Better together: how to get more from Esri tools with EPN data partners

You’ve got a massive data migration to complete, but your GIS department doesn’t have the capacity to do it alone. Or you have a workflow you want to migrate to a new system, but you want the support of experts to get it right the first time. As part of the Esri Partner Network (EPN) ecosystem, data partners gather, curate and prepare authoritative data for organizations like yours to use with Esri technology while freeing up your team to focus on key projects. In this blog post, Esri Canada business partner manager Fiona Hatfield discusses how the City of Greater Sudbury worked with an EPN partner, Teranet, and the difference that collaboration made in the City’s land management workflows.

In my years working with Esri Canada customers, I’ve often come across customers who want to expand what they’re already doing with ArcGIS technology, but sometimes approach it in the hardest way possible. Don’t misunderstand me: I know why they have this mindset. Often, resource-strapped GIS departments feel the pressure to do more with less and roll up their sleeves to DIY solutions. I’m especially thinking of the process of digitizing records, where a fairly simple task can become a gruelling years-long undertaking simply because there aren’t enough pairs of hands to go around.

But the data that digitization process produces—indeed, data in general—is critical. Without high-quality, authoritative data, whether it’s bought from a supplier like Teranet, pulled from official government sources like Statistics Canada, or built from scratch, GIS technology remains limited. So, what are GIS departments supposed to do when they need data, but need to devote their resources to other projects?

Enter the Esri Partner Network (EPN), an incredible resource for organizations looking to extend their GIS capabilities. You might think that EPN partners mainly create applications that bolt onto an existing GIS to augment it, but EPN partners are also migration facilitators, custom solution designers and, crucially for this blog post, data curators and providers. Vetted by the EPN program, data partners are knowledgeable and, depending on their tier, highly aligned with the Esri technology roadmap, which means they not only provide services for the here and now but can also help their clients plan for the future.

What does this look like in practice? When the City of Greater Sudbury wanted to unify their easement inventory—amalgamating approximately 3,600 easements registered under 174 municipal names into one database—they needed support. Teranet, an EPN partner and the global leader in land information solutions, had the expertise the City needed.

Case study: City of Greater Sudbury speeds request processes, delivers high quality information to land management functions

Greater Sudbury has over 166,000 residents and is the largest city in Northern Ontario. In 2001, the Regional Municipality of Sudbury, which had been established in 1973 as the regional government overseeing Sudbury and six nearby suburban communities merged into the single-tier City of Greater Sudbury. All seven lower-tier municipalities and the Regional Municipality had had their own easements, some of which dated back to the 1800s and details of which had all been recorded on paper.

In the mid-2000s, City staff began to discuss searching for, validating and bringing that information into a spatial environment to make it easier to identify and validate easements, then spatially related them to relevant City activities and assets. However, the City lacked the necessary resources. Meanwhile, City departments and the constituents they serve faced long wait times to get easement information, and not having easily accessible, high-quality digital easement data increased the time required to respond to public works projects. It also delayed responses to development inquiries and applications.

“It was an impossible task with the resources we had,” says Krista Carre, manager of GIS Operations at the City. “It was side-of-desk work that never fully took off.”

In 2020, the City’s GIS Operations team engaged a third-party service provider, Teranet, the leader in easement solutions and a member of the Esri Partner Network, to identify and review registered easement instruments, validate and map the City’s easements, and then centralize them in a single spatial inventory.

Using Teranet Xchange, a digital file streaming solution, Teranet delivered a full suite of easement reports, registered easement instrument images, registered plan images, and easement mapping to the City, along with an easement layer for use within the City’s existing GIS.

City staff are now able to easily access the information they need with just a few clicks. Teams who need easement information for construction projects can check for easements in a few seconds. Previously the City’s legal services department would have needed to be consulted directly for easement information; with that step out of the way, building permits can now be issued quicker. The inventory is authoritative and centrally managed, meaning no redundant copies or contradictory information. And everything can be visualized on a map, making the easements—which are described using full sentences in legal documents—easier to understand for everyone involved.

“We brought data to the masses internally,” says Krista. “They can click on a polygon in the internal map viewer and open the easement document. Nobody’s searching through paper filing cabinets anymore.”

“We highly recommend that municipalities, utilities and other organizations that manage land and land-based assets consider mapping registered easements within a modern GIS and updating that information regularly,” says Sarah Sibbett, manager of Land Information Solutions at Esri Canada. “Doing this offers significant benefits in terms of operational efficiency, service performance and risk mitigation. Teranet and the City of Greater Sudbury’s case study is a great example of how organizations are finding success by working together on exactly this kind of project.”

To learn more about how Teranet assisted City of Greater Sudbury with its comprehensive easement mapping and identification project, read the full case study.

How working with an EPN data partner can help you

As the City’s example shows, partners like Teranet help improve the operation of a GIS system and associated processes. Having accurate data means that potentially vital information isn’t locked away in historical documents and is able to be maximized on today’s projects. Additionally, having streamlined access to high-quality data is helping the City process building permits faster, which is in turn helping address the housing crisis.

All in all, EPN data partners allow organizations using ArcGIS to get more out of their Esri investment. With access to authoritative data about their own lands and assets, organizations can serve their interest holders with accurate maps, informative applications, and fast workflows.

Want more details about working with members of the Esri Partner Network?

• Search Esri’s Partner Directory to find a partner for your next project.
• Visit the ArcGIS Marketplace to discover apps, content and services that extend the capabilities of ArcGIS—including solutions specific to your industry or workflow.
• Learn more about the Esri Partner Network, the global ecosystem of partners who can get you started with authoritative data—and much, much more.
• For help with easements and other land information issues, explore Teranet’s offerings.

Or, reach out to me here at Esri Canada if you have questions about Esri Canada partners, joining the Esri Partner Network or this blog post in specific. I’m really looking forward to hearing from you!