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ArcGIS

ArcGIS

Overview

What is ArcGIS?

Esri in Redlands, California offers ArcGIS, a geographic information system.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

ArcGIS is widely used across various industries and departments for a range of tasks. Users have found it valuable for assessing distances …
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Trusted Leader

10 out of 10
May 22, 2022
Incentivized
ArcGIS integrates with mapping and staking platform provided by NISC and is used to map services and is used in multiple iVUE applications …
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Happy Esri User

7 out of 10
October 22, 2019
Incentivized
We are an R&D Center at a University. Our applications are both internal and external:
Internally, we use ArcGIS to manage university …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

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Pricing

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Viewer

$100

On Premise
per year

ArcGIS for Personal Use

$100

On Premise
per year

ArcGIS for Student Use

$100

On Premise
per year

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

ArcGIS Online Join Features Demo 3 – Join to a table based on common attribute

YouTube

How to use Symbology demo in ArcGIS 10 - GT-101 - Washington College

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ArcGIS Collector App (iOS & Android)

YouTube

ArcGIS Maps for Power BI Demo - Drive Time Analysis

YouTube

Introduction to Python in ArcGIS Pro

YouTube

Curso online DEMO: ArcGIS aplicado a la Cartografía Geológica l Explorock

YouTube
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Product Details

ArcGIS Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Esri in Redlands, California offers ArcGIS, a geographic information system.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 9.

The most common users of ArcGIS are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(141)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

ArcGIS is widely used across various industries and departments for a range of tasks. Users have found it valuable for assessing distances between clinic sites and patient locations, generating maps, integrating data, and conducting spatial data analysis. It has become the go-to tool for logistics network optimization at FedEx and is extensively used in architecture, engineering, and civil engineering projects. In educational settings, ArcGIS is commonly used for completing projects and research tasks. It also plays a crucial role in research projects related to geography and groundwater chemistry analysis. Furthermore, ArcGIS facilitates collaboration between different fields of research and offers sophisticated visualization and statistical analysis capabilities. The software is integrated with mapping platforms to optimize operations across industries. Additionally, it has been instrumental in solving location and planning problems, promoting organized development, facilitating cartography, creating infographics, and presenting data in a visually engaging manner.

Versatile Tool: Users have found ArcGIS to be a versatile tool for planning and promoting organized development in various territories. It allows for the visualization, management, editing, calculation, and analysis of georeferenced entities and attributes. Many reviewers appreciate its wide range of possibilities with geographic data.

Intuitive Interface: ArcGIS is praised for its easy-to-use interface and intuitive menus. Users find it easy to learn, with localized tools that make navigation straightforward. The intuitive user interface has been mentioned by multiple reviewers as a positive aspect of using ArcGIS.

Powerful Integration: Reviewers highly value ArcGIS's powerful integration with other systems. They appreciate the continuous enhancement and upgrades that keep the software up-to-date. Additionally, the rock-solid ArcGIS.com cloud technology has been commended by users for its reliability and convenience.

Confusing User Interface: Many users have expressed frustration with the user interface of ArcGIS, finding it confusing and difficult to get used to. Some reviewers have suggested that a usability study should be conducted to improve the work process.

Expensive Cost: The high cost of ArcGIS is a common concern among users, especially for small companies and professionals in underdeveloped countries. Reviewers mention the expensive price of the software itself as well as the high annual maintenance fees compared to the new features provided.

Installation and Technical Support Issues: Users have reported problems with the installation process for new versions of ArcGIS, often requiring technical support. They have requested training materials and user-friendly videos to better utilize and understand the software.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 39)
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May 23, 2022

ArcGIS Review

Deveshan Govender | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use ArcGIS for asset management of municipal infrastructure and updating their and our databases. I also use it for catchment delineation and analysis. Drawing up localities and flood line drawings. We use ArcGIS for identifying areas and infrastructure present in an area in a preliminary way prior to starting a project so we can determine how much information we have and what may be outstanding and the extent of the projects.
  • Easy to operate
  • Assigning information regarding shapefiles on the attribute tables
  • Creation of layouts
  • Ease of drawings catchments, etc. by means of shapefile
  • Automation of some functions or features
It is extremely useful for the creation of databases of information and storing specific attributes to those particular features. It is not that useful for actual analysis and design projects.
May 22, 2022

Trusted Leader

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS integrates with mapping and staking platform provided by NISC and is used to map services and is used in multiple iVUE applications such as CIS, OMS, Map Viewer, AppSuite and iVUE Connect. ArcGIS Server helps to optimize our operations and day-to-day workflow.
  • Tight integration with NISC and other commercial systems
  • Helps to make better informed decisions and improve service
  • Planning new infrastructure and locating existing underground infrastructure
  • Building in more help tools into the application itself
  • Less restrictions on the licensing
  • Price could be lower but you really do get a lot of capability
There's not really a downside to the product. It meets every need that we have for performing staking and mapping functions. If you had to pick a scenario the only one would be for personal use. It is intended for organizations.
Rachel Piper | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
As a middle school history teacher, I often use ArcGIS in my classroom with my students. I often use the Geo-inquiries as a lesson with my students for them to get a broader understanding of our current unit's geography and it's larger affect on the world. Other teachers use it in their prospective classes for science, math, and even language arts. We have also utilized it to create surveys among our students to put on a mapping system. By allowing my students to manipulate maps, they get a much better understanding of geography in general.
  • Geo-inquiry lessons are already made and easy to integrate in the classroom.
  • Map manipulation allows students to fully understand geographical relationships.
  • Story maps are extremely easy for students to use and create their own.
  • PD training for me to better utilize and understand.
  • User friendly videos for my students to watch to better understand.
  • General training since some are difficult to implement.
We utilize ArcGIS for each of our units. For example, we just completed our unit on the Middle Ages and are starting our unit on the Renaissance. There is a GeoInquiry that has students manipulate a map to not only see but understand the spread of the plague. They can toggle on and off different layers and icons to see how deadly the plague truly was, and how it led to the rebirth of Europe.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have been a user of ArcGIS Desktop since the initial release of 8.0, and I manage a team of people that use it. It's currently used by pretty much every department at my municipality, from Emergency Operations, field data collection, internally mapping requests to name a few. The tools are used daily by staff that need to create report maps, determining if an planning application is viable. Our staff have also developed 3D models and are served up through web services to internal and external parties. We have also taken advantage of their portal technology for the publishing of Open Data. The tools have streamlined our business processes, and we can not function with out them.
  • Easy to use and learn
  • Extremely powerful for integration with other systems
  • Always being enhanced and upgraded
  • The ArcGIS.com cloud technology is rock solid
  • If your not on an Enterprise License Agreement, it can be expensive
  • If you are migrating to, this can be difficult. Use a consultant to assist
The application is best for organizations that need an enterprise GIS system. All students that are graduating from School that took GIS classes will have learned ArcGIS. If you need a GIS to do high end analytics, data science, or down to basic mapping, this is the tool for you. If you need to integrate your GIS with systems such as SalesForce, SharePoint, or virtually any other system, this is the tool that you should use. My organization can not survive with out ArcGIS
Charles Tremblay | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 3 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Territory development.
  • Powerful.
  • Intuitive.
  • User friendly.
  • GIS software for big or specialized business.
  • Expensive.
  • Weak service.
  • Weak and slow technical support.
  • Complex method to licensing (6 months later, we don't have access to all purchases).
  • Dependence on technical support.
Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst are very powerful and easy to use. I'm learning QGIS and it can make up to 90% of my needs. I think that this software is for big business; for smaller ones, I recommend taking QGIS and saving money to do complex analyses by a specialized company. In our case, it's more cash efficient.
Licensing methods are very complex and technical support is very slow. Dependent on technical support but it is hard to work with in low communication service territories.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
My organization uses ArcGIS for many different applications across the firm, ranging from uses in our 3D models to design and structural drawings. More specific uses include extracting exact coordinates for purposes of surveying, geophysical modeling, AutoCAD drafting, digitizing old construction drawings into 3D using LiDAR data, and geo-processing functions in ArcGIS. It has proved to be the go-to software package for anything involving mapping or coordinate calculation/extraction.
  • Digitization of 2D data into 3D
  • Multi-functional
  • ArcMap has a very old/cluttered interface
  • Can be a bit complex to learn
ArcGIS (ArcMap and ArcPro) is extremely useful in the engineering industry, especially in construction, subsurface geology determinations (for my case), utility locating, natural gas industry, 3D modeling (for working with shapefiles), georeferencing, the list goes on. There are better software packages out there for more specifics (such as with the 3D modeling), but I find ArcGIS to be great at many different things, rather the being the best at one task.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS is used by our organization to accomplish many geographic modeling tasks. The tasks include geocoding, building interactive web maps, creating analytical models to answer business questions, and for other advanced geographic analyses. The software is used across the organization by IT professionals as well as professional analysts with the technical know-how to address geographic questions.
  • ArcGIS is world-class with geographic analyses.
  • ArcGIS works well with web applications.
  • ArcGIS takes forever to open, and it seems to be getting slower with every new release.
  • The creators of the ArcGIS software make it more difficult to create add-ins for the product than what could be done with an open-source solution.
ArcGIS is well-suited for firms that need the most advanced geographic modeling capabilities. ArcGIS is capable of accomplishing most anything, and if the method is not programmed into the point-and-click interface, ArcGIS allows for custom programming extensions from professionals that know languages such as Python. The software is not for beginning geographers.
Yoni Dvorkis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have one named user license with ArcGIS as well as Open Streetmap Premium to enable us to geocode addresses for what is otherwise considered to be protected health information. This geocoded data is then plotted on map visualizations usually outside of ArcGIS where we can asses visual and geographic distance between our clinic sites and where our patients live.
  • Geocoding is very fast with StreetMap Premium.
  • Easy to use interface good for novices and experts alike.
  • Allows for geocoding to building location vs. mapping address which is useful for several of our applications.
  • Exporting data into excel as a CSV is a little clunky there should be a more intuitive way to do this.
  • License configuration is impossible to do for the end user. I needed customer support to walk me through every step is was much too complicated.
  • Updating street maps is confusing I would prefer a more intuitive interface that launches directly from ArcGIS to do this.
Geocoding addresses locally without sending PHI over unsecured internet this tool is very good to use. Map functionalities are intuitive and easy to implement, Also the process to export latitude and longitude from the tool into a data extract is easy to do once you do it a few times but the first couple of times might be tricky. I had to ask customer support to show me how to do all of these things the first time around.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
My organization engages is civil engineering projects related to transportation planning, traffic operations and safety planning. We support the Iowa DOT on their projects. We use ArcGIS extensively for working with geospatial data such as traffic and vehicle locations, crash sites, pavement monitoring sites etc. We use geodatabes and shapefiles extensively for handling large data sets. We also use queries to find specific information.
  • Storing information in the form of shapefiles is a big advantage
  • Using geodatabases to work with large data sets is a strength of ArcGIS
  • The ability to solve spatial problems using ArcGIS is a great tool
  • Publishing online maps is a great feature
  • Improvement in processing speed using CPUs
  • Importing CSV files could be made smoother
  • The pricing is too high to fully leverage using all the software's capabilities
The software is a great tool for working and manipulating spatial data, creating and publishing maps, reports and pdf documents. It can import data from spreadsheets. It can be used to solve complex spatial problems. It is not well suited for analyzing data that does not have a geospatial component.
October 22, 2019

Happy Esri User

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are an R&D Center at a University. Our applications are both internal and external:
Internally, we use ArcGIS to manage university needs, such as campus mapping and inventory. We also use the suite of products for teaching and production work.
Externally, it is used as a core solution for extramural projects - like building a county GIS or similar client needs.
  • Enterprise GIS - multi-user, multi-versioned geodatabase access through a host of apps and web tools really help people stay connected to data.
  • Cartography - fantastic control and customization available with the ability to automate workflows.
  • Training - tons of training videos, seminars, and other learning materials are easily accessed. The help documentation is superb.
  • Ability to manage an organization through dashboards is extremely helpful.
  • Hard to find things in Pro that I used frequently in ArcMap.
  • Dislike increasing reliance on having everything run as a script.
  • User management can get buggy.
Desktop GIS analysis is a continuing strength as are enterprise-wide applications and data management. Advanced configurations of Portal and the Amazon pricing model are a nightmare to sort out.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our research group, specifically, is using ArcGIS to spatially and statistically analyse groundwater chemistry across a large regional area. It allows for a really comprehensive understanding of the data and how it is spatially constrained, or not. Other research groups across the university, especially geography-related, use ArcGIS in their classes and in their research projects.
  • Various kriging/interpolation options for mapping out data and seeing the spatial variance.
  • Decent organizations structuring available for folders and subfolders.
  • Ability to project data on-the-fly simply, by dragging previously input data into a new data frame.
  • Aesthetically, it isn't exactly a modern looking interface, although that doesn't create issues with functionality.
  • If happens that if there are any special symbols in the excel spreadsheet you are trying to input, it will not allow the data to be input and will not state what the issue is. Best practice is no spaces, no special characters, join words with underscores.
  • Probably highly dependent on how much 'power' your computer has but often the interpolations and calculations take quite a long time to compute.
If you are managing data that have spatial coordinates associated with them, ArcGIS is a wonderful tool. Anything that has to do with data and location of that data is a well-suited case for the usage of ArcGIS. Clearly, if your data is not associated with spatial coordinates, ArcGIS is not going to be the best tool for you, since it is a GIS software...
Gabriella Lott | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
It's used across the whole organization for neighborhood analysis, geographic presentation of data, and more.
  • ArcGIS Online simplifies complicated functions in ArcMap.
  • Allows you to layer various data points on top of each other
  • Enables for some spreadsheet calculations within the platform (instead of having to do every single step in Excel before bringing it in as a CSV.)
  • Faster processing speeds.
  • Ability to work in multiple maps at once.
  • A "tips" indicator and better help blog posts.
Well suited when working to assess Census data and other metrics across a city at a tract or council district level, when you need to see things spatially. I also think ArcGIS is just good for making simple maps with clear labels, thanks to the ability to draw your own boundaries as map notes.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS is being used by our organization to map incidents, assets, work orders, and other features. It is used by almost all departments organization-wide to provide quick answers and analysis to spatial questions. Many problems can be better represented and analyzed in a spatial format. GIS provides the tools for that and in particular, ESRI's ArcGIS set of tools is expansive.
  • ArcGIS has continuously developed its toolset to provide an effective and easy to use GIS application to solve any problems that present themselves in a spatial format (the where in a who what where problem).
  • The tools themselves while complex in nature are fairly easy to learn and ESRI provides excellent training for them as well.
  • The software itself is an industry-standard and this makes it easy to find educated, experienced, and skilled employees.
  • Their support is very good. They are responsive, knowledgeable, and good with follow-through.
  • The newest user interface is well designed, easy to pick up and very comprehensive.
  • As the software has developed, the primary application has gone a couple of different directions. The latest versions have seemed to bring that back together. Hopefully, that will continue for the foreseeable future.
  • Cost is something that can be a hindrance to smaller organizations. We hope they would continue to work on their cost model to improve it in particular as it relates to the smaller government space.
When it comes to GIS applications, ESRI is the standard. We have been using their applications for 27 years and ArcGIS is a well-oiled product that has no rivals that we are aware of. We have used spatial mapping to analyze and solve problems in days that would have taken weeks to resolve in tabular formats. These analyses might not have been possible to even resolve without spatial data. ESRI's ArcGIS applications and online SAAS provisions allow this work to be done anywhere in the world at any time.
October 15, 2019

My Thoughts on ArcGIS

Arron Davis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS is a valuable and much needed program in my organization. Transitioning from paper to a digital format through maps and various data over the years. The capabilities make it possible for this to happen. Digitizing data and having it shown on a map allows our workers, contractors and other entities to be able to see our utilities and structures.
  • Many data and editing features.
  • Analysis
  • Easy functioning
  • Keyboard shortcuts
I believe the software is appropriate to manipulate the data in anyway that you want to.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Used by our research team:
- Audience and reach generation using census data
- Proximity Reports
- Spatial Analysis
- Market insights
- Infographic creation
  • Create availability to ESRI and Census data
  • Easy to use online platform that does not require you to download an application
  • Allows you to seamlessly share maps/layers within the team
  • Often times on the Business Analyst app, the site will crash or result in random glitches when handling large datasets
  • I would like the ability to handle more than 5000 geolocations while using the Arcmaps proximity search
Well suited for advertising agencies looking to create targeted campaigns (using census and geolocation data). The geolocating processing limits can be very limiting when you are trying to analyze large data sets.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I work in architecture and engineering, and much of our work involves preparing site visits. We use ArcGIS to plan, strategize, and model what our next steps are. ArcGIS provides us with all the mapping tools we need, as its toolboxes open a plethora of opportunity to analyze the spatial data we are working with.
  • ArcGIS has so many tools to manipulate spatial data.
  • ArcCatalog makes it easy to find files.
  • Creating tools and modeling are a breeze in ArcGIS.
  • There is a steep learning curve for ArcGIS users.
  • It takes a lot of computing power for ArcGIS, as it can't be installed on every computer.
  • At times, tools can be outdated and there are many similar competitors making more web-based tools that can replace ArcGIS.
Our team does a lot of coordination and scheduling for field assessments. ArcGIS is the most comprehensive and robust mapping program we've used and it has offered a lot of benefits to how we can strategically analyze our spatial data. The toolbox of modeling tools is especially helpful when we are predicting future routes or analyze the spatial data we are given.
Scott McGee | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We utilize ArcGIS Server and ArcMap products from ESRI. Some of the data we manage is our sanitary and stormwater systems, parcels, streets, and road signs. We use ArcGIS to conduct our field inspections for sanitary sewer and stormwater which helps us with determining the correct maintenance action to perform. Our zoning map and voting maps are all in our GIS system as well which makes changing boundaries very easy. ArcGIS online allows us to publish our maps to the internet which allows our mobile teams to access our GIS data in real time.
  • ArcGIS makes exporting maps to PDF documents very simple - file-export and 30 seconds later you have a PDF.
  • The editing tools for ArcGIS are very powerful and allow us to make changes on the fly with little effort.
  • ArcGIS online publishes our maps to the internet with only a few clicks within the client application.
  • If you don't have any existing ArcGIS products, it's a very expensive piece of software to acquire.
  • Annual maintenance fees are rather high compared to the new features that you get.
  • You will need a computer with a powerful graphics card to fully utilize all of the software's capabilities.
If you need to maintain any type of assets that are underground this software is an excellent choice. The user interface is very easy to navigate and the ability to turn layers on and off similar to AutoCAD applications is very beneficial.

If you are looking for a CAD replacement, ArcGIS is not a suitable replacement. It does not have the accuracy tolerance that a CAD application will have.
Thomas Young | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS is used by my organization to present geographic maps and to do a host of geographic analytics. The tool offers geocoding, buffers, traffic analytics, and many other tools that can't possibly be listed here. ArcGIS is used across the organization for the purposes just mentioned. Perhaps the most advantageous part of ArcGIS is that it is the geographic tool of choice for so many analysts that it's not hard to find help from another analyst.
  • ArcGIS has such a large user base that accomplishing a geographic task is much easier than using other competing tools. Whenever you have a question, almost always, perhaps always, someone else has had the same question and had it answered by the ESRI professionals.
  • ArcGIS is perhaps the most advanced tool for geographic analyses. You can just about do anything you want to with geographic data.
  • ArcGIS's recent move towards online interactivity is awesome. They've made data transparency much simpler.
  • ArcGIS takes forever, not kidding, to open. Especially if you have tons of data in the system. If you plan on using ArcGIS with big data sets make sure you have an awesome computer.
  • ArcGIS offers so many advanced analytics tools that it's hard not to use it over other tools. But, those other tools come with costs. I wish ArcGIS came with all the analytical toolsets in the base package.
  • Learning the python coding side of ArcGIS isn't for the faint of heart. It's not hard, but it's not exactly easy to become completely competent at either.
Of all the geographic analysis tools I have used, the one I always come back to is ArcGIS. The software is able to accomplish any geographic analysis task possible, and the time it takes to accomplish the task is usually much less than other tools. ArcGIS is well-suited for proximity analysis, transportation analysis, geographic coding, geo-regressions, and many, many other common analytical tasks for spacial analysts. The software is not well-suited for any analysis that doesn't need geographic analysis. It's only geography and geography's connection with statistics.
John Michael Callen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS is used throughout many departments of the company, including the geology and engineering departments. The software is primarily used as a map generation and geospatial reference software, as well as a means to efficiently combine data from multiple other servers and databases. To a lesser degree, it is also used for its geo-analytical computing power.
  • ArcGIS is very effective at efficiently manipulating maps and display details of layers in order to make both aesthetically pleasing and extremely customizable in order to convey all of the necessary information to the end map viewer.
  • ArcGIS allows for easy compilation of data from many different sources (spreadsheets, database servers), as well as many options for combining/linking this data.
  • The learning curved surrounding manipulating certain elements of layer displays can be somewhat steep. In some cases, these display options do not act the same between shapefiles from different software sources.
  • Formatting of Excel spreadsheets in order to join and use them in ArcGIS can be difficult.
The program is well suited when you need Data from the server database and spreadsheets to join information in shapefiles.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS is commonly used across the geology department, and it is also used by other departments besides the geography department, and within our research collaborations across the world. It provides a universal system for us to collaborate together and understand different components of our research projects. It is a great tool for connecting different fields of research to resolve issues or unanswered questions.
  • Analysis of large data sets. We can easily transform large data sets.
  • Accessibility with the online communication and collaboration capabilities.
  • Spatial statistics analysis.
  • A creative mode for certain types of abstract projects.
  • Analyzing raw data that has not been statistically analyzed yet.
  • Naming conventions.
ArcGIS is well suited for transferring data to spatial abstracts in my field. However, there are many instances such as using remote sensing techniques where other softwares are obviously more appropriate.
Abigail Bowden | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS is an extremely powerful tool for many industries, but in my current geophysical surveying company we use it frequently to create site maps, overlay data, plan surveys, and figures for final reports. It is mostly used by employees who process data and finalize reports. ArcGIS allows us to make extremely detailed and accurate images with geologic features, spatial references, and pretty much anything else applicable to that project! It is incredible. Though creating images is one of many tools available, ArcGIS can also do analyses on points in an area, density, it really does anything you could want.
  • Figures- from scales and legends to excellent graphic quality, ArcGIS is the best way to create detailed figures for reports and presentations
  • Spatial Analysis- for my line of work, being able to calculate densities and relationships between geologic and geographic features is very useful. ArcGIS does a great job of this.
  • Navigation- for such a high powered program, ArcGIS is surprisingly easy to navigate as a beginner. Though there are semester-year long classes available for learning more of the ins and outs, it is possible to teach yourself basic tasks in ArcGIS.
  • Better tutorials available. While the basic functions are pretty straightforward, it would be awesome to have more resources available online to figure out specific tasks
  • Saving work. The first thing they taught us about ArcGIS was to ALWAYS SAVE your project. Constantly saving it. It would be incredible if they could make ArcGIS save projects automatically while you're working on them. Fewer tears may be shed if they do so.
ArcGIS is pretty much well suited for any spatial analysis needs you may have. It is not good if you are doing extremely simple tasks or just need a basic figure, because the time necessary for preparing things in ArcGIS will be too much. ArcGIS is great for complex data analysis where there are multiple factors over a large area.
FRANCO PIÑERO | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The program is used by the planning and development direction of the company. Thanks to ArcGIS, it has managed to solve problems of location of services and jobs by means of data vectoring, geo-referencing of polygons and superposition of data. It has been an excellent tool for planning the territory in order to promote organized development. This program has helped in the visualization, administration, edition, calculation, analysis of entities and geo-referenced attributes in different works. I also managed to solve the difficulties in the elaboration of cartography with thematic layers previously identified by a characteristic indicated when starting to work in ArcGIS.
  • Geo-referencing of data for the exact location of an object for the planning and development of the territory.
  • Is a program with excellent work tools for visualization, administration, editing, calculation, analysis of entities and attributes geo-referenced in different jobs.
  • Contains multiple work tools that allow the elaboration of cartography with thematic layers previously identified by a characteristic indicated when starting to work in ArcGIS.
  • I consider it difficult to use, it has an interface that needs to be studied to offer the user the use of the applications in a simpler and simpler way.
  • It is an expensive program that requires the investment of a large sum of money, which can be used to modify other work areas.
  • Is a program that requires a greater installed capacity of the computer so that the tools work correctly, being a disadvantage that can generate a delay in the delivery of the work.
ArcGIS is suitable for working on complex projects or activities that require high professional quality and detail. ArcGIS is ideal for the vectorization of hydrographic basins and mountainous reliefs because it contains the options of point, polygon and line that facilitate the identification of the things that we want to highlight. ArcGIS is ideal for the superposition of maps in order to analyze and evaluate the territory. ArcGIS is not ideal for simple activities or easy to solve because it is a difficult program to work and learn.
Shelby Bowden | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use ArcGIS on a daily basis across the whole department. Users range from professors, professionals, graduate students, undergraduates, and even some high school students. It is an awesome tool that we use to manage, display, and manipulate the often large quantity of data that we deal with. No other software stands up to it.
  • Data display and customization
  • Editing data files such as merging, joining, and separating them
  • Data sharing with other programs such as Google Earth
  • Uses an insane amount of RAM
  • Constantly needs internet access to use a license, which can be a problem when working in the field
  • Confusing use of different generations of files
ArcGIS is extremely well suited for work in geoscience, even if you aren't doing anything statistics or data manipulation related. It is an excellent tool to display almost any type of data, and the images created in ArcGIS are publication-quality without any other editing. Sometimes it can be overkill if you are doing something more simple, and often the job can be done in Google Earth.
Rafael Mejias | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ArcGIS is used by two departments in my place of work, with this software we approach the elaboration of thematic maps. We also use it to plan the territory and analyze the impact of possible projects on the environment.
  • Analysis of the territory.
  • Advanced functions for maps and plans.
  • Cost of the license.
  • Incompatibility of old formats in the new versions of ArcGIS, for example, work done in ArcGIS 9 many times is not compatible with Arcgis 10.0.
ArcGIS adapts very well in the realization of thematic maps, it gives me a large number of options to represent on the map the study that is to be carried out. I believe that the management of the labels must be improved, often these overlap and the interface is not very intuitive to solve the problem.
Andres Meza | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Arcgis is being used by the engineering department for the geographic location of all the company's commercial offices, it is an excellent tool that has allowed working with very large databases, systematized by maps or ideal tables for analysis and decision making. Using ArcGIS the company addresses the way to be more efficient in the delivery of materials, equipment, and personnel that the company decides to mobilize throughout the national territory, in order to reduce cost and maximize profits.
  • It allows the work with JPG image to vectorize data, georeferencing of polygons and superposition of data.
  • It is a very important tools to plan the territory in order to promote the organized development.
  • It has a set of tools that facilitates the visualization, management, editing, calculation, analysis of georeferenced entities and attributes in different jobs.
  • It has an option for professional quality work of cartographies.
  • It offers the possibility of working by thematic layer previously identified, being ideal for the planning of the territory and the design of the cartographies that we need for the work.
  • It is a program that in general is very difficult to use.
  • I do not like the interface, I think they should carry out a usability study to improve the work process, with the purpose that it is easier to use.
  • It is a program that requires updated computer equipment so that the functions of ArcGIS can work correctly.
  • I consider that there is little variety offered by ArcGIS for the design of cartography.
  • It is an expensive program that requires an investment that small companies can not cover.
It is a program that adapts to the following work scenarios:

1. Georeferencing of data (property, furniture, company, industry, schools, health center, sports stadiums).

2. Vectorization of hydrographic basins, and topography plans.

3. Presentation of maps of various themes vegetation, soil, geomorphology, climate, relief.

4. Territory planning tool.

5. Work with areas of large territories.

The scenarios where it is least adapted are the following:

1. Work planes of scales less than 1: 1000.

2. Work with plans of small urban communities.

3. Work with the vectorization of pipes, electrical lines, etc.
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