Ensuring That Hawai’i’s Open Data Portal Remains Open

The Hawai’i Geospatial Open Data Portal created and managed by the Hawai’i Statewide GIS Program, is a resource-rich cache of data about the 50th state. As its name indicates, geographic information system (GIS) datasets are publicly available for discovery and downloads, with the goal of providing transparency between government entities and those they serve. Built with Esri’s ArcGIS Enterprise software, the Geospatial Open Data portal is one of the most important and well-known components of the Hawai’i Statewide GIS Program. It is the most-visited site for geospatial data in Hawai’i, attracting hundreds of visits each day.

Visitors to the site can find datasets on—among other things—state population and school districts; a dashboard detailing broadband connectivity; and interactive stories that range from the natural and cultural significance of Ka’ena Point, considered by Indigenous Hawaiians to be one of the most sacred places on the Island of O’ahu, to the state’s Ocean Resources Management Plan.

When datasets in the portal were suddenly no longer downloadable, the situation affected GIS work across agencies accessing data from the site. The interruption also jeopardized the state’s reputation for promoting publicly accessible, free open data sharing.

It was clear that the issue called for an urgent solution. With that in mind, staff contacted their technical account manager at Esri Premium Support Services. Premium Support is a subscription-based program offering prioritized case management; direct routing to an analyst when an issue is reported; and technical support 24/7, 365 days a year. The round-the-clock support for Hawai’i’s GIS program is especially crucial because any service interruptions affect access to datasets for multiple state government agencies as well as the public. Hawai’i’s time zone creates additional challenges, since it is two to six hours outside regular business hours in the continental US. Additionally, the GIS program uses their access to Premium Support Services to support over 1,000 users in multiple state agencies when technical issues arise with their mission-critical projects.

Esri analysts quickly got to work on identifying and solving the issues. When initial troubleshooting did not resolve the incident during the remaining business hours, the case was sent to the support after-hours team. Multiple analysts joined a troubleshooting session with the customer to further diagnose, troubleshoot, and ultimately identify the source of the issue.

“The Hawai’i GIS program often relies on leveraging after-hours support, which is available through its Premium Support subscription. Staff have a technical account manager (TAM) and an Esri team that already understands their business needs and processes, so we could assess the severity of the issue and guide support incidents more effectively,” explained Colin Werle, the TAM at Esri for the State of Hawai’i.

“It was clear to me from the start of this case that Esri understood the critical nature of this incident and assigned highly skilled analysts to the case,” explained Joan Delos Santos, State of Hawai’i geodatabase manager. “I was informed that in addition to the initial analyst that I was communicating with, others were looking deeper into the issue. On a call with Premium Support, there were three analysts attempting to help diagnose the problem.”

Further investigation involved analysts from Esri Managed Cloud Services, since there were indications that the issue might be related to a recent digital certificate installation. A digital certificate uses special security keys to confirm that a device, server, or user is verified. This helps organizations make sure that only trusted devices and users can access their networks.

Once the support team determined that a certificate was the cause of the problem, the Esri Managed Cloud Services team was able to obtain a new certificate and have it installed. Once the installation was complete, the download problem was solved.

With site downloads restored, the Hawai’i GIS team and its colleagues were able to resume data downloads as well as make data available to the public once more. Delos Santos expressed her gratitude for the Esri Premium Support team’s “fast response and excellent diagnostic skills and, especially, for everyone’s appreciation of the seriousness of this issue, all of which played a part in helping us to get our open data site up and running again.”