Visio Reviews

We primarily use the solution for tasks such as work charts, network diagrams, and process flows.

Process flows are probably the task we do the most. It's just how she diagrams, how a piece of software or a process should work. It's improved our organization.

It's pretty basic and fun to use.

You can go to YouTube and watch training videos. There's lots of information online about the product.

The solution can scale.

The product is quite stable.

It's my understanding that the initial setup is straightforward.

It's not the easiest software to use. It's not user-friendly out-of-the-box.

I've been using the solution for about 20 or so years. It's been two decades; it's a long time.

The stability is excellent. It never breaks, and I've used it for 20 years. Its performance is reliable. It doesn't crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches. 

The solution can scale. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with relative ease.

We have around 200 people who use it in the company.

As of right now, we do not have plans to increase usage.

Technical support is fine, as long as you can get a hold of someone. that can be tricky.

Prior to this solution, it's unlikely we had a different product. It was 20 years ago, and therefore it's been a long time.

I didn't directly deal with the initial implementation. We have a team in-house that handles deployments. I can't speak to what the process was like or how easy or hard it was. Likely, setting it up was pretty straightforward and deployment takes a day. At least, that is my understanding.

We have a dedicated team that handles deployment and maintenance.

We have our own in-house team that can manage the implementation. We did not need the assistance of an integrator or consultant.

After 20 years of using the solution, our company has definitely seen an ROI. I don't have exact details, however.

We have an enterprise license. We renew it on a yearly basis. We don't pay any extra fees and we partner with the Gartner group to help us when we have to renegotiate.

I'm using the latest version of the solution. I can't speak to the exact version number.

We use both cloud and on-premises deployment models at this time.

I'd advise any company considering using the solution should first have a Microsoft team in place.

I'd rate the solution at a five out of ten.

I use the solution to make graphs and schemas for infrastructure, application, and documentation.

We need proper documentation. The tool helps us during the project initiation to visualize things.

I have used it for so long that it is the product that I can work my best with. It has a lot of features compared to other competitors. The product provides a lot of flexibility in writing graphs and customizing them. It has a lot of stencils that we can use to make it seamless. I haven't seen that in other products.

The solution is pretty expensive. It could be cheaper.

I have been using the solution for 20 years.

I rate the tool’s stability a nine out of ten.

I rate the tool’s scalability a six out of ten. I do not need to scale it much.

I do not contact support for Visio. I contact them for SQL Server. Sometimes, the knowledge of the people I talk to is not that good. Sometimes it's great, and sometimes it's not that good. It depends on the person who takes the case.

Neutral

I used draw.io in the past, but it was fairly limited compared to Visio. It didn't have a lot of functionality compared to Visio.

The setup is pretty easy. We just have to install the tool. We do not have to do a lot of configuration. It would be somewhat different in a business setup, though.

I have a Microsoft 365 license.

I prefer Visio. I have been working on it for a long time. It is a hassle to learn another tool. I will recommend the product to others. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

I use Visio when I'm writing a client report in Microsoft Word, and I want to put in a simple graphic to supplement the text or better explain something. Visio's graphics are not complicated. They're quick and easy to create, so I use them mainly for what I would call static graphics, like simple charts and diagrams.

Visio has improved my workflow by making it easy to create charts, diagrams, and essential illustrations to use in my client reports and proposals. It has saved me a lot of time I would otherwise spend creating visuals for clients manually.

One of the most valuable features is the online support from Microsoft. Whenever I'm stuck with a problem, I can contact customer support. They will almost certainly get back to me within a reasonable time frame. They're good with that.

It is easy to use online tutorials and training videos provided by Microsoft and elsewhere, such as on YouTube. So, if I want to create a new diagram, add some shapes, or increase the weight of a connection from one object to another in my graph, I can easily find out how to do that.

Another aspect that I enjoy is the seamless online integration. For example, there's the ability to download all sorts of extras like different shapes, stencils, objects, etc., for free directly from Microsoft into Visio. Also, I like that you can drag and drop online pictures straight from the Web into Visio.

There could be better integration between Visio and Word, especially when it comes to importing graphics from one to the other. Visio's graphics don't seem to play well with other applications. Sometimes I move a business process graphic to a Word document. It doesn't copy the picture correctly, or it leaves some of the connectors off. Or it puts the wrong one in or changes the font for no apparent reason. That's a pain in the neck, and it's one of my biggest complaints about Visio.

Moreover, when I connect a caption to a drawing and move the drawing, sometimes the caption gets left behind. And if you shrink the size of a drawing, I'd like Visio to scale the font automatically. Small details like this would significantly improve the product.

Aesthetically speaking, the graphics can be a bit crude and simplistic. The graphics are sufficient for most purposes, though dated in their appearance. Visio is a static program that tries to keep things simple for most users. However, I would appreciate it if Microsoft made an allowance for at least slightly more complicated graphics. As they are now, they do not inspire or motivate interest in the subject. People don't look at the graphics and say, "Wow, that's a great graphic." They look at it and say, "Uh-huh, move on. Next!" It's a lot of the sameness.

I would also love to see Visio with a more intuitive and reliable data linking feature. I shouldn't have to program or develop any complicated code. Just press a button, connect to the spreadsheet, and update it. For me, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You should trust your application so that when you need it to link, it links. It would help to know that Visio is using the latest data, mainly because you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of a customer with wrong or outdated data especially when you have a time crunch and have little time to verify if an application worked as you wish it would.

I like dynamic programs. I want to take inputs from other places and have the application automatically update my chart and know that it's correct. And not only do I want it updated, but I wish to document updates, so I can see what updates were selected and used. So, if the document references a spreadsheet or an Access database, it shows where the data came from, what version it is, and the date. If you're doing a nice bar chart in Visio and you want all the bells and whistles, you can see the source material and revision of the chart so that you don't have to go back and say, "Is this right?"

I want to create my objects and my object library more easily. I think you can do some of that, but it's not that simple. I haven't had a lot of experience creating objects, but when I did tried, it was awkward.

The support is okay, though not super great; I wouldn't expect it to be. Visio is not a program where you need a lot of hand-holding for most tasks. It's quite suitable for those who want to drag and drop, so support isn't too crucial, though there is room for improvement.

I have been using Visio since it first came out in the early 1990s.  It hasn't improved much in that time.

It's very stable. I have never had a crash in Visio ever.

For my use case, there's not much need to scale it up in any meaningful sense. When I'm writing a proposal or preparing a report for a client, I try only to put in a sufficient number or well-considered graphics to get my point across.

I typically create my graphics and place them in a Word document. And then I hope they stay together as I move things around during the editing and review processes. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. So, in terms of scalability and accuracy, Microsoft could improve integration and consistency between their Office applications.

I haven't had to use technical support very often at all over the years. I might have used it only once or twice in the past twenty-something years. I'd rate the support I received as a five out of ten. Not too good, not too bad. Thankfully, they've gotten rid of a lot of the need for that kind of tech support by putting better help and documentation online.

Microsoft offers training videos online that teach the basics of Visio well enough. I can also go on YouTube if there's something unique or unusual that I need to do. Frequently, somebody's already done it, and I can quickly learn how they did it.

Suppose you do want technical support. In that case, Microsoft has a reasonably active Visio user group. However, it's not real-time help, and you may have to wait a little while for a response. If you want somebody to help you live, you're going to have to pay a third-party company for that kind of support. I don't use Visio so much that it's worth going that route.

Neutral

I used a similar solution to Visio many years ago, designed for business flowcharts and business processing. The company that built the software went out of business.

It's easy to get started with mocking-up simple flow charts and diagrams. Still, it can get very complicated when setting out anything a bit more detailed—especially when getting titles, labels, and font sizes to match up. Suppose you want to make a custom organizational chart or a product line chart with all the details and specifications. In that case, I suspect you'll need to set aside some time to learn the user interface more thoroughly.

In-house.  

I haven't actually calculated an ROI, but I would approximate that I save at least two hours' time of cumulative manual effort for each graphic built with Visio.

The licensing process is a breeze. Buy the license and download the application from Microsoft. Enter the license key in Visio to activate the software.

No.  I've used Visio for many years.  It does what we need it to do and is good enough for the simple graphics we use, but perhaps, we could improve our graphics if we had a more dynamic and creative graphics application.

I like to call Visio a program for the graphically impaired. I use it because I hate spending lots of time preparing graphics, especially when our clients don't spend a lot of time studying them. I would recommend skipping any fancier alternatives unless your business demands it. Most people might benefit from adding quality visuals to their documents but don't have design skills. In that case, I recommend using Visio instead.

As long as you don't have excessive expectations, it will do what you need it to do and do it for a reasonable cost.

I would rate Visio an eight out of ten.

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

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.

In terms of features, it could provide more automation to display data flowing through architecture. It should give a real-time data update.

We have been using Visio for 20 years.

It is a stable application.

We have 30 Visio users in our organization, but soon, we will roll out the product for about 200 users. It is scalable.

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.

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.

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.

The product is inexpensive if you already have Microsoft products in your environment. The license encompasses all the required services.

I recommend Visio to others and rate it a ten out of ten.

Visio is used as a diagramming software for ITM.

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

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.

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

Visio is a very stable product.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

We use the solution mainly for designing purposes. It helps us design activity charts, sequential charts, and other diagrams.

They should improve the solution's customer support service.

We have been using the solution for more than twenty years.

The solution is finely stable.

The solution's customer service team could be well-equipped with the required information.

We used PowerDesigner earlier.

The solution's initial setup is straightforward.

You have to purchase a license to use the solution.

I rate the solution as a six.

This tool is mainly used by our engineers for network layout designs, to either document what's being deployed for a customer or to put together a proposal. We use it as a tool to graphically depict the network we're proposing to the customers showing what it will look like and which components will be included. We are customers of Visio and I'm the product director with sector security. 

The solution has many readily available shapes and icons. Visio is a kind of industry-standard to some extent. Many companies have icon sets that can be imported into Visio and then used for network graphics or to specifically show a manufacturer's product model number. It's very useful. Visio has always been a pretty good product with continual updates. There will often be new features you didn't know you needed but once they're included, you can't imagine being without them. They're on the right track as far as I'm concerned.

If you get large networks where you're trying to detect everything in the network and you get lots of minute details, the drawings can get too large to send via email. You have to put it in cloud storage for people to access it. That's a byproduct of having a large, very complex graphic.

I've never had any problem with stability and all of them. 

I've never heard of any concerns regarding scalability. 

Our own internal IT department deals with any support issues.

Sometimes if you have to import icon or figure sets, it can be a little bit challenging. For the most part, it's pretty straightforward. 

I rate this solution 10 out of 10. 

I use Visio to elaborate on the workflows and use cases that I see for my product, and also to illustrate specific processes for users of the product. In essence, I use Visio to help visually represent processes and as a communication tool that lets me explain things to end users in a simple manner.

At the same time, I also use Visio as a base from which to communicate with my technical team so that they are able to better understand the user's perspective while they are developing the product. I use it on both fronts, especially since I have been in a role which is more on the consulting side while having to liaise with both the end users and the technical team. For all these use cases, Visio has been a key tool which has been very helpful to me.

The tools tab within Visio has been amazingly useful, and it is updated quite frequently. Along with how Visio handles components and everything else, I would call it an easy-to-use tool. Anyone with years of experience in IT who has just been introduced to Visio won't feel like they want to shy away from it because the entire tool itself is self-explanatory.

I have personally used Visio across three different organizations that I've been in, and I have been more happy using Visio than any of its competitors.

From my perspective, Visio could probably add more help guidelines for users, and I would prefer to see more intuitive user interfaces to help with dragging and dropping, using the right components, etc. For example, more tooltips would be appreciated, such as when hovering over a component with the mouse.

It would also be helpful is there were an option to customize the fields and diagrams based on the color, because sometimes you get a black and white coloring with your diagram, whereas I would prefer to have it set to my corporate template and color scheme, which can be a bit difficult to get right. 

I have been using Visio for more than eight years.

I would give Visio a nine out of ten for stability.

Based on my own personal usage, I find Visio very scalable as there are a lot of a options available to explore. Because of this, it is often used by people like myself who liaise between product users and other people such as technical architects who need to communicate their architectures.

I don't know the exact figure, but I would say there are around 10-15 people who use it in my company.

I would give it an eight out of ten for scalability.

I haven't yet needed to reach out for technical support.

Before Visio, I used Enterprise Architect (EA).

I had my IT team help me so it was pretty straightforward. I would rate it an eight out of ten for ease of setup.

My IT team took care of the implementation, so I don't know the technicalities of it all. The IT team's work in implementing it was an organization-wide activity.

We have about 10 to 15 people with Visio licenses in my company, but I wasn't involved in the direct negotiation of the prices and since this was taken care of by my administrative office.

I would definitely recommend Visio and I would rate it an eight out of ten.