Our company was looking for an inexpensive alternative to Visio. We are interested in a product that will allow us to create flowcharts and network diagrams. Visio is awesome, but overkill for us. Especilly when you consider the $250-$500 price tag (depending on the version). I did some research into open-source alternatives and came up with Dia, and OpenOffice's Draw. They both looked OK, but being the lazy software developer that I am, I did not want to take the time to download and evaluate each one.
That is when I remembered Google Docs and decided to search to see if Google offers a Visio alternative. Typing in 'google visio' into Google.com, the top result was an article on Gliffy. Gliffy is diagramming software that runs in your web browser. Similar to Google Docs and Spreadsheets. Which means I don't have to download and install anything, just create an account that was incredibly painless, since all they ask for is an email address and a password.
The few minutes I spent testing it out were a joy. It will allow my to create flowcharts and network diagrams. It is free for 5 public diagrams and only $20/year (right now). That is a bargain.
The price is right and the feature set is what I need. However, I do have some concern about storing potentially sensitive company diagram's on a third party's server. This is the same concern that I have with Google Docs. For instance, do I really want to create a network diagram with our internal server's names, etc. and store it with Gliffy.com? What about flowcharts that contain business rules revolving around trade secrets? How secure is this app? I Will need to give more thought to these questions before I could move to Gliffy as a permanent solution for our company.
Regardless, I think Gliffy, like Google Docs, will work well for my personal needs.