Visio Roadmap Leads to Web

The next version of Visio will include a user interface similar to that of Office 2007 and will simplify Web publication of diagrams for reporting, according to plans outlined at Microsoft’s 2008 Visio Conference. Visio continues to gain users as a tool for drawing diagrams and as a platform for specialized computer-aided design applications. With the next version, code-named Visio 14, Microsoft hopes to simplify the product for less-expert users while continuing the product’s expansion into data visualization and business process documentation. However, the Visio plan could change before the next version’s release in 2009 or later.

Niche Product, but Growing

Visio provides libraries of predrawn shapes and diagram layout tools that help users who are not graphics professionals create business and technical diagrams, such as network diagrams and office layouts, often with interconnecting lines that adapt to changes in layout. Visio is also used as a platform for developing custom and vertical computer-aided design applications (for example, for designing and pricing building heating systems).