{"id":2958812,"date":"2026-03-02T06:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2958812"},"modified":"2026-03-02T06:27:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:27:47","slug":"a-farewell-to-arcmap","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-desktop\/announcements\/a-farewell-to-arcmap","title":{"rendered":"A Farewell to ArcMap"},"author":308712,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[37101],"tags":[25891,25591,424632],"industry":[],"product":[36991],"class_list":["post-2958812","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements","tag-arcgis","tag-arcgis-desktop","tag-arcmap","product-arcgis-desktop"],"acf":{"related_articles":"","authors":[{"ID":308712,"user_firstname":"Christie","user_lastname":"Roland","nickname":"Christie Roland","user_nicename":"croland","display_name":"Christie Roland","user_email":"CRoland@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2022-04-21 20:05:12","user_description":"Christie is the Product Marketing Manager for ArcGIS Pro. Before coming to Esri, she studied Heritage Preservation and GIS in graduate school. In her spare time, Christie enjoys exploring the outdoors, hanging out with family, and trying new recipes in the kitchen.","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"A reflective farewell to ArcMap, honoring its impact on GIS professionals and the foundation it laid for modern GIS workflows.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

As of March 1, 2026, ArcGIS Desktop, including ArcMap, has officially retired<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more than two decades, ArcMap has been a trusted companion for an entire generation of GIS professionals around the world. It helped map our communities, analyze our environments, support critical decision-making, and bring spatial thinking into countless organizations. \u00a0For many of us, it was where we learned spatial thinking, built our first maps, and developed workflows that shaped not only our careers but the organizations we served, transforming how GIS was used.<\/p>\n

ArcMap wasn\u2019t just any old software. It was familiar and dependable-deeply tied to our day-to-day work and to who we were as GIS professionals. It was created at a time when GIS lived entirely on the desktop. That model made sense then and it worked well for many years.<\/p>\n

As technology evolved, so did GIS. The introduction of ArcGIS Server made it possible to share maps to the web, opening the door for GIS to grow beyond a single desktop application. From there, we continued to evolve ArcGIS to help you apply it to your changing processes and broader set of needs. Today, ArcGIS is a modern geospatial platform, supporting workflows that now span desktop, web, and mobile environments. GIS supports more roles across organizations, beyond just GIS teams. Data is shared more widely, updated more frequently, and used to support decisions in real time.<\/p>\n

With ArcMap\u2019s retirement, it\u2019s worth pausing to acknowledge what it made possible. The work created with ArcMap laid the foundation for modern GIS. It influenced how we design tools, how we think about workflows, and how we support the people who rely on GIS every day.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t about erasing the past. It\u2019s about recognizing it, building upon it, and moving forward with intention.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking ahead, there are resources available to help you explore how to take advantage of a modern GIS today and plan what comes next.<\/p>\n

Thank you for everything you built with ArcMap. And thank you for being part of the ArcGIS community.<\/p>\n

Continue the Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n