Visio or AutoCAD?

Site design is an important process in security analysis. Understanding where and why devices need to be placed and relaying that information to the executive or building management in a visual manner is of critical import for any security team. Traditionally, this process has been done using Autodesk’s design software AutoCAD. AutoCAD was designed primarily for building architecture and infrastructure layout.

The downside to AutoCAD or CAD (Computer Aided Design) programs, in general, is the learning curve can be steep. This is especially true for sales professionals who are trying to understand what to bid in a quote or RFP and don’t have the time to fiddle with nuances of a program for each individual bid. For some sales teams the answer was yet another Microsoft product called Visio. Visio made its introduction in Microsoft Office 2000, and has progressed with each subsequent release of the Office suite up to this year’s release, Visio 2007.

I have worked with both programs and usually found Visio to be rudimentary when compared with AutoCAD, but I must say I am quite taken with the flexibility and ease of use of Visio 2007. There are still some quirks that bother me, but for the most part Visio is a tool that can be a great find for a security team or sales department. The learning curve is easy and the integration to Office applications and PDFs is inherent.