Leading GIS Provider to Deliver Cost-Effective Solution for Small Organizations

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Partner Solution Case Study

Overview "SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is an excellent Country or Region: United States platform for anyone who needs to bring out a Industry: Professional Services bundled product or a personal edition that offers Partner Profile low-cost administration….” Founded in Redlands, California, in 1969, ESRI provides geographic SJ Camarata, Director of Corporate Strategies, ESRI information systems (GIS) technology to tens of thousands of users worldwide. As the world leader in geographic information system (GIS) ESRI has more than 4,000 employees worldwide. technology and mapping software, ESRI provides systems for the management, analysis, and display of geographic Business Situation ESRI wanted to improve performance for information. ESRI is currently building a lower-cost integrated the field workers of existing customers GIS and database solution to enable smaller organizations to while expanding relational database management system (RDBMS) use to benefit from the advantages of storing geographic data in a smaller governments and businesses relational database management system (RDBMS). ESRI with a lower-cost GIS database. selected Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Express Edition for its Solution security model, ease-of-use, small footprint, enhanced ESRI embedded Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Express Edition into its performance, and scalability. By embedding SQL Server 2005 server software product ArcSDE. Express Edition in its ArcSDE product, ESRI will improve

Benefits performance for its customers. With this solution, ESRI plans to  Reduced database administration deliver an RDBMS-based solution at a significant price reduction overhead  Improved database performance for from its standard solution and provide more options to its mobile workers customers.  Increased size of database available to remote workers  Lower entry cost for GIS and RDBMS solution  New market opportunities Situation ESRI based in Redlands, California, is the “Our software is very interactive, and largest developer of geographic information waiting several seconds for a visual systems (GIS). GIS is a system for the response drives people crazy,” says John management, analysis, and display of Baleja, ArcSDE Product Manager at ESRI. geographic information. “People expect our software to provide a very quick response. Performance is GIS is used in industries as varied as everything in our applications.” health and human services, environmental management, transportation, utilities, all Additionally, the current workflow for mobile levels of government, agriculture, defense, workers was not as efficient as ESRI public safety, education, retail and wanted it to be. With the current commercial business, telecommunications, technology, after returning to their home and natural resources management. Over office and uploading database changes, 4,000 ESRI employees provide systems mobile workers have to reload the and service worldwide. database to their notebook computers before returning to the field. ArcSDE ESRI software can be used in various ways Personal Edition with Microsoft SQL by different entities. For example, within a Server™ 2005 Express Edition eliminates single city, ESRI software can be the need to reload data. implemented for tax assessment, management of land parcels, and In order to help users improve their emergency planning. ESRI software is workflows in the central office, ESRI has used in the forestry industry to manage been moving its customers from file-based timber stands, suppress and manage forest storage solutions to database management fires, and to manage watersheds and systems (DBMS) over the past several wildlife habitats. Public health and human years. ESRI developed ArcSDE, an services use ESRI software to perform bed advanced spatial data access server, to management at hospitals, manage trauma provide a gateway for storing, managing, sites for emergency services, and monitor and using spatial data in a DBMS for and analyze disease outbreaks for medical multiple-client applications. epidemiology. GIS software can be employed across entire cities and This improved technology has not been enterprises, wherever spatial information is feasible for all users, because it requires a essential. standard edition database and the full- priced ESRI server product. The cost of the Organizations that use GIS technology software and the need for a database generally employ numerous workers to administrator have prevented many smaller collect and analyze data in the field. ESRI organizations from upgrading their data offers a personal geodatabase built upon systems. Microsoft® Access as a mobile-worker solution. This solution has limitations: the ESRI wanted to create a solution targeted personal geodatabase limits the size and at departments and smaller organizations type of data, and performance problems that needed databases to use the suite of are commonplace when the personal ESRI products, but that did not have the geodatabase reaches 250 megabytes resources of a larger enterprise at their (MB). disposal. At the same time, ESRI wanted to solve the performance issues facing the and counties with populations below mobile workers of its existing customers. 100,000, as well as to small businesses. “We “The customers we’re targeting for ArcSDE wanted to deliver a total package that Workgroup Edition may be using our file- installs the database, ArcSDE, and our based storage presently,” says Baleja. “The database schema and provides idea is to move them into our DBMS so administration tools for an easy-to-manage they can utilize our new data models. The experience,” says Baleja. challenges to them are cost constraints and a lack of resources. By embedding SQL Solution Server 2005 Express Edition, we’re ESRI decision makers reviewed offerings providing a low-cost DBMS that users can from several software providers, including administer easily.” Oracle and IBM. They decided to embed Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express ESRI began planning its embedding work “We wanted to Edition, which is part of Microsoft Windows in summer 2004 with storyboards and combine low cost and Server System™ integrated server prototypes. Much of the development was software, in the ArcSDE server product. focused on user-interface design, primarily ease of use to speed “SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is ArcSDE administration and user tools. adoption of our solution relatively simple in terms of administration Because ArcSDE supports SQL Server for required,” says Baleja. “We wanted to build the enterprise, scaling down was handled by organizations that an integrated solution that would install the by SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. A couldn’t otherwise database and our product as well as our team of one full-time and two part-time database schema. With SQL Server 2005 developers used the Microsoft Visual move to DBMS data Express Edition in ArcSDE, we are able to Studio® 2005 development system to write management.” provide a very simple tool to manage users the user interface and the Microsoft Visual and security, and to start and stop the C++® development system to design the John Baleja, ArcSDE Product Manager, server. installation. ESRI “We wanted to combine low cost and ease By embedding SQL Server 2005 Express of use to speed adoption of our solution by Edition in ArcSDE, ESRI customers will be organizations that wouldn’t otherwise be able to store their data using ESRI’s able to move to DBMS data management,” advanced object model (the geodatabase) says Baleja. “We’ve never before delivered inside a relational database management a complete package, which makes this system (RDBMS), enabling multiuser solution unique.” access and simultaneous editing, and releasing users from the shackles of a flat- ESRI will target two groups with the new file system. According to Shannon Shields, ArcSDE software. The ArcSDE Personal Lead SQL Server Product Specialist at Edition will be delivered free of charge with ESRI, “Many of our customers don’t need a the desktop products. Mobile workers will full-blown enterprise RDBMS to manage use it in place of the previous personal their data. They’re either working on geodatabase to collect field data for later smaller projects or are mobile users who analysis. The ArcSDE Workgroup Edition are disconnected from the central will be sold to small municipal database. But they still want the governments, local governments, cities, functionality that the ArcSDE software provides. By embedding SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, we can deliver an entire store individual project databases. Users package.” will be able to back up their personal data separate from the work of other users. Microsoft offers SQL Server Management Says Shields, “The response that we’re Studio Express, a free database getting from our beta sites is administration tool that ESRI can use to overwhelmingly positive, from the ease of support users should they encounter setting things up to multiple users being difficulties with ArcSDE. Says Shields, “We able to go in and use databases didn’t want ArcSDE to be a complete black simultaneously. We’re very excited about box, and it was important to us that we the rollout of this product.” would be able to direct our customers to the same tools we use.” SQL Server 2005 Express Edition provides all the functionality ESRI wanted to include Development progressed smoothly, on for smaller organizations. Additionally, it is time, and within budget. When ESRI began scalable for larger production versions of work on the project, SQL Server 2005 SQL Server and can grow with the “Embedding SQL Express Edition was in beta stage. “When organization. With a seamless upgrade Server 2005 Express we started doing our major development, path to all SQL Server editions, ESRI can SQL Server 2005 Express Edition was very maintain one set of code while providing its Edition in ArcSDE will stable despite being in beta,” says Shields. customers with additional database result in significantly “We received good feedback from the advantages. “SQL Server 2005 Express Microsoft beta forum for the few issues we Edition is an excellent platform for anyone improved workflow for ran into.” who needs to bring out a bundled product field workers.” or a personal edition that offers low-cost Benefits administration for smaller government and John Baleja, ArcSDE Product Manager, By bundling SQL Server 2005 Express business use,” says SJ Camarata, Director ESRI Edition with existing product offerings, of Corporate Strategies at ESRI. ESRI expects to penetrate new markets and enable all its customers to benefit from Streamlined Data Management an easily administered database solution, Organizations will be able to make better simplified data management, improved decisions by recording and analyzing performance, and increased worker geographic data within the ESRI ArcSDE productivity at a low cost. software. By embedding SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, ESRI offers improved Reduced Administration capabilities to a broader group of ESRI customers will be able to take customers. “When users move from a file- advantage of the enhanced security model based system to an RDBMS, they can take and support for Windows® authentication advantage of backup and recovery and offered by SQL Server 2005 Express utilize our new database-specific data Edition. Because ArcSDE users will have a models,” says Baleja. “They can bring all single-source sign-on, database owners their data into a common storage format. won’t have to configure additional users Customers will be better able to use their separately from the Windows logon. data in the future.”

The separate, distinct databases inherent Increased Productivity and Performance in SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Many organizations that require GIS architecture will enable ESRI customers to technology employ a large base of mobile workers. By embedding SQL Server 2005 Express Edition in ArcSDE, ESRI is increasing the size and type of data that field editors can take into the field. For example, forestry workers can load information about forestry, roads, and aerial photography into their portable computers for work offsite.

With SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, performance has improved over that of the previous ESRI personal geodatabase. Instead of waiting seconds for information to appear, mobile users receive an instant visual response to queries.

Baleja emphasizes, “Embedding SQL Server 2005 Express Edition in ArcSDE will result in significantly improved workflow for field workers.” Workers will be able to upload the data stored in their portable computers directly into the central database when they return to the office. Time once spent reloading data will now be employed in more productive ways.

New Markets With SQL Server 2005 Express Edition embedded in ArcSDE, ESRI is producing a complete package. GIS technology and an RDBMS will be available together at about a third of the cost of the standard solution. Small governments and businesses previously unable to afford a database GIS solution will now be able to benefit from its advantages. “In the United States alone, there are about 19,000 cities with populations below 100,000,” says Baleja. “We expect significant adoption of our software by those cities.” For More Information Microsoft SQL Server 2005 For more information about Microsoft Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is products and services, call the Microsoft comprehensive, integrated data Sales Information Center at (800) 426- management and analysis software that 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft enables organizations to reliably manage Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- mission-critical information and confidently 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- run today’s increasingly complex business of-hearing can reach Microsoft text applications. By providing high availability, telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) security enhancements, and embedded 892-5234 in the United States or (905) reporting and data analysis tools, SQL 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 Server 2005 helps companies gain greater United States and Canada, please insight from their business information and contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. achieve faster results for a competitive To access information using the World advantage. And, because it’s part of Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com Windows Server System, SQL Server 2005 is designed to integrate seamlessly with For more information about ESRI your other server infrastructure products and services, call (909) 793- investments. 2853 or visit the Web site at: www.esri.com For more information about SQL Server 2005, go to: www.microsoft.com/sqlserver

Software and Services  Technologies  Microsoft Windows Server System − Microsoft SQL Server 2005 − Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Management Studio Express Edition  Microsoft Visual C++  Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 © 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, Visual C++, Visual Studio, Windows, and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Document published March 2006