This glitch has persisted in every version of Visio that I have used since Microsoft bought the product from its original developer.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been a Visio user since 1995.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In the sense that the product has been on the market for more than 25 years and is sold by Microsoft, it is very stable. In terms of its potential to destabilize my computer, it is not dangerous.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In companies where I have worked, its adoption rate among people in similar job functions to mine is often left to the individual. Some may be more comfortable using other solutions (Adobe Acrobat, AutoCAD). I have not seen the Visio product ever rolled out across an entire company's engineering staff. However, I suppose that this could happen.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is hit and miss. When glitches come up, it can be difficult to engage with a true expert on the Microsoft side. Some glitches in this product have persisted through the years, and versions, even when they are brought to the attention of the Microsoft Visio team.

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

Computers and OSs get old and need to be replaced. When they are replaced, the newest versions of any software are the ones that run best under the newest OSs.

How was the initial setup?

I have the product on both my home and work PCs. My company's IT department handled the installation and setup of Visio 2013 on my work machine. At home, I installed and set up Visio 2017 with no problems.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Microsoft and AutoDesk.

In my evaluation, my main criteria/question I asked was: "Do they have the best product to accomplish what I need to get done?"

What other advice do I have?

Whatever you use, it has to work for you. If the GUI is not intuitive from your point of view, you won't want to use it, and it won't be a good investment.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:

PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Visio
May 2025
Learn what your peers think about Visio. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
853,868 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
IT System Engineer at a recruiting/HR firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
we have been able to put on paper our network design, server room setup, and network connections

What is most valuable?

The feature that I like the most, as simple as it may seem, is the addition of the vendor's vectors and shapes. I'm able to utilize the actual brands of our network appliances as devices to have a more accurate picture of our actual network and the server room setup.

How has it helped my organization?

By utilizing Visio, we have been able to put on paper our network design, server room setup, and network connections. It makes things a lot easier to troubleshoot and figure out where the issues, errors, or disconnects may be happening. This also helps when explaining to the upper management any questions in regards to our network environment.

What needs improvement?

At this point in time, it serves its purpose. I can't think of something that could be improved as of today. I'm sure there is something that can be improved, but nothing for my current needs.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio probably since 2008, so it has been almost 10 years now.

I, primarily, started using it in school to do basic network diagrams, but now I've used it to even draw out full floor plans for our network designs based on our building floor plan.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There were no stability issues experienced.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There were no scalability issues experienced.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't requested any technical support for this tool. I'm sure it is great as I have used Microsoft Support in the past, and it has been great. So, I don't doubt that it would be the same for this product as well.

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

Previously, I was using PowerPoint. It was obvious why I switched over to this solution. It is the product that we needed back then when drafting the floor plans and networks.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is just like any other Microsoft program, it is straightforward. Get the software, follow the prompts to install the products and it just works.

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

As most Microsoft products, the price is not the cheapest but you just cannot pass this tool. So when you buy it for you/your team, save money and buy only what you need. We installed it in our Techroom computer so that all the members can use and access it. Thus, one license serves the purpose of all three of us.

What other advice do I have?

When using this tool, research your current vendors and manufacturers to get their most up to date shapes and vectors, so you can always design or draft your Visio projects using the most accurate picture.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
IT Business Analyst / Solution Designer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
It eases the standardization of the Business Process Model within multi-disciplinary teams

What is most valuable?

I would highlight BPMN 2.0 validation, as it eases the standardization of the Business Process Model within multi-disciplinary teams. Visio integrates seamlessly with the rest of the Office suite as any other Microsoft product, which is also worth mentioning.

How has it helped my organization?

Compared to other products we used in the past, modelling with Visio is faster and the final result in terms of appearance is more professional. Making changes to a diagram is also easier as the items and lines get re-arranged properly with few tweaks required.

What needs improvement?

It would be nice to have the possibility of exporting and importing XPDL, also considering that the Surface series are the MS flagship, there is much room for improvement when it comes to inking or drawing diagrams using pen input (which behaves like a mouse pointer).

XPDL stands for XML Process Definition Language, it is used to interchange business process model definitions between different workflow modelling tools. (e.g. Oracle Fusion Middleware)

Currently, MS Visio does not support import or export of XPDL files. Although some tools like Oracle Fusion have built in support for Visio files, I personally think this capability would be nice to have as would help companies using workflow tools modelling with Visio. As an example, the project I am working for right now uses Vitria Businessware which supports XPDL import, however as Visio does not have XPDL export capability workflows have to be created manually increasing the time to market.

WRT inking and pen input support; Microsoft Surface series lovely integrate with the MS Office suit with a functionality that allows the user to write on top of documents as if it were a printed copy just by using the pen on the screen. This functionality supports ink to shapes which transforms handwritten squares or circles into perfectly drawn shapes. This is not the case in Visio where pen support is non-existent and using it on the screen just emulates the mouse. This is just disappointing as the functionality is there for programs like Word but it is completely missing on Visio.

For how long have I used the solution?

I’ve been using this tool for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is pretty stable. We stumbled upon some bugs during these years of intense usage, but nothing major that couldn’t be solved by restarting the application.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This product is a desktop application, but coupled with SharePoint, it allows for concurrent editing of files without any issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

We’ve never had to use the technical support for this product.

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

We started using Dia (free open source drawing editor) but we required a more fast and collaborative tool with better MS Word integration and better appearance.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was as simple as installing any other MS office product.

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

Pricing and licensing depends on your needs and the time you expect to use the product. If you plan to use it for an extended period of time, Visio has two versions Standard and Professional where the Professional costs almost twice as the Standard edition with few more stencils and functionalities, but on the other hand Microsoft also offers the 365 option with one year commitment where you can use Visio Professional for almost three years before hitting the single license price.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We explored Lucidchart and Sparx Enterprise Architect as alternatives.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend anyone looking into purchasing this product to review thoroughly each version features as both are quite similar.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Information Technology Coord at a tech services company
Consultant
I find the library of shapes very helpful. The layering feature is not easy to work with.

What is most valuable?

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.

How has it helped my organization?

We have used this solution since 2009.

What needs improvement?

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.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

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.

How are customer service and technical support?

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

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

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.

How was the initial setup?

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.

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

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.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

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

What other advice do I have?

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.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Business Consultant at a financial services firm
Vendor
Templates provide a wide variety of the commonly used graphics

What is most valuable?

The templates are the most valuable feature as there is a wide variety of the commonly used graphics.

When you open a diagram, you have a number of templates such as Engineering, Network, Software, Maps, etc. that quickly organize the images you can use in Visio.

How has it helped my organization?

We can build the process workflows. It makes it easier to describe the process flows.

What needs improvement?

There is a need to keep updating the mobile icons.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for more than 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There were no stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There were no scalability issues.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is simple; just load and go.

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

It is a great investment. Use the Visio Viewer, which is for people that really don’t need to just create a view.

What other advice do I have?

It is fantastic, but avoid making flow charts a full-time job.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Change Management Consultant at a analyst firm with self employed
Real User
It is a robust tool for quick mapping. It is not user friendly when it comes to handling large number of processes.

What is most valuable?

Every aspect of it is highly valuable.

What needs improvement?

  • Template creation
  • Process conversion to SOP
  • Ability to enter thorough details for each activity that can be expanded for reading
  • Ability to create/define roles and functions and re-use them in all processes
  • Ability to establish hierarchy for related processes

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio for almost 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Surprisingly, I have not encountered any stability issues.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did evaluate other products, but I don’t remember the names at this stage.

What other advice do I have?

Microsoft Visio is a robust tool for quick mapping. However, it is not user friendly when it comes to handling large number of processes. The details that can be entered into the activities are limited. There is no option to create/define roles and functions as well as their hierarchy. Also, there is no option to enter control notes (other than the simple note tool). Also, there is no option to extract the process as a Word document. There is no option to convert the process flow into an SOP format. Creating custom templates within company’s brand specifications is difficult as well.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

PeerSpot user
reviewer1696335 - PeerSpot reviewer
Storage Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Easy to use, simple installation, and responsive support
Pros and Cons
  • "Visio is easy to use."
  • "The solution could improve by having more integration."

What is most valuable?

Visio is easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The solution could improve by having more integration.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Visio for approximately one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Visio is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have found Visio to be scalable.

How are customer service and support?

The support for Visio is very good. Microsoft always fixes bugs or problems quickly.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is easy.

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

The solution could be less expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Visio a ten out of ten.

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.

PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Visio Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Visio Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.