{"id":2092882,"date":"2023-10-04T14:31:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T21:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2092882"},"modified":"2023-10-09T07:33:58","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T14:33:58","slug":"arcgis-utility-network-out-of-the-box","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/utility-network\/electric-gas\/arcgis-utility-network-out-of-the-box","title":{"rendered":"ArcGIS Utility Network: Out-of-the-Box"},"author":25891,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[25741,25841,23051],"tags":[565442,86442],"industry":[],"product":[36571,36561,515312],"class_list":["post-2092882","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-electric-gas","category-telecommunications","category-water","tag-arcgis-utility-network","tag-data-management","product-arcgis-enterprise","product-arcgis-pro","product-utility-network"],"acf":{"authors":[{"ID":25891,"user_firstname":"Bill","user_lastname":"Meehan","nickname":"bmeehan","user_nicename":"bmeehan","display_name":"Bill Meehan","user_email":"bmeehan@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2020-04-14 16:27:05","user_description":"Author of four books: GIS for Enhanced Electric Utility Performance, Modeling Electric Distribution with GIS, Empowering Electric and Gas Utilities with GIS and Power System Analysis by Digital Computer, he is a sought-after speaker and thought leader. His blogs have been widely read. He has lectured extensively and taught courses at Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts. Bill holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and an M.S. in Electric Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Prior to joining Esri, Bill was the vice president of electric operations for a major electric and gas utility. Bill is a registered engineer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He currently is the Director of Electric Utility Solutions at Esri, the world's largest GIS company.","user_avatar":""},{"ID":304562,"user_firstname":"Robert","user_lastname":"Krisher","nickname":"Robert Krisher","user_nicename":"rkrisher","display_name":"Robert Krisher","user_email":"rkrisher@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2022-03-17 13:48:14","user_description":"Robert Krisher is a Product Engineer with Esri who has over 15 years of experience implementing Enterprise GIS for Utilities.","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"Learn how the ArcGIS Utility Network is ready to use without spending a significant amount of time configuring or customizing.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

When was the last time you bought software in a box? We used to love to crack open the box, read the user manual, and then insert the floppy disk into the drive. The term out-of-the-box software belongs to the scrap heap of expressions we still use that do not convey their original meaning. How about \u201cRoll down the window,\u201d \u201cYou sound like a broken record,\u201d or \u201cThat\u2019s a carbon copy.\u201d<\/p>\n

While \u201cout-of-the-box\u201d has lost its original meaning, the notion that software is ready to use without needing to spend a significant amount of time adjusting has tremendous value. It means it is fully functional now, without requiring a secondary investment to customize the software before you can use it. We wrote about this before in our article. Since Esri released the ArcGIS Utility Network, existing customers have often asked, \u201cCan\u2019t I build it myself?\u201d or \u201cWhy upgrade? Or \u201cWhat can I do with the utility network that I couldn\u2019t do before?\u201d and finally, \u201cWhat\u2019s the return on investment?\u201d<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Can\u2019t I Build It Myself?<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The utility network and its companion desktop software, ArcGIS Pro, are based on services-oriented architecture. The utility network has many new tools, functions, and capabilities not found in the prior version of Esri\u2019s network software or our competitor\u2019s offerings. A question that we occasionally get asked by customers \u00a0is \u201cCan\u2019t I build it myself?\u201d<\/p>\n

The short answer is yes. For example, you could build custom network tracing tools using any modern programming language. It might take a long time, but you could do it. It might cost a lot of money, but you could do it. It might even perform as well as the utility network. But that would take a lot of tweaking and testing. What happens when you run into a bug with your tools? What about when your users ask for new features? Is your tool supported in web and mobile applications? The issue is an old one. The cost of customizing software doesn\u2019t stop once it\u2019s built, it just switches to requiring constant care and feeding. What happens when the programmer who built the tool is no longer around?<\/p>\n

We hear stories of companies stuck with outmoded processes that rely on software customization because the developer supporting it is no longer around, and everyone is afraid to change it. So maybe you could build your own custom network application, but at what cost, and how long could you support it?<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Why Upgrade?<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The second question is, why not just leave the existing software alone? Any significant upgrade of software is painful. There will be some pain since the utility network has streamlined the data model and implemented substantial data validation rules. Many customers report that the biggest pain is all the data errors and inconsistencies this process discovers. This process then requires research and reworking of the data, paying down the technical debt of gaps in quality assurance processes. However, the result is higher quality data and a system that helps keep the data clean by preventing incorrect data entry up front. That\u2019s a very good thing.<\/p>\n

The most obvious answer to the why upgrade question is that the prior version is outdated and will eventually not be supported. That\u2019s true, but Esri has been very conservative about ceasing support for customers on older versions of software. While the obsolete issue is certainly true, the better answer is that upgrading to the utility network moves users from a simple network topology to an all-purpose network model. The utility business is dramatically changing with decarbonization, renewable resources, a huge focus on storage technologies, and climate change\u2019s unprecedented impacts. Utilities can no longer rely on a handful of desktop users in the office to have access to all the data and analytical tools. Every user of the software should have access to the full capabilities of the software and every enterprise system should have access to those same analytical capabilities. As stated earlier, they need a system that ensures high-quality data and minimal latency.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

What Can I Do Now I Couldn\u2019t Do Before?<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

A lot. The list is large. One of the hidden gems of Esri\u2019s utility network is that it is web services based, as stated above. This is not evolutionary. It is transformational. The utility network has torn down the boundaries between the office use of GIS and mobile users. What goes on in the field stays in the field is no longer true. Here is a short list of things you couldn\u2019t do before:<\/p>\n