ArcGIS as a Platform

Industry Perspective
www.govloop.com ArcGIS as a Platform 1

D e veloping
“GIS is changing the conversation, allowing the integration
N ew all the factors that should be addressed on a particular
of and
Aff or d abl e
decision.”
Jack Dangermond, Esri President
Oppor tuniti es

for the Mobile
Workforce in a
Secure
Environment

1 Esri Industry Perspective www.esri.com

ArcGIS Platform

as a
In this report, Jack Dangermond, Esri President, highlights how ArcGIS is transforming
the public sector, and what the future holds for geographic information systems (GIS).

Throughout history, and continu- geography continues to evolve, ArcGIS Online, Esri has created
ing today, the field of geography cartography has always served a platform that provides the op-
has led to a deeper awareness as medium to tell compelling portunity for both online map-
of our surroundings, providing stories. Geographic informa- ping, and enterprise geospatial
a visual representation of the tion systems (GIS) has not only content management, reimagin-
synergistic relationship we share revolutionized cartography and ing the way the public sector an-
with the Earth. In the ancient geography, but has led to new alyzes data to improve decision-
world, Greek cartographers cre- insights and findings in nearly ev- making.
ated maps that attempted to ery field of study. As society be-
link the physical world with the comes increasingly complex and Through ArcGIS, Esri has cre-
heavens. Maps allowed Ferdinand dependent on data analysis, GIS ated a geographic platform that
Magellan, Christopher Colum- now provides a solution to syn- extends GIS applications beyond
bus, and Marco Polo to navigate thesize complex and multivariate traditional GIS users. To improve
our oceans. Nearly 315 years af- data visually through maps. With collaboration efforts, organiza-
ter Columbus set sail, President GIS, organizations can find new tions are using Esri’s ArcGIS
Thomas Jefferson commissioned efficiencies, improve collabora- platform across their agencies.
explorers Meriwether Lewis and tion, and identify new insights Further, the emerging trend of
William Clark to explore the that would otherwise remain un- real-time location analytics has
American frontier, creating hun- known without spatial analysis. extended the adoption of GIS
dreds of maps depicting the land technology. This report will high-
west of the Mississippi. Today, In this report, Jack Dangermond, light ArcGIS for three GIS user
geography continues to provide Esri President, provides an over- communities, organizations, de-
an increasing awareness of our view of Esri’s GIS platform, Arc- velopers and location analytics.
surroundings, and has evolved far GIS. Dangermond provides in-
past the rudimentary tools used sights on how GIS continues to Dangermond’s interview reaf-
by Lewis and Clark. evolve, and how through emerg- firms that geography is a science,
ing technology, such as the cloud, and through a better understand-
Clearly, geography has played mobile, and location analytics, ing of geography, we can gather
an essential role in increasing GIS technology is transforming a stronger understanding of our
awareness and knowledge of the public sector. With the re- world and our communities.
our world. Although the field of lease of the cloud-based service,

www.esri.com ArcGIS as a Platform 2

How the ArcGIS Platform is accessible on mobile devices, tablets and on desk-
Transforming Government tops. ArcGIS features include:

ArcGIS provides a structured environment for An easy and ready to use service that includes:
map making and allows organizations to compile self-service mapping, applications across all
geographic information to share and visualize spa- devices and browsers, and geoprocessing
tial data. Dangermond notes that ArcGIS Online
is distinctly different than traditional GIS desktop/ Improved features for developers
server tools. Since ArcGIS Online is built with a
cloud and device architecture, GIS professionals Hosting and sharing applications and content
can easily manage their organizations’ geospatial
content using cloud based mapping tools and infra- Cloud infrastructure that creates a dynamic
structure. With the use of the cloud, agencies can and scalable GIS infrastructure
quickly collaborate, share maps, and bring data to
life with mapping. As Dangermond states, “What Built on open standards
we see happening is a huge technology shift, the
cloud is creating a new modality for the usage of Supports real-time data server networks and
GIS information.” all geospatial data types

In the latest release of ArcGIS Online, users can ac- Simple access through a Software as a
cess geospatial functions on any device, anywhere Service (SaaS) model
and at any time. Also, ArcGIS Online includes a li-
brary of map applications and templates for users Integration with business intelligence (BI)
to share and create customized maps, which are all tools

“ The new ArcGIS platform

strategy will change the way

that organizations collaborate

and work together.
“
- Jack Dangermond


ArcGIS for Organizations

As the public sector is tasked to increase col-
laboration efforts, ArcGIS Online is transforming
collaboration practices within agencies. Through
ArcGIS, users can access thousands of maps and
resources made by the GIS community as well as
data sets, maps, applications and tools to improve
their GIS initiatives. By creating a common GIS
environment, agencies can improve collaboration
practices through spatial data and fully leverage
GIS investments agencies have made. Dangermond This US government data portal leverages
explains, “The creation of new web apps that are ArcGIS Online: www.geoplatform.gov
associated with the cloud supports very simple
mapping and very simple use of geographic data
in such a way that many more people are learning GIS users. Dangermond notes, “We are opening
how to make maps, on top of the base maps and up ArcGIS Online with a series of development
infrastructure maps that our traditional users are code and documentation, to allow everyone from
making.” simple startups to enterprise developers to have
access to online maps and geo-services.” Esri has
With ArcGIS, Esri has led the charge in how GIS provided the development community with a ro-
can be leveraged by organizations. ArcGIS now bust set of tools and services to facilitate increased
provides organizations the ability to more broadly adoption and support of the developer community.
adopt GIS, and integrate with the cloud, mobile,
and other web applications. “Traditional GIS users In support of developers and the start-up commu-
work through the traditional desktop and user ex- nity, Esri has opened offices in startup hotbed cities
perience; with ArcGIS Online, we want to share such as San Francisco and Santa Monica, California.
maps with everybody,” states Dangermond. Dangermond mentioned that Esri hosts meet-ups
and events to help promote and engage the GIS
As the cloud has facilitated increased adoption developer community. Through these kinds of in-
of ArcGIS Online, the types of GIS users have teractions, Esri can educate developers on how to
evolved. ArcGIS Online benefits many different best leverage ArcGIS tools to build applications,
kinds of users, and in order for GIS to continue services, and support revenue growth.
to evolve, GIS experts must still exist within the
agency to serve as an authoritative source for GIS Through ArcGIS, Esri has provided developers
initiatives, manage GIS infrastructure and perform with access to a suite of ArcGIS Runtime Software
the science backbone for GIS. Developer Kits (SDKs), which can be used to cre-
ate custom GIS business applications for mobile
devices and tablets. These applications can run on
ArcGIS for Developers
any operating system and be deployed in the Apple
App Store, or the Android and Microsoft Market-
Developers can use ArcGIS to assist in developing
place.
applications, and extend the tools for GIS and non-


Further, in addition to SDKs, developers have ac- connect business intelligence platforms to GIS, to
cess to ArcGIS APIs to aid in development. ArcGIS develop geographic analysis of the rich and com-
Runtime allows developers to create applications plex analytical BI data organizations collect.
for desktop and cloud users with small runtimes
and lightweight deployment features. For organizations, BI and GIS integration is a
promising development. By mapping BI informa-
ArcGIS for Location Analytics tion, agencies can unlock new insights that would
traditionally not be known or understood. The
An emerging trend in the geospatial community is ArcGIS platform easily integrates with BI informa-
the use of location analytics and integration with tion. Dangermond states, “Our partners are really
business intelligence (BI), enterprise resource plan- excited because in a non-disruptive way, all of a
ning (ERP) and customer relationship management sudden fantastic maps can be made from BI infor-
(CRM) software. Traditionally, BI, ERP, and CRM mation.”
analytics have not been defined spatially, either be-
cause the data could not be accessed within the Mapping the Future of GIS
organization, or the need to spatially portray data
had not been expressed. Today, GIS continues to evolve and mapping is
redefining the way we interact with our sur-
Organizations typically use BI to make charts, roundings. The public sector is facing increasingly
graphs, and tables, but have yet to leverage the complex challenges that require sophisticated sta-
power of spatial data. With ArcGIS, paired with an tistical analysis tools to understand, manage, and
organization’s BI, ERP, and CRM data, organizations visualize data.
can identify new insights and find new relationships
to improve business workflows, operations, and Yet, today is unlike any other time in history, as
improve how services are delivered to customers. Dangermond explains, “The difference today is
ArcGIS and location analytics seeks to support and that now you can register maps and services in the

“ What I am excited about is that
GIS is giving insights, and

particularly spatial statistical
insights, so that a policy might be

changed.
-Jack Dangermond
“

ArcGIS cloud and discover maps and mash them lytics would shape the future of GIS. This may in-
up to discover relationships in seconds. You don’t volve spatially representing real time traffic, real
have to do all the data collection yourself, you are time transactional data, or real time environmental
actually leveraging the data that is already digitized monitoring, which will have an impact on public
by each of the federal, state or local agencies.” sector policy making.

As Dangermond asserts, ArcGIS capitalizes on GIS is certainly in a transition phase, and through
the wisdom of the crowds, and allows GIS users the ArcGIS platform, the public sector can lever-
to connect with the passionate GIS community age cloud technology, big data, and mobility to
to share public sector resources and information. transform how government operates. ArcGIS as
“This platform opens the way for simple crowd- a platform has improved GIS for advanced users,
sourcing of observational data; people are begin- and made GIS more accessible for new users. Esri
ning to share their observations, so every citizen has truly created a geographic platform through
or field worker becomes a sensor on a map, and ArcGIS, providing the GIS community the platform
that real time information goes back into web to share resources and knowledge, expanding GIS
maps, which can be combined with other layers applications and transforming the public sector.
of data.”

When asked what the next phase of GIS will be,
Dangermond responded that real-time data ana-

About Esri About GovLoop
When Esri was founded in 1969, we realized even GovLoop’s mission is to “connect government to
then that geographic information system (GIS) tech- improve government.” We aim to inspire public
nology could make a difference in society. Working sector professionals by serving as the knowledge
with others who shared this passion, we were en- network for government. GovLoop connects more
couraged by the vast possibilities of GIS. than 65,000 members, fostering cross-government
collaboration, solving common problems and ad-
Today, our confidence in GIS is built on the belief vancing government careers. GovLoop is headquar-
that geography matters - it connects our many cul- tered in Washington D.C with a team of dedicated
tures and societies and influences our way of life. professionals who share a commitment to connect
GIS leverages geographic insight to ensure better and improve government.
communication and collaboration.
For more information about this report, please
Explore our website to discover how our custom- reach out to Pat Fiorenza, Senior Research Analyst,
ers have obtained the geographic advantage by us- GovLoop, at pat@govloop.com, or follow him on
ing Esri software to address social, economic, busi- twitter: @pjfiorenza.
ness, and environmental concerns at local, regional,
national, and global scales. We hope you will be in-
spired to join the Esri community in using GIS to
create a better world.


For more GIS information, visit:
www.govloop.com/gis

GovLoop 
734 15th St NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 407-7421
Fax: (202) 407-7501

7 EsriCopyright © 2013 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online are trademarks or service marks of Esri.
Industry Perspective www.esri.com

ArcGIS as a Platform

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