"},{"ID":5171,"user_firstname":"Michael","user_lastname":"Branscomb","nickname":"Mike Branscomb","user_nicename":"mbranscomb","display_name":"Mike Branscomb","user_email":"MBranscomb@esri.com","user_url":"https:\/\/developers.arcgis.com\/","user_registered":"2018-03-02 00:16:51","user_description":"Mike Branscomb is a Product Manager for the ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps and ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Game Engines. With over 20 years of experience working in the Esri ecosystem, he specializes in .NET, Local Server, and 3D Scene Layers. Mike is also a Scrum Product Owner with over 10 years of experience guiding teams through the product development lifecycle.","user_avatar":"
"}],"show_article_image":true,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-30.png","wide_image":false,"short_description":"Discover how frox used ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET to transition from a traditional monolithic software architecture to a modern one.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"For over fifteen years, FROX GmbH – Die IT Fabrik,<\/a> a Silver Esri partner<\/a>, has been developing innovative software solutions for digital surveying and mobile Geographic Information System (GIS) data acquisition. With a diverse client base of over 450 customers\u2014including government agencies, infrastructure firms, environmental organizations, and utility providers\u2014frox excels in delivering high-precision measurement tools for critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n To meet the wide range of rigorous requirements from this diverse audience, frox has developed a suite of digital surveying and mobile GIS applications including FX Smart, FX Reality, FX Collector, and FX Survey. The digital field book, FX Survey, provides precise on-site measurement and data capture through integration with a wide range of high-precision Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Totalstations, Computer-Aided Design (CAD) plans, GIS data, and seamless integration with the back office.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2750182,"id":2750182,"title":"FX survey being used on a Panasonic Toughbook FZ-G2","filename":"Untitled-23.png","filesize":2993917,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/sdk-net\/developers\/enhancing-surveying-efficiency-frox-its-success-with-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-net\/untitled-23-2","alt":"Close-up of a Panasonic Toughbook FZ-G2 tablet displaying a map, being used outdoors with a stylus.","author":"354132","description":"","caption":"FX survey being used on a Panasonic Toughbook FZ-G2.","name":"untitled-23-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2750032,"date":"2025-04-07 18:49:25","modified":"2025-04-13 06:49:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23-1536x864.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23-826x465.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-23.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Frox has been innovating in the survey and engineering software industry for over fifteen years, but started to face technical challenges typical of codebases that have evolved over several years. A traditional, monolithic software architecture began to pose challenges for maintenance, updates, and innovation. Furthermore, with the upcoming retirement of its software’s underlying GIS technology, ArcGIS Engine<\/span><\/a>, approaching in March 2026, engineers at frox seized the opportunity to update.<\/p>\n Their goal was to transition to an architecture with a smaller footprint for lightweight applications designed for modern mobile devices and rugged tablets. Frox also aimed to use a developer kit that supported the latest high-performance layer types within the ArcGIS ecosystem, particularly for the integration of vector tile basemaps. It had to build performant and consistent applications that would run seamlessly in both online and offline environments. Finally, frox needed flexible, self-contained deployments that would allow applications to be deployed side-by-side on devices, simplifying ongoing maintenance and management.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2750662,"id":2750662,"title":"FX survey being used on a Panasonic Toughbook.","filename":"Untitled-24.png","filesize":2760525,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/sdk-net\/developers\/enhancing-surveying-efficiency-frox-its-success-with-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-net\/untitled-24-2","alt":"Close-up view of a person using a Panasonic Toughbook tablet in a construction site.","author":"354132","description":"","caption":"In the field at a construction site with FX Survey.","name":"untitled-24-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2750032,"date":"2025-04-07 22:35:42","modified":"2025-04-13 06:50:50","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24-1536x864.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24-826x465.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-24.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" To meet the challenge, frox chose Esri\u2019s ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps<\/a> to modernize its solutions and align with the latest software development trends, tools, and patterns. With existing expertise in .NET and C#, the frox development team naturally selected the ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET<\/a>. This decision enabled frox to realize several key benefits of the SDK, including a modern 64-bit architecture and support for the latest Microsoft .NET application development platform. This choice also enabled seamless integration with its existing Continuous Integration and Delivery processes, saving the time required to re-implement them. The modern, asynchronous design of the API, along with support for .NET features such as nullability, enabled the team to build applications that are more responsive and robust. Comprehensive support for the .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI) desktop and mobile cross-platform framework were also crucial to frox’s decision to use ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET. These features enabled it to use the same mapping SDK for other mobile surveying and GIS applications that run on Android and iOS. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2759362,"id":2759362,"title":"FX Survey SS","filename":"Untitled-31-1.png","filesize":1346906,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/sdk-net\/developers\/enhancing-surveying-efficiency-frox-its-success-with-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-net\/untitled-31-3","alt":"A screenshot shows a geographic information system (GIS) software interface displaying a map with plotted points, lines, and a photograph.","author":"354132","description":"","caption":"FX Survey software displaying a map with numerous points of interest highlighted.","name":"untitled-31-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2750032,"date":"2025-04-14 22:15:57","modified":"2025-04-14 22:16:37","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1020,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":247,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":408,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":1020,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1-1536x816.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":816,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1020,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1-826x439.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":439,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-31-1.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1020}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" The Native Maps SDKs provide common API patterns for working with online and offline data. Frox leveraged this capability to support both online and offline scenarios, ensuring resilient and secure data access in the field, allowing mobile workers to continue their tasks even with limited or no network connectivity. The .NET Maps SDK also enabled frox to take advantage of the diverse deployment options offered by ArcGIS, including Software as a Service (SaaS) via ArcGIS Online, self-hosting with ArcGIS Enterprise, and consumption-based data and location services through ArcGIS Location Platform. The integration with ArcGIS Location Platform and ArcGIS Online unlocked access to ready-to-use, high-performance basemaps.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2759372,"id":2759372,"title":"FX Survey SS2","filename":"Untitled-32.png","filesize":1248600,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/sdk-net\/developers\/enhancing-surveying-efficiency-frox-its-success-with-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-net\/untitled-32-2","alt":"A screenshot shows a geographic information system (GIS) software interface displaying a map with plotted points, lines, and a photograph.","author":"354132","description":"","caption":"The FX Survey interface displaying a map with plotted points, lines, and a photograph.","name":"untitled-32-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2750032,"date":"2025-04-14 22:17:16","modified":"2025-04-14 22:17:39","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1020,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":247,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":408,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":1020,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32-1536x816.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":816,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1020,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32-826x439.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":439,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-32.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1020}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Frox leveraged the flexible licensing model supported by Native Maps SDKs. This allowed customers to maximize the use of their existing ArcGIS organizations and accounts through User Types<\/a>, while also supporting software licensing for standalone environments via deployment packs. Finally, familiar fundamental concepts within the .NET Maps SDK, coupled with extensive documentation, samples, tutorials, and an active online community, significantly reduced the learning curve for the development team.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n To facilitate a smooth transition for its development team and end-users, frox opted for an incremental migration approach to ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET. This process involved gradually re-implementing functionality while maintaining a period of dual operation, during which the team added the new logic using ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET to the existing architecture that used ArcGIS Engine.<\/p>\n The first step was to separate the business logic, Geographic Information System (GIS) logic, and User Interface (UI) logic. Next, frox abstracted the core logic and implemented it to support both the new .NET Maps SDK MapView UI control and the corresponding legacy ArcGIS Engine MapControl. The final stage was to methodically migrate each feature or function, ensuring a seamless transition.<\/p>\n A crucial workflow within FX Survey is the ability to import Computer-Aided Design (CAD) plans, enabling users to visualize and interact with these designs. To support this workflow, the team used functionality in the ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET to create new mobile geodatabases on the device, define table schemas, and populate those tables with data.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2750352,"id":2750352,"title":"CAD Data in FX Survey","filename":"CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey.png","filesize":2214008,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/sdk-net\/developers\/enhancing-surveying-efficiency-frox-its-success-with-arcgis-maps-sdk-for-net\/cad-data-in-fx-survey","alt":"","author":"354132","description":"","caption":"CAD data displayed in FX Survey.","name":"cad-data-in-fx-survey","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2750032,"date":"2025-04-07 19:20:04","modified":"2025-04-14 22:33:26","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1020,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":247,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":408,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":1020,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey-1536x816.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":816,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1020,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey-826x439.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":439,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CAD-Data-in-FX-Survey.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1020}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" The development team leveraged the open-source toolkit included with the Native Maps SDKs, which simplified development by offering controls that can be used out-of-the-box or customized to meet specific requirements. Frox used the BasemapGallery control to give end-users easy access to a choice of high-performance basemaps from either the ArcGIS Location Platform or their own organizations. Frox also utilized the dynamic legend control to help users understand symbols and styles on maps.<\/p>\n Frox successfully completed the migration, achieving outstanding results. FX Survey pilot users reported a 25% reduction in time spent on measurements in the field and an impressive 80% reduction in time spent during post-processing in the office, primarily due to the high accuracy of the data at time of capture. The application continues to provide feedback from pilot customers using their next generation software.<\/p>\n Frox successfully overcame its technical challenges and transitioned from a traditional monolithic software architecture to a modern one. The separation of business and presentation logic enabled frox to achieve scalability, maintainability, and testability. An incremental approach to migration allowed for rigorous testing throughout the process, ensuring that the tools its customers rely on each day for managing critical infrastructure continue to deliver precise and accurate results.<\/p>\n At the heart of its solution, frox used the ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET, leveraging the benefits of modern .NET application development, such as cross-platform support and code reuse. This choice enabled the company to build out its suite of native apps, including mobile GIS offerings for Android and iOS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A key feature of frox’s FX Survey solution is its efficient, robust, and secure flow of digital data and information between the field workforce and the back office. As part of the modern ArcGIS system, Esri\u2019s Native Maps SDKs support a range of architectural patterns, including PaaS and SaaS options like ArcGIS Location Services and ArcGIS Online, as well as the self-hosted option of ArcGIS Enterprise. By leveraging the flexible licensing model of the Native Maps SDKs, frox has created solutions that are relevant to customers both with and without existing ArcGIS implementations. This enables customers with established ArcGIS setups to maximize their investment by fully utilizing their existing user types.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Frox developers found significant value in their ongoing engagement with Esri engineers and leaders, both through the Esri Community channels<\/a> and at in-person meetings during Esri\u2019s International Developer Summits. These interactions allowed them to seek advice, confirm their design and implementation strategies, and stay informed about upcoming releases.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Frox has an ambitious roadmap for FX Survey, which includes maximizing offline workflows using web maps and offline map areas. Additionally, the team is focused on continuing to harness the cross-platform capabilities of ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET to leverage their existing .NET and C# development skills, to create mobile applications like FX Reality and FX Smart that can run seamlessly on both Android and iOS platforms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" <\/p>\n To learn more about the ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps, visit our Webpage<\/a><\/strong>. For detailed documentation, head over to the\u00a0Esri Developer Site<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0Also, stay in the loop with the latest in Developer technology by subscribing to the\u00a0Esri Developer Newsletter.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\nThe challenge: tackling a complex codebase and ArcGIS Engine\u2019s upcoming retirement<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The solution: modernizing with Esri\u2019s ArcGIS Maps SDKs for native apps<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\nThe implementation: incremental adoption of ArcGIS Maps SDK for .NET<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
The result: major boost to productivity<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
The conclusion: successful transition to a modern architecture<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
The way forward: maximizing potential with ArcGIS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n