--- title: Esri ArcGIS Reviews meta_title: 'Esri ArcGIS Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 540 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Esri ArcGIS works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.5 review_count: 540 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-08-09' parent_category: name: CAD & PLM url: https://www.g2.com/categories/cad-plm --- # Esri ArcGIS Reviews **Vendor:** Esri **Category:** [GIS Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/gis) **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 540 ## About Esri ArcGIS ArcGIS is a comprehensive suite of mapping and location intelligence tools and capabilities. ArcGIS can be deployed on local machines (ArcGIS Pro), on your remote or on-premises servers (ArcGIS Enterprise), or as SaaS hosted by Esri (ArcGIS Online). ArcGIS includes focused apps to deliver complete solutions for your business or organization. Along with software, Esri provides a comprehensive collection of data and content to geo-enrich your own data. ArcGIS also provides rich software development tools for you to configure and create your own mapping and location intelligence products. ## Esri ArcGIS Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users find Esri ArcGIS to be **user-friendly** , making it easy to navigate and effective for geospatial tasks. (3 reviews) - Users value the **high-quality 3D visualization** of ArcGIS, enhancing accuracy and decision-making in various applications. (2 reviews) - Users highlight the **advanced data visualization capabilities** of Esri ArcGIS Pro, enhancing clarity and usability in analysis. (2 reviews) - Users find Esri ArcGIS **highly user-friendly** , appreciating its ease of learning and effective analytical tools. (2 reviews) - Users value the **user-friendly visualization tools** in Esri ArcGIS Pro, enhancing clarity and ease of geospatial analysis. (2 reviews) - Comprehensive Data (1 reviews) - Connectivity (1 reviews) - Users find the **customer support** of Esri ArcGIS effective, benefiting from extensive forums and helpful walkthroughs. (1 reviews) - Data Accuracy (1 reviews) - Easy Access (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users struggle with **stability and integration issues** in ArcGIS, hindering workflow and data management efficiency. (2 reviews) - Users find the **high cost** of Esri ArcGIS a barrier, especially for small businesses and learners. (2 reviews) - Users face **integration issues** with ArcGIS, causing disruptions and complicating file management with third-party tools like OneDrive. (2 reviews) - Users find the **learning curve challenging** , often needing extra training to effectively use Esri ArcGIS. (2 reviews) - Users find it **hard to learn** and suggest that additional training opportunities could improve their experience with ArcGIS. (2 reviews) - Users experience **accuracy issues** when adding or transferring data between different ArcGIS versions, leading to changed dataset values. (1 reviews) - Error Handling (1 reviews) - Users find Esri ArcGIS **expensive** , especially for small businesses, making it a costly investment. (1 reviews) - Inaccuracy (1 reviews) - No Free Trial (1 reviews) ## Esri ArcGIS Reviews ### 1. ArcGIS Experience **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jill K. | Freelance Consultant, Paper & Forest Products, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 26, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is users friendly. You can analyze data easily and make beautiful maps and reports. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** I have no dislike with this Software .You get frequently updates if there are any bugs. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm in the forest industry and with ArcGIS we can work towards sustainable forestry. We analyze which tree to cut and how to plan the roads and where not to go. ### 2. ArcGIS makes it easy **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Savannah N. | Environmental Specialist, Environmental Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 19, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Provides excellent visuals and useful out in the field. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Not always intuitive, big learning curve. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Providing exhibits for clients that show visual representations of properties, also showing treatment coverage. ### 3. Great Cartographic and Spatial Analysis Program - Poor UX and Design Features **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Management Consulting | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** If you know this program well, you can do a lot with it - this includes simple map making to advanced spatial analyses. Lots of industries use this software, from Architecture and Urban Planning to the Police Department to UPS and Fedex. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** The challenge is knowing how to use the software. The learning curve is quite steep to do simple tasks, and even steeper to do advanced tasks. Often times, staff will need to attend a training class or program to become comfortable enough to use this software on their own. The UX is also not very great, and not intuitive at all - same goes for designing a map once you've created it (often you'll need to export to Illustrator to pretty it up). Warning - this program ONLY works on WINDOWS OS (not Mac). **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Steep learning curve - make sure your staff is up to the challenge (or you have a budget to train them)! **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I used to work in an urban planning consultancy - this was the best software on the market to do what we needed to do. I heard it was very expensive. ### 4. Quickly being supplanted by Google Earth Engine **Rating:** 2.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 10, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS has had the longest run of GIS software. Due to this, it is the most well-documented GIS software available to industry and the consumer. As GIS software, it is adequate and serves the needs of most users. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is expensive and does not interface well with external software. Compared to new (and free!) offerings such as Google Earth Engine, ArcGIS is heavy and difficult to fine tune. For example, ArcGIS' functionality is more like an Adobe Photoshop project than it is an easily-editable and lightweight programming script. As more functionality and processing power is needed for GIS applications, this is quickly becoming a liability. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** In the scientific community, GIS users are beginning to switch over to the Google Earth Engine because it is a superior product to ArcGIS, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am a professor in the natural sciences. I use GIS software to analyze remote sensing images and produce maps for professional publications. ### 5. ArcGIS for G2 **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Environmental Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 16, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** python integration. great for creating customized processing of data, customized script tools. large user community leads to easy problem solving through online forums. fast customer/it support **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** convoluted data exporting, limited data manipulation options in-program. more current versions have unresolved bugs and data manipulation issues that have not been addressed or resolved. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** good if your company has the means to pay for this. otherwise, lots of good free gis programs **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** data analysis, geographic analysis. standardized corporation-scale platform for GIS work. ### 6. Good for basic work, slow for advanced **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Katherine F. F. | Graduate Student, Higher Education, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Intuitive tools, great for beginners to use. Easy to understand interface **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** The interface is a little slow for advanced computing and analysis. Python or other programming languages are slightly easier **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** There are a lot of great research answers that emerge using this to target urban development problems, including problems of land identification, land suitability analysis, ability to identify regional hotspot, vacancy options, etc. ### 7. ArcGIS **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Religious Institutions | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 14, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** After you have had a basic class it is very useful to do all sorts of demographic research, land use, water quality analysis, and extract layers to make and print other maps. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Sometimes it is slow depending on your processor of your computer, and also loading individual layers. I have had the program freeze before when loading too many layers. There are also parts of the program that I have not learned yet to use. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** I highly recommend this, especially when compared to using online systems for analysis. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have used the program to delineate watersheds, land use, water quality, and population data concerning management issues and policy. It is helpful to have such detailed data for this kind of research and to find out what contributing factors are involved. ### 8. ArcGIS Review **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jim B. | Territory Sales Manager, Hospital & Health Care, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 28, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** What I like best is that you can visualize certain pinpoints on a map. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** What I dislike is that it takes a lot of training to use this software. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** ArcGIS is especially useful during presentations when you are trying to put together a time and a place in terms of environmental assessments. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are mapping out places on a map where we have done Environmental Health Investigations. ### 9. I have more then 7 years using GIS both in an educational and professional settings. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mike M. | Planner, Civil Engineering, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 15, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** I like how GIS can integrate between survey and CAD work. I like how integrated cities-counties-states are in sharing information that serves for the betterment of all. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** GIS is a powerful program. It takes time to understand enough to become effective at utilizing its many tools. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** I would highly recommend training from a college-university to get up-to-date training. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Mapping and concept planning. I like the pretty pictures that can be produced to sell ideas-concepts. ### 10. Very powerful program with a wide variety of applications. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Government Administration | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 03, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** The best thing about ArcGIS is the fact that it has become a standard in the industry. This means that mastering the application increases overall productivity and hire-ability. It is an incredibly powerful program with hundreds of applications in the field of planning. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** The most difficult part of ArcGIS is that the file reference system makes managing a database very difficult between users. It also complicates saving data over time as file paths are changed or modified between users. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** This software requires quite a bit of training to master. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** ArcGIS has improved my ability to graphically present complex information to clients. ### 11. The standard for GIS **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Retail | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 14, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** I like that ArcGIS is the standard in GIS -- cartography and analysis. This software is what most with a traditional background in GIS learned on. The interface is nice and the tool is powerful. The company also offers free licenses for nonprofit use. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** For individuals the price is quite expensive. The tool is so powerful that it can be hard to learn all of the intricacies. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Most recently I have been using the software for the sole purpose of visualization, but there is so much more to it than that. Spatial analysis capabilities abound; however, I use alteryx for analysis most recently and ArcGIS for other needs. ### 12. Antiquated gis **Rating:** 0.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rudy B. | Advisor, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 31, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Ubiquity among gis users but most gis users have never tried using anything else like Maptitude or Transcad gis. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Bad software architecture; no design principles -- changes data-structure and interface frequently. Sloppy algorithms (mistakes due to lack of clear topology implementation) **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** I do not recommend Arcgis for gis work. It will slow you down. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I teach and do research and advice companies related to GIS. Arcgis slows down gis implementation. ### 13. ArcGIS **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Environmental Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 31, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** - ArcGIS online software because it allows you to share your work with the GIS community. - Analysis Tools - Data is easily exportable to other forms of data (KML, Spreadsheet, etc.) **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** - Some of the analysis tools are only available in the professional version but they are basic functions which should be in the basic version of the software - One analysis tool in particular is the Network Analyst **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** - Distance Analysis - Statistical Analysis for supply zones - Helping companies visualize supply zones. Benefits - Easy to communicate to people that are not familiar with GIS ### 14. GIS librarian's tool **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jasmine H. | Data Librarian, Higher Education, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 15, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Easy to use, great visuals and great customer service. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Bit tricky to help students download, update etc. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Teaching and learning. University. ### 15. Industry leader in commercial GIS software **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Chad C. | Solutions Engineer, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 19, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** I've been using ArcGIS since version 8.0, and ArcView 3.2 before that. Whether you want to admit it or not, the ArcGIS platform is THE commercial software package of the GIS world. ArcGIS is an incredibly powerful suite of applications and tools that all work together seamlessly for a complete desktop, mobile, and web solution - and this is what I like about it the most. The Python (arcpy) integration and REST API are incredibly powerful and fun to work with, allowing you programatic access to your data in a variety of ways. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** I have a few beefs with ArcGIS, I challenge you to find a real user that doesn't. 1. The online help/forum presence - just when you get used to the online help, they change it, often resulting in horrible redirects and 404s. Their forums have been a mess for years, and they have only gotten worse. 2. Publishing a geoprocessing task from Desktop to Server is about the most unintuitive workflow ever, and it has always been that bad. I struggle to make sense of this for clients regularly. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Get a trial version and test it out; Esri is really good about trial licenses. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Is there a business problem that can't be solved with GIS, using the ArcGIS platform as the tool? I have used the ArcGIS platform in online mapping for city/local governments/utilities; cartography, data analysis, online mapping, and data-mining in oil and gas; 3D modeling and visualization for offshore wind farms...the list goes on and on. ### 16. Great for Mapping and Keeping Geospatial information organized **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Erik N. | GIS Technician, Civil Engineering, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 07, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ESRI has been a staple software for me since 2007. Overall it is easy to use, there is always more than one way to complete a task, and just about anyone can learn it. I have formal training and a degree in Geography that was centered on ArcGIS. I use the software to build maps and maintain all of my geospatial data throughout the upper midwest region. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** BUGS. Being one of the only paid GIS softwares, there is no real competition. This always leads to lack of innovation and bugs in the software releases. That is my only big gripe. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Make sure to buy the license you need. There are 3 different levels and you need to know which tools will be available, and which ones you will want to utilize. Also make sure you know which extensions you may want to purchase. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Keeping my data updated and ready to use at a moments notice. I can work on 10 different projects in a given day, and ArcGIS makes it easy to switch between them and keep all of my data straight. ### 17. Amazing for marketing reporting and storytelling with maps **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sarah A. | Content Manager, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 19, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is the only GIS worth having. There's almost no other product that comes close, although I once had to use quantum GIS while on a Mac. ArcGIS helps me input huge amounts of data and use it two ways. I'm a writer. The first way is to understand my audience for marketing. I can see if my target audience is all clustered in one are and overlay demographics, egg, and with this greater understanding of them, I get to write messages that I feel are more compelling and valuable to what they actually care about. That's the marketing side. The second side is the storytelling. I'm also a freelance journalist and the GIS helps me develop correlations that can help tell a story. I can show you where all the voters are behaving a certain way, for instance, as it correlates to their income average in a particular area. The uses for storytelling are really endless, depending on what data you can get and put in there. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** The system is a little count in the sense it's hard to use and you have to take training. I've taken a few ArcGIS classes and you definitely have to keep up o. The software. It's also moving to online, which dumbs down the deli films although this gives way more people way more access to making maps, so that's good. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Don't just buy the software and expect it to work. Invest in the right classes and find mentors Doug what you want to do so you learn from the best. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I've been able to tell richer stories and prove points visually through supportive maps. Also I can guide my marketing content better by geographically understanding content needs. ### 18. Cumbersome **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Civic & Social Organization | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 07, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Data integration and exploration in my field **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Too technical and not user friendly. I am the only one in my staff to use it **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Strategic organizing. ### 19. The greatest capabilities meets the slowest speeds and unfriendliest user interface known to man. **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Architecture & Planning | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 21, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Ability create and edit my own layers and the analyst toolbars are the strongest capabilities in ESRI ArcMap (a program I use the most). The ability to interface with other ESRI programs within one (for example ArcCatalog or ArcGIS online while using ArcMAP) is incredibly convenient. I am also able to easily able to convert and merge ESRI products with other industry programs such as AutoCAD, Google Sketchup, or handheld devices (such as Trimble). **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** I dislike how generally slow that ESRI products are when running on a personal computer. Additionally, I find the ESRI website and users guides to be very sparse, or they simply route you back to a page you were previously on. Help and troubleshooting are almost non-existent, which is uprising for such a robust range of products. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Be sure to learn about the "ad-ons" that come with each program, you usually need them and they are usually expensive. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am using ESRI products to give answers about our community (running queries mainly) as well as being able to track our assets throughout the community. ### 20. Researching for best map making software **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ariana J. | Bilingual Outreach Staff, Environmental Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 26, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** It has a good variety of features and programs. ArcGIS Online works well, it didn't freeze up too much and had a good interface, however the desktop version is still more powerful and convenient. The interface is a lot better and more understandable than in years past. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** I dislike paying, wish I could get more time to test it out before paying, or that they had some small section of ArcGIS online that could be more open like Google Maps. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** A great product to consider, lots of potential for more complicated projects. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I needed to make a few maps for a project. ### 21. Not bad **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Utilities | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 07, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** I like all of the options and functions available. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** The lag...although I'm sure it's partially based on my laptop. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Works for the utility world. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Great for keeping people safe amidst public utilities. ### 22. Spacial planning mad easy **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Drikus T. | ISS System Consultant, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 15, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** The ease of use of the interface as well as the depth of functionality available. It was easy enough for a novice to start using after a day's training but rich enough in functionality that an expert could utilise the tools to assist in any spatial query. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** The amount of SQL knowledge needed for in depth analysis of the core data. Verification of cadastral data could be very intricate and confusing. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** As a company they are very approachable and easy to work with. I built up a good working relationship with them within weeks of implementing their software. They are considerate of their clients needs and treat all their clients the same regardless of the amounts spent on their services and software **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I used Esri software to assist our emergency services disaster management team with various queries including, plotting of fire lines, safe zones and emergency routes. ### 23. With limited training.... **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 05, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** It's simplicity by providing a window pane on the left to turn on/off mapping features. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** It's image quality could be sharper unless using the ESRI online subscription. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Great, standard GIS program. Good public health students/workers to learn. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** By mapping data over political boundaries, I find that these maps more readily engage the audience. ### 24. Needs work, but this is the standard barer for GIS **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Samuel S. | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 27, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** It gets the job done and it is a transferable skill from many jobs. It can create incredibly precise analysis if deployed correctly. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** To use GIS, you need to take a class with Dana Tomlin to get it (lucky that I did). Also without the use of Arcpy, running complex tasks with Model Builder is awful. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Open source please! **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Need to create maps to visualize problems and solutions for my clients. ### 25. ArcGIS **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Architecture & Planning | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 03, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is constantly updating and making the program better for its users. Analysis is becoming easier daily, as is access to more detailed base maps and free data. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Sometimes the software can be picky, such as the requirement to not have any spaces in file names. Sometimes you can work on a process for hours before realizing that you've made a tiny mistake and then it will finally work. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use arcgis for local government purposes. Zoning maps, community analysis, and we're just starting to get into 3D modeling. ### 26. Arc Products **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Emily W. | GIS Analyst, Environmental Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 21, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** The best esri product would be ArcMap. It gives me the ability to use and display raster and vector data. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** I dislike the errors that pop up while using Arc Map. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I solved showing multi data types on a single map. ### 27. New to GIS but ESRI seems to be the standard. **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Aaron G. | Video Replay Operator, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 14, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Ability to update maps with the latest information from our TV trucks, and integration with other ArcGIS installations. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Challenges with integrating assets from other software because of the map standards. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Enhance your Asset Register with GIS information that can be shared with many applications. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Sharing location information of all our gravity lines, laterals, force mains, manholes etc. ### 28. It has been very easy working with ArcGIS **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sudhir P. | Environmental Engineer, Civil Engineering, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 03, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** The plethora of information available to navigate any problem is the best thing for me. With ever expanding user base, there is always somebody to help in case of an issue. Its just not a map making tool but one can actually use it for various design applications, perform spatial functions. Also, it can be utilized for various applications. I have used it for mapping the water distribution network, perform hydraulic modeling, use it for citywide planning, etc. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** It requires lot of processing power and takes a lot of time for certain functions. Also, the basic license doesn't really have much teeth. You can't do spatial analysis and you have to buy an upgraded licence to be able to use most of the features. I think the costing should be restructured to include the spatial analysis in the basic licensing as it is one of the primary requirements for the civil engineering applications. Most of the time the administrator purchasing the license is not aware of these limitations and it becomes difficult for the end user. I faced similar issue in my company and had to use QGIS because i was short on time and needed to get the work done immediately. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am working on the public utility side mapping the water distribution network. One advantage i have realized is the compatibility of ArcGIS with various modeling software namely, Bentley WaterGems. I can work with the Bentley model directly in ArcGIS which saves so much time and increases the functionality that i can provide to the clients. ### 29. ArcGIS **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Government Administration | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 25, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Ease of editing and manipulating images. Easy to customize display symbolsl **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Sometimes difficult to navigate dashboard **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Mapping infrastructure ### 30. ARC GIS **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Government Administration | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 04, 2017 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Visually identifies watersheds and calculates areas for custom project maps **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Big learning curve to get advanced proficiency. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Easily maps stormwater project areas. ### 31. ArcGIS: The one stop tool for most civil engineering projects **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kartik R. | Project Engineer, Civil Engineering, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 19, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is a robust software, which allows engineering drawings, designs as well as calculations. It is one of the most efficient data management tools that I've used. I love the fact that it can incorporate information into the attribute table straight from an excel/access database. Also the fact that the data points get transferred from the hand held gps units in the field. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** I feel the concept of geodatabases can be a little tricky/cumbersome. Also, digitizing can become a little difficult as tools like symbology, etc. aren't so friendly to use. However, the best part is the ArcGIS tutorial. I've always found my answers through the search/help menu. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am a civil/environmental engineer. I've worked on various projects, including pipeline rehabilitation, water distribution network, stormwater management, etc. I've used GIS hands on to delineate watersheds, mark utility information on the maps and to populate the corresponding attributes. I've also used it to classify the area based on various factors like land use, zoning density, population, soil type, etc. ### 32. A great platform for innovative GIS software development **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Daniel R. | Independent Software Developer, Computer Software, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 18, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** The ArcGIS platform is always evolving and adding new products and platforms to develop against. The community both at Esri and those that use the products create a constructive place to find answers and share experiences. With these two things combined, there really is no limit to the possibilities of what ArcGIS can do, and I see new innovative ways to use the platform nearly every day. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** My biggest dislike presently is the lack of full feature parity between the different platforms, though I must say this gets better and better with each release. Finding a solution that works on one mobile platform, only to find that similar functionality is missing on another, was always a painful realization, but there are usually ways around that. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** ArcGIS has done a lot in the avenue of open data and open source code lately, if these are things that are important to you, don't discount this proprietary software just yet. If you are looking to build GIS applications and like a good development community, ArcGIS is a great choice, with good documentation and samples, as well as regular, regional meetups. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have leveraged ArcGIS primarily in the realm of asset management and data collection. ArcGIS allowed for rapid field data collection with good support for mobile and enterprise interoperability. ### 33. Long-term user with nothing but praise (except for cost) **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kristin E. | Teaching Assistant, Higher Education, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 12, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** One of my favourite features of ArcGIS is the mapping capabilities that the program has as mapping is a very intuitive way to communicate information. Although a true cartographer would disagree, I really like the defaults. Maps are very easy to produce and look visually appealing. Additionally, newer version of ArcGIS have improved labelling capabilities called "The Maplex Label Engine". Provides more options for labelling which is important when you have labelling multiple overlapping data layers. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** One of the major downfalls of ESRI's ArcGIS is the cost. There is also a steep learning curve for this program. However, once that is passes, the motility between QGIS, ArcGIS, and other geographical softwares is quite simple. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** It's a great set of programs with a fantastic online community. I have no reservations using or recommending this program. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** If the company has the resources to purchase all licenses, the capabilities of this program are almost endless. This program can be used for simple geovisualization to more complex geospatial analyses, such as deciding where to place a new factory (location-allocation), make predictive models such as linear regression and geographic spatial regressions, and determine a route/ path of least resistance (lowest cost) to name a few. ### 34. I have used ArcGIS and its predecessor Arc/Info for 18 years. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** John B. | Manager, Forest Planning and Inventory, Paper & Forest Products, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 04, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** The software in its basic version has lots of features and analysis capabilities. If you are willing to pay more money, you get tons of analytical tools to do just about anything with vector data, raster data, image data, and transportation/networks. The software is fairly intuitive to use and the interface is nice to look at, and it has the ability to make very nice looking map products. Plus, there is a huge online community that can help you figure out how to do just about anything, or solve any problem, with the software. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** The price of the product can be a barrier for smaller businesses, and if you require more sophisticated analysis tools the price gets even steeper. ArcGIS can be slow to startup so you have to be patient, and navigating through folders to find data can also be very slow, especially if that data resides on a network. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** There are commercial and open source alternatives to ArcGIS, however, none have the combination of functionality and ease of use that ArcGIS has. ESRI usually gives potential customers ample time to evaluate the software, and they have staff with a wide range of experience in various industries that can help you. It is important to understand how you will use the software and what features you absolutely need, otherwise you may pay for more than you need. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have solved numerous problems with the software, such as managing geographic data for large timberland owners, completing transportation and logistics optimization analysis, locating optimal sites for wetlands mitigation and renewal, managing endangered species habitat, and completing higher and better use land analysis for real estate sales and development. The software has paid enormous dividends in helping determine what projects to invest in, and what projects will not pay off. It is also very useful in communicating analysis results with high quality map products. ### 35. The most powerful GIS software package for geospatial analyses and map production **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Patrick R. | Research Associate, Research, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 03, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is a powerful GIS software package that's capable of processing complex geospatial analyses - making it versatile and useful in many industries. Whether for finding and evaluating areas for natural resources or producing maps for safety and security, the tools within can be used for a wide variety of contexts. The company that produces ArcGIS (Esri Inc.) are dedicated to customer satisfaction and have many skilled developers, sales reps, and education experts that are there to help you find the right solution for you. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Licencing for the product can sometimes be daunting to understand or rather expensive. Esri are actively working to simplify this process, but it can be off putting for some. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Over my years of experience, I've used many GIS packages (e.g. MapInfo, QGIS, ArcGIS, etc.); ArcGIS, by far, has the community that provides the most support and is the most powerful GIS package out there. That said, though, the cost may make this difficult to implement in your organisation. I might recommend starting out with QGIS, which is free, to begin doing basic geospatial analyses. Once you become comfortable with it, if you feel there are higher level analyses that you would like to do that QGIS isn't capable of and you have the finances to be able to afford ArcGIS, then try out ArcGIS and if you like it, purchase a copy. I'd also recommend checking out ArcGIS Online, the cloud GIS solution that is free to sign up for and you get 2 GB of storage space to begin making basic maps. It's quite robust and makes sharing maps very easy. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have worked in a wide variety of industries - Oil and Gas, Defence Contracting, Urban Planning, and Academic Research. I find that many questions across industries are geospatial ones that ArcGIS helps me answer - understanding transportation costs, finding areas of vulnerability, or simply better understanding what is where and showing that to people who are interested. ArcGIS can be used to improve decision making and save money and resources for companies that recognise the importance of geospatial analyses. ### 36. ARCGIS, so powerful, useful, innovative and sometimes frustrating **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Christopher H. | GIS Specialist, Civil Engineering, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 03, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** I love all the various tools that ARCGIS has available for different forms of spatial analysis and data visualization. Although, it takes some getting used to, eventually things become more familiar overtime. ARCGIS provides good tech support and is always making it easier for the user to do complex calculations with the click of a button. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Because it's been around for a long time, ARCGIS has it's bugs and can sometimes freeze or shutdown unexpectedly. When learning to work with ARCGIS, it's recommended to save often. At times, tools may work because of something hidden that needs to be clicked or unclicked which can be frustrating. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Offers a lot of great tools but there is also free open source software types that may suit you better. Determine what your needs are and proceed from there. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm solving real world problems. I've worked on projects including flood risk analysis involving communities to mapping for social justice issues like food and open space availability. ### 37. A must have industry standard product **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Military | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 26, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** This is an industry standard product. Sure there are open source options out there but the learning curve is just add high and there aren't as good resources to learn from. Community forums are great. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** However, inconvenient support of gpx and kml and time series animations are arcane. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Natural resource management analysis at various special scales. ### 38. The biggest player in the industry and with a number of good reasons **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Christopher W. | Cartographic Design Consultant, Information Technology and Services, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 29, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Almost everything I need in my job can be done in ArcGIS. Sure I use other software for some tasks out of personal preference but ESRI allow you to do nearly everything you can dream of in the geographic information (GI) sector. For cartographic work the PDF output is first class. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Performing cartographic tasks such as labelling to any serious level requires navigating menu after menu. This is so frustrating and in terms of user experience it is the interface and interaction that lets the desktop software down. I am yet to use ArcGIS Online in what I would consider a professional capacity. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** There are a number of pehaps cheaper options but ArcGIS gives you a full, professional solution backed up by a dedicated staff of experts in their fields. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Automated cartography, map sheets, marketing maps, national series. ArcGIS is often my first port of call for manipulating geographic data. It has also done a pretty good job in the automation of some cartographic production. ### 39. Industry leader of GIS solutions with great partnerships covering most needs **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Scott F. | Geographic Information System Administrator/Architect, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 08, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Very versatile solution with easy to use interfaces for all levels of users. Fantastic partnerships with companies such as SAP and SAS for business needs, ENVI for advanced imagery processing, FME for advanced data transformations and the list goes on. Widely used as the standard for GIS making it easy to share and work together with other organizations. Integrated across multiple platforms and capable of enterprise wide deployment. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** While the help tools built into the software are great and the additional details that can be found online it can still be hard finding what help documents you need in the first place. There is so many users all fighting to get enhancements made for their workflows and it seems ESRI gets so bogged down they can't reasonably vet everything or organize it. In many cases items don't get noticed because multiple users are saying the same things but worded differently and spread out across multiple locations so it looks to ESRI as though there is 500 users wanting 100 unique things spread out across 100 requests instead of 500 users asking for 1 thing all consolidated. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** If you have the money this is the biggest bang for your buck in terms of GIS solutions and you can easily expand it out as needed to take advantage of the additional extensions and plugins or integration pieces with other software. From simple desktop solution to enterprise wide integration ArcGIS has something to handle 95% or more of users needs out there. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** ESRI handles all of our GIS needs from printed maps to web applications or simply storing and processing spatial data for analysis. GIS provides a seamless visualization tool we can combine data from across the enterprise and build out complex relationships to help answer questions along with making the best decisions possible. ### 40. GIS Administrator for an Enterprise GIS system at Health and Human Services **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jeffrey M. | GIS Database Manager, Government Administration, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 03, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ESRI has some of the best documentation out there. The installation of the software is easy to follow and technical support has always been extremely helpful. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** ESRI software can be daunting for a novice user. I have worked with some non-GIS people to try to teach them basic GIS tasks. Luckily, there are some free ESRI training courses that can get them some basic skills quickly. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Highly recommend ESRI products. From the easy install to the available training, its no wonder that ESRI is the market leader when it comes to spatial analysis and mapping. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I work in the Emergency Response field. We use GIS in a number of ways, from creating static maps to dynamic web maps. Also, we create some custom applications starting with some out of the box tools. ESRI maps are very visually appealing and can easily tell a story. ### 41. Despite issues, necessary to know in the GIS world **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Lauren M. | Geographer, Government Administration, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 28, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** Joins are immensely helpful when comparing tables of data with shapes. There are even more options available to those who have/know ArcCatalog as well and can build relationships and subtypes into their databases. Makes it simple to digitize features from CAD files or images. Generally plays well with other programs like CAD. Can build scripts in python that use ArcGIS tools to speed up repetitive tasks and not even have to open the program. Their Customer Service is also generally great and wants to help **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Does not deal well with large data sets. Dealing with attribute tables SHOULD be more like working in excel but isn't. Scripting with their geodatabases can be a pain with the learning curve but is definitely manageable. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** If you can afford it, just get it. Its so well documented and the help staff are eager to find solutions. If not don't worry too much. QGIS is very similar and free. If you just need the tools and not the GUI, GDAL can also be used to script up processes. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Working with large databases that contains housing information. Able to quickly compare data with excel using joins and other QC procedures. ### 42. User review for ArcGIS **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Zak B. | HR, Hospital & Health Care, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 12, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is an exceptional program. It has man more uses than we currently have, but the functionality is fantastic. It is a program which requires a little more effort to master, but once one does, the sky is the limit. I am a firm believer in creating something right the first time, and this program enables one to. The best part of this program is the ability to create and modify attributes for shapefiles. Many coworkers prefer to work with KML or KMZ, but the preferred display settings are limited, and are easily lost when the system is rebooted. The attributes for .SHP enable analysts to create a file with a preferred display and enable one to do much more for presenting the graphics. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** There are two primary issues with ArcGIS: the cost and the stability. The suite we use is extremely expensive and is more than $12k for one user. The software can be very touchy when using thin client architecture. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** When attempting to train the next generation of DoD intelligence analysts, a tool for terrain analysis and for pattern analysis is needed. The mapping of ArcGIS is far superior to nearly every other digital mapping tool I've used in nearly 15 years within the industry. As both a user and an instructor, I found myself as the "go to" guy when utilizing this software on a daily basis for more than four years. ### 43. ArcGIS, an exceptionally powerful tool IF you know how to use it. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Zorah O. | Resource Technician, Higher Education, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 31, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is a truly amazing product. There is so much you can do it's mind-boggling. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** There is an incredibly steep learning curve. You MUST take a class, and likely many classes to know what you're doing. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** We conserve natural resources and do lots of mapping. I've also used it to pull addresses out that meet specific criteria (100ft away from a stream, etc.) ### 44. The Best Paid GIS Program **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Nicholas M. | GIS Coordinator, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 04, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** They have the best assortment of tools, and they usually listen to customer requests. Their help systems are quite good, and their free access to the user conference with a software license is a nice bonus. They are also very active with local groups around the country. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Some bug fixes and popular feature requests can take a long time to address. More resources devoted to development and satisfying customer demands rather than doing what they think we want would be nice. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** none **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** Utility-scale GIS of water and electric assets. This gave us the ability to combine all our data and maps into one location and serve it out over a network and with mobile devices. Previously, we just had dumb CAD drawings and scattered Access databases. ### 45. ArcGIS: Industry Standard GIS Software Platform **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Oil & Energy | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 03, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS is a widely used GIS software program by ESRI which comes in three flavors (Basic, Standard, Advanced). It can be further enabled with extensions such as Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst, etc. to help with specific GIS data and analysis. ArcGIS can work with CAD data, KML files for Google Earth and other data sources. There are several other GIS programs out there that do some of the same things and cost much less but do consider the immense number of ArcGIS users that have already run into problems and found solutions for them. ESRI also has a good support team that can help as long as you have kept up with your annual maintenance fees. Inevitably you will run into a problem and in a production environment it's crucial to have that additional support when you need it. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** ArcGIS, like any program has bugs. I know ESRI usually attempts to fix them when they are aware of them but some of them can be annoying. One that any GIS professional will tell you is that ArcGIS holds onto data locks sometimes. Once you understand them you can make it work but it's still a bother. Some of the ArcGIS toolsets are not ideal but do still get you a result. An instance where it could be improved is clipping out a subset of imagery, which can take a considerable amount of time depending on the area and it does not always succeed as desired. So if you want a program that deals with a lot of imagery manipulation this is not it. Viewing imagery data is fine but imagery processing is limited. Another significant point to note is that it does have a steep learning curve. Finally, it is expensive. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** If you need GIS software consider these things: What do you want to get from it now and in the future? What are you willing to and able to pay for it? How crucial is GIS software to providing your products/services? Do your clients work with it and require ArcGIS data outputs? ArcGIS is a great tool, just make sure you really need it and that you have someone that can work with it. It is the high-end version of GIS software so just make sure you need it before you pay to get it. There are many free GIS tools out there that can do quite a lot. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** ArcGIS has been a great resource for our organization with regards to pipeline mapping and data analysis. ### 46. Useful for visuals, but can be tedious. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sarah R. | Teaching Assistant, Higher Education, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 03, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** I like the interface that GIS uses. Specifically the Desktop version (I mainly use ArcMap10.2, and ArcCatalog,). I find Arc products to be very consistent, and as such, I feel comfortable using the various software in different situations. Its is also amazing for visual analysis. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** Arc, and ESRI products can be very tedious. Many tools and applications will only work if action are performed in specific ways and steps. Arc licensing is also expensive and can be a deterrent. I am a Mac user. The company I work for is a Mac company. The fact that Arc products do not work on Macs is a major issue for me. I had to get my own computer specifically for the ArcGIS needs. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** It's very good for consulting and market research. You can easily show the visual side of your projects. If you are looking for these sorts of needs, I would suggest Arc. Also if you ware doing any spatial research or analysis Arc is a good program. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** My most recent project was to determine where targeted marketing for a company should occur. I used Arc to create a cluster analysis of where the company had the highest program uptake and the highest program results. I then created maps outlining where I suggest targeted marketing occur based on historic trends of program uptake and program benefit. A major benefit is the fact that Arc software can produce a visuals for projects were necessary. This is key for the research marketing and consulting world. ### 47. Powerful Program With Abundnt Features **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Environmental Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 21, 2016 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** The ArcGIS suite of programs is immensely powerful. I like that there are always new features that I am learning about. ArcGIS allows me to efficiently plan field visits and maximize my understanding of the landscapes that I work in. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** The layout of complicated programs in the ArcGIS suite takes a long time of regular use or intensive training to master. **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Invest time in training for this product. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I regularly use ArcMap to analyze topography of landscapes and plan conservation practices. ### 48. A comprehensive GIS for the intermediate map maker **Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 09, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** I predominately use ArcMap and for my needs it serves as a great GIS for styling, querying and outputting of data. The interface is clean and the range of tools is expansive and varied. You are able to export to a variety of formats the most notable for me being an illustrator file (ai). It also keeps your layers which is a big plus for me. ArcMap also works with MaPublisher which is a great tool for if you want to work with georeferenced data within Adobe Illustrator. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** What annoys me the most about ArcGIS is its inability to handle large data sets. This is certainly an area I would like to see improved. ArcMap is also unable to load, directly, all GIS data formats which means translation of your data is needed before you can use your data within ArcMap something which can cost money. Of course the most notable dislike of ArcGIS is the cost ££££!!!!! **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** Be wary of what data formats you are using and what formats ArcMap can handle. If you are complety new to ArcMap it can be quite painful digging through the many menus to locate the feature or function you are looking for. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** We most recently used ArcMap to create layer files (style files) for our customers to use with our data. This means they could load our data into ArcMap and by simply attaching the layer file work with pre styled geographical data. This saves our customers time and money ### 49. ArcGIS for Emergency Operations **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Government Administration | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 06, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** I like how ArcGIS is used for such a board range of topics. It can be applied to all sorts of topics because the world is becoming how Jack says GeoEnlightened. Giving the user such free rein, there are such open possibilities to apply how ArcGIS is used to create a map or a story of that matter. ArcGIS continuously expands on all the possibilities of the direction of the users and it's very obvious with all the fast paced projects that constantly being produced. It's hard to keep up because the ArcGIS Platform continues to widen with each product having endless solutions. Examples I can think of are ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Portal, and Dashboard for Operations. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** It's hard to dislike such an expanding product when there are so many solutions. That might be the hard part about it. It is moving at such a rapid pace that it's really hard to know 100% that the new product is the right choice to adapt into a workflow or a business process. We have our ways. It's worked for us. Why should we adapt when there's such a steep learning curve for every product. It's hard to continue the day to day along side researching new prospects of solutions and then inform everyone in the department that things are going to change. **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** We are going from creating very fast paced maps that are used in the Operations Center where we are relied on to empowering our users with ArcGIS Portal. Here we create the Web Service and teach users how to add the layers to their Web Map. This has allowed users to depend on us less and allow us to expand more and do more research on new products to see if it can be incorporated into their business workflow. ### 50. ArcGIS 10.2.2 **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Government Administration | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 04, 2015 **What do you like best about Esri ArcGIS?** ESRI ArcGIS has always been the go-to software for analysis of geospatial data. The software interface is easy to get used to and allows even newer users to get a hands on feel for how easy it is to view data and conduct top knotch analysis. **What do you dislike about Esri ArcGIS?** I belive Esri should begin to allow third party support for the Arc platforms, there is always the support of Add-ins but programming and scripting is still new to alot of people and would be beneficial to ESRI and users alike **Recommendations to others considering Esri ArcGIS:** ArcGis is the way to go when performing any sort of analysis, much better than any other program currently out there **What problems is Esri ArcGIS solving and how is that benefiting you?** I primarily use ArcGIS for analysis of taxing parcels and how they can relate to the city around them. I use the Coordinate Geometry tools on a daily basis for traversing land with precise measurements and angles for viewing only the most accurate depictions of housing boundaries. ## Esri ArcGIS Discussions - [If not already in place, when will there be a merger between AutoCAD and ESRI?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/12714-if-not-already-in-place-when-will-there-be-a-merger-between-autocad-and-esri) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [what is price of the software](https://www.g2.com/discussions/7652-what-is-price-of-the-software) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [Where can I learn more about the technical details of ArcGIS Online?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/arcgis-online) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [Where can I learn more about the technical details of ArcGIS Pro?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/arcgis-pro) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [Where can I learn more about the technical details of ArcGIS Enterprise?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/arcgis-enterprise) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [View Esri ArcGIS pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/esri-arcgis/reviews?page=10§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-10+05%3A34%3A39+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=fdb71af9-c495-4e0b-bd82-40da8be912e1&secure%5Btoken%5D=f55cb91a5cd15df5d85817f212be4b16d3f4e1e21381f3a19a64c273d495881a&format=llm_user) ## Esri ArcGIS Integrations - [FME Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/fme-platform/reviews) - [Revit](https://www.g2.com/products/revit/reviews) ## Esri ArcGIS Features **Reports** - Reports Interface - Steps to Answer - Graphs and Charts - Score Cards - Dashboards - Customizable Reports - Marketing Reports - Sales Reports - Activity Dashboard - Interactive Reports - Customizable Reports - Customizable Reports - Activity Dashboard - Customizable Dashboard **Data Management** - Data Capture - Data Storage - Data Manipulation - Data Visualization - Data Capture and Transfer **Cartography** - Geographic Maps - Vector Mapping - Data Visualization - Overlaying - Data Mapping **Map Creation** - Geocoding - Buffer Zone Query - Overlaying - Publishing **Analysis** - Predictive Analytics - Distance Analysis - Spatial Analysis - Data Stream - Demographic Data - Trend Analysis - Trade Area Analysis **Analysis** - Spatial Analysis - Reporting - Real-Time Streaming - Trend Analysis - Statistical Analysis **Reporting** - Data Transformation - WYSIWYG Design - API Integrations - Third-Party Integrations **Additional Functionality** - Monitoring - Reporting & Statistics - Color Codes/Icons - Map Creation - Geographic Maps - Location Tracking - AI Copilot - Internet Mapping - API - Map Sharing - Third-Party Integrations - Interoperability - Reporting/Analytics - Image Management - Activity Dashboard - Geotargeting - Labeling - Data Collection - Route Optimization - Geolocation - Generative AI - Data Import/Export - Multi-Location - Census Data Integration - 3D Imaging - Data Mapping **Additional Functionality** - Customizable Reports - Geotargeting - Ad hoc Reporting - Search/Filter - Role-Based Permissions - Alerts/Notifications - Real-Time Analytics - Reporting & Statistics - Activity Tracking - Geocoding - Widgets - Communication Management - Behavioral Analytics - Data Synchronization - Data Import/Export - Multi-Location - Database Support - 2D/3D Designing - Customer Segmentation - Geofencing - Collaboration Tools - Single Sign On - CAD Tools - Activity Dashboard - AI Copilot - Generative AI - Location Tracking - Reporting/Analytics - Mobile Access - Access Controls/Permissions - User Management - Real-Time Notifications - Heatmaps - Route Optimization **Self Service ** - Calculated Fields - Data Column Filtering - Data Discovery - Search - Collaboration / Workflow - Automodeling - Natural Language Search - Visual Discovery - Data Blending - Data Blending **Advanced Analytics** - Predictive Analytics - Data Visualization - Big Data Services - Real-Time Analytics - Reporting/Analytics - Real-Time Analytics - Reporting/Analytics - Visual Analytics **Building Reports** - Data Transformation - Data Modeling - WYSIWYG Report Design - Integration APIs - Real-Time Data - Real-Time Data - Third-Party Integrations - Third-Party Integrations **Platform** - Mobile User Support - Customization - User, Role, and Access Management - Internationalization - Sandbox / Test Environments - Performance and Reliability - Breadth of Partner Applications - Mobile Access - Metadata Management **Additional Functionality** - Customizable Branding - Natural Language Processing - Data Extraction - AI Copilot - Ad hoc Reporting - Real-Time Reporting - Publishing/Sharing - Collaboration Tools - Strategic Planning - Self Service Data Preparation - Trend Analysis - Text Analysis - Real-Time Monitoring - Data Synchronization - Widgets - Benchmarking - Performance Metrics - Data Mapping - Generative AI - Trend/Problem Indicators - Customizable Templates - Access Controls/Permissions - Data Import/Export - Profitability Analysis - OLAP - Alerts/Notifications - Search/Filter - Drag & Drop - Data Connectors - Multiple Data Sources - Key Performance Indicators - Dashboard Creation - Role-Based Permissions - Data Mining - Forecasting - Ad hoc Query ## Top Esri ArcGIS Alternatives - [Maptitude](https://www.g2.com/products/maptitude/reviews) - 4.7/5.0 (149 reviews) - [MapInfo Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/mapinfo-pro/reviews) - 4.1/5.0 (107 reviews) - 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