ArcGIS Online Content Sharing Program

June 15th, 2007 · 10 Comments · ESRI

ESRI has introduced their new ArcGIS Online Content Sharing Program.

The ArcGIS Online Content Sharing Program enables your organization to contribute geographic data content to be published and hosted by ESRI. By participating in the program, ESRI will integrate your content with that from other providers for publication in ArcGIS Online services. Once your data is published, the data can be accessed by users throughout your organization and by other users with access to the Internet. This program is available to any ESRI user and other geographic data providers interested in making their data content broadly available.

Interesting, I’ve always wondered why ESRI never offered up such a service before. I’ll be interested to see who starts offering their data through the service.

Anyone wonder when they’ll offer ArcGIS Online via KML?

Would you hand the keys to your data over to ESRI
ESRI customer handing keys to their data over to ESRI

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10 responses so far ↓

1 J Wallis // Jun 15, 2007 at 9:54 am

If my data looked like that I probably wouldn’t need ESRI. For ESRI data you need a picture of a Yugo.
2 Sean Gillies // Jun 15, 2007 at 10:20 am

Hosted data? Is this ESRI’s vision of the Geo-Web?
3 Phil // Jun 15, 2007 at 1:24 pm

According their web site, “the initial focus for the Content Sharing Program is in adding local, high-resolution imagery to the existing imagery base map.” This is less of an “Online Content Sharing Program” and more of a “Give Us Your Imagery So We Can Compete With Google and Microsoft Program.” Or at least it seems that way to me. Am I too cynical?
4 James Fee // Jun 15, 2007 at 1:28 pm

Phil: The question is “what is in it for me” and “what does ESRI get out of it”. I’d say if I (assuming I had data to give) was going to give ESRI data, then there should be some payoff to me.
5 Phil // Jun 15, 2007 at 1:42 pm

James: Good point. I guess “what is in it for me (the data provider)” is lowered IT costs. It looks as though ESRI will host your imagery for you in a AT&T datacenter. This would potentially be a good choice for smaller organizations with smaller IT infrastructure.

“What is in it for ESRI?” They get to use your data and distribute it royalty-free, most likely in their online products. The default basemap (namely, imagery) is a major factor in the battle for the lightweight viewer segment. Additionally, it seems as though you may get some level of ESRI vendor lockin.

Or maybe I’m missing the entire point here. Instead of “host with ESRI instead of doing it yourself,” maybe they’re saying “host it with ESRI for free instead of paying someone else to host it.”
6 » Comment on ArcGIS Online Content Sharing Program by Phil // Jun 15, 2007 at 3:51 pm

[...] Original post by Phil [...]
7 All Points Blog: ESRI sharing data/content « Identity Unknown // Jun 16, 2007 at 9:54 am

[...] introduces the idea of ESRI Content Sharing at Spatially Adjusted. Here are some key [...]
8 Tia // Jun 16, 2007 at 10:32 am

http://www.kam.to/Greensburg_Article.pdf

“What’s in it for me?” or “What’s can help in a time of crisis?”

This article describes the process of remaping a town after disaster hits. If there was data stored elsewhere other than the basement of a courthouse in small town KS, it aids everyone.
9 Oren Gabay // Jun 17, 2007 at 4:29 am

The idea is positive and as an ArcGIS user I think it will be useful. On the other hand since most of the data that can be published is created by governments they better publish it as public domain…
10 Raj // Jun 17, 2007 at 10:25 pm

don’t we get to download ARC Gis 9.2 for free?