2019 Esri User Conference Must-See List

In just one week, close to 19,000 people will descend on San Diego for the 2019 Esri User Conference (UC)—a full week dedicated to the latest and greatest Esri technology and its myriad applications. With so much to be excited about, here are just a few things I am particularly keen to see.

GIS—The Intelligent Nervous System

Esri UC plenary sessions are always superb, but this year’s speaker lineup is particularly exciting. Jack Dangermond, Esri President, will kick the conference off with a laser focus on “GIS—The Intelligent Nervous System.” This theme sums up his vision that “GIS technology will evolve into a nervous system for our planet where we, on an ongoing basis, measure and encapsulate knowledge, share it, and respond to issues that people care about and that need to be attended to around the world.” It will be illuminating to hear his expanded vision this year. Ambassador Stefano Toscano (Director of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining), Jane Goodall and E.O. Wilson will deliver keynote speeches as well.

ArcGIS Indoors

In March 2019, Esri released the first version of ArcGIS Indoors. This platform for developing and managing interior data for campuses, sites, buildings, rooms, people and points of interest meets a need that has long been outside the focus of traditional GIS. Indoors provides tools to convert building and facility data from CAD or BIM to 3D GIS, define interior spaces and points of interest, create navigable indoor networks, and establish indoor positing systems that enable people to navigate within and between buildings. Esri and its partner and customer communities have much to present on the new platform, which was rolled out only a few months ago. The opportunities for integration with other enterprise systems, such as enterprise asset management, space and retail management, enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management have the potential to shift the paradigm in the way we think of GIS as well the scale at which it operates.

ArcGIS QuickCapture

In general, field data collection and mobile applications have emphasized usability. Effective apps must be quick, intuitive and easy to use. Esri’s ArcGIS Enterprise platform has a wide variety of mobile apps, including Collector, Survey123 and Workforce, that enable field users to collect accurate data in the field. Because these apps sometimes prove unwieldy, Esri addressed users’ search for one-click data collection with a new app, ArcGIS QuickCapture. QuickCapture’s simple interface and configurable workflow better support real-time data input, even from moving vehicles. Esri will debut this new app during the 2019 UC.

And there’s more…

ArcGIS Urban, ArcGIS Hub and ArcGIS Notebook Server are a few more of the new platforms available to Esri users. The hard part will be deciding where to focus your attention—but that’s a good problem to have.