Use ArcGIS Online to Manage Your Own Custom Map Gallery

Here is a link to a super post by ESRI's Keith Mann in the Fall 2011 edition of ArcUser magazine that provides a tutorial on how to customize your Map Gallery on ArcGIS Online.  This should help organizations bring their own look and feel to what is an otherwise bland map gallery provided by ESRI at ArcGIS Online.  The ability to customize should help us who use ArcGIS Online eavery day to bring our own flavor to our ESRI hosted maps.  Kudos to ESRI for providing the capability to customize our ArcGIS Online galleries.

Esri's Community Maps Program

Esri has started a Community Maps Program where individuals or organizations can contribute  geographic content to become part of a community map that Esri publishes and hosts online. Your data is integrated with data from other providers and then published through ArcGIS Online as a map service.

This program is available to any Esri user organization and other geographic data providers interested in making their data content broadly available.

Benefits

• Users inside and outside of your organization, including the local business community and the general public will be able to use the online maps with ArcGIS for Desktop, ArcGIS Explorer, ArcGIS for Server Web mapping applications, or a standard Internet Web browser.
• Eliminates the costs associated with making the data widely available, such as setting up and maintaining the infrastructure.
• Map data is hosted and maintained by Esri at one or more data centers in the U.S. to ensure high availability and performance.
• Your organization retains all ownership of its data.
• Access to your map data through an online map.
• Esri can provide the data in ArcGIS for Server map cache format that your organization can publish for internal use with ArcGIS for Server.

Watch a video to learn more about the benefits of participating in the Community Maps Program.

Esri Insider : GIS for Everyone, by Anyone

Great post on the ESRI insider Blog by Bern Szukalski on the benefits and simplicity of using ArcGIS Online to create web-based map templates.

Here is the post in its entirity:


Earlier this week I was meeting with one of the directors of a large state agency. Among other topics we discussed, he told me that his organization was adopting a policy to move away from custom application development. Whenever possible they would serve internal and public needs with off-the-shelf applications, or better yet, with those that can be easily custom-configured without the need for programming.

When asked why, he explained the last custom application they'd deployed had to be abandoned - the programmer had left for another job, had taken knowledge of its internal workings with him, and they were unable to hire (because of budget constraints) the programming expertise needed to make the necessary updates to the application.

What color is your parachute?

This same sentiment was echoed while I was visiting with a user in Florida earlier this year. They'd also been stung when several programmers left, leaving behind a key public application that they could no longer maintain.

But before I incur the wrath of developers everywhere, it's often the case that a totally custom application is the only way to provide a finely tuned user experience, or bring into play additional capabilities and components that are essential to the target user. You can only go so far with a configurable application. Nevertheless, configurable applications are easy to maintain and deploy, can be created more quickly and easily than ever before, and perhaps most importantly can be built by just about anyone.

For example, using ArcGIS Online I can assemble a map and configure how the user interacts with it, including choosing from a variety of basemaps, adding my operational layers, adjusting layer transparency, setting display scales, and also configuring what the user sees and experiences in the pop-up window when they click a map feature.

This easily authored webmap is now a building block that can be used in configurable templates that can be published directly from ArcGIS Online (see this blog post for more details), providing the ability to build a custom-configured application and deploy it literally in a matter of minutes.

In the past, doing all of the above and lifting something by coding from the ground-up would have taken a long time and a lot of skill.

A custom-configured application being authored with an ArcGIS Online map. Simply fill in the blanks and check the boxes to include the tools you want.

For more customized and extensible solutions, ArcGIS Viewer for Flex has been popular among Esri users since its introduction, and there is also a configurable ArcGIS Viewer for Silverlight, currently in beta, that leverages the same webmaps and offers the same ease of configuration; both allow you to build custom applications with little or no programming skills.

The ArcGIS Viewer for Silverlight application builder even lets you plug-in geoprocessing tools to extend the applicaton's capabilities.

While visiting a local government user a few months ago, I spoke with one of the GIS staff members who had been building a custom application using ArcGIS Viewer for Flex. He said he had chosen it not because he was particularly interested in Flex, but because he found it very easy to create a custom application even though he was not a programmer himself.

"Esri has always built great developer tools for programmers and software for the GIS professional," he told me. "My problem is I want to reach non-GIS users in my organization and post some public-facing apps. Now for the first time I feel empowered. Even I can build custom applications."

It's clear that it's easier than ever for anyone to build simple custom applications, and all you need is a browser or a text editor. "This isn't just GIS for everyone," he went on to say. "It's GISby anyone."

I couldn't agree more.

By: Bern Szukalski

ESRI TV: What's New in ArcGIS Online

ESRI just released the latest in their ESRI TV video services.  The latest shows us "What's New in ArcGIS Online."  I really like the capability ArcGIS Online brings to those who don't have a server to publish their work online.  I think as this capability matures it will help ESRI catch up to the head start they have given Google Earth and Google Maps.  It is very interesting to see the race to capture the "economy and power of free." 

What's New in ArcGIS Online (September 2011)

ESRI's Bern Szukalski posted the "What's New in ArcGIS Online" last month in the ArcGIS Online Blog, Lots of great capability coming in ArcGIS Online. I have worked with ESRI products long enough to know that I am banking on ArcGIS Online becoming the best way to display and share geospatial data online for those of us trying to work without a web server.   They have made some great strides in the short amount of time ArcGIS Online has been up and running, and it seems as though they are listening to their customers.  ESRI seems interested in trying to build "mapping communities" rather than just map users. I believe ArcGIS Online goes a long way to building this capability. 

Building an Online Mapping Community

I really like what ESRI has been doing over the last year or so with ArcGIS Online.  I believe they underestimated the value and power of an online collaborative mapping community and were surprised by the popularity of the Google Earth Community.  The last couple of years at their International User Conferences ESRI has been pushing very hard to catch up and create an online collaborative mapping community platform of their own.  I think ArcGIS Online can fill this niche well.  It is nice to see ESRI put resources and effort into this capability.  I have heard ESRI talk for the last couple of years about how important it is to harness the power of crowd sourcing so that everyone can contribute content and create maps, but the price of their software was prohibiting that from happening.  They produce state-of-the-art mapping software, but it is professionally targeted and beyond the ability of the mapping hobbiest to pay for.  What ESRI has done with ArcGIS Online is provide significant mapping capability within the reach of all people.

I have been using ArcGIS Online extensively over the last couple of months and I believe ESRI has created a great collaborative mapping platform.  We are using ArcGIS Online as the platform to host our first online mapping community, the Route 66 Mappers.  I have posted the map of Illinois segment of Route 66 on ArcGIS Online and plan to develop the route from Chicago to Santa Monica via a community format through ArcGIS Online.

Community mapping is a powerful medium to share data in an online environment.  But beyond that, Google Earth has shown us the incredible capability and significant amount of information crowd sourcing can provide.  What ESRI does through ArcGIS Online does that Google through Google Earth can't do is bring professional mappers (GIS Professionals) and collaborative sourcing together into one mapping community. I think ESRI has hit a homerun with ArcGIS Online.

VerticalGeo plans to develop several online mapping communities and leverage ArcGIS Online as the platform for all of them.  No one is more passionate about what they do for a living that GIS Professionals, that is why ESRI's User Conferences continue to grow so quickly.  I am eager to see what projects can be done with this platform.

The Future of Cloud-based GIS Analysis with ArcGIS Online

Last August the ESRI Insider posted Bern Szukalski's ideas on the future of cloud-based GIS analysis.  We heard some of this during this summer's ESRI User Conference, but it is good to see it put in writing.  Here is the post:

The cloud is growing in importance for GIS professionals, with cost efficiency, scalability, and flexibility as major drivers. We can see the beginnings of cloud options for many organizations with the ability to run ArcGIS Server in the cloud and also via Esri's managed services in the cloud.

On a similar, but yet somewhat different and exciting frontier, ArcGIS Online is a key part of the Esri vision for ArcGIS in the cloud. However, up until recently the focus for ArcGIS Online has been on the data part of GIS - making and sharing maps, apps, and other resources, and organizing online communities.

At the 2011 Esri International User Conference we introduced new ArcGIS Online capabilities - hosted services from Esri that enable anyone, not just GIS professionals, to be able to publish Web services using CSV files, shapefiles, and other sources. These capabilities also enable GIS users to publish maps via hosted services directly in the cloud from their ArcGIS Desktop, leveraging data in their enterprise and making ArcGIS Desktop the premier dashboard for Web publishing.

Currently in closed beta, these emerging ArcGIS Online capabilities will enable anyone to publish geographic information in an efficient, scalable, and cost-effective manner. And perhaps most importantly, they will make publishing GIS services that can be accessed by anyone easier than ever before.

During the Esri User Conference plenary Jack Dangermond spoke about the evolution of ArcGIS Online, and Jeremy Bartley and I demonstrated new capabilities that included publishing web services directly via ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Desktop:

As significant as these capabilities are, they are focused on publishing maps and layers. But what about the ability to use ready-to-run geoprocessing tools and perform analysis via the cloud? 

To answer that question, here's an Esri Insider peek at some very exciting work in progress from the ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Explorer Online development teams. Below is a screen capture showing the current development version of ArcGIS Explorer Online using cloud-based buffer and clip services to find the locations of wells within 200 meters of any stream:

The capabilities will include a long list of what could be described as "classic" ArcGIS capabilities, before only available to GIS professionals but soon offered via cloud-based services to non-GIS professionals alike. These promise to change how ArcGIS can be used, leveraging GIS throughout existing organizations and empowering many new users with GIS capabilities.

These capabilities will also be available in a variety of applications including the built-in ArcGIS.com map viewer, configurable Flex and Silverlight applications, and Web APIs. Stay tuned for more announcements over the next few months.

By Bern Szukalski

The Future Looks Bright for Spatial Thinkers

Great post the other day in the ESRI Insider Blog by ESRI's Jack Dangermond about the future of the geospatial industry.  Dangermond said:

Many industries have suffered during the current economic downturn.  So why is it that during this same period, demand for geospatial technology professionals has grown significantly?

I think that this trend is due to the growing understanding of the value of spatial information and analysis.  There are many reasons to implement GIS, but the benefits that we see driving organizations in lean times are cost savings resulting from greater efficiency.  And as we come out of this economic downturn, the efficiencies realized from GIS will become a standard way of doing business, so the need for geospatial professionals will increase even more.

Government has long been at the forefront of this movement, and there will be opportunities here for people with geospatial knowledge, most notably in the area of homeland security and in anything to do with increased transparency and accountability. But we’re now seeing a huge shift in momentum in the commercial arena.  Many of the future career opportunities for geospatial professionals will be in the private sector, as businesses increasingly realize the benefits that government has understood for some time.  

The current high unemployment rate is sending a lot of experienced workers “back to school” to learn new skills more relevant for the 21st century workplace. This is one factor driving the growth of focused geospatial programs at universities and community colleges, both at the degree level and the certificate level.  These programs are doing a great service by training the geospatial workforce of tomorrow. They are also providing many opportunities for seasoned geospatial professionals to take on new roles themselves—passing on their vast knowledge by instructing and teaching the next generation of geospatial professionals.

As the reach of spatial information expands, new opportunities are created for spatial thinkers in many areas.

But the career opportunities here are not just for the people who sit in front of keyboards and “do GIS”. It’s much bigger than that.  I think that the real growth opportunity is in the area of spatial thinking.  As people in all types of positions become more familiar with the value of geography, they begin to ask more intelligent questions about the world, and they begin to make more informed decisions. The coming opportunities for spatial thinkers will be even greater than those we are seeing for geospatial technology professionals.

By Jack Dangermond

SlashGeo Poll: Esri ArcGIS Online vs Google Earth Builder?

SlashGeo conducted a poll to find out which platform people preferred with regard to the ESRI ArcGIS Online vs Google Earth Builder debate.  The results are totally split.  Here are the results of the poll:

ESRI ArcGIS Online will prevail:  24%

Google Earth Builder will prevail: 24%
Both will be successes in their own way: 42%

Microsoft Bing Maps will rule them both: 2%

VerticalGeo is an avid user of both ESRI and Google Products.  This poll should have been a little more explicit in the question it asks.  ArcGIS Online and Google Earth both both do a great job with the presentation tier when producing geospatial data.  Neither do a very good job with the data authoring tier when producing geospatial data.  As far as VerticalGeo is concerned the ESRI suite of software products can’t be beat with it comes to authoring geospatial data.  The ESRI suite of software tools though is very expensive.  I believe there will soon be a proliferation of open-source geospatial creation and presentation tools that will compete against both ESRI and Google Earth.  What we really need if we want to develop a geospatial powerhouse are the robust tools that ESRI provides with the open source pricetag.

VerticalGeo will be venturing more deeply into the open source market to help provide just that.  We intend to combine cloud computing, open source tools for geospatial data authoring and maintenance, with a top notch presentation layer, all with a web-based interface, for free, in an attempt to help guild a community of geospatial users that will have a new alternateive to the ESRI vs Google Earth debate.

VGSI Attending The ESRI Federal Users Conference

Vertical GeoSolutions, Inc (VGSI) will be attending and blogging from the ESRI Federal User’s Conference (FedUC) February 18-20, 2009 in Washington, DC. Our FedUC blogs will be posted here on our Vertically Thinking Blog. If you will be attending and would like to link up please send Rick an E-Mail at: rick.marshall@verticalgeo.com.

Google Tailors Earth For DOD Users

Here's a great article on how Google Earth is creating the ability to fuse geospatial information layers for visualization purposes for the US Department of Defense. Link.

I'll have to admit, even as a die-hard former ESRI employee, that the Google Earth visualization platform is hard to beat. It is simple and easy to use, provides a good viewing tool, and Google seems to be able to responsively make changes to Google Earth rapidly to meet customer's needs. But, it still isn't useful as an analysis tool like ESRI's ArcGIS is. The DOD executive decision makers may be asking for Google Earth to help them visualize the information needed to make the tough decisions, but most of the information creating the layers behind what they see comes from ArcGIS users.

ESRI is marketing a Google Earth-like viewing platform that will work well with ArcGIS 9.2 called ArcGIS Explorer that blends good visualization tools and detailed analysis capabilities, but it still isn't quite there. I played with it extesively last week and it still has some bugs in it. ESRI is trying to compete with Google Earth, and it is sad to say, but I believe as the Google organization gets bigger and more cumbersome it should be easeir for ESRI to compete in the viewer market.