Visio®
SmartDraw is often compared to Microsoft's Visio®. This is understandable but the two programs serve different markets. Visio® is used by less than 10% of Office® users. 40% of Visio® users are IT professionals, the remainder are engineers and other technical specialists.
SmartDraw is the first program that empowers ordinary Office® users to create their own business graphics and is aimed at the 90% of computer users who currently don't create business graphics at all, or use a pencil and paper.
If you want to provide your users with productivity benefits of business graphics SmartDraw provides more power and better value than Visio®:
- SmartDraw is the more capable product
Automatic drawing. data-driven charts, integration with Google maps, image editing, web page capture, one-click export to Microsoft Office® and more.
- Users actually use SmartDraw
SmartDraw automates the drawing process—adding and removing lines, arranging shapes, and applying perfect graphic design for users, so they use it more. Stop paying for software that is rarely or never used.
- SmartDraw needs little to no support
Even the most novice users can become instantly productive with SmartDraw. That means they need less support. When they do, direct users to SmartDraw's free, 1-800 help desk in San Diego, CA.
- Simplified installation and maintenance
SmartDraw's network installation options allow you to install and configure in the way that's best for you.
- SmartDraw licensing is more affordable
The licensing costs for SmartDraw are much less than for Visio®.
In short, SmartDraw is appreciated by your users, easy on your staff, and light on your budget. It's the better choice.
A side-by-side feature set comparison clearly demonstrates that SmartDraw is a more powerful tool than Visio®.
| Feature |
SmartDraw |
Visio® 2007* |
Pre-designed templates |
1900 |
152 |
Automated Command-Driven drawing |
x |
|
Automatic Project Charts |
x |
x |
Automatic Timelines |
x |
x |
Automatic Flowcharting |
x |
|
Automatic Swim lanes |
x |
|
Automatic Org Chart formatting |
x |
|
Automatic Mind Maps |
x |
|
Automatic Decision Trees |
x |
|
Automatic Cause and Effect Diagrams |
x |
|
Automatic Genograms |
x |
|
Data-driven Charts and Graphs |
x |
|
Live Maps (with live data from Google Maps) |
x |
|
Integrated Photo capability |
x |
|
New Office® 2007 "ribbon" Interface |
x |
|
One-Click transfer to Office® 2007 & PDF |
x |
|
Built-in PowerPoint® Animation |
x |
|
Automatically grow the drawing area |
x |
|
Automatic web site mapping |
x |
x |
Drag & Drop Drawing |
x |
x |
Programming Language |
|
x |
Even though SmartDraw does more than Visio®, the total cost of ownership—especially for multi-seat installations—is significantly less, as shown in the table below.
|
Visio® 2007* |
SmartDraw |
|
| Seats |
Acquisition |
Maintenance |
Total |
Acquisition |
Maintenance |
Total |
Savings |
|
|
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
|
|
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
|
|
| 1 |
$443 |
$128 |
$128 |
$699 |
$197 |
$49 |
$49 |
$295 |
$404 |
| 5 |
$2,215 |
$647 |
$647 |
$3,508 |
$895 |
$245 |
$245 |
$1,385 |
$2,123 |
| 10 |
$4,430 |
$1,279
| $1,279 |
$6,988 |
$1,695 |
$490 |
$490 |
$2,675 |
$4,313 |
| 50 |
$22,150 |
$6,339
| $6,339 |
$34,828 |
$8,475 |
$2,450 |
$2,450 |
$13,375 |
$21,453 |
* Visio® 2007 Pro
Switching from Visio® to SmartDraw
If your company is like most, Visio® is used by less than 10% of your users. This means the other 90% completely miss out on the benefits of business graphics. Why? Because Visio® is simply too hard to learn and use. What's more, it's a nightmare to support.
Converting Visio® Files to SmartDraw format
There is no need to switch existing Visio® users to SmartDraw. Let them keep it and continue to use it. When they need to share files with SmartDraw users, they can use SmartDraw to convert any Visio® file into SmartDraw format—which is totally editable by any SmartDraw user. With batch processing they can even convert an entire directory of Visio® files to SmartDraw format at once.
