Using Visio and Visio Services - Business Intelligence in Microsoft SharePoint 2013 - page 269

CHAPTER 9

Using Visio and Visio Services

You've probably used Microsoft Visio to create flowcharts, perhaps network diagrams, maybe an

org chart, or a floor plan. But, should Visio be an integral part of your business intelligence (BI)
solutions? The goal of this chapter is to provide a “yes” answer to that question by showing you exam-
ples of the value that Visio offers, both by itself, and when it's integrated with the products described
in other chapters in this topic.

Background

The Visio application achieved its twentieth birthday in 2012. The three founders of the company
designed the software so that users could build two-dimensional business and technical drawings.
What was revolutionary at the time was the building block approach: you weren't required to draw
everything from scratch. Instead, Visio provided libraries of predesigned shapes that you could use to
build your diagram.

In early 2000 Microsoft acquired what was at the time called Visio Corporation, and in 2001
it released the first Microsoft-branded version of the product, Microsoft Visio 2000. Since then,
Microsoft has released year-designated versions of Visio in 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010; the most recent
offering is Visio 2013. Most of the Microsoft releases have included both Standard and Professional
editions. Visio 2010 was the lone exception—it also included a Premium edition. However, Visio 2013
returns to offering just Standard and Professional.

More Info John Marshall, the first Visio MVP, maintains the historical chronology of Visio
on his website at http://visio.mvps.org .

Along its evolutionary path, Visio acquired fairly significant data handling capabilities, which are
often unused or underutilized in many Visio diagrams. It is those data-handling facilities, however,
combined with the graphical power of Visio, that make it such a strong contender for creating dash-
boards and other BI tools. In this chapter, you will learn how to deploy data-rich Visio diagrams in
conjunction with Visio Services in SharePoint 2013.