What is ArcGIS?
What is ArcGIS?
ArcGIS is a geographic information system; a series of software products produced by ESRI that handle geographic information through mapping, database, and analysis tools. The ArcGIS system is one of the most powerful and popular in existence today, and can run on Windows-based PC desktops or through more powerful servers.
Simply put, a geographic information system allows you to see the connection between data, and geography. Remember the stereotypical old crime movie, where the police pour over criminal files, trying to guess where the villain will strike next? Well, when they display the robberies geographically (perhaps by representing them with little pushpins on a map), they're using a very primitive GIS. Looking at the data geographically gives it context, and helps the people who use it to better understand what's going on.
ArcGIS, of course, is much, much more powerful than an old map and a pile of pushpins, or even the kinds of free mapping software available online today. A software-based GIS is capable of handling millions of pieces of information and can determine relationships between the events and their locations. If the cops in the old movie had ArcGIS, they could generate a color coded map, with brighter colors indicating areas with the greatest combination of low police presence, high value targets, and sinister evildoers, for instance -- provided they had the data to plug in. They could even lay it over the latest satellite imagery. Again, all this information in list form might not help the police... but if they saw through a GIS, it'd be much more likely to make sense.
All kinds of data can be analyzed geographically, and ArcGIS can handle just about anything you can throw at it -- that's why it's so popular.
- Marketing departments can plug in sales data to determine where to send brochures or sales representatives.
- ArcGIS fire training is increasingly being used with local fire departments and park services to keep track of potential hot zones.
- Academic data can determine the regional effectiveness of schools and after-school programs, as well as track the impact of factors such as proximity and per-capita income on test scores, or college attendance.
- Politicians and action groups can use polling data to determine political fault lines in areas as small as individual neighborhoods
Public, private, non-profit, military, civilian -- just about every kind of organization has data, and just about every organization can benefit from geographical analysis of that data -- an entirely undiscovered dimension of useful patterns and actionable trends exists. ArcGIS makes that easy.
Mapping Software Solutions
ArcGIS produces a number of specialized products within the ArcGIS system, many of which work in tandem.
The cornerstone of ArcGIS is ArcGIS Desktop -- a standard, full featured geographic data analysis tool. From your Windows PC, ArcGIS Desktop allows you to display geographic data on a map, query a GIS database, build models, scripts, and workflows, and study demographic trends. If you plan on dedicating one machine/analyst to digging through your geographic data, ArcGIS Desktop is the product you're looking for.
Keep in mind, as well, that ArcGIS is a highly customizable, scriptable platform -- it allows you to create your own maps, globes, and tools, based on your database and the processing power of ArcGIS. Although you can do this with Desktop GIS, another product, ArcGIS Server, allows you to share these tools across your network. If you're a large weather service, a university monitoring population trends, or a customer service department tracking complaints, you're probably looking to run Server GIS.
The powerful analysis available via GIS is also useful to many people who don't have a desktop PC in front of them; for them, ArcGIS Mobile and ArcPad provide users with GIS data in a mobile environment. ArcGIS Mobile brings the applications and database from your ArcGIS Server to the field, and allows dispatched firefighters, rescue workers, scientists, and even the occasional traveling salesperson to access and query their maps and data. ArcPad is generally used in field data collection -- researchers can gather data via ArcPad and a mobile device, and that data can be instantly integrated into your larger GIS.
Finally, if you want to integrate your GIS data into your website, ArcGIS Online is what you're looking for. ArcGIS Online allows your 2D and 3D map data to be accessed via the web, and enables users to submit additional data as well. ArcWeb Services is a complete set of web APIs that allow you to plug all kinds of information-rich GIS data into your site -- after all, if data represented geographically helps you make decisions, it can probably help your audience as well.
Here are some training courses that match this article:
Introduction to ArcGIS I
Learning ArcGIS Desktop
Introduction to ArcGIS II
See All Courses For ArcGIS >
