One of the most common questions we hear from users about the ArcGIS Utility Network is “How do I get started?”. With the user conference coming up in less than a month we figured it is a good time to look at all the resources you have available for learning more about the utility network.
Conferences are one of the best opportunities for you to learn more about the utility network because of the breadth and depth of user presentations, demo sessions, and staff available to answer your questions. You should plan to attend conferences so you can immerse yourself in the collective knowledge of the community. As part of preparing for a conference, you should look at the agenda for utility network sessions and plan to attend as many of those sessions as possible. Take a look at blog posts such as this one, which provide a comprehensive overview of all the utility network-related content that will be covered at the conference. This will help you plan your agenda in advance. With that in mind let’s look at what you can start doing today to maximize the value of your time spent at the user conference!
Learning
The Documentation Gallery is all about providing a way for users to experience GIS in small, bite-sized tutorials. We’ve recently overhauled our utility network related content to make it easier to discover and give you more ways of experiencing the utility network with hands-on tutorials. Our Getting started with the ArcGIS Utility Network series now acts as a playlist for getting you up to speed with the utility network. In the past few months, we’ve added 6 new tutorials, 14 new articles, and 2 new child series to help organize all this new content. If you’re looking to get started with the utility network and you prefer a more interactive style of learning, be sure to check this out.
In addition to the learn site the Esri Academy also includes more traditional learning plans and courses specific to learning ArcGIS Pro and the Utility Network. Two of the most popular coursers are the instructor-led classes for Working with the Utility Network in ArcGIS Pro and Configuring Utility Networks in ArcGIS Pro. The Working with the Utility Network course is designed for GIS Professionals who will be using the Utility Network for editing and analysis in their daily activities. The Configuring Utility Networks course is designed to teach administrators and business partners how to configure and manage the schema for a Utility Network.
Blog Articles
The ArcGIS Blog site is an essential resource for existing utility network users to stay updated on the latest advancements in the product. I recommend you filter the list by product to only show Utility Network related articles to help make it easier to find the content you’re looking for. The Utility Network and Network Diagram teams regularly publish articles highlighting new functionality or showcasing important workflows. You should keep an eye out for new articles that are posted during a software release or when you are planning to attend a conference. For instance, this year, it would be beneficial to read the article discussing the network management release plan, as well as the articles covering the new utility network functionality introduced in ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Enterprise.
Esri Community
The Esri community site is a great location for users of all skill levels to ask and answer questions or get access to useful community-specific content. You can create a free account on this site and subscribe to the ArcGIS Utility Network community so you get notified whenever someone posts a new question or document to the community. While it may not look like it at first glance, the utility network community has a very active and dedicated user base. We average over 1000 views a day and over 60% of user questions have accepted solutions! I recommend you read this community document containing a list of helpful utility network links that contains links to important content for users of all skill levels. You should also consider subscribing to an industry-specific page (electric, gas and pipeline, water utilities) or to the Data Management community if you’re interested in questions about Geodatabases and SDE.
Videos
Did you know that in addition to our many channels on YouTube, Esri also has its own video hosting site that gives you free access to select videos, webinars, and presentations? On this site, you will come across a dedicated channel that focuses on specific product-related content, demonstrating commonly used workflows. Additionally, if you search for “ArcGIS Utility Network” you will discover a variety of webinars and presentations that are specifically related to the utility network. I’ve found this site to be incredibly useful because it’s all freely available, meaning you and your team get access to the most important presentations from conferences, even if you couldn’t attend.
Conclusion
Now that you know what resources are available for you to learn about Utility Network I recommend you to start planning your attendance for our next conference, create an account on our Esri Community site, and start going through the Getting Started with the ArcGIS Utility Network learning series.
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