Esri Plenary Session: 10 Things You Need to Know

I’m out in San Diego this week covering Esri’s annual User conference. I’ve got a few more posts coming out this week, but here is a quick post on the need to know information from the Plenary session.

My Top 10 Take-Aways from GIS Plenary Session

1. GIS continues to touch nearly every vertical of society, helping organizations make better decisions. Starbucks is a great use case that was on display during the Plenary.
2. We are getting close to eradicating polio. Be sure to watch this super compelling video on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Amazing story. Incredible presentation.
3. Department of Commerce is leading the way for GIS adoption, and Penny Pritzker, United States Secretary of Commerce has a great vision moving forward. Kathy Sullivan – Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shared some great insights on how GIS is impacting NOAA.
4. Open Data with ArcGIS is easier to share than ever before. Andrew Turner had a few great case studies he shared. Also check out our report on Open Data and GIS.
5. Web services are transforming the applications of GIS, and globally governments and businesses are unlocking enormous value from location data
6. GIS is giving us the ability to be “architects of the future,” some really amazing advances in 3D modeling and geodesign. Great case study from Singapore here.
7. Esri announced a new open data challenge and announced winners of the Climate Resilience Challenge.
8. Esri announced a new GIS community, GeoNet: “GeoNet is the place where you can share, chat, and collaborate on all things geo.It’s your chance to connect with other geospatial enthusiasts around the world. So, let’s get together. (And let’s have a darn good time doing it!)”
9. More updates coming to ArcGIS this fall
10. Esri put together a very nice tribute to the Father of GIS, Dr. Roger Tomlinson, who passed away this year.

Esri’s UC is a great event – which confirms how important it is to understand location. You can follow all the events online, and some more coverage coming soon:

– Videos

– Twitter: #esriuc

– Esri UC