Skip to main content

SDI Snapshot - June 2018

What's new in the Canadian geomatics sector? How is the GIS market growing globally? See what’s happening in Canada and globally in the world of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) through this collection of the latest and most significant SDI news, data, products, and events.

SDI News

How have Ontarians voted in the last 5 elections?

CTV uses an interactive map to showcase a comparison of past five provincial election results in Ontario. ArcGIS Online provides easy-to-use tools and content for creating and publishing a story with maps. It allows combining background maps, thematic maps, tabular data, popups and other functionalities into intelligent web maps that can be shared and viewed on multiple devices.

OGC announces the creation of regional Canada Forum on Geospatial Standards

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) announced that the geomatics community in Canada recently chartered a ‘Canada Forum on Geospatial Standards’ to support regional coordination and communication regarding geospatial standardization activities. The goal of the Canada Forum is to better serve Canadian needs for geospatial data and services. Esri Canada is a charter member of the Canada Forum.

News from the Canadian geomatics sector

Check out some of the leading updates in the Canadian geomatics sector about SensorUp, Big Data Toronto, Drone Delivery Canada, MDA and so on. Also, find out more about the Smart City Support Program announced by the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities in Canada.

Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) decides to wind up operations in 2018

The GSDI Association has realized that its original vision and mission has been adopted by internationally-resourced organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the Open Geospatial Consortium. GSDI now believes that these international organizations have the traction and funding needed to take Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) development and deployment to the next level and, as a result, the GSDI Association has decided to wind up operations in 2018.

GIS market expected to reach US$17.5 billion by 2023

According to a market research report, the GIS market is expected to reach US$17.5 billion by 2023. Due to increased urbanization and the surging adoption of GIS solutions in enterprise applications the demand for GIS is growing. This growth can also be attributed to LiDAR technology developments, the increasing availability of spatial data and improved access to cloud technology. During the forecast period, the GIS market is expected to register the fastest growth in medium-sized projects.

SDI Data

Most popular data and services in BC Data Catalogue

B.C. Government provides an extensive collection of datasets, applications and web services through the B.C. Data Catalogue. Thousands of datasets discoverable in the Catalogue are available under the Open Government License - British Columbia.

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) prototype flood map app  

Emergency responders and municipal governments need up-to-date information to make quick decisions when flooding occurs. NRCan collects data from radar satellite images and produces near-real-time maps for emergency responders during crises. Emergency responders are currently testing a new prototype app that could turn smartphone-toting Canadian citizens into supplementary sensors to help validate and update flood maps.

Want to share data securely between ArcGIS Online organizations?

Do you know ArcGIS Online has 17 million layers, maps, scenes, apps and files that can be used for data collection, analysis, presentations and more?  The items have a variety of sharing settings that enable the public or specific groups of users to access content easily. 23 per cent of ArcGIS Online content is public; 31 per cent of the items can be shared with specific users through the group or organizational sharing setting. Members of ArcGIS Online organizations can securely share content within their organizations but what about the privileges and settings required for external sharing and collaboration?

SDI Products

Esri releases new ArcGIS Vector Tile Style Editor tool (beta version)

Esri has announced the release of a new tool available in beta on the ArcGIS for Developers website, the ArcGIS Vector Tile Style Editor. Whether you are a developer, designer, or a GIS professional, this tool gives you a fast and easy way to create a custom basemap style that matches your brand and the type of app you are building.

Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS: Advanced Development Tools and Techniques

 Learn advanced tools and techniques using modern JavaScript tooling to streamline the Web AppBuilder custom widget and theme development.

Web GIS performance tests – updated distributed and centralized work models

A Web GIS system is usually constructed as a multi-tier architecture consisting primarily of the client side, the server side and the database component. With the rapid growth of Web GIS, a number of work models have been developed to increase efficiency and performance. This article describes updated performance tests of two models: centralized and distributed.

Introduction to and building your first ArcGIS Enterprise deployment

ArcGIS Enterprise comprises four software components. The minimum setup of ArcGIS Enterprise is called a base ArcGIS Enterprise deployment. You can install the base deployment across one or more machines, any of which can be physical, virtual, or cloud machines.

About the Author

Gordon Plunkett is the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) Director at Esri Canada. He has more than 30 years of experience in GIS and Remote Sensing in both the public and private sectors. He currently sits as a member of the Community Map of Canada Steering Committee, GeoAlliance Canada Interim Board of Directors, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Technical Committee, the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Committee on Geomatics, the University of Laval Convergence Network Advisory Committee and the Advisory Board to the Carleton University Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre. During his career, Gordon has worked on projects in more than 20 countries and has contributed to numerous scientific conferences and publications. At Esri Canada, he is responsible for developing and supporting the company’s SDI vision, initiatives and outreach, including producing content for the SDI blog.

Profile Photo of Gordon Plunkett