Enterprise GIS

Matthew FreidCorporate GIS Program Manager

Bureau of Technology Services – City of Portland

Agenda

What exactly does Enterprise GIS mean and why should you care ?

Trends in Enterprise GIS

The City of Portland Example

Data, Software, & Systems

So just what is an Enterprise GIS ?

• Builds on the basic features of any GIS – Store, Edit, Analyze & Display data with a spatial component.

• When these functions are integrated across an organization so that large numbers of users can access them to meet a broad set of needs it becomes an Enterprise GIS implementation.

• Enterprise GIS implementations requires a team of specialists working to take the basic GIS building blocks and scale them up from individual or workgroup level to an organization.

Trends in Enterprise GIS

• Web GIS – move from Client / Server and Server side Web apps to Web Services, Client side Web apps.

• Mobile – GIS outside the firewall. Everyone moving to mobile devices using dedicated apps and browsers.

• New consumers of spatial data such as Business Intelligence, Big Data and Internet of Things beginning to show up in our environment. • Tableau• Uber • Navman

Why should you care about Enterprise GIS ?

• I’m going to talk about these three main components of our program along with what skills are needed and the roles our team fills.

• New trends in GIS are shifting from distributed to centralized structures as they become more data intensive, web based and mobile oriented.

• Even if you never work supporting Enterprise GIS, you will likely work with one and understanding their structure is important to using them effectively.

The City of Portland Example

• 6500 Employees : GIS professionals, data editors, business line specialists, field workers – and citizens too.

• Wide range of functions in the organization – public safety, utilities, planning, land management with new ones popping up all the time.

• Our Corporate GIS program concentrates on –• Collecting & Publishing Data• Providing Applications, Tools & Support• All the stuff needed to make it work – Hardware, RDBMS,

Monitoring, Internet components and ESRI’s Server Tier

Data – Collecting, Publishing & Integration

• Collecting data from across the organization –• Data is copied, projected, described with metadata and published

in multiple formats including SDE, File Geodatabase, Shapefiles

• Publishing data out –• Our read-only SQL Server tier is the ‘HUB’ that all users can access

• Provides a consistent authoritative data source – for example tax lots

• Web Services – Data deployed to ArcGIS Server tier and API’s, consumed by Desktop, ArcGIS Online, Portlandmaps

• Skills - Python, FME, SQL Server automation, ArcPy, Cold Fusion

• Roles – Data Automation Programmer, API Programmer

Data – Automation

• Design Workflows to move data from workgroups and outside organizations to a central repository, and then to endpoints users can access.

• Psuedo-Code Example:• Copy Data from SQL Server in Bureau where it is edited daily

• Run series of QA/QC checks – more features ? Same schema ? Required Attributes populated ?

• Write to staging database with field aliases and metadata in standard projection

• Reproject to Web Mercator proj, copy to File Geodatabase format on AGS

• Run QA/QC checks on published data – SQL and Web Mapping Services

• Lots of data means coordination of imports hourly, daily, weekly, etc.

• Python scripts, SQL jobs, FME workbench jobs accessing ArcPy and REST endpoints.

Data – Publishing

• Make the data accessible and available.

• Used to consist of SQL Server versions for ArcGIS and shapefiles for other users, now increasing dependency on API’s and Web Mapping Services.

• Our API’s provide Data ( JSON / GeoJSON ) and services like address verification. https://www.portlandmaps.com/development/

• Web Mapping Services: https://www.portlandmaps.com/arcgis/rest/services/Public

• Along with services, provide metadata and open data access so you anyone can access data and know what you are getting http://gis-pdx.opendata.arcgis.com/

• Python scripts, Cold Fusion for API creation, Lots of SQL for functions

Data – Integration

• Integration is bringing all the collected and published data and making it useful in more than just GIS applications

• Some key examples:• TRACS – Permitting system • IPS/Maximo/OWAM – Maintenance Management Systems• REGJin – Police Reporting System

• Data flows back from these Integrated System both as spatial data and tabular data with keys that make API’s and WMS work.

• ‘Enterprise’ Datasets are used in almost all integrations – address, street centerline, tax lots and others like neighborhoods, census.

• GIS Analyst is the main role in integration – not just Python / SQL but also ability to figure out how related systems work.

Applications, Tools & Support

• All the stuff you need to provide an interface between the Data and your End Users.

• We create and maintain Client / Server Applications for internal use, and Web Apps for staff and the public

• Tools range from productivity suites for specific tasks within client to widgets for web app development

• Support is important to provide training, problem solving and access to systems.

• Skills – C++, Jquery/Javascript, Interface Design – And Customer Service !

• Roles – .Net Studio Programmer, Web Programmer, GIS Analyst, Help Desk.

Applications & Tools

• Client / Server :• MapWorks – In house programmed light GIS client• CGIS ToolKit – Productivity tools for ArcMap• DME – Data Maintenance Environment for structured editing

• Web :• Portlandmaps• Integrated web editors, dashboards and viewers• Moving into DME and Integration projects - GeoCortex

• Skills – C++, Jquery/Javascript, Interface Design – And Customer Service !

• Roles – .Net Studio Programmer, Web Programmer, GIS Analyst, Help Desk.

Support

• Training and Consulting :• Helping users find resources

• Being an advocate for GIS use by helping people understand what it can do

• Prepare documentation, develop training materials, provide training

• Support :• Answer Help Desk calls

• Manage licenses and increasingly permissions/named users accounts

• Skills – Communications and Interpersonal skills along with technical ones

• Roles – Everyone who works to support an Enterprise GIS

System Administration – All the other stuff

• Enterprise GIS implementations require –• High availability

• Lots of complex interrelated systems working together

• Security

• The endless cycle of upgrades

• Traditional SysAdmin mixed with the newer DevOps model

• Skills – Server Admin, Database Admin, Monitoring, System Architecture

• Roles – Windows/Unix Server Admins, DBA’s, Software Architects, System Architects, InfoSec

System Administration

• We manage 50+ Servers for dev and production• Currently manage ~ 2 terrabytes data, with volumes increasing

each year• Web GIS requiring management of DMZ, Load Balancing,

complex integration with identity stores • High availability requires lots of monitoring, testing and design of

fault tolerant systems• New layers of software like ArcGIS Server add dependencies and

performance challenges that require constant re-architecting• More rapid technology cycles require lots of testing and lots of

parallel systems for testing• Security – used to be specialty now everyone needs to be

involved

Conclusions

Enterprise GIS implementations will become more necessary and more complex

Understanding how they work and having skills in that are important in multiple categories only becomes more

important

You get to do fun stuff when you work on them

Questions ?matt.freid@portlandoregon.gov

maps@portlandoregon.gov

www.portlandmaps.com

www.portlandoregon.gov/gis

www.linkedin.com/in/matthewfreid