The ESRI User Conference is always an exciting and educational experience, and this year was no different. In addition to the new offerings discussed in the previous post, there were a few very interesting new developments in the web mapping arena.
First, there were a host of new features announced for ArcGIS Online: the ability to create presentations from the map viewer, several new spatial analysis tools including interpolated surfaces and route planning, some revamped security options, and support for related data. It has been quite interesting to watch ArcGIS Online develop over the years from a very basic online mapping and data sharing interface into a robust, easy to use application capable of creating some very powerful web mapping applications. This is truly a great tool for UCANR.
Another great new product coming out in the near future is the Web App Builder. This is a tool developed for ArcGIS Online and Portal for ArcGIS that provides a very simple environment for creating web maps using preconfigured widgets in a drag-and-drop interface. The Web App Builder is javascript based, so it functions across all platforms including mobile platforms. The Web App Builder is currently in beta, but is scheduled for a full release with ArcGIS 10.3 later in the year.
The User Conference was a great experince. It's always amazing to see just how many people are using GIS throughout the world and all the creative ways they are taking advantage of this technology. I had a great time and I'm looking forward to attending again soon.