The ArcGIS Well-Architected Framework provides IT and GIS professionals with a comprehensive set of ArcGIS system patterns to assist in designing an ArcGIS deployment tailored to an organization’s needs. ArcGIS system patterns are abstractions of actual systems, describing the most common types of geospatial systems that organizations implement with ArcGIS software and services.
The Self-Service Mapping, Analysis, and Sharing system pattern is a web-centric, services-based system that empowers individuals and teams to create, share, and use geospatial content without significant technical expertise or GIS knowledge. This system supports self-service spatial analysis and serves as a creative hub for the enterprise.
Applications and Use Cases
A wide variety of GIS users can leverage this system pattern for many purposes to access and visualize data. Content creators, for instance, can build and share maps and applications using a no-code or low-code approach. Application developers can develop custom solutions by writing code using mapping APIs and SDKs. Additionally, data analysts and GIS professionals can use the system to perform complex spatial analysis and create insightful visualizations.
Whether you’re a business analyst looking to inform decision-making or a GIS expert seeking to streamline workflows, this system pattern can be tailored to meet your needs. By providing a range of applications, including a portal website, application builders, and native mobile applications, the Self-Service Mapping, Analysis, and Sharing system pattern empowers users to work more efficiently and effectively.
The system pattern enables a majority of services supported by ArcGIS. This includes full support for visualization services and a majority of data and analysis services. Data editing and management is possible in this system pattern, but might be better addressed with a data editing and management system. The same is true for big data and real-time analytics. These services are more commonly provided by a big data analytics system or real-time data streaming and analytics systems.
Some of the spatial analysis capabilities provided by self-service mapping, analysis, and sharing systems rely on location services provided by a location services system. These include network analysis and data enrichment services, which can be integrated into the self-service mapping, analysis, and sharing system as utility services.
Industry-specific capabilities and solutions are supported in sectors such as commerce, health and human services, insurance, and national government.
Self-service mapping, analysis, and sharing systems work with just about every type of data and data store supported by ArcGIS, including file and object stores, databases, cloud data warehouses, and NoSQL stores. Data from these sources may not be managed in this system, but are connected to this system for web access and use in mapping, analysis, and sharing workflows.
A System for Many Industries
The Self-Service Mapping, Analysis, and Sharing system pattern leverages the full suite of ArcGIS applications, app builders, and mapping SDKs, enabling a wide variety of geospatial workflows across an organization, and delivering suitable apps to just about every type of user.
Benefits of the system pattern are evident across various industries. JLL Real Estate Services, for instance, uses it to create map-based information products that inform business decisions across departments. The Kansas Public Health Collaborative’s overdose response strategy team uses it to identify overdose hot spots and prioritize resource allocation. With this system pattern, the Republic of Colombia’s Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi, the country’s national geographic data authority, has created a public-facing tool enabling residents to access their nation’s geographic data. Organizations like the Connecticut Department of Transportation use it to provide users with access to past assets and current project data.
