Questions And Answers For The ESRI International User Conference 2008

Before every conference ESRI sends out a survey out to all attendees allowing them to voice their opinions or ask any questions they might have. ESRI collates these and posts the questions and answers before the conference. With the ESRI International User Conference 2008 set to kick off next week in San Diego, ESRI has posted a bundle of questions and answers.

Dear ESRI User:

We are excited to meet with you at the ESRI International User Conference in less than two weeks.  We have a lot of information to share with you, and we’re eager to learn what you have been doing with GIS.

We appreciate the strong response to our conference questionnaire.  It’s quite lengthy and we value the time you spent answering our questions.  Your input gives us insight into your interests and the direction you would like us to take.  We have already made a number of strategic decisions based on your comments and we will work aggressively to be both responsible and responsive to your suggestions.  I urge you to read our responses to your questions below before arriving at the conference.

The technology focus of this year’s conference will be ArcGIS.  We will highlight the ArcGIS 9.3 release, which includes many quality and performance improvements as well as user requested enhancements.  As always, there will be many opportunities for sharing and learning about applications and successful GIS implementations via user presentations, special interest group meetings, and dozens of regional user group meetings.  The UC agenda is available online for you to plan your week.

You are part of an incredible group with a tremendous amount of collective knowledge.  I encourage you to contribute to the sense of community that characterizes this conference by interacting and sharing knowledge with your peers. 

Best regards,

Jack Dangermond

There are loads of questions that have been answered and this is a great way of getting a heads up before attending the conference.

Some of the questions and answers that stood out for me were:

Q: What is being planned for the release after ArcGIS 9.3?

The next release of ArcGIS (9.4) will focus on the following four key themes:

Enterprise Readiness
Continue to expand ArcGIS Server’s capabilities in respect to platforms, scalability, and security through focus on UNIX/Linux and Java support, dynamic map performance, and rich Internet application support (Flex) as well as enhancements to Tracking Server.

Productivity for ArcGIS Professionals
Simplify the user experience, streamline workflows for increased productivity, and promote collaboration with easier sharing of information. Enhancements are planned in the areas of advanced modeling, 4D analysis and visualization, map scripting, and modeling of non-spatial and temporal features among others.

Geospatial Enabled Application Development and Rapid Deployment
Building on the new capabilities at ArcGIS 9.3, the next release will continue to expand the functionality to easily and quickly deploy systems throughout the enterprise. In ArcGIS Explorer, a new look for the user interface, 2D and 3D integration, and mark-up/collaboration are planned. In ArcGIS Online, enhancements include universal find, geoprocessing, and catalog services. ArcGIS Mobile will include enhanced routing and navigation as well as support for professional GPS and additional platforms.

GIS Solutions for Business Users
ArcGIS 9.4 will extend the solution product offerings to the ArcGIS platform to build a set of tiered solutions for business and logistics. Within the Business Analyst suite, Business Analyst Online will be migrated to the Business Analyst Server platform. Also an integrated logistics solution that leverages ArcLogistics, Network Analyst, and StreetMap Mobile is planned.

Q: When will ESRI allow licenses to be checked out of the central license manager?

ArcGIS 9.4 will support the ability to check out licenses and borrow licenses from a central license manager and for use in the field.

Q: Are you considering eliminating the dongle as a license protection mechanism?

Yes. In one of the service packs (post 9.3), ESRI will support the ability to use a license manager without a dongle on Windows and Linux.

Q: When will the metadata editor in ArcCatalog be improved?

We will be overhauling the metadata editor as part of our metadata creation, management, and data sharing improvements in ArcGIS 9.4.

Q: Why is ESRI putting so much emphasis on ArcGIS Server?

The simple answer is that we see server-based computing and geoservices as a major emerging trend in our industry.  ArcGIS Server is best thought of as a server-based GIS platform, and while it certainly supports high performance Web mapping, it is also a full function, services-oriented implementation of virtually all of the ArcGIS functions and tools.

This server environment supports a rich set of out-of-the-box Web services (i.e. cached raster maps, 3D globe services, geoprocessing, etc.). It also works with a host of Web clients such as browsers, geobrowsers, and mobile environments, as well as the traditional desktop environment.

Over time, we believe GIS server technology will become the major platform for our users. It allows them to do their work better and more efficiently and enables GIS deployment to increasing numbers of users.

Q: Will ESRI support Flex in ArcGIS Server?

Yes.  In just a few weeks, the new ArcGIS API for Flex will be available. This API can be used to build fast and expressive Web applications on top of ArcGIS Server. Similar to the ArcGIS API for JavaScript, this API will include a complete online resource center with an interactive software development kit (SDK), application samples, source code, and more.

With the ArcGIS API for Flex, a developer will be able to:

Display an interactive map of their data
Execute a GIS model on the server and display the results
Display their data on an ArcGIS Online basemap
Search for features or attributes in their GIS data and display the results
Locate addresses and display the results
Create mashups (combine information from multiple Web sources)

See how the City of Boston is using the ArcGIS API for Flex for its Solar Boston application.

Initially, the ArcGIS API for Flex will be made available as a beta version. An Adobe Flex Special Interest Group meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, August 5, at noon in SDCC Room 15A.

Q: What is ESRI’s recommendation for easy-to-use redlining tools for field crews?

While there are a number of third-party applications that have built redlining capabilities for ArcGIS, there are four out-of-the-box solutions now available for ESRI users.

ArcGIS Desktop using geodatabase editing and Microsoft “ink” technology 
ArcReader with redlining capability
ArcPad markup capabilities
WebMap editing with a markup layer

In ArcGIS 9.4, ESRI plans to add additional collaboration tools to allow easier sharing of notes and markups.

Q: Will ArcPad be able to synchronize directly with a geodatabase version?

Yes with ArcPad 7.2, available as beta at this year’s User Conference, users will be able to directly publish feature classes and their related tables in a version of the geodatabase via ArcGIS Server.  The edits in that version can be synchronized directly with one or more ArcPad users.

Q: Will you support ArcView GIS 3.x on Microsoft Windows Vista?

No.  Because of technology changes in Windows Vista, we cannot support ArcView 3.x on that operating system.  ArcView 3.3 continues to be supported on Windows XP, although we no longer provide updates or fixes.

Q: What is ESRI doing to improve software quality and stability?

The ArcGIS 9.3 release resolved many quality issues. Nevertheless, we still need to make improvements. 9.3 issues will be addressed in service pack releases. Our ongoing quality program
focuses on several key elements:

Improved documentation.
More testing.
Improved incident tracking.
Rapid response to quality issues.
Periodic releases of service packs (every 3-4 months).
Integration of ESRI Technical Support and Software Development teams.
Better information about software quality issues published on the Web (knowledge-base articles, lists of fixed bugs, etc.).

We will continue to focus on improving the quality of our software across the board: installation, application use, documentation, error reporting, and scalability.  Our software release process is centered on ensuring the highest quality with the upcoming ArcGIS 9.3 service packs.

Q: What is ESRI doing with the Flex environment? Will this become a part of the product in the future?

ESRI has developed, as part of ArcGIS Server 9.3, a complete API for building rich Internet applications with Flex. This environment provides a powerful opportunity for our users to build highly interactive user interfaces for their Web applications.

The ArcGIS API for Flex will be made available as a free download in the ArcGIS Server Resource Center. ESRI will make the location of this API public during the User Conference. To learn more, visit the Adobe Flex Special Interest Group meeting on Tuesday, August 5, at noon in SDC Room 15A.

The comprehensive list of questions and answers can be found here: http://events.esri.com/uc/… with a one page listing of these here: http://events.esri.com/uc/…