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ArcGIS: an incredibly useful, limited-support, field-monopolizing spatial analysis system.
October 18, 2019

ArcGIS: an incredibly useful, limited-support, field-monopolizing spatial analysis system.

Gabriella Lott | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with ArcGIS

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.
  • Better spatial analysis.
  • Lots more billable hours spent due to slow processing speed and confusion about processes at times. There is no "help desk" new analysts can easily refer to for troubleshooting or errors, and so you have to spend LOTS of time trying workarounds.
  • It has helped us to combine our economic modeling with different geographies...this is definitely impressive to clients.
ArcGIS is way more useful, especially in terms of bringing in non-ACS data. However, if we are in a rush, sometimes our firm will just make Social Explorer maps to easily get the point across. It's not really a comparison, though, and ESRI definitely has the field on lock because outside of ArcGIS, the main mapping tool we use is Business Analyst.
Unlike other platforms (ex: EMSI), there is no "help desk" new users can easily call into for troubleshooting or errors, and so you have to spend LOTS of time trying workarounds. This is also because the help center blog posts are usually pretty confusing, and many times do not include images or videos to help you along. Any such changes would be immensely useful!

Do you think ArcGIS delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with ArcGIS's feature set?

Yes

Did ArcGIS live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of ArcGIS go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy ArcGIS again?

Yes

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.