Our History

Esri president Jack Dangermond was one of several GIS pioneers who studied at the Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis. While others went on to successful careers in academia and consulting, Jack and his wife, Laura, founded Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (Esri), in Redlands, California.

Esri's early mission was to organize and analyze geographic information to support land planners and land resource managers in making well-informed environmental decisions. These projects consisted of site or regional land studies resulting in maps that geographically delineated constraints and opportunities for development. Esri staff applied the principles of integrated landscape analysis developed and implemented in the 1960s by Ian McHarg using manual mapping and map overlay techniques.

The earliest map-based analyses at Esri used U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps as a base layer manually overlaid with Mylar sheets. Both were placed on a light table, the Mylar sheets were gridded, and each cell was assigned a value. Different sheets represented separate geographic layers such as geology, soils, and topography. The values of each cell were entered on keypunch cards that were run on the mainframe computer at a local university, and the resultant map printed with a pen plotter.

In the mid-1970s, San Diego County, California, selected Esri to develop a polygon information overlay system (PIOS). Development of the PIOS technology represented a major departure from the grid-based information overlay approach. Esri was also involved in designing the land use planning and management system for the City of Los Angeles, California, and the Maryland Automated Geographic Information System-the first commercially developed statewide GIS system.

The more projects we completed, the more we learned how using geography as a framework for data integration provided a new dimension in the way people approached problems. GIS allowed them to visualize the problems, which helped provide quicker and better solutions. We became convinced that GIS could truly make a difference in the world.

Jack Dangermond

Esri also began developing relationships with like-minded companies in Germany, Japan, Australia, and Canada. These companies formed the foundation of what is today a large, international network of distributors providing GIS software, support, and services.

The Transition from Project to Product

It became clear that to fully leverage the methods and technologies used for project work, Esri needed to introduce software products that would automate the manual mapping processes.

Esri developers began formulating the concepts that ultimately led to the release in 1982 of ARC/INFO, the first commercial GIS. It combined computer display of geographic features, such as points, lines, and polygons, with a database management system for assigning attributes to these features.

The ARC/INFO system was the culmination of several factors, all of which converged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The basic principles behind rational land management using geographic information had become accepted by the larger professional community and validated by the implementation of several successful projects. The introduction of minicomputer-based "departmental computing" by Digital Equipment Corp. and Prime Computer made it possible for smaller organizations and departments to have their own computers for GIS and other scientific applications. Finally, research in core GIS software design and theory had reached a level of maturity that made commercial applications possible.

Much of this research was done at the Harvard graphics laboratory in the late 1970s as part of the Odyssey software project. The project pioneered GIS software development in data structures and algorithms, command line user interfaces, and modular software engineering techniques. An understanding of this research came to Esri in 1981 when Scott Morehouse, a lead developer of the Harvard Odyssey system, joined Esri as chief programmer.

With software products came software users and the beginning of a community. The first Esri International User Conference was held in 1981 with 16 attendees. It has grown substantially over the years, today attracting more than 14,000 attendees.

GIS Goes Mainstream

As computer hardware technology shifted to UNIX workstations and PCs during the 1980s, Esri's GIS software tools changed accordingly. This shift allowed ARC/INFO users to change hardware platforms and take advantage of the capabilities of distributed processing and data management. It also led to the opportunity to form relationships with organizations that wished to build applications on top of Esri software or support the software in niche industries. Today, the Esri Partner Network consists of over 2,000 companies.

Esri's growth led to the formation of several U.S. offices to provide more local support. Olympia, Washington, and Charlotte, North Carolina, were the first cities to house an Esri office, followed quickly by eight more regional locations.

In the 1990s, Esri experienced a period of rapid growth spurred by faster and cheaper computers, network processing, electronic data publishing, and new data capture techniques such as remote sensing and GPS. Esri's first desktop solution, ArcView, had a major impact on the industry by opening up the possibilities of GIS to more users. In addition, Esri's growing business partner and developer programs allowed further expansion and the advent of customized solutions.

Esri also increased its support for GIS education at the university level and introduced a comprehensive K-12 program. In addition, the company expanded its own training programs and facilities. Today, Esri offers hundreds of courses at various training sites around the world as well as online courses, live training seminars, and podcasts. Esri Press was launched, which now has nearly 100 titles.

While most organizations choose to implement the software on their own, Esri continues to offer project-, implementation-, and industry-focused services.

GIS and the Enterprise

During the late 1990s, Esri reengineered ARC/INFO to develop a modular and scalable GIS platform that would work both on the desktop and across the enterprise. The result was ArcGIS.

Next, Esri released ArcGIS for Server, the corresponding data management component for Esri's ArcGIS software family. It allows GIS capabilities to be delivered to large numbers of users over existing networks. Analysts can author maps, globes, and geoprocessing tasks on their desktops and publish them online using integrated tools. GIS functions can be delivered as services throughout the enterprise. Users can connect to central servers using traditional desktop GIS as well as Web browsers, mobile computing devices, and digital appliances. They can also connect to services via Amazon Cloud.

This server technology provides broad support for interoperability standards and allows integration with other enterprise software. Esri has also actively participated in the development of GIS standards.

During this time, it became increasingly evident that the GIS community needed a means to increase awareness of GIS. Prompted by an idea from consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Esri launched GIS Day in 1999 in coordination with the National Geographic Society. Now, GIS Day is held every year during Geography Awareness Week.

Each stage in Esri's evolution has involved major technology changes. Today it's the Web and Web GIS. The power of the Web promises to support more GIS collaboration. Applications already possible include sharing commercial services, mashups, and data replication services. The Web is also making GIS more distributed, multiparticipant, and open.

This means that more and more people are engaged in activities such as creating and interacting with maps online, so Esri has steadily integrated the online experience into ArcGIS technology. Software such as ArcGIS for Desktop and ArcGIS Explorer provide instant access to a host of online services, including maps and tools. Esri is also taking advantage of cloud computing opportunities to help make GIS available to anyone, anywhere. ArcGIS.com is Esri's newest online experience that brings content, tools, and the growing GIS community together in one Web portal.