The IGIO's Recap of the Esri UC

The Esri User Conference (UC) is the largest GIS conference in the world, held annually in San Diego, CA. This multi-industry GIS event attracts about 18,000 participants each year. The Indiana Geographic Information Office (IGIO) participates in this conference annually and had the opportunity to present this year on our efforts to modernize our GIS infrastructure.

Overview of Presentation

At the conference, Megan Compton and Steve Aldrich presented their insights and experiences at the session titled, "Communicating About GIS Modernization: Experiences in the State of Indiana ". This presentation covered the comprehensive efforts to transition to a cloud-based infrastructure and migrate from ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) to ArcGIS Pro. A public handout of the slides can be viewed here. The modernization effort was driven by several factors, including the need to host IndianaMap, upgrade aging on-premises infrastructure, and promote new growth and adoption of GIS. Rather than addressing these needs separately, we chose to tackle them simultaneously so that our partners would only have to adapt to new things one time. Here's how we did it:

• Partnership: Rather than dictate what our environment would look like, what it would be capable of, and how it would work, we relied on our partners across dozens of State of Indiana agencies to help us understand their needs and desired capabilities. These partners also helped us plan the effort, and were all willing to help us migrate data, applications, and work into a new environment. Throughout this process collaboration was crucial; our partners were instrumental in making this effort a success.
• Communication: Effective communication was critical to our modernization effort. We engaged with many partners who were ready to help us implement changes and make crucial decisions. While some partners were eager to move forward quickly, others were skeptical. Getting buy-in from partners and key stakeholders was essential for success. These individuals often became our most vocal champions post-modernization. Communicating the reason for the change and its impact on stakeholders helped make the transition smoother and more organic. We used various platforms, including webinars, emails, and a hub site, to maintain consistent and open communication.
• Training: Training was another key component. Upgrading meant bringing users with varying levels of experience along with us. We provided multiple training types and levels to ensure everyone was equipped to handle the new technology. Training must have a different character depending on the capabilities of individual users, so we had content that ranged from quick how-to guides to more expansive material and trainings.

The modernization process involves several steps:

• Deciding if modernization was the right move
• Partnering with stakeholders
• Communicating the benefits of change
• Anticipating pitfalls and roadblocks
• Training on new technology
• Successfully implementing the modernization

Lessons learned and challenges

• Community and stakeholders need to be ready for change
• Users require comprehensive training, which takes time
• Both early adopters and late adopters can become pivotal champions
• New infrastructure takes time to settle and stabilize
• Implementing a well-governed environment can make modernization easier, and this is an area where we could improve
• Business needs can modify timelines; some users and some workflows can be adapted quickly, while others take more time.

Key Points of the Presentation

The presentation detailed the GIS modernization project, including:

• Hosting IndianaMap
• Upgrading infrastructure from on-premises to cloud-based systems
• Migrating from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro
• Changing from read-only to read-write environment
• Switching from user-managed data storage (Oracle SDEs) to system-managed data storage (ArcGIS data store)
• Technology is the straightforward part of modernization; the people part of the modernization puzzle takes more time and effort to work out

Takeaways from the presentation

The key takeaways from our presentation were the importance of early migration and preparation when making large statewide changes. While the technological aspects of modernization are relatively straightforward, addressing the human elements of the transition requires significant effort. By sharing our experience and lessons learned, we hope to provide valuable insights for other organizations embarking on similar modernization efforts.