{"id":768000,"date":"2025-09-01T13:40:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T20:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&p=768000"},"modified":"2025-09-01T13:40:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T20:40:16","slug":"gis-users-integrate-everything-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/gis-users-integrate-everything-everywhere","title":{"rendered":"GIS Users Integrate Everything, Everywhere"},"author":5752,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[24992],"tags":[1741,481592,25072,362132,493156],"arcuser_issues":[493152],"class_list":["post-768000","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-special","tag-ai","tag-esri-events","tag-esri-user-conference","tag-integration","tag-xr-viewer","arcuser_issues-summer-2025"],"acf":{"short_description":"Esri\u2019s 45th annual User Conference brought together over 15,000 GIS professionals to explore the latest in geospatial technology.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The summer of 2025 marked the fourth time Layne LeBleu has attended the Esri User Conference (Esri UC), held July 14\u201318 in San Diego, California.\r\n\r\n\u201cVibes are high,\u201d said LeBleu, a GIS and asset management analyst for the public works department at the City of Hillsboro, Oregon. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool to see a bunch of people talking about the work they\u2019ve been doing and the steps you can take to be a bigger advocate for the work you\u2019re doing.\u201d\r\n\r\nLeBleu is one of more than 15,000 GIS professionals who attended the conference to explore and celebrate the latest advances in geospatial technology. Over 14,000 people tuned in virtually. Attendees came from all over the world, from a variety of industries and levels of expertise. They were excited about emerging technologies like geospatial AI, meeting like-minded professionals, and learning about new capabilities to incorporate into their work.\r\n\r\n\u201c[I\u2019m here] to learn innovations in GIS, see what\u2019s going on and what\u2019s new,\u201d said Irene Egbulefu, GIS analyst for Travis County, Texas, who was attending the conference for the third time. \u201cMy company uses a lot of GIS, so we need to be up-to-date with what\u2019s going on.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":768001,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"No matter how far they traveled or what topics captivated them, attendees were focused on finding and sharing ideas to improve their work through special interest group meetings, user presentations, technical sessions, and more. This was the central thrust of the conference: combining GIS knowledge, data, content, and analytics to help individuals and organizations make informed decisions and create positive change in the world\u2014in other words, Integrating Everything, Everywhere, the theme of this year\u2019s Esri UC.\r\n\r\nAt the start of the Plenary Session that kicked off the conference, Esri President Jack Dangermond spoke to this idea.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur world is evolving rapidly,\u201d he said. \u201cOur lack of collaboration is now threatening our future\u2014some say even the future\u00a0 sustainability of life itself. These challenges suggest that we need a new approach that integrates our collective knowledge [and] creates a better future.\u201d\r\n\r\nThis approach is geography\u2014the language that provides a common understanding of the science of our world.\r\n\r\nThe Plenary Session was dedicated to highlighting new capabilities within ArcGIS and showcasing how users of ArcGIS technology are using the language of geography to better their workplaces and communities."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":768002,"image_position":"left","orientation":"vertical","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

AI, Meet ArcGIS<\/h2>\r\nIt was no surprise that AI was a hot topic for both presenters and attendees. In his opening remarks, Dangermond noted that we are entering a new age with the rapid advancement of AI.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur world needs much more than this technology,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cIt needs your work\u2014the work of GIS professionals playing this vital role in what comes next.\u201d\r\n\r\nEsri solution engineers Jess Altamira and Caitlin Marin demonstrated ways that AI is being built in across the ArcGIS ecosystem to not only help geospatial professionals complete their tasks but also open up the technology to other users.\r\n\r\nUsing ArcGIS Survey123, Marin showed how, by simply uploading a photo of a damaged sidewalk, AI could fill out a related service request form and correctly categorize the request type, identify potential safety hazards, and choose the appropriate city department to notify about the issue. Then, Altamira\u2014speaking Tagalog, which was automatically translated into English\u2014demonstrated how AI can transcribe a voice recording and even translate different languages while filling out relevant fields in the form.\r\n\r\n\u201cBy integrating AI into GIS, we can enhance data collection workflows and make them accessible for anyone,\u201d Altamira said.\r\n\r\nGeospatial AI can also be used in ArcGIS to train deep learning models and automate workflows. Altamira took a few images of roads in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and manually marked cracks and potholes in the asphalt. She then used those images to train a deep learning model to detect damage in scores of images.\r\n\r\n\u201cImagine how long it would take to assess every single photo for damage,\u201d Altamira said. \u201cWith our newly trained AI model, we can identify damage locations and generate those results in just a few minutes.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":768003,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The Present and Future of GIS Capabilities<\/h2>\r\nAI wasn\u2019t the only game-changing technology showcased at the Plenary Session.\r\n\r\nEsri senior solution engineer Kelly Holleran took audience members on a tour of new and updated basemaps and imagery in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, including updated National Land Cover Database imagery and Esri\u2019s enhanced Bioclimate Projection layers.\r\n\r\nEsri solution engineer Megan Hendrick used a proposed data center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to demonstrate how tools such as the new COGO Reader and Vertices and Nodes in ArcGIS Pro simplify data editing and management processes.\r\n\r\nEnhancements to data editing and management extend to the field as well. ArcGIS Field Maps will soon support a to-do list experience that lets users prioritize their tasks, go step-by-step through their work, and update network data. All this can be done in Field Maps while working offline.\r\n\r\nTo illustrate new capabilities in spatial analysis, Esri solution engineer Dr. Lakeisha Coleman used H3 hexagons\u2014a global grid system that provides stable analysis areas at multiple scales\u2014to help site local government and commercial services using detailed data from Esri\u2019s updated ArcGIS Tapestry, a collection of market segmentation data that classifies neighborhoods into distinct segments and life mode groups.\r\n\r\nColeman\u2019s colleague, Esri solution engineer Russell Sands, then showed the audience how ArcGIS is integrated in Microsoft products, including Excel, Power BI, and notebooks. In Excel, users can map their geographic data and insert geospatial analysis functions directly into their spreadsheets. With ArcGIS for Power BI, users can bring spatial analytics to their reports, allowing decision-makers to see the results of their complex analyses with one click. And ArcGIS GeoAnalytics for Microsoft Fabric enables users to define and run analytics in notebooks, plus leverage dozens of spatial functions and tools from ArcGIS. Soon, with ArcGIS Maps for Microsoft Fabric, users will be able to explore their fabric data in Map Viewer, too.\r\n\r\nAfter a presentation demonstrating the evolving capabilities of reality mapping, Esri technology leader Taisha Fabricius, Esri product engineer Hasret G\u00fcmg\u00fcmc\u00fc, and Esri software engineer Stefan Arisona demonstrated the capability of XR Viewer. This tool provides a new way to visualize 3D data by bringing together multiple map layers in a single scene. Designed to present any web scene as an immersive environment, XR Viewer allows multiple users to work together in the same scene at the same time, either from a bird\u2019s-eye view or at ground level. The viewer lets you work just as you would in a traditional mapping environment by turning layers on and off, but also includes realistic effects like weather and atmospheric lighting. Experiences can be created in XR Viewer with web scenes; 3D layers; and data from Map Viewer, from Scene Viewer, or shared in ArcGIS Online. While the immersive experience looks great through a VR headset, it isn\u2019t required. XR Viewer is already available in beta to all ArcGIS users."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":768004,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

GIS Users Take Center Stage<\/h2>\r\nOf course, the central focus of the Plenary Session\u2014and of Esri UC as a whole\u2014is the work of GIS users. Many dedicated GIS professionals spent their time on the Plenary Session stage breaking down this fascinating and critical work.\r\n\r\nGIS experts from San Francisco International Airport described how they integrated multiple systems into their GIS to map and manage more than half a million assets with a 3D digital twin. Josephine Young, the airport\u2019s director of infrastructure information management, described the airport as a small city that never sleeps, with a GIS that represents more than 700,000 features, including natural gas and jet fuel lines, airfield lights, planes, parking garages, and more than 15,000 rooms. Supported by the digital twin app, Young said that the airport\u2019s new operation center \u201cwill act as the nerve center of the airport to make sure that there\u2019s a seamless guest experience.\u201d\r\n\r\nAurecon\u2014an international design, engineering, and advisory firm\u2014followed up with a presentation about HumeLink, a massive infrastructure project. HumeLink aims to build new transmission lines in southern New South Wales and connect renewable energy to Australia\u2019s electricity grid. The firm\u2019s goal is to protect the land and natural resources by \u201cplanning with purpose, assessing with impact, and reporting with integrity,\u201d according to Em Tantau, Aurecon\u2019s product leader for technical engineering. To communicate the hundreds of layers and attributes necessary for finding the best corridor for the transmission line, the firm built the Root Planning assessment tool. The tool enables Aurecon staff to map and quantify data layers like soil and slope into risk and opportunity scores.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe key to this complex project is to make our delivery simple and well understood through a suite of digital design tools powered by GIS,\u201d said Martin Russell, director of GIS, Environment & Planning at Aurecon."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":768005,"image_position":"right","orientation":"vertical","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The next user presentation was from CVS Health, detailing how the company leverages GIS to make the world of health care easier to understand and navigate. Sean Horman, senior manager of analytics services at CVS, explained that when the state of Texas suffered a major power crisis in 2021 as a result of winter storms, it left CVS trying to coordinate disaster response across dozens of teams. The company had the data to answer questions such as which medication deliveries would be disrupted, but the data was siloed. This crisis led to the development of the Crisis Command Central application. The app is designed to put assets into a geographic context and provide real-time visibility into the operations and hazards across the business. When a severe storm occurs, CVS can now see what stores are operational, which colleagues are affected, and which medication deliveries are vulnerable. CVS also uses the same GIS foundation for CVS Specialty, as well as the consumer-facing CVS Health app. Geographic context helps inform daily transactions by integrating data and real-\r\ntime weather information.\r\n\r\nWith the massive Los Angeles wildfires of January 2025 still on the mind of many Southern California residents, the presentation from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) was imbued with a sense of gravity. CAL FIRE maps fire perimeters by using remote sensing and GIS data from airplanes flying 10,000 to 12,000 feet above fires. This information goes to fire analysts and incident commanders to determine where a fire is located and where it may go, helping airborne research data specialists protect people and resources from wildland fires\u2014before, during, and after fire events. CAL FIRE research data specialist Logan Hansen described how a flight app powered by ArcGIS Pro provides custom geoprocessing tools, features, and layouts."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":768006,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The Science of When Meets the Science of Where<\/h2>\r\nThe keynote speech was given by Dr. Kirk Johnson of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. As the museum\u2019s Sant director, Johnson oversees the world\u2019s largest natural history collection.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn the same way that GIS is more than just about maps, museums are more than just about exhibits for kids,\u201d he said, explaining that they are places of knowledge creation and sharing.\r\n\r\nJohnson described the goal of providing people with online access to about 1.1 billion specimens in the world\u2019s largest natural history museums, to help aggregate knowledge and provide solutions to the world\u2019s challenges, including mosquito-borne diseases, volcanic eruptions, reduced biodiversity, sea level rise, and recent rapid increases in the planet\u2019s surface temperature.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve entered a time where unexpectedly the Earth\u2019s geologic changes are happening on a human time scale,\u201d he noted. \u201cGIS is a really powerful tool for being able to interpret what\u2019s going on in the future. My appeal to you is that you use the skill set that you have. Use GIS as a toolkit, and perhaps you can be some major part of how we negotiate the century in front of us.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Empowering Future Generations Through Science, Data, and Education<\/h2>\r\nClosing out the Plenary Session was a presentation from students at the Colegio Agustiniano in Chitr\u00e9, Panama, and their director, Sister Esther Maria Rodriguez Aranda, who focused on educational transformation through GIS. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodriguez Aranda began to wonder if the school was preparing the children for the uncertain future that lies ahead. After a student named Juan Diego introduced her to GIS, Rodriguez Aranda began a quest to introduce geospatial analysis tools in the school curriculum.\r\n\r\nRodriguez Aranda worked with Esri to start a GIS program that would connect education, science, and technology. The program began with 17 students and\r\n3 teachers and has now grown to more than 300 students, with 100 trained specifically in remote sensing.\r\n\r\n\u201cNow they map, analyze, create, and lead solutions for the community,\u201d said Rodriguez Aranda."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":768007,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Nieves Joel Perez Moreno, Ricardo Enrique Sanchez Gonalez, and Maria Jose Sepulveda Calle\u2014students at the Colegio Agustiniano in Chitr\u00e9\u2014led individual presentations covering topics such as artificial lakes that are impacted by drought, urban expansion in Panama, and biodiversity research.\r\n\r\nThe final presentation was from student Franccesca Angelli Cravioto Salvatierra, who analyzed urban expansion in her hometown of Chitr\u00e9. The results of this analysis show increased population growth in the central part of the city, and a corresponding increase in land surface temperatures.\r\n\r\nCravioto Salvatierra stressed that this is a call to action. \u201cWe need digital, accessible tools like maps that anyone can use,\u201d she said. \u201cChitr\u00e9\u2019s future shouldn\u2019t be a guess. It should be a choice, one made with information, clarity, and vision.\u201d\r\n\r\nRodriguez Aranda echoed this sentiment in her closing remarks, emphasizing that the students in the GIS program are \u201clearning to map based on real community problems, using the power of data with accessible tools, and committed to sustainable solutions and action that serve the community.\u201d\r\n\r\nIt was a reminder that the call for using\u00a0 GIS to integrate everything, everywhere is not just an abstract notion. Organizing and visualizing data leads to informed decision-making, and this kind of action leads to communities that work better for everyone. As Cravioto Salvatierra noted, the future shouldn\u2019t be built on guesswork. It should be a choice. As Esri UC attendees know well, geography is a common language that helps make it a better one."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Center","content":"

Esri Education Summit Highlights GIS Successes & Opportunities in Schools<\/h2>\r\nHeld July 12\u201315 in San Diego, just prior to Esri UC, the Esri Education Summit provided opportunities for educators and school administrators to learn from each other while sharing success stories, best practices, and learning strategies related to geospatial technology. The summit also highlighted Esri education initiatives, which support educators in nurturing the next generation of GIS experts. Presenters discussed a variety of topics, including the following:\r\n