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2022 Esri User Conference Recap for Partners

The 2022 Esri User Conference (UC) took place from July 11 to July 15, 2022 in San Diego, California. Esri Canada director of strategic alliances Paul Salah attended the UC in person this year to connect with customers and partners. Read on to get his perspective on this year’s UC and find out about some of the ways to stay plugged in with the latest developments in partnerships and Esri technology.

Where to even start? In some respects, the 2022 Esri UC felt like old home week, returning to San Diego and reconnecting with customers, partners and Esri international colleagues, many of whom are good friends. Enjoying the rituals and routines of the UC like morning runs along the waterfront, reading the preconference Q&A on the flight and attending socials each night. Making new connections and learning, learning, learning. An amazing and inspirational week to be sure.

Esri Canada’s Paul Salah holds up the camera and smiles after a waterfront jog. The 2022 Esri User Conference theme has been painted on the ground behind him, with the text “GIS, Mapping Common Ground”.

Colourful signage takes up an entire wall. The signage says: “Welcome Back! It has been 2 years, 11 months and 29 days. This converts to… 156 weeks; 1,095 days; 26,280 hours; 1,576,800 minutes; and 94,608,000 seconds since we’ve been together. We are happy you are here.”.

It was a joy to be welcomed back to the 2022 UC in San Diego!

For those that attended and those that did not, I wanted to summarize a few thoughts and highlights.

Our incredible community

One of the best things about Esri is our community. Really, we have many communities, and attending the UC reminded me of the amazing people that make up those communities and how we benefit from being connected and engaged with each other.

A large crowd of people socializes outdoors at the State & Local Government social, an event associated with the 2022 Esri User Conference.

One of the best things about Esri is our community. Here’s just one glimpse of the community that was welcomed in San Diego during the 2022 UC.

The innovation, ideas and collaboration potential demonstrated at this year’s event were fantastic. But while the sessions are awesome, the organic and planned discussions were equally beneficial.

The Esri UC is a point-in-time event, but the opportunity to get involved and engage as a community member continues throughout the year. I encourage all partners to get involved in the Partner Community and Industry Communities that align with your business.

Technology and innovation

There is so much innovation going on with Esri and our partners. Take advantage of Esri R&D and leverage what makes sense in your own roadmap.

Many of the exhibitors representing startup companies at the 2022 Esri User Conference pose for a photo together in front of the Startup Zone.

One corner of the 2022 Esri UC exhibition hall, the Startup Zone, was devoted to the Esri Startup Program. It was great to meet face-to-face with our startup partners!

The new technology and advances that were announced at the UC were numerous and inspiring. Here are a few highlights:

And don’t forget to log in to the event platform for updates on 3D, ArcGIS GeoBIM, Kubernetes and much more.

The value of marketing with Esri

Consider the marketing value that Esri may bring to your business and take advantage. In speaking with partners and tracking social media, the partners who sponsored, exhibited and presented saw great value and made many new connections. It was great to hear how energized people were to be generating new opportunities by participating in the UC.

Esri Canada’s Paul Salah stands in the foreground holding the camera. Nearby, three members of the IRIS Research & Development team stand at their exhibitor booth at the 2022 Esri User Conference.

I had the privilege of reconnecting with a number of our Canadian partners at the 2022 UC. Here I’m with IRIS Research & Development, just one of the many partners I was able to connect with this year.

The Qwhery exhibitor booth at the 2022 Esri User Conference. A number of people are standing at the booth talking.

I also visited with Qwhery …

Esri Canada’s Paul Salah and Jim Wickson pose with Kevin Lim and some of his team at the Lim Geomatics booth at the 2022 Esri UC.

…and with Lim Geomatics.

Overall, leveraging Esri events and programs can be a great source of new business. Check out Esri’s fall events and start planning now for the 2023 Esri UC.

A new partner program for developers: Build

At this year’s UC, Esri announced the new Build partner program. This program is designed for developers who want to grow their business by joining the Esri Partner Network. To learn more, visit go.esri.com/buildpartner.

Digital UC content

Because the UC was both in-person and virtual, everyone can take advantage of the session recordings to watch what they missed or review sessions. Here are a few suggestions:

  • ArcGIS: An Overview of the ArcGIS System: For new partners that have limited familiarity with the ArcGIS system or need a refresher, this is a great session.
  • ArcGIS Online: Best Practices for Organization Management: Learn best practices that you can apply when setting up and administering your complimentary Esri Partner Network ArcGIS Online subscription.
  • Living Atlas: An Introduction: As an Esri partner and an ArcGIS user, learn how you can access authoritative maps, apps and data from Esri and the global GIS user community.
  • ArcGIS Pro: Migrating from ArcMap: The time is now to migrate to ArcGIS Pro if you haven’t already. Learn strategies to migrate and learn tips and tricks for using ArcGIS Pro. As a partner, you have an opportunity to guide customers on their migration to ArcGIS Pro and the latest development technologies.
  • Architecture Best Practices: In this session, learn about important architecture considerations from Esri’s professional services team. These best practices will be useful when working on IT projects with Esri software.
  • The plenary is really a must-view session. Watch a few short video segments:
  • Livestreamed sessions and recorded sessions
    • Recordings of approximately 70 livestreamed sessions are available to registered attendees and those with digital access (including Esri partners) on the 2022 UC event platform. Other session recordings will be available on the 2022 UC event platform from August 11, 2022 through October 14, 2022.

Thank you to all the contributors and attendees—it was a fantastic week because of you. Mark your calendars for next year’s event, tentatively scheduled from July 10 to July 14, 2023. For partners or prospective partners who want to continue the discussions they started at the UC or start new ones, please email me or Esri Canada’s partner team at bpp@esri.ca.

A shot outside of the San Diego Convention Centre. A tall reflective building stands in the background. In the middle ground there are a number of triangular concrete sculptures with Esri signage, as well as palm trees. In the foreground there is a sign painted on the ground marked with the UC 2022 logo and the words “GIS, Mapping Common Ground”.

See you at next year’s UC!

This post was translated to French and can be viewed here.

About the Author

Paul Salah provides leadership for the Esri Partner Network and strategic alliances for Esri Canada. His focus is on developing the Esri partner ecosystem in Canada, helping commercial partners leverage geography and the ArcGIS platform to enhance their solutions and services with location intelligence. Paul has worked as a GIS professional for over 25 years, helping organizations leverage Esri technology and its global community.

Profile Photo of Paul Salah