Simio Reviews

Pros

I absolutely love using Simio. It is such a powerful tool and it makes sense why the premium paid version is so expensive. However the biggest pro I see is that there is a free version that can be used which can help one understand the world of simulation. Simio has everything one needs to perform the complicated simulation process that otherwise would require us to write 100s of lines of code and make debugging difficult and daunting. I have been using Simio to do various distribution simulations such as uniform, exponential, triangular and so on and I don;t have to think how to do random number generation. Simio has so much more tool such as I love the reliability function where i can define what are likelihood of a machine failing and how much it would affect my throughput and productivity due to the varying repair times. The best part of Simio is that you can see the live simulation of your system in real time. Create a simulation for a M/M/1 queuing system to replicate a ice-cream store and watch how your customers arrival and service times affects your business. Fun part of simio is one can actually assing model entities with actual people and replace boxes with actual images which makes the presentation part of your system more engaging with the team. if you are a simulation guy/girl/business this software has everything one needs to validate, verify the architecture and answer questions that is not possible to be solved analytically.

Cons

It is lot of work to learn this software and there are not much resources online readily available. Most resources are integrated to Simio and so looking at videos provided by Simio and reading the help section is the way to go. The free software however cannot simulate really huge simulation system and at that point one needs to purchase the paid version. getting around the software is daunting and there are lot of aspects one needs to know to figure out how to create their system.

Pros

Simio has been easy to learn and allows great flexibility and power for modeling different scenarios. Additionally, the company has been great to work with and the staff is very knowledgeable, friendly and accessible. You can tell they have a great company culture.

Cons

On bigger models it can run a little slow, but this is probably mainly a hardware issue or a lack of modeling efficiency on my end.

Pros

The visualizations in this software are out of this world, some of the best I've seen.

Cons

The learning curve on this software is steep, very steep.

Pros

Simio software consists of standardized library. In order to focus on the visuals and to forget the analysis, this software is really easy for creating simulation models. It is no doubt the superb choice for business. It is quite easy to learn while other simulation software are quite difficult to learn comparatively. Its functionalities are really awesome with less time consuming. No doubt best ever simulation software. Matchless software with fantastic 3D animations.

Cons

There are not any specific cons about this software. Simulation is mostly written in graphical programming language which is no doubt easy for small and quick designs but as we move further this software is failed to navigate while discussing large and complex simulations. Above discuss is the only con I can hardly think of.

Pros

The support tools available for Simio are incredible. There are tutorial videos for every level of user and it's very easy to pick up quickly. The software itself is fairly intuitive and you can have simulations created from scratch in a matter of minutes.

Cons

I don't really have any cons that I can think of, maybe navigating from one area of Simio to another can be confusing every now and then.

Pros

Easy of use and very intuitive when you get introduced with the basic. It allows for easy creation, editing and analysis of complex systems simulation.

Cons

Advanced functions might get hard to use if you don't have an experienced user helping you. Error messages could be more explicit and create a reference to where the configurational conflict lies.

Pros

The program gives an incredible amount of information and is far more accurate than the spread-sheet based caclulations we used in the past.

Cons

Setup of a true working model is very complicated and terribly time consuming. This is not a simple "drop in a box or two to make a production line and there it works" type of program, you need to invest the time using accurate input information in order to be able develop a true working model. Thereafter you need to keep updating your models in order to keep them relevant.

Pros

The amount of documentation is very good. The one prepared by SIMIO is excellent. It is very easy to use.

Cons

If I have a specific doubt, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to solve it. I need a very good computer to run smoothly.

Pros

Endlessly customizable - you can pretty much model any process within your business and test variations quickly without investing in expensive prototyping processes.

Cons

Its plugin and extension functionality is still fairly basic and not as user friendly as it could be.

Pros

-It is completely User-friendly
-Very easy to learn
-Lots of exercises which help to learn the software

Cons

-It is running a little slow in big simulation models
-There are not enough tutorials on the internet

Pros

Can build a simple model that quickly demonstrates value to organization and then has power to scale up to much more complex as needed

Cons

It’s a VERY mouse intensive software. and many basic features are missing for making model professional looking.

Pros

Elegant interface and data structure, Siman brought to its best.

Cons

Lack of support for big models. Limitations in graphical display.
Many expressions too deeply embedded. Too much clicks required. Lack of quick programming shorcuts.

Pros

With its special process-chart like 'visual programming' technology, modeler will have more time to spend on value-added work in the simulation project. you cann't find the same level of ease of use for the competing products.

Cons

The 3D effect is still not that fancy. Cannot do very detailed motion-modeling.

Pros

The software is very easy to use. It allows the students to put together a simple working model very quickly. Its experimentation mode allows for comparison of different scenarios, and the charting features and statistical results are easy to follow. Students love the 3D animation.

Cons

Honestly, I can't think of any. The workbook for Simio provides a step-by-step illustration and truly allows the users to grasp a new modeling concept within a fairly short amount of time. Granted, it takes practice to be able to remember the features and steps, but that is true of any simulation software packages.

Pros

Object Oriented
Easy to Use
Use by Industry

Pros

Ease of use and smooth integration between various libraries. To make your animation looks great is a breeze. We have tried quite complex expressions and Simio was always up to it. It is very quick to test a concept due to objects and easy to use processes.

Cons

The fact that in the "State Variable Name" field you don't have access to the normal Expression Builder. This is true for all Assign functions.

Pros

No coding characteristic

Cons

Price

Pros

Advanced modeling constructs. Exceptional support. Regularly adds new features. Great user support group.

Cons

Need a Mac and Linux version. Would be great to have programming interface with R and python. Simio when deployed in a virtual environment is very sluggish (at least the set up in our university).

Pros

Easy learning, integration and visualization with another software

Cons

Summary statics is very complex, will be more explicit

Pros

the graphics diagrams and option to validate results

Cons

Some gaps between the examples and the explanations to define the characteristics.

Pros

Easy of Use, complex ability in a user friendly configuration.

Cons

Large programs can slow down the system. Recovery is immediate afterwards.

Pros

Love the software's versatility in handling complicated scenarios! There's a feature for anything and everything!

Cons

Not a big fan of the way the statistics are being reported. I wish there was a way to output data results into an Excel sheet.

Pros

The ease of use for students to get the basic fundamentals of discrete event simulation. I also like the book and workbook associated with the software.

Cons

More tutorials on how to use certain aspects of the software for students. I also sometimes the way to get clipart sometimes gets stuck.

Pros

I have a good amount of experience with Arena and I can see how faster it can be with Simio to accomplish the same thing, especially the animation. I also appreciate the agent-based modeling with the token concept.

Cons

I find there is a lack of documentation in general. I have not found good documentation on functions and applications. Simbit is limited and examples are sometimes too complex. I have not found a description of functions and different utilization example. I would have liked to see a description of all functionalities of a server for example.

There are so many users that come from Arena, I would have expected to see documentation to address the differences and suggest best practices to approach modeling.

Pros

Very easy to get started and model most simulation-related processes quickly. Users like the customizable entities and integration of downloadable 3D models to make the visualization very realistic.

Cons

Data import of large data sets with many different attributes is limited by the current interface. Customizing entity flow is only possible to some extent.