Is Time To Say Goodbye to Microsoft Visio?
Diagramming is a very large part of how we communicate. Flow charts, process diagrams, UML diagrams, network drawings, on and on. Pictures are truly worth a thousand words. And the go-to software standard for most organizations needing to diagram is Microsoft Visio. However, working with different teams, I’ve encountered feedback where Visio wasn’t the preference. Digging in, there is many pros and cons presented and let’s lay them out here:
| Visio Pros | Visio Cons |
| 1. Market Leader in diagramming. 2. Wide variety of shapes. 3. Many IT Pros already familiar with Visio. 4. Been around for a very long time. | 1. $533 per year licensing. 2. High learning curve. Arguably, un-intuitive. 3. No Linux or Mac support. No mobile support. 4. Office365 bolt on, versus integrated product. |
Enter Draw.IO…
Application Development introduced use to Draw.IO in 2018. After spending some time with the product, I find it very comparable.
| Draw.IO Pros | Draw.IO Cons |
| 1. Open Platform for diagramming. 2. Diagram anything. Practical. 3. Linux, Mac, and Windows. 4. Free. | 1. Opensource. Slow to fix bugs. 2. High learning curve, but training helps. 3. No OLE or Windows Integration. 4. Heavy Java dependency. |
Is the shift from a paid product to a no-cost product that meets or exceeds the existing standard a good idea? Granted, learning the tool is a must to become a competent diagrammer. Are you willing to let Visio go? Care to take on Draw.IO?
Get Draw.IO here: https://www.draw.io/
Support/Training Videos are here: https://about.draw.io/support/