By consensus at the last quarterly meeting of the Pee Dee GIS Users group, the November meeting date has been moved to after the Thanksgiving holiday from the 21st to the 28th. RSVP’s will be sent as usual in advance of the meeting as a reminder.

This week at the Esri Federal Users Conference, Jack Dangermond talked about the pending release of ArcGIS 10.1. During his presentation he shared that parts of this new release would start hitting the streets sometime in March. With the release of any new software version, you have to make a determination about whether or not you and your organization should upgrade or not. There are always several factors that play into such a decision but one of the key factors is “does the new release contain functionality that would make my life easier.”

So what is some of the new functionality you can expect to see with ArcGIS 10.1. Also don’t forget that Esri is changing the names of the Licensing levels for ArcGIS Desktop to be more consistent with ArcGIS Server. ArcView is now ArcGIS Desktop Basic. ArcEditor is now ArcGIS Desktop Standard and ArcInfo is now ArcGIS Desktop Advanced.

Integration with other Software:

1. Integration with Microsoft Office with new application call Maps Ribbon. This application takes data stored in a spreadsheet and creates maps on the fly. This map can then be exported to PowerPoint.
2. Integration with Microsoft Sharepoint, IBM Cognos, and Salesforce.com
3. Full 64 Bit support
4. Linux version

Editing and Visualization:

1. Import support for KML files – Import KML files directly into maps
2. Edit Tracking – New Tab that shows edit while changing or adding features. See what you have done
3. Dynamic Legends – Change with display and scale
4. Improved support for Time enabled data – New live mode allows live information to be incorporated into map
5. Improved Map Packages –allow additional information to be included in the file such as reports and timelines
6. Better integration with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Server for improved sharing of data

Analysis:

1. New Grouping Analysis – find patterns using multiple variables
2. Spatial weighting based on distance

Data Formats:

1. ArcGIS Server can now render LiDAR data into a 3D model
2. ArcGIS Desktop supports use of LAS files
3. Several New base maps have been added to ArcGIS online gallery
4. Full motion video support
5. Multitemporal and multispectral image display can now be viewed as a single library

Application Development:

1. ArcGIS Runtime – allows for creation of light weight focused desktop applications
2. New Web APIs

I am sure there will be more information released as we get closer to the actual release. I hope this proves helpful as you begin planning for the release of 10.1.

URISA invites experienced geospatial professionals of all kinds – particularly those with management experience – to review and comment on a draft Geospatial Management Competency Model (GMCM). Reviews by GIS professionals, professional surveyors, photogrammetrists and remote sensing scientists, programmers and application developers who specialize in geospatial applications, educators with specialized expertise in Geographic Information Science and Technology, and others whose work relies on geospatial technologies and data analysis are all welcome to participate.

A URISA Task Force prepared the draft for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA). Reviews will be reported to the Task Force and DOLETA, and will used to refine and validate the GMCM. Reviewers who share contact information will also receive results of the public review as well as copies of the revised GMCM.

Links to the draft GMCM and an online questionnaire for reviewers are available at http://www.urisa.org/gmcm_review. The questionnaire will remain open through March 31, 2012.

The Geospatial Management Competency Model (GMCM) specifies 74 essential competencies and 17 competency areas that characterize the work of most successful managers in the geospatial industry.

The GMCM builds upon DOLETA’s Geospatial Technology Competency Model, which specifies the foundational, industry-wide, and industry sector-specific expertise characteristic of the various occupations that comprise the geospatial industry (http://www.careeronestop.org/CompetencyModel/pyramid.aspx?GEO=Y).

URISA convened a task force composed of ten experienced geospatial managers and one facilitator at the 2011 GIS-Pro Conference in Indianapolis to produce the GMCM for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA).

URISA’s qualifications to organize the GMCM effort include its nearly 50-year history as one of the founding organizations of the GIS profession, its successful organization of the GIS Certification Institute and the URISA Leadership Academy, and its healthy working relationships with other professional and scientific associations in the geospatial field through the Coalition on Geospatial Organizations (COGO).

Want to know who’s coming? Check out our map on ARCGIS online!