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ArcGIS

ArcGIS is Esri's commercial platform for geographic information systems (GIS) and is the most widely used GIS tool among Norwegian municipalities, government agencies and large private players in property and infrastructure. The platform is used to collect, analyse and visualise location-based data: map layers, property boundaries, terrain models, demographics, climate data and infrastructure.

Esri was founded in 1969 and today delivers ArcGIS as several products with different purposes. ArcGIS Pro is the modern desktop tool for analysis, cartography and editing. ArcGIS Online is the cloud-based platform for publishing, sharing and collaboration. ArcGIS Enterprise is the self-hosted server version that many municipalities run locally to keep sensitive data within their own IT infrastructure. Add-on products such as ArcGIS StoryMaps, Survey123, Field Maps, Dashboards and Insights cover specific use cases, from narrative map stories to field data capture.

In Norway, each kommune typically uses ArcGIS Enterprise or ArcGIS Pro for its planning administration, for handling zoning plans, land use purposes, building applications, water and sewer networks and municipal consideration zones. Norge digitalt delivers public data through WMS, WFS and REST services that ArcGIS reads directly. Statens vegvesen, NVE, Miljødirektoratet and Statsforvalteren publish map layers in the same formats, so an ArcGIS setup quickly becomes a working tool that connects municipal plans with national datasets such as FKB, the matrikkel and flood zones.

In the private property sector, ArcGIS is used in two main types of situation. Large groups with their own GIS department (contractors, infrastructure builders, large property developers) build internal platforms with ArcGIS as the engine. Consultancies and specialist advisers (Multiconsult, Norconsult, Cowi, Sweco) deliver GIS analyses in ArcGIS as a service to clients. The licence cost is significant: a single ArcGIS Pro user typically costs a few thousand kroner per year, while an ArcGIS Enterprise installation for a kommune runs into the hundreds of thousands of kroner a year, depending on the number of users and modules.

There are several alternatives. The open QGIS is free, has a large ecosystem of plugins and covers most analytical needs, but has weaker enterprise support and simpler cartography than ArcGIS Pro. Mapbox, Carto and Felt are web-first platforms for visual data stories, more design-oriented and less analytically deep. Specialised tools such as Placepoint cover concrete use cases (property analysis) without the user having to build their own GIS setup, and draw on the same underlying data sources from Kartverket, the matrikkel, FKB and municipal zoning plans. The difference is that GIS platforms such as ArcGIS are general tools that need configuration, while domain-specific products come ready-packaged for one use case and for users who are not GIS experts.

ArcGIS works with several file formats: shapefile (older, but dominant), GeoPackage (open, SQLite-based), File Geodatabase (Esri's own, difficult to use without ArcGIS), GeoJSON (web-friendly), GML and SOSI (the Norwegian standard, used by FKB). Esri also has its own closed formats that do not always read cleanly in other tools. For projects that need to collaborate across platforms, open standards are preferable; for large internal workflows, Esri's own formats are often the most efficient.

Limitations worth noting: ArcGIS is broad in functionality, but also complex. The learning curve is steep, and a typical kommune needs several years of experience to use the platform well. Data management requires discipline; otherwise you risk a system with duplicate data and unclear versioning.

From Placepoint's dictionary: ArcGIS

More information: Esri: ArcGIS Online, Geonorge: national geodata portal, Store norske leksikon: GIS

English: ArcGIS (Esri's GIS platform).

Frequently asked questions​

What is ArcGIS?​

Esri's commercial GIS platform: ArcGIS Pro (desktop), ArcGIS Online (cloud), ArcGIS Enterprise (server version) and a range of add-on modules. It is used to collect, analyse and visualise location-based data.

Who uses ArcGIS in Norway?​

Practically all municipalities, most government agencies (Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE), Statens vegvesen, Miljødirektoratet) and large private players in property, infrastructure and consultancy.

What is the difference between ArcGIS and QGIS?​

ArcGIS is commercial and licensed (Esri); QGIS is open and free. ArcGIS has stronger enterprise support, cartography and specialist modules. QGIS has a lively plugin ecosystem and covers most analytical work without a licence.

Do I need ArcGIS for property analysis?​

Not necessarily. For many users, domain-specific tools such as Placepoint meet the need without requiring general GIS skills. ArcGIS is relevant when you build your own data services or run heavy analyses.

Where does ArcGIS get Norwegian map data from?​

From Norge digitalt (WMS, WFS, REST), Kartverket's services (FKB, matrikkel, elevation data), municipal planning registers, NVE's flood and landslide data and a range of sector datasets.

Beta! Dokumentasjonen er automatisk generert. Informasjonen kan være ufullstendig og inneholde feil, spesielt skjermbilder og videoer. Se Om hjelpesidene. Vi vil veldig gjerne ha innspill: Kontakt oss via «Fant du det du lette etter?» nederst, i chatten nede til høyre eller på support@placepoint.no – vi svarer så fort vi kan!