{"id":767847,"date":"2025-08-14T12:50:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T19:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcwatch&p=767847"},"modified":"2025-08-18T10:11:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T17:11:16","slug":"gis-success-stories-take-center-stage-at-the-esri-user-conference","status":"publish","type":"arcwatch","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcwatch\/gis-success-stories-take-center-stage-at-the-esri-user-conference","title":{"rendered":"GIS Success Stories Take Center Stage at the Esri User Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":5342,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10932],"tags":[492972,493142,493141,493139,493140],"arcwatch_issues":[493126],"class_list":["post-767847","arcwatch","type-arcwatch","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-esri-user-conference","tag-2025-esri-user-conference","tag-aurecon","tag-cal-fire","tag-cvs-health","tag-san-francisco-international-airport","arcwatch_issues-august-2025"],"acf":{"short_description":"The opening day of the 2025 Esri User Conference included product demos and updates and notable examples of work from the GIS user community. ","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"With the theme of Integrating Everything, Everywhere, GIS professionals from around the world gathered in San Diego, California, for the world\u2019s largest annual GIS conference\u2014the 2025 Esri User Conference (Esri UC). The conference brought together more than 15,000 GIS practitioners, experts, and thought leaders as well as more than 14,000 virtual attendees, who explored and celebrated the latest advances in GIS technology.\r\n\r\n\u201cI want to learn about everything and dive deeper with Esri products,\u201d said first-time attendee Samuel Nelson, a program analyst for the District Department of Transportation in Washington, DC. \u201cTo see the vast array of applications of Esri products and use cases across industries and all the services [Esri offers] is a great inspiration.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe conference showcased the latest in Esri products and gave attendees from around the world the chance to network with peers and learn from product experts through technical sessions and product demonstrations. Esri President Jack Dangermond opened the conference by sharing his vision for the future of GIS, describing recent developments in ArcGIS technology.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur world is evolving rapidly. These challenges suggest that we need a new approach that integrates our collective knowledge [and] creates a better future,\u201d said Dangermond. \u201c[All of you are] applying the concepts of geographic knowledge to making the world a better place.\u201d\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":767848,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The opening day of the conference included product demos; updates about new capabilities and features for Esri technology; and notable examples of work from the GIS user community on an array of topics, including infrastructure, airport travel, and health. Here are several stories presented at the Plenary Session that illustrate the power of GIS.\r\n

Innovating with Geospatial Technology <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAurecon\u2014an international design, engineering, and advisory firm that strives to shape a sustainable, modern world with purpose\u2014is developing HumeLink, a massive energy infrastructure project that will construct new transmission lines across southern New South Wales, Australia. While developing HumeLink\u2014which aims to bring renewable energy to consumers\u2014the GIS team had to determine the best way to communicate hundreds of map layers and attributes to the design team to find the best corridor for each transmission line.\r\n\r\nTo address this issue, the firm built the Root Planning assessment tool, which enables the GIS team to map and quantify data layers, like soil and slope, into risk and opportunity scores. From there, the tool creates a corridor of least impact, according to Martin Russell, director of GIS, Environment & Planning, Aurecon. The data is displayed in hexbins for simple visualization.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe believe it\u2019s essential that these simplified maps can be interrogated in detail while telling a simple story,\u201d said Russell."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":767850,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Another tool the team developed is Aurecon Air. This collaborative platform for regulatory reporting and public approval is supported by ArcGIS Enterprise for Kubernetes. The platform uses interactive dashboards, charts, and 2D and 3D apps to communicate with stakeholders across the project team.\r\n\r\nThe development of these tools has enhanced collaboration and improved project coordination and delivery. \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 Russell said.\r\n

When Health Care Meets Location <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nCVS Health, a provider of health care and pharmacy services, detailed how the organization leverages the power of GIS to make the world of health care easier to understand and navigate. When the state of Texas suffered a major power crisis in 2021 due to winter storms, CVS had to quickly coordinate disaster response across dozens of teams with siloed data.\r\n\r\nThis 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 any potential hazards across the business via a tool made with ArcGIS Dashboards. Now, when a severe storm occurs, the CVS team can check a dashboard to see which stores are operational, which colleagues are affected, and which medication deliveries are vulnerable.\r\n\r\nCVS Specialty, the specialty pharmacy branch of CVS, uses the same GIS technology to track, manage, and reroute medication in the face of extreme weather, explained Matt Anderson, the lead director of clinical social data intelligence at CVS Health. This is critical because delayed shipments can put the health of consumers at risk.\r\n\r\nThe CVS Health mobile app serves as a comprehensive tool for managing various aspects of health and wellness, including prescriptions and in-store shopping. This app also brings location-aware enterprise data into the everyday consumer experience. The geographic context helps inform daily transactions by integrating data and real-time weather information so that consumers have store and services information available at their fingertips."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":767851,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"According to Eric Hamilton, assistant vice president of clinical analytics at CVS Health, innovative developments like this empower operations leads, care managers, analysts, and anyone with an idea to explore, act, and drive change.\r\n

Making Airport Travel Safer in San Francisco<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAt San Francisco International Airport (SFO), GIS experts have integrated multiple systems into the airport\u2019s GIS to build a 3D digital twin that allows them to map and manage more than half a million assets.\r\n\r\nThe airport is essentially \u201ca small city that never sleeps\u201d\u2014according to Josephine Young, the airport\u2019s director of infrastructure information management\u2014and has more than 700,000 features in its GIS. These features include natural gas and jet fuel lines, airfield lights, planes, parking garages, and more than 15,000 rooms.\r\n\r\nThe new Airport Integrated Operations Center is a centralized software system designed to enhance operational management and coordination. It is integrated with the SFO Integrated Dynamic Twin, which is a digital twin\u2014a virtual representation\u2014of the airport. Supported by this dynamic digital twin, the airport\u2019s new operations center \u201cwill act as the nerve center of the airport . . . to make sure that there\u2019s a seamless guest experience,\u201d Young said."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":767852,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A map of airport lights, part of the Integrated Dynamic Twin, allows electricians to easily identify light bulb types before making repairs, explained Guy Michael, GIS principal at the airport. This streamlines airport maintenance and allows technicians to make repairs more quickly.\r\n\r\n\u201cThis saves time, increases safety, and minimizes impacts to our operations,\u201d he said while demonstrating how building information modeling (BIM) is integrated into the new digital twin, which spans the entire airport and is updated in real time.\r\n

Remote Sensing for Wildfire Management<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nIn California, an integrated and automated remote sensing system, developed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and powered by ArcGIS, helps airborne research data specialists protect people and resources from wildland fires\u2014before, during, and after fire events. This innovative application of GIS technology won the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Making a Difference Award, presented by Dangermond.\r\n\r\nCAL FIRE uses remote sensing and GIS technology to map fire perimeters 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."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":767853,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"CAL FIRE research data specialist Logan Hansen described how a flight app\u2014powered by ArcGIS Pro, and part of the award-winning system\u2014provides the CAL FIRE team with custom geoprocessing tools, features, and layouts.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe flight app helps me take [ArcGIS] Pro anywhere\u2014even into the skies,\u201d he said, adding that a separate cloud-based app distributes the fire perimeter information to operational specialists, public-facing web pages, and more. A dashboard indicates fire incident progress while a map shows spread predictions and risk forecasting.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhether it\u2019s an operations chief making strategic decisions on an incident or a family who needs to know if it\u2019s time to pack a go-bag, behind every perimeter we push from the air is the same goal: Help people act sooner, smarter, safer,\u201d he said.\r\n

Embracing the Future with GIS<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe 2025 Esri UC demonstrated the transformative power of GIS technology across various industries and showcased innovative applications of GIS, highlighting their potential to drive positive change and improve operational efficiency.\r\n\r\n\u201c[Attending Esri UC is] a great way to be exposed to all sorts of different and cool technologies, ideas, and techniques. It\u2019s a fantastic way to learn,\u201d said Alyssa Gunning, GIS analyst II for the City of Rocklin and a second-time attendee of the Esri UC.\r\n\r\nWith its emphasis on applying geographic insights to real-world problems, the conference underscored the growing importance of GIS in addressing complex challenges and creating a better future."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nGIS Success Stories Take Center Stage at the Esri User Conference<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The opening day of the 2025 Esri User Conference included product demos and updates and notable examples of work from the GIS user community.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcwatch\/gis-success-stories-take-center-stage-at-the-esri-user-conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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