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Connect to a world of possibilities with your ArcGIS – Part 2

It’s that time of the year again. Students are heading back to school with a personalized list of school supplies they will need for the courses they’ll take. Teachers are prepping the lists, carefully considering the tasks students must complete for their assignments during the year. Students themselves are also adding items to the list to further customize it with what they think they need to perform at their best.

Esri’s named user model requires the same type of planning by Web GIS administrators, in collaboration with GIS users, to assure the privileges checklist is personalized and ensure that users are successful in their daily spatial tasks. Read this blog to understand the many types of users you can “GIS-enable” with the named user model.

With the introduction of user levels, roles and privileges, you can now craft a specific profile for everyone. Think of it as “à la carte” options. No need to purchase a full ArcGIS Desktop license to provide a lightweight user the ability to open a map, turn layers on and off and query for some attributes. Look outside of traditional users and ask yourselves, how can GIS make each job more efficient?

  • Team leads and management can use dashboards to stay on top of your operations by monitoring, tracking and reporting real-time data feeds, effectively keeping an eye on day-to-day activities.
  • Field crews can collect and update information using preset pick lists to save valuable time and eliminate manual data entry errors.
  • Customer-facing employees can use thematic web apps to find fast answers to questions they get all day and print out relevant information or refer clients to the same publicly shared apps for 24-hour access, providing self-services.

Everyone would have access to what they need, when they need it and from any device. New GIS users will emerge because of accessibility and affordability. This new named user model will make organizations rethink the distribution of software privileges to cater to individual needs, while taking into consideration a user’s level of familiarity with new technologies (web apps, mobile apps, etc.), thereby easing the transition from traditional paperwork methods and licensing machines, to apps for everyone.

This is not Esri’s first step in this direction. ArcGIS Server has offered a more customized option with the deployment of web services for years, but it would’ve taken a team of web developers to support the app creation (the traditional way) in the many flavors each user profile requires. Therefore, a lot of data and geoprocessing tools were made available in very few apps, which overwhelmed lightweight users, not to mention the lengthy process required to develop and update those apps. Everything had to be done from scratch, so very few “flavored” apps were deployed. Today’s options make this new model a real possibility for organizations of all sizes.

This fall, make one or both of the following courses a must on your training schedule. Learn the processes surrounding the assignment of privileges, the creation of custom roles and all the administrative tasks required to enable the named user model for your organization.

Deploying Portal for ArcGIS

This course covers all aspects of deploying Portal in your own infrastructure and managing Named Users. The next online training date is October 16-17 (9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern Time).

ArcGIS Online for Administrators

This course describes the workflows involved in the deployment of Named Users, leveraging the Esri cloud. It will cover assignment of roles, allocation of credits per user, best practices surrounding credit usage and tile management, creation of groups, customization of the home page and much more. The next online training date is September 28 (9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern Time).

Now, let’s look at all the possibilities available to create a user’s profile. First, you’ll need to know about:

  • Levels - represent the type of licensing required
  • Default Roles or Custom Roles - a subset of user privileges/permissions
  • Privileges - tasks users can perform

When assigning privileges to a role, Esri displays them by the following categories. A combination of these can be assigned to a user to create a customized role, but some workflows will require more than one privilege, so be aware of these limitations as you craft your user profiles.

Sample Privilege Matrix

In addition to privileges, this new model provides the ability to form groups of users to further define who has access to which apps. Groups can be created for internal members only for each project, each division, etc. or they can also be a mix and match of internal and external organizations and users collaborating on the same project. The configuration possibilities are endless, so no one should feel this model cannot be deployed in their environment.

If you have specific needs and are trying to assess this model, I suggest you contact your Account Manager for a one-on-one discussion. They will guide you on the right path. If you don’t know who to contact, leave us a comment below and we will direct you to the appropriate person for your account.

*This post is the conclusion of a two-part blog. Read part 1 of this blog.

About the Author

Carole Arseneau is a Market Research Specialist at Esri Canada. Over the years, she has advised customers from all industries on how to leverage GIS in their organizations. More recently, she’s been conducting market research to uncover details about the various jobs our customers do each day in various industries. This will help inform Esri Canada’s corporate strategy and better support our customers. Carole holds a Market Research certificate from the University of California, Davis, a GIS certificate from Florida State College in Jacksonville and a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Laval University in Québec City. Being by the water has always made her feel at home and has given her inspiration to keep a positive outlook in life.

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