I’d hazard a guess the community you serve, whether it’s internal staff, customers, or the general public, is also growing by the day as more and more people switch onto the value of maps and spatial. My observation is that along with this exponential rise in interest in all things GIS, there is a matching increase in people’s expectations that they can just access your “stuff” from wherever they are and it won’t take a degree in GIS to do it.

To a great degree, that expectation is driven by their experience accessing other high value content. If you think about Search, or News or Social Networking – the successful places to go on the web tend be associated with many of the words below.

Good destinations tend to be...

I bet your maps and data tick those boxes, but what about the piece that connects content with consumer? If you have one in place at all, does it share those same characteristics? Is it the place to go?

At the upcoming round of Directions events running during February and March, I’m going to be talking about ways that ArcGIS Online can help you deliver that “go to” destination that your community will keep coming back to.

ArcGIS Online is evolving rapidly so whether you’re completely new to it, or perhaps you’ve not looked at it for a while, I would encourage you to come along and find out more about this emerging pattern of Cloud GIS.

More information on the Directions events near you can be found here.

I hope to see you there.

Josh V

Over three days, it covers:

• The basics of Python;
• The ArcPy site package;
• Compiling scripts using iterations and lists;
• Incorporating ArcGIS environment settings;
• Adding geometry;
• Updating tables;
• Tracking errors;
• Building Python scripts to generate multiple-page mapping output (data driven pages);
• And much, much more!

It is designed for beginners, and is for GIS users – rather than pure programming.

The course is being held in the following locations:

• Perth and Canberra: 6 – 8 March
• Melbourne: 2 – 4 April
• Adelaide: 8 – 10 May
• Brisbane: 29 – 31 May

Take the plunge and learn Python today!

Contact training@esriaustralia.com.au for more details, or read the Python Course guide.

Kath S

The first thing you’ll notice when you look at the program is that we’ve put a larger focus on the business applications of GIS –  and we would like to take you on that journey with us. So while you will still see some amazing technology and cool tools, you will also gain an understanding into where GIS can fit into your business, how GIS can extend your current spatial offerings, and how to help others in your organise see the potential. Many of our users have also kindly agreed to get up on stage and share their experiences and their achievements with ArcGIS in their organisations, and looking at some of the presentation titles, I’m looking forward to hearing more about what their challenges have been and how they have answered these business questions.

But don’t think that we have forgotten about the technology! Python and editing deep dive sessions will make a debut and Esri Australia is launching ‘ArcBar’ – a place where you can get your technology fix. Our team of dedicated technologists will be available to help you understand what technology solutions are right for you and your organisation. And I can’t say too much yet, but there will be an exciting hands-on challenge running in every state at ArcBar – designed to motivate and excite your inner GIS geek. Make sure that come over and experience ArcBar for yourself.

Don’t forget to register – the new look Directions is something you definitely won’t want to miss.

Looking forward to catching up with you all in a few weeks,

Kellie L.

Next month sees the first of our Directions seminars kicking off in Darwin on the 29th February, followed by events in eight cities across the country during March.

Directions 2012: Esri Australia’s Tour de Force is a touring spatial-industry hub designed to give professionals within the GIS industry access to technical experts and discover all the latest innovations and developments in GIS.

It’s been a while since we’ve held these events.  This year we will feature a new format including client presentations, along with other exciting changes.

You can check out when we will be in your city via our website.  Save the date in your calendar and we’ll be in touch soon to let you know when registrations are open. 

Shannon W

My colleagues Kath, Peter and David

I’ve been fortunate enough to spend the last few days at Redlands Californina… home to some delicious BBQ ribs, lots of orange trees, and of course, Esri!

I’m over here with some colleagues attending Esri U, a global Esri training initiative aimed at getting staff across the world up-to-speed with the latest at Esri.

It’s been a fascinating experience and a great opportunity to connect with other Esri staff to hear about how organisations in their countries are using GIS. I’ve made friends with people from Kuwait, Italy, Spain, Canada, Kenya, India, Jamaica, Brazil – in fact I’m hard pressed thinking of a country that isn’t represented here!

In between classes (there’s lots to learn here!), I thought I’d share my top 3 highlights so far with you…

Esri President and Founder Jack Dangermond

1. Jack Dangermond on the future of GIS

Jack Dangermond opened the seminar discussing the evolution of Esri – and the future direction of GIS. Jack spoke with great passion of how Esri, and the entire world of GIS, is making a huge shift into an era of ‘self-serve’ GIS – or Cloud GIS – which manifests in ArcGIS Online.

He described ArcGIS Online as a GIS for all knowledge workers and something that would provide everyone in organisations with a means to access intelligent web maps and use GIS – without having to study the science.

I won’t go into too much more detail, except to say that there are big things to come with ArcGIS Online and some of these will be expanded on at the upcoming Technology Directions seminars.

2. Esri Campus

 I’ve been blown away by the Esri headquarters – or ‘campus’ as they call it.

David Gardiner, from our WA office, enjoying reading from Esri's giant book of geography.

It truly is a Mecca for anyone with a passion for GIS. Thousands of people work at Esri Redlands and the facilities are state-of-the-art. There is a library loaded with books and resources, a wall of maps representing ‘GIS as art’ and an auditorium for presentations.

My favourite room was the Technical Marketing centre – a seriously cool space loaded with the latest technology (think giant touchscreens) where Esri’s GIS gurus develop demos.

3. The global reach of GIS

Meeting Esri colleagues from around the world has highlighted for me personally the increasingly pervasive role of GIS. We’ve had the opportunity to share with each other the great work that users in our countries are achieving with GIS – and despite the geography and language differences, we are all dealing with similar challenges and successes – whether it’s using GIS to aid conservation, enable government, or streamline business workflows.

Interestingly our colleagues from around the world have all heard about the Queensland Flood and Cyclone crisis of 2011 and were keen to learn more about how many of our users leveraged GIS to respond to and manage this situation.

Anyway, that’s enough from me! Signing off, live from Redlands..

- Alicia S.

You may have noticed some changes to the Esri Australia website – including the training pages – already. We’re in the process of redesigning so currently our training content isn’t up to full strength. We have kept all the key information you need including the latest schedule, training paths and course descriptions.  You can also book online using our new improved shopping cart and of course still use our course registration form.

As for the rest of the content, the first release of new training pages is scheduled for completion in the coming weeks. The new training pages will feature all the usual information. But wait there is more – over the coming months we will continue to add new content and interactive features to make it easier to find what you need and help you make a decision on what’s the best course for you.

We’re also re-launching our training e-newsletter –what was formerly known as the Training Bulletin will become Training Directions. Make sure you receive this new e-newsletter, by registering here.

We’re excited to bring you the new training pages – but in the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Laura B

The offices will be closed from 23 December 2011, reopening on 3 January 2012.

We look forward to working with you in the New Year!

The team from Esri Australia

Click on the article for a closer look.

Esri Australia’s Business Manager in WA, Tom Gardner, was recently interviewed by WA Business News for a feature on how Perth can prepare for a population projection of 3.5 million people by 2050 (more than double its current size).

Read the article here.

As anyone working with property data knows, maintaining land administration systems can often raise issues such as duplicated efforts and data quality problems.  It’s an intricate and time-consuming task for any government organisation – but spare a thought for Russian government agencies, who have to deal with more than 60 million land parcels.

Until recently, Russian property rights, cadastre and mapping were managed by different agencies - the coordinates of which were stored in over 20,000 separate systems.  But this is all changing, with all cadastral matters now managed by a central agency, and a new geoportal launched to allow Russian citizens to access unclassified property data for the entire country – quickly and reliably.

Read the entire article to learn how Russian government has transformed the way they deal with land property data.

Claire M.

We are currently running an end of year promotion around the MDS Foundation Map (which is now available through Esri Australia!). The MDS Foundation Map is the most up-to-date, online base mapping service covering Australia and New Zealand, and can be easily integrated into web or desktop software.

The special offer is: Order an MDS Foundation Map from Esri Australia before December 31 and receive 14 months for the price of 12 – that’s a saving of more than $400! Additionally, the first 100 orders also receive a free Points of Interest data package valued at $2,500! To take advantage of this offer, you just need to call us on 1800 447 111.

 Find out more on the MDS website.

* Calculation based on a 37.5 hour working week across 200 working days for a person on a salary of $75,000 per annum.