Monthly Archives: July 2013

2013 Esri International User Conference

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This is my 3rd consecutive years to attend annual Esri International User Conference or better known as “Esri UC” in San Diego Convention Centre from July 8 – 12, 2013 together with 12 Malaysia delegates and more than 15,000 users from around the globe . This is the world’s largest event dedicated to geographic information system (GIS) technology and I’m glad that I can be part of it.

Now that I’ve recovered from my jet lag, time to share what I’ve learned and do my Esri UC wrap-up.

I find the following links/articles provide the most comprehensive view of Esri UC this year :-

  • Part 1 – Pre-Conference Q&A with Jack Dangermond – Every year prior to Esri UC, Jack shares a series of questions to and answers from Esri on various topics. Personally I find this Q&A very insightful, informative and useful to know about direction of Esri software development, future plans and industry trend
  • Part 2 – Esri UC Plenary – I find the write up in GISCafe by Susan Smith provides the most realistic coverage of the plenary event. Please read her article here and get a good glimpse of the event. It is an amazing piece of coverage with complete snapshots of the event.
  • Part 3 – Esri UC Closing Session – Glenn Letham did a very good job summarizing the closing ceremony and sharing his personal views in GISuser.com
  • Part 4 – Official Esri UC Photo Gallery in Flickr – There are more than 1300 photos uploaded covering most of the pre-conference seminars, plenary session, map gallery, Esri showcase, exhibition hall, panel session, technical workshops, 5K runs, GIS Kids Camp, various award ceremony, Party at the Park, etc.

Ok, there was my picture taken while doing my last-minute souvenir shopping at Spatial Store and Yes, I got 1 of this cute little stress ball too

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For me, the most exciting message from this Esri UC is “Web GIS”. Web GIS is a new implementation pattern in addition to Desktop GIS, Server GIS and Mobile GIS. Web GIS will transform how we use, share, discover and deploy GIS. It is a new and exciting pattern that help extends the reach of GIS to everyone and make GIS pervasively available everywhere on any devices.