🤨 Is Esri finally catching up?

I wrote a post a few weeks back on the position that Esri has taken around modern GIS equating to web GIS and while going through their materials I found something interesting.

Look it isn’t uncommon for ArcGIS to support new tools, particularly databases. But it begged the question: is Esri starting to embrace the future of GIS?

Look Esri doesn’t have to do anything if they don’t want to. They have a product for everything inside their ecosystem, and if they don’t they certainly have the professional services to build it. However, as the landscape rapidly evolves towards modern GIS principles, even giants must adapt or risk obsolescence.

The pleasant surprise? Esri is showing some signs of doing just that. Yet, while they make strides in certain areas, there are still crucial aspects where Esri’s offerings fall short of the modern GIS ideals.

DuckDB Connector

Let’s start with a positive note: the integration of DuckDB within ArcGIS Pro. DuckDB, an in-process SQL database management system, is a nod to the modern data stack, allowing for efficient querying and manipulation of data without the overhead of traditional databases. It’s a lightweight, agile tool that’s representative of the modular, interoperable nature of the modern data stack. By embracing DuckDB, Esri is acknowledging the need for more nimble and scalable data handling capabilities.

This move is indicative of a broader trend in the industry: the shift towards tools that can operate seamlessly within a composable data stack. It’s about harnessing the right tool for the right job, rather than relying on a monolithic system to do everything. This is the path forward for GIS technologies to remain relevant and effective.

The anchor of legacy systems

However, not all of Esri’s offerings are keeping pace. ArcPy, the Python site package for ArcGIS, still leans heavily on Esri’s traditional tools on the backend. This creates a bottleneck in terms of scalability and flexibility. Modern GIS demands that we move beyond such tight coupling and embrace an open, interoperable approach that allows for the integration of diverse tools and platforms.

Then there’s the issue of Esri Server and Feature Services. While functional, they simply won’t scale in the way that cloud-native formats and architectures do. The future of GIS lies in the cloud, but not just any kind of cloud. We’re talking cloud-native—built for the cloud from the ground up, leveraging the full potential of scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency. Unfortunately, Esri Server fits more into the category of cloud-enabled or cloud-based at best, rather than truly cloud-native.

The cloud conundrum

To fully understand the limitations of Esri’s current offerings, we need to differentiate between cloud-native, cloud-based, and cloud-enabled. Cloud-enabled systems are essentially legacy applications that have been migrated to the cloud but retain their original architecture. They benefit from the cloud’s infrastructure but don’t take full advantage of its capabilities.

Cloud-based systems, on the other hand, are designed to function more efficiently in the cloud, with some degree of automation and scaling. They are an improvement over cloud-enabled systems but still fall short of the flexibility and power of cloud-native systems, which are built expressly for the cloud, fully leveraging its capabilities for scalability and cost efficiency.

Esri has made some progress by containerizing certain services, which aligns more closely with cloud-native principles. Containerization allows for greater flexibility and scalability, as services can be easily deployed and managed in a cloud environment. Yet, this is just one piece of the puzzle. To truly embrace modern GIS, Esri must move beyond containerization and fully integrate cloud-native architectures across its platform.

Challenges and opportunities

Esri’s journey towards modern GIS is not without its challenges. The company’s vast legacy infrastructure and customer base make rapid transformation difficult. However, these same factors also present opportunities.

By positioning ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online as hubs for connecting to a broader ecosystem of modern services, Esri could leverage its existing strengths while embracing the future.

Consider the potential of integrating with cloud-native data warehouses or analytics platforms. They have started this by enabling seamless interoperability with tools like Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, and Snowflake, allowing Esri to offer users access to massive scalability and advanced analytics capabilities that are simply not possible within traditional GIS systems.

And let’s not forget about the realm of real-time data processing. Modern GIS increasingly requires the ability to handle constantly changing data, whether it’s from IoT devices, satellite feeds, or climate sources – often times at large scales.

Esri’s current architecture is ill-suited for such tasks, but with strategic partnerships and integrations, it could provide users with the tools they need to process and analyze data at the velocity required by today’s dynamic environments. These are some of the challenges we are looking to solve over at Wherobots by scaling Apache Sedona for problems like these.

The path forward

Esri has taken some promising steps, but the path forward requires a fundamental shift in how it approaches GIS technology. It must embrace the principles of the modern data stack and cloud-native computing, focusing on scalability, interoperability, and modularity. This means not only integrating modern tools like DuckDB but also rethinking the core architecture of its platforms.

Esri needs to position itself as a connector in the geospatial ecosystem, enabling users to leverage the best tools for their specific needs, whether those tools are part of Esri’s suite or from third-party providers. This shift will require a willingness to let go of traditional, monolithic approaches and fully embrace the open, collaborative nature of modern GIS.

The future of GIS is undoubtedly modern, cloud-native, and open. Esri’s journey towards this future is a work in progress, with some encouraging signs of progress but also significant challenges ahead. By acknowledging these challenges and continuing to adapt, Esri can maintain its leadership position and offer users the tools they need to navigate the complexities of the modern world.

The journey won’t be easy, but the rewards are immense. In the rapidly evolving landscape of geospatial technology, those who embrace change will not only survive but thrive. And for Esri, the time to embrace that change is now.

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