I am happy to announce that the Beta of Esri Maps for Office v3.0 went live over the last weekend at the Esri Partner Conference and International Developer Summit in Palm Springs. If you haven't done so already, please apply for the beta here: http://bit.ly/getemfspbeta.
Some of the highlights of this beta include the following: â?¢Support for SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013 (on-premises) â?¢Updated Silverlight-based map web part (SP2010 & SP2013) and initial release of a brand new HTML/JavaScript-based map web part (SP2013 only) â?¢Updated to support the ArcGIS for Silverlight v3.1 and ArcGIS Extensibility v3.1 SDKs (Silverlight-based map web part only) â?¢Tighter integration with AGOL
[INDENT]Ability to share/publish web maps and layers to ArcGIS Online[/INDENT] [INDENT]Geographic Data Enrichment via map enrichment (access to new premium demographic and & lifestyle maps)[/INDENT] [INDENT]Geographic Data Enrichment via interactive InfoGraphics[/INDENT]
Some major items on the roadmap (subject to change) for our July v3.0 release (final): â?¢Updated Portal for ArcGIS v10.2 support â?¢Additional Geographic Data Enrichment options â?¢Bi-directional external data connectivity via BCS External Lists â?¢Bi-directional external data connectivity via web part-to-web part connections â?¢SharePoint Online for Office 365 support (via the HTML/JavaScript-based map web part only)
Major reasons for introducing an HTML/JavaScript map web part include the following: â?¢To support compatible browsers on multiple platforms (tablets, smartphones, etc.) and OS's (iOS, Android, etc.) â?¢To support SharePoint Online for Office 365 â?¢To leverage a common User Experience and User Interface which is similar across all Esri Location Analytics (Esri Maps for ...) clients
Thanks, Tony
Tony Howser | Product Manager | Location Analytics Team ESRI | 5465 Morehouse Drive, Suite 140 | San Diego, CA 92121 800-795-7483, ext. 5601 | thowser@esri.com
Very excited about the BCS implementation! Could you talk more about this?
BCS - what does it stand for?
Bi-directional: meaning that if you were to update a mapservice or the gdb directly it would create a new list item or edit an existing? that if you update the list item the gdb gets updated how will it handle photos - both ways (where would the photos get stored?) would these photos then show up in the silverlight pop-ups no problem?
First, a disclaimer: I am sharing some product roadmap/envisioning here and the capabilities in the released product may vary or may not be immediately available. That said, BCS support and, similarly, Web Part-to-Web Part connectivity support are key initiatives for Esri Maps for SharePoint for connecting to and working with external data sources.
BCS stands for Business Connectivity Services and is a basically standard set of interfaces to "connect" SharePoint to external data sources via a variety of options (Web services, WCF services, .NET assemblies, database connectors, etc.).
Our goal is to geo-enable external business data sources (e.g. SQL server databases) by providing our users with seamless access to the Esri platform (hosted or on-premises content, services, and infrastructure for sharing, collaboration, visualization, analysis, etc.) without the need to create custom workflows to import/export data between SharePoint Lists and these external sources. Initially, we will likely support BCS connections to SharePoint External Lists which are, essentially, an external (and "abstracted") version of SharePoint Lists except that the data sources may be SQL Server databases, Oracle databases, etc.
Bi-directional connections are meant to imply that these BCS connections to External Lists are not merely read-only views into the source data. For example, you may want to geocode a bunch of records from your External List (e.g. table on your SQL Server instance); create and customize a map; and share/publish the map/layers with members of your organization through the Esri platform however; you may also want to create a workflow which leverages Esri Maps for SharePoint's forthcoming support of new global Geographic Data Enrichment services on the Esri platform to "enrich" or append attributes to your External List associated with geographic context, demographics, lifestyle, and other categories that may subsequently used as a basis for additional mapping, analysis, visualization, charting, modeling, presentations, etc. (for better insights into your business or organization's data).
I can't really say whether your specific use case (displaying images from your external data source in the Silverlight map web part-based popups) will be supported "Out of the Box" or if will take a little tweaking here or there but; it may simply entail providing source data in your geo-enabled External Lists which include image URLs as attributes. 🙂
Thanks for your questions and enthusiasm!
Tony
Very excited about the BCS implementation! Could you talk more about this?
BCS - what does it stand for?
Bi-directional: meaning that if you were to update a mapservice or the gdb directly it would create a new list item or edit an existing? that if you update the list item the gdb gets updated how will it handle photos - both ways (where would the photos get stored?) would these photos then show up in the silverlight pop-ups no problem?
The beta has concluded and Esri Maps for SharePoint v3.0 is now available for licensing. It includes major new capabilities that were not in the beta including bi-directional BCS connectivity to your external data warehouse and web part connections support.
Please contact Esri Sales or your account manager to request a quote or evaluation.
you obviously have to have an ArcGIS Online Subscription to get the files. Does that imply it´s no longer a free add on that you can run if you have ArcGIS Server? Is there a new licensing model behind that?
As of writing, Esri Maps for SharePoint v3.0+ requires a connection to the ArcGIS platform because of the way it has been architected and the direction we are taking our SharePoint mapping offering as a Location Analytics solution moving forward.
e.g. New global geocoding services, new publishing and sharing capabilities, new spatial analysis options, ability to enrich external databases with geo-context, etc. A general discussion of this transition and re-launch was described in Jack's Q&A from the 2013 Esri International Users Conference which concluded last week.
This licensing requirement can be satisfied by one of the following:
a. An ArcGIS Online Org Subscription b. license to Portal for ArcGIS v10.2+
We are expecting Esri Maps for SharePoint v3.0 to be available to licensed users by the end of this month (July 2013).
Thank you for your question!
Thanks, Tony
Hello,
you obviously have to have an ArcGIS Online Subscription to get the files. Does that imply it´s no longer a free add on that you can run if you have ArcGIS Server? Is there a new licensing model behind that?
