Spatial Report from Esri Canada

We’re going to pumpkin spice up your GIS in this episode of the podcast. First, we’ll look at how our user community is using GIS to better understand and confront climate change. Then our ArcGIS Pro GeoGeek will share what’s new in ArcGIS Spatial Analyst.

Rundown

0:00 – Introduction

1:21 – What’s Making Us Mappy

5:40 – Inside the Arc: GIS & Climate Change

14:41 – The GeoGeeks: ArcGIS Spatial Analyst

24:00 – M versus M

What's Making Us Mappy - Our hosts share one cool thing that is catching their eye in the world of ArcGIS

Mark kicks off the podcast by sharing his mappiness about the latest additions to ArcGIS Solutions. He provides a quick rundown of the six new solutions, then dives a little deeper into one that might be useful for many GIS organizations to implement – GIS Request Management.

Maggie shares her excitement about ArcGIS Online is now authorized as FedRAMP Moderate. The Federal Risk and Authorization Program (FedRAMP) in the United States granted ArcGIS Online with this higher-level security standard on July 22,2024. Learn more about what this means and what’s coming next.

Inside the Arc - Feature interview that takes our audience inside an Esri product or capability

At the forefront of many of our global conversations is climate change. GIS is a critical tool to help us understand and tackle the impacts of a changing climate. From tracking extreme weather to modeling environmental scenarios, GIS enables stakeholders to make informed decisions and drive effective climate action. To walk us through an Esri Canada resource to help us address a changing climate using GIS, we are thrilled to welcome Madison Mackey to the podcast.  She is a Technical Solutions Specialist with the President’s Office and is the creator and curator of our Climate Change Data & Resources site.

The GeoGeeks - Rotation of Esri Canada panelists share what's new in ArcGIS technology

Alison O’Brien, our ArcGIS Pro GeoGeek returns to the podcast to talk about one of her favourite topics, ArcGIS Spatial Analyst. This extension provides advanced spatial modelling and analysis tools for both raster and feature data. Alison highlights many of the new features and enhancements to ArcGIS Spatial Analyst included in ArcGIS Pro 3.3.

M versus M - Our hosts quiz each other about all things ArcGIS and GIS

Maggie takes control of the game board as she quizzes Mark about all things Paralympics. Learn more about the history and the geography behind one of the biggest sporting competitions on the planet in the afterglow of the latest event in Paris. Does Mark have his A-Game about these games? Gold medals are on the line!

For more information

Visit our website 

See our full interviews and GeoSnaps on the Esri Canada YouTube channel  

Stay up-to-speed on products and developments affecting you in our blog, Getting Technical  

Have a podcast idea? E-mail us at [email protected] 

Hosts

Maggie Samson, Product Specialist, ArcGIS Online at Esri Canada

Mark Ho, Technical Solutions Specialist at Esri Canada

The next generation of 9-1-1 is coming!  We’ll discuss how GIS will play a big role in advancing emergency response. Then our field operations GeoGeek will tell us how to keep on mapping, even when you’re disconnected.

Rundown

0:00 – Introduction

2:10 – What’s Making Us Mappy

6:36 – Inside the Arc: Next Generation 9-1-1

17:05 – The GeoGeeks: ArcGIS Field Maps Offline

28:43 – M versus M

What's Making Us Mappy - Our hosts share one cool thing that is catching their eye in the world of ArcGIS

Maggie brings back some intel from an announcement made at the Esri User Conference in July. iNaturalist is a global network of naturalists who share biodiversity observations to help identify and record species. It has over 800,000 contributors and millions of observations covering 479,000 species. This data is now available for everyone to use through the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.

Mark stays within the technical realm, as he highlights the four newest widgets to ArcGIS Experience Builder, added in the June 2024 update. He welcomes Measurement, Feature Report, Building Explorer, and My Location (Beta) to the widget family.

Inside the Arc - Feature interview that takes our audience inside an Esri product or capability

Imagine if you’re in an emergency. You pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1. But you must describe where you are and unable to leverage modern location technology on our devices. Well, that is about to change. The next generation of 9-1-1 is fast approaching, and GIS will play a pivotal role in its evolution. To help us envision the future of emergency response and address management, we are joined by our colleague Subany Arudchelvam.  She is a Technical Solutions Specialist for the Ontario Region and has worked with Esri Canada’s tools to advance NG9-1-1 in this country.  

The GeoGeeks - Rotation of Esri Canada panelists share what's new in ArcGIS technology

Our field operations GeoGeek, Sue Enyedy, loves the outdoors. You’ll often find her vacationing in the backcountry; canoeing, hiking and camping. This inspired us to talk about how to use ArcGIS Field Maps offline in places where you can’t connect to the web. Sue hooks us up with everything we need to know about setting up, receiving, and syncing your data offline using our native data collection app.

M versus M - Our hosts quiz each other about all things ArcGIS and GIS

Do you B-lieve in Maggie winning another game show? You’ll have to find out as Mark brings back the GIS Dictionary game. Maggie needs to decode the GIS term that begins with the letter B from its dictionary definition. Just the word – no spelling bee required!

For more information

Visit our website 

See our full interviews and GeoSnaps on the Esri Canada YouTube channel  

Stay up-to-speed on products and developments affecting you in our blog, Getting Technical  

Have a podcast idea? E-mail us at [email protected] 

Hosts

Maggie Samson, Product Specialist, ArcGIS Online at Esri Canada

Mark Ho, Technical Solutions Specialist at Esri Canada

As the summer heats up, it’s time to take your GIS indoors. We will chat with our indoors insider about all things indoor mapping. Plus, we’ll get the highlights of the best advancements in the latest release of ArcGIS Online from our GeoGeek.

Rundown

0:00 – Introduction

1:22 – What’s Making Us Mappy

5:54 – Inside the Arc: Indoor Mapping

20:11 – The GeoGeeks: What’s New in ArcGIS Online

30:50 – M versus M

What's Making Us Mappy - Our hosts share one cool thing that is catching their eye in the world of ArcGIS

It’s July, so Maggie and Mark have the same mappy thing in mind – Esri User Conference! Maggie is heading to San Diego for the first time, so she shares what she is looking forward to (and say hi to her at Canada Night). Mark, being the jaded veteran of the UC, offers some advice on what to see and do during the week. And don’t worry if you can’t fly down to California. You can watch the plenary and tech sessions live (register here). And that content will be published post-UC you can see it on demand. No matter how to connect with the UC – Have fun and enjoy! PS: Here’s the link to Maggie’s UC StoryMap: A Canadian Guide to Esri UC 2024 

Inside the Arc - Feature interview that takes our audience inside an Esri product or capability

When you think about GIS data, you normally think of parcels, streets, trees, or boundaries. But more and more organizations are taking their GIS inside. From space utilization to wayfinding, indoor GIS is impacting facilities management and mapping. To tell us more about the present and future of indoor GIS, we are joined by Alistair McDougall.  He is a Product Specialist for Indoor GIS at Esri Canada, and our resident expert in all things ArcGIS Indoors.

The GeoGeeks - Rotation of Esri Canada panelists share what's new in ArcGIS technology

ArcGIS Online keeps getting better and better. And on top of it all is Brandon Wheatley, our online GeoGeek. He will give us the top headlines from the June 2024 update of ArcGIS Online, including new user types, ArcGIS Web Editor, the Recycle Bin, and improved credit reporting. And be sure to tune into his webinar on July 25th to learn more about embracing the new user types.

M versus M - Our hosts quiz each other about all things ArcGIS and GIS

Survey Says? Surveying! That is the game show topic Maggie is bringing to the M versus M table, as she quizzes Mark about the history of land surveying in Canada. Which Inside Out emotions will prevail? Joy? Sadness? Anger? Tune into this country’s #1 GIS game show to find out!

For more information

Visit our website 

See our full interviews and GeoSnaps on the

Stay up-to-speed on products and developments affecting you in our blog, Getting Technical  

Have a podcast idea? E-mail us at [email protected] 

Hosts

Maggie Samson, Product Specialist, ArcGIS Online at Esri Canada

Mark Ho, Technical Solutions Specialist at Esri Canada

The Community Map of Canada is on a roll.  We’ll talk about how you can leverage our basemaps to access the most accurate and authoritative data.  And our GeoGeek drops by to give us the details on the latest release of ArcGIS Enterprise. 

Rundown

1:20 – What’s Making Us Mappy

4:55 – Inside the Arc: Community Map of Canada

20:49 – The GeoGeeks: What’s New in ArcGIS Enterprise

28:33 – M versus M

What's Making Us Mappy - Our hosts share one cool thing that is catching their eye in the world of ArcGIS

Maggie is still mappy and happy about Esri Canada Tech Trek, an internal event where our technical staff from across the country gets together for a week of learning and fun. And it’s why Maggie and Mark recorded the podcast together in the same room! Mark goes down the different rabbit hole to talk about his favourite type of map – transit maps! This is sparked by an article in the ArcGIS Blog about how ArcGIS Pro is used to make a schematic of the London Underground map. From cartographic design to wayfinding, transit maps are a special brand of map that deserves more love. 

Inside the Arc - Feature interview that takes our audience inside an Esri product or capability

The Community Map of Canada is a significant initiative by Esri Canada that fosters community engagement and enhances the quality of mapping experiences, making it a source of great pride for all of us. Today, we are joined by Amanda Hunter, a Technical Solutions Specialist with our Community Maps team. She is here to celebrate an important milestone for the Community Map of Canada—500 publications of the basemap! She will give us an overview of the basemap and how the program can benefit our users and our communities.

The GeoGeeks - Rotation of Esri Canada panelists share what's new in ArcGIS technology

Hot off the presses, the latest release of ArcGIS Enterprise was recently released. And our GeoGeek has got your back! Justin Brassard returns to the podcast to give us an overview of the newest functionality in ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3, including Map Viewer updates, ArcGIS Video Server, and custom web tools. 

M versus M - Our hosts quiz each other about all things ArcGIS and GIS

Bigger than the beef between Drake and Kendrick, Maggie and Mark are battling again for GIS supremacy. Mark brings back our favourite game Tool or Fool! Will Maggie be able to spot the real geoprocessing tools in ArcGIS Pro’s Ready To Use toolbox? Or will she be faked out?  

For more information

Visit our website 

See our full interviews and GeoSnaps on the Esri Canada YouTube channel  

Stay up-to-speed on products and developments affecting ou in our blog, Getting Technical  

Have a podcast idea? E-mail us at [email protected] 

Hosts

Maggie Samson, Technical Solutions Specialist at Esri Canada

Mark Ho, Technical Solutions Specialist at Esri Canada

What's Making Us Mappy [2:41]  

Our hosts share one cool thing that is catching their eye in the world of ArcGIS. 

Maggie marvels at the captivating creations of the Esri User Conference Map Gallery. From shimmering sea sparkle to rink magic of NHL teams, she showcases her top picks from 2023. Don’t miss your chance to shine, submit your maps by June 6!  

Mark takes into the world of StoryScapes. He highlights this monthly magazine curated by Esri Inc's ArcGIS StoryMaps team. With each issue, a new theme unfolds, offering a unique glimpse into captivating narratives through the lens of ArcGIS StoryMaps stories. Mark explores the recent, which delved into the enchanting realm of dark skies, just in time for the solar eclipse. Check out StoryScape to experience the captivating power of geography-based storytelling.

Inside the Arc [7:12]  

Feature interview that provides our audience exclusive insights into an Esri product or capability.  

Housing availability and affordability are top concerns for Canadians everywhere. Access to data and understanding the impact of building can be a significant barrier to any housing efforts.   In this episode, we're diving straight into the heart of the matter with Erin Morrow, Director of Products for Ratio.City, a Division of Esri Canada. Join us as we explore how Ratio.City, a recent addition to the Esri Canada family, is revolutionizing urban planning and development. Learn how this user-friendly platform is empowering non-GIS users to make a difference in designing cities for the future. Stay tuned for insights that could reshape the way you approach urban challenges.

Guest: Erin Morrow, Director of Products for Ratio.City, a division of Esri Canada (LinkedIn) 

GeoGeeks [20:24] 

Rotation of Esri Canada panelists share what's new in ArcGIS technology.  

ArcGIS Pro 3.3 launched  this month and our ArcGIS Pro GeoGeek, Alison O’Brien, is here to give us the scoop on what’s coming from her work in the beta testing. Join us as we discuss flood simulation, presentations and more.  

Guest: Alison O’Brien, ArcGIS Support Consultant at Esri Canada (LinkedIn) 

M versus M [28:18]  

Our hosts quiz each other about all things ArcGIS and GIS.  

Maggie takes the reins for this month’s MvM as she quizzes Mark about everyone’s favourite GIS topic: projections! Will Mark be the S.A.D.D. loser yet again? Tune in to find out. 

Lindsay Thomas from Esri Inc. joins us to discuss the power of ArcGIS Solutions for public safety. Then our mobile apps GeoGeek, Sue Enyedy, is back for a chat about GeoAI in ArcGIS Survey123. 

Rundown

2:45 – What’s Making Us Mappy

6:59 – Inside the Arc: ArcGIS Solutions and Public Safety

20:42 – The GeoGeeks: GeoAI and ArcGIS Survey123

30:46 – M versus M 

What's Making Us Mappy - Our hosts share one cool thing that is catching their eye in the world of ArcGIS

Mark starts things off by sharing his love of ArcGIS Pro’s new Neighborhood Explorer tool. This new tool, added in ArcGIS Pro 3.2, helps you prepare for statistical analysis by configuring, visualizing, and refining spatial relationships. By understanding the spatial proximity between features and their neighbours, users can model geographic effects accurately across various domains and problems. Maggie highlights a subtle but significant update to ArcGIS StoryMaps. Map actions have now been replaced with Media Actions, allowing you to create interactions not just the map but can be used to swap out the media entirely for a different piece of media. Want users to be able to add points to your map with a Survey123 form? Now you can add that form right to your story with media actions. 

Inside the Arc - Feature interview that takes our audience inside an Esri product or capability

Navigating the vast array of tools within the ArcGIS ecosystem can be daunting for many organizations. When responding to situations like natural disasters, damage assessments, or informing the public, every second counts. With ArcGIS Solutions, you can cut down on the time it takes to get to the heart of the issue by deploying industry-specific configurations that help you harness the potential of your GIS. We are pleased to welcome Lindsay Thomas to the podcast. She is the ArcGIS Solutions Lead for Public Safety at Esri Inc. She joined us to talk about her work and how it impacts on our communities.

The GeoGeeks - Rotation of Esri Canada panelists share what's new in ArcGIS technology

Today our mobile solutions GeoGeek, Sue Enyedy, Product Specialist for Mobile Solutions at Esri Canada, returns to the pod. Our focus? GeoAI in mobile apps. Sue dives into the impact of GeoAI post-Developer Summit, discussing its integration into our beloved ArcGIS Survey123. She walks us through the latest AI-driven features and even shares a fun wine-themed example, showcasing the Survey123 web designer assistants' prowess in survey construction. We also touch on the recent enhancements in Survey123's February 2024 release, including the intriguing Translator tool for multilingual surveys.

M versus M - Our hosts quiz each other about all things ArcGIS and GIS

In this riveting round of M vs M, Mark puts Maggie to the test with a thrilling challenge centered around everyone’s favourite line, the Equator. The game is simple: determine whether the named location lies to the north or south of this iconic line of latitude. Who will emerge victorious in this ultimate test of geographical prowess?

For more information

Visit our website: https://esri.ca/spatialreport

See the full interviews and GeoSnaps on the Esri Canada Youtube channel: https://youtube.com/user/esricanadatv

Stay up-to-speed on products and developments affecting you in our blog, Getting Technical

Have a podcast idea? Email us at [email protected]

Erica Morra, the Director of Product Management, joins us to discuss ArcMap's coming retirement and the future of GIS. Then our new GeoGeek, Brandon Wheatley, shares the latest ArcGIS Online updates.

Rundown

6:22 – What’s Making Us Mappy

4:52 – Inside the Arc: ArcMap Enters Mature Support

17:57 – The GeoGeeks: What’s New in ArcGIS Online

29:33 – M versus M

What's Making Us Mappy - Our hosts share one cool thing that is catching their eye in the world of ArcGIS

Mark shamelessly plugs some GeoSnaps he’s been working on. It’s a five-part series walking through the workflow of editing related records in the Map Viewer for ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise. This is a game changer that makes it easy to perform data collection using a simple web app.  Maggie shouts out her love for Effects in Map Viewer. You can apply amazing cartographic effects to your map layers in a web map to make them pop! Two of Maggie’s favourite effects are Drop Shadow (which makes objects look like they’re floating) and Hue Rotate (which uses a colour wheel to transform colours).

Inside the Arc - Feature interview that takes our audience inside an Esri product or capability

On March 1st, ArcMap entered the Mature Support phase of its product life cycle. This marks the last milestone before the upcoming retirement of ArcGIS Desktop. For ArcMap users, now is a great time to plan the transition to ArcGIS Pro. To help us understand what this all means for those who are still using ArcMap, we are joined by our good friend Erica Morra. She is the Director for Product Management at Esri Canada. Erica shares her insights and advice for those who are still using ArcMap and a pathway towards migrating to ArcGIS Pro.

The GeoGeeks - Rotation of Esri Canada panelists share what's new in ArcGIS technology

We are thrilled to welcome our newest GeoGeek!  But he’s not a new voice to this pod.  Brandon Wheatley was one of our first guests, and now he is our resident ArcGIS Online GeoGeek. In this podcast, Brandon gives you a rundown of what’s new in the most recent release of ArcGIS Online in February 2024.

M versus M - Our hosts quiz each other about all things ArcGIS and GIS

It’s all about size on this battle of MvM. Maggie dives deep into the pages of Wikipedia to gather information for her epic game - What’s Bigger! Simple rules: she lists two countries, and Mark needs to guess which one is bigger in area. Will he finally break his painfully long losing streak? Tune in and play along.

For more information

Visit our website: esri.ca/spatialreport

See the full interviews and GeoSnaps on the Esri Canada Youtube channel: youtube.com/user/esricanadatv

Stay up-to-speed on products and developments affecting you in our blog, Getting Technical

Have a podcast idea? Email us at [email protected]

Jenny Fong from the Utility Technical Solutions team introduces us to the benefits of ArcGIS Utility Network. Then Justin Brassard, our newest GeoGeek, offers tips and advice on when to upgrade ArcGIS Enterprise.

Breakdown

0:51 – What’s Making Us Mappy

4:52 – Inside the Arc: ArcGIS Utility Network

18:46 – The GeoGeeks: Upgrading ArcGIS Enterprise

27:30 – M versus M

What’s Making Us Mappy - Our hosts share one cool thing that is catching their eye in the world of ArcGIS

Maggie leads off with the latest addition to ArcGIS Instant Apps that will be a guaranteed hit!  She highlights the new Manager (Beta) template.  The app allows you to review and modify content from editable layers in one simple interface.  This is especially useful when collecting data using crowdsourcing.  This instant app is the next generation of the legacy Crowdsource Manager app. Mark is batting clean-up by introducing you to an exciting new Esri website: Maps.com. This new platform showcases engaging and informative maps and apps that feature beautiful cartography. Browse

through examples of stunning maps created by our user community to learn more about the world around you.  And you can even submit your map to Maps.com!

Inside the Arc - Feature interview that takes our audience inside an Esri product or capability

We have this saying in GIS that everything is somewhere. This certainly applies to the utilities industry. Location intelligence is essential for communications, water, electric, and gas utilities to manage complex networks that aim to maximize efficiency and minimize disruptions. To help us understand how utilities of all sizes and types can fully leverage ArcGIS, we are joined by our friend and pal Jenny Fong.  She is the Team Lead for Utility Technical Solutions at Esri Canada and is an invaluable resource for utility clients to understand the ArcGIS Utility Network.

GeoGeeks - Rotation of Esri Canada panelists share what's new in ArcGIS technology

We welcome Justin Brassard to our GeoGeek family, as he will be taking the reins as our ArcGIS Enterprise subject matter expert.  Today, Justin addresses a common question in the ArcGIS Enterprise community – when do you upgrade?  This can be a complex dilemma for many organizations, but Justin has some tips and thoughts on when to say when and make the plunge to a newer release.

M versus M - Our hosts quiz each other about all things ArcGIS and GIS

Michelle Brake, the new host of the Geographical Thinking podcast, returns to her old stomping grounds to referee a game called Can You Date It?  No love or romance in this quiz, as Michelle tests the hosts knowledge in Esri software releases.  When was ArcGIS Online first released?  ArcGIS Pro?  ArcMap?  Michelle has the dates, and the hosts have the guesses in this true Maggie versus Mark battle royale.

Learn how you can make your maps and apps more accessible to everyone with Klara Schmitt from Esri Inc. Then Sue Enyedy, our Mobile Solutions GeoGeek, introduces us to ArcGIS QuickCapture, the fastest and easiest way to collect data on the go. 

There have been a bunch of new releases recently in the world of ArcGIS. We have invited all four of our GeoGeeks to count down their three favourite enhancements in ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise and our field apps.