Esri (; Environmental Systems Research Institute) is an American multinational geographic information system (GIS) software company. It is best known for its

ArcGIS ArcGIS is a family of client, server and online geographic information system (GIS) software developed and maintained by Esri. ArcGIS was first released in 1999 and originally was released as ARC/INFO, a command line based GIS system for manipul ...

products. With a 43% market share, Esri is the world's leading supplier of GIS software, web GIS and

geodatabase A spatial database is a general-purpose database (usually a relational database) that has been enhanced to include spatial data that represents objects defined in a geometric space, along with tools for querying and analyzing such data. Most s ...

management applications. The company is headquartered in Redlands,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Founded as the Environmental Systems Research Institute in 1969 as a

land-use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as Human settlement, settlements and semi-natural habitats such as Arable land, arable fields, pastures, and managed Woodland, woo ...

consulting firm, Esri currently has 49 offices worldwide including 11 research and development centers in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific. There are 10 regional U.S. offices and over 3,000 partners globally, with users in every country and a total of over a million active users in 350,000 organizations. These include Fortune 500 companies, most national governments, 20,000 cities, all 50 US States and 7,000+ universities. The firm has 4,000 total employees, and is privately held by its founders. In a 2016 Investor's Business Daily article, Esri's annual revenues were indicated to be $1.1 billion. The company hosts an annual International User's Conference, which was first held on the Redlands campus in 1981 with 16 attendees. The 43rd User Conference was held in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

at the

San Diego Convention Center The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive. The center is managed by the San Diego ...

. In 2022, 31,590 users from 142 countries attended either in person or digitally.

Ownership

Jack and Laura Dangermond founded Esri in 1969.

Jack Dangermond Jack Dangermond (born 1945) is an American billionaire businessman and environmental scientist, who co-founded, with Laura Dangermond, in 1969 the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), a privately held geographic information system ...

is the current president. Esri is a privately held company and debt free.

Products

Esri uses the name

to refer to its suite of GIS software products, which operate on desktop, server, and mobile platforms. ArcGIS also includes developer products and web services. In a general sense, the term GIS describes any

information system An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...

that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares and displays

geographic Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

information for informing decision making. The term GIS-Centric, however, has been specifically defined as the use of the Esri ArcGIS geodatabase as the asset and feature data repository central to

computerized maintenance management system A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), also known as a computerized maintenance management information system (CMMIS), is any software package that maintains a computer database of information about an organization's maintenance o ...

s (CMMS) as a part of

enterprise asset management Enterprise asset management (EAM) involves the management of the maintenance of physical assets of an organization throughout each asset's lifecycle. EAM is used to plan, optimize, execute, and track the needed maintenance activities with the associ ...

and analytical software systems. GIS-centric certification criteria have been specifically defined by NAGCS, the National Association of GIS-Centric Solutions.

Desktop GIS

As of January 2021, the company's desktop GIS suite is

Desktop version 10.8.1 and ArcGIS Pro 2.7. ArcGIS Desktop consists of several integrated applications, including

ArcMap ArcMap is the main component of Esri's ArcGIS suite of geospatial processing programs, and is used primarily to view, edit, create, and analyze geospatial data. ArcMap allows the user to explore data within a data set, symbolize features accordin ...

ArcCatalog ArcGIS is a family of client, server and online geographic information system (GIS) software developed and maintained by Esri. ArcGIS was first released in 1999 and originally was released as ARC/INFO, a command line based GIS system for manipulat ...

, ArcToolbox, ArcScene, ArcGlobe, and

ArcGIS Pro ArcGIS Pro is desktop GIS software developed by Esri, which replaces their ArcMap ArcMap is the main component of Esri's ArcGIS suite of geospatial processing programs, and is used primarily to view, edit, create, and analyze geospatial data. ...

. The suite's main application today is ArcGIS Pro which is slowly replacing the former main components,

and ArcToolbox. Collectively these applications allow users to author, analyze, map, manage, share, and publish geographic information.

was introduced in early 2015 as a modern and fully 64-bit application with integrated 2D and 3D functionality. The product suite is available in three levels of licensing: Basic (formerly called

ArcView ArcView is the entry level licensing level of ArcGIS Desktop, a geographic information system software product produced by Esri. It is intended by Esri to be the logical migration path from ArcView 3.x. ArcView is now referred to as ArcGIS fo ...

), Standard (formerly called

ArcEditor ArcEditor is the midlevel software suite designed for advanced editing of spatial data published in the proprietary Esri format. It is part of the ArcGIS product. It provides tools for the creation of map and spatial data used in Geospatial Info ...

) and Advanced (formerly called

ArcInfo ArcInfo (formerly ARC/INFO) is a full-featured geographic information system produced by Esri, and is the highest level of licensing (and therefore functionality) in the ArcGIS Desktop product line. It was originally a command-line based system. ...

). Basic provides a basic set of GIS capabilities suitable for many GIS applications. Standard, at added cost, allows more extensive data editing and manipulation, including server

editing. Advanced, at the high end, provides full, advanced analysis and data management capabilities, including

geostatistical Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets. Developed originally to predict probability distributions of ore grades for mining operations, it is currently applied in diverse disciplines including petr ...

and

topological In mathematics, topology (from the Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing ...

analysis tools. Additionally, ArcGIS is compatible with following OGC standards: WFS, WCS, GFS and various others.

ArcGIS Explorer ArcGIS is a family of client, server and online geographic information system (GIS) software developed and maintained by Esri. ArcGIS was first released in 1999 and originally was released as ARC/INFO, a command line based GIS system for manipulat ...

, ArcReader, and ArcExplorer are basic

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for t ...

applications for viewing GIS data. ArcGIS Desktop extensions are available, including Spatial Analyst for raster analysis, and 3D Analyst for terrain mapping and analysis. Other more specialized extensions are available from Esri and third parties. Esri's original product,

ARC/INFO ArcInfo (formerly ARC/INFO) is a full-featured geographic information system produced by Esri, and is the highest level of licensing (and therefore functionality) in the ArcGIS Desktop product line. It was originally a command-line based system. T ...

, was a command line GIS product available initially on minicomputers, then on UNIX workstations. In 1992, a GUI GIS, ArcView GIS, was introduced. Over time, both products were offered in Windows versions, and ArcView also as a

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...

product. The names ArcView and ArcInfo were used for a while to name different levels of licensing in ArcGIS Desktop, and less often refer to these original software products. The Windows version of ArcGIS is now the only ArcGIS Desktop platform that is undergoing new development for future product releases.

Server GIS

Server GIS products provide GIS functionality and data deployed from a central environment.

ArcGIS Server ArcGIS Server is the core server geographic information system (GIS) software made by Esri. ArcGIS Server is used for creating and managing GIS Web services, applications, and data. ArcGIS Server is typically deployed on-premises within the orga ...

is an Internet application service, used to extend the functionality of ArcGIS Desktop software to a browser based environment. It is available on Solaris and Linux as well as Windows.

ArcSDE ArcSDE (''SDE'' for ''Spatial Database Engine'') is a server-software sub-system (produced and marketed by Esri) that aims to enable the usage of Relational Database Management Systems for spatial data. The spatial data may then be used as part o ...

(Spatial Database Engine) is used as a Relational database management system connector for other Esri software to store and retrieve GIS data within a commercially available database: currently, it can be used with Oracle, PostgreSQL, DB2, Informix and Microsoft SQL Server databases. It supports its native SDE binary data format,

Oracle Spatial Oracle Spatial and Graph, formerly Oracle Spatial, is a free option component of the Oracle Database. The spatial features in Oracle Spatial and Graph aid users in managing geographic and location-data in a native type within an Oracle database, po ...

, and ST_geometry.

ArcIMS ArcIMS (standing for Arc Internet Map Server) is a Web Map Server produced by Esri accessible through a web browser. It is a GIS that is designed to serve maps across the Internet. Sometimes these maps are just static images allowing simple pan ...

(Internet Mapping Server) provides browser-based access to GIS. As of ArcGIS 10.1, ArcIMS has been deprecated in favor of ArcGIS Server, but there are still many instances of ArcIMS (10.0 and older) in production environments. Other server-based products include Geoportal Server, ArcGIS Image Server and Tracking Server as well as several others.

Mobile GIS

Mobile GIS conflates GIS, GPS,

location-based service A location-based service (LBS) is a general term denoting software services which use geographic data and information to provide services or information to users. LBS can be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, indoor object search, en ...

s, hand-held computing, and the growing availability of geographic data. ArcGIS technology can be deployed on a range of mobile systems from lightweight devices to PDAs, laptops, and Tablet PCs. The firm's products for this use include Collector for ArcGIS, Survey123 for ArcGIS, ArcGIS QuickCapture and more. Former products and applications in this category included ArcPad and ArcGIS for Mobile.

Online GIS (ArcGIS Online)

ArcGIS includes Internet capabilities in all Esri software products. The services, provided through ArcGIS Online at www.arcgis.com, include web APIs, hosted map and geoprocessing services, and a user sharing program. A variety of basemaps is a signature feature of ArcGIS Online. The Esri Community Maps program compiles detailed user basemap information into a common cartographic format called Topographic Basemap.

Data formats

Vector

Shapefile The shapefile format is a geospatial vector data format for geographic information system (GIS) software. It is developed and regulated by Esri as a mostly open specification for data interoperability among Esri and other GIS software product ...

– Esri's proprietary, hybrid vector data format using SHP, SHX and DBF files. Originally invented in the early 1990s, it is still commonly used as a widely supported interchange format. * Enterprise Geodatabase – Esri's geodatabase format for use in an relational database system. * File Geodatabase – Esri's file-based geodatabase format, stored as folders in a file system. * Personal Geodatabase – Esri's closed, integrated vector data storage strategy using Microsoft's

Access Access may refer to: Companies and organizations * ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network * Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom * Access Co., a Japanese software company * Access Healthcare, an Indian BPO se ...

MDB format is a legacy format generally replaced by the file geodatabase in most contemporary use. * Coverage – Esri's closed, hybrid vector data storage strategy. Legacy ArcGIS Workstation / ArcInfo format with reduced support in modern application.

Raster

Esri grid An Esri grid is a raster GIS file format developed by Esri, which has two formats: #A proprietary binary format, also known as an ''ARC/INFO GRID'', ''ARC GRID'' and ''many'' other variations #A non-proprietary ASCII format, also known as an ''AR ...

– binary and metadataless ASCII raster formats. * Mosaic - data structure for managing and analyzing multidimensional raster and imagery data, including

netCDF NetCDF (Network Common Data Form) is a set of software libraries and self-describing, machine-independent data formats that support the creation, access, and sharing of array-oriented scientific data. The project homepage is hosted by the Unidat ...

GRIB GRIB (GRIdded Binary or General Regularly-distributed Information in Binary form) is a concise data format commonly used in meteorology to store historical and forecast weather data. It is standardized by the World Meteorological Organization's C ...

, and

Hierarchical Data Format Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) is a set of file formats (HDF4, HDF5) designed to store and organize large amounts of data. Originally developed at the U.S. National Center for Supercomputing Applications, it is supported by The HDF Group, a non-p ...

Esri Technical Certification

The Esri Technical Certification program was launched in January 2011. The program provides an exam based certification for Esri software. The core groups for the certification include Desktop, Developer, and Enterprise. Each subcategory under these groups have two certification levels, Associate and Professional.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1969 establishments in California Companies based in San Bernardino County, California GIS companies Map companies of the United States Redlands, California Remote sensing companies Software companies based in California Software companies established in 1969 Software companies of the United States Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles Technology companies established in 1969