Transforming a Prominent
County’s GIS Operations with
Cloud-Based ArcGIS Enterprise

Overview

A prominent county, located in north-central New Jersey, is the state’s third most populous county with over 800,000 residents. The county wanted to enhance the quality of life for its families, residents, and businesses by modernizing its GIS operations.

Challenges

The county aimed to improve scalability, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and data security by adopting cloud-based ArcGIS Enterprise and Azure infrastructure. However, they encountered several challenges during the modernization process.

Business Challenges

  • Scalability Limitations – The county’s on-premise GIS infrastructure faced scalability issues, limiting expansion and access to the latest GIS tools, functionalities, and applications.
  • Upgrade to Cloud Infrastructure – They identified the need to upgrade to a cloud-based infrastructure to ensure the continuous availability of GIS services and data while minimizing downtime.
  • Focus on Data Security – The county required advanced security measures to protect their GIS data from cyber threats.
  • Transition to ArcGIS Pro – They recognized the limitations of their current ArcMap platform and decided to transition to the newer ArcGIS Pro platform to optimize workflow efficiency and enhance user collaboration.
  • Cost-Effective Solution – They aimed to achieve a cost-effective solution by reducing maintenance costs associated with their on-premise infrastructure, while prioritizing data security.

 

Migration Challenges

Data Integrity & Security

Ensuring data integrity and preventing data loss or security breaches during the migration of servers,
data, and applications was crucial

Continuous Availability & Minimized Downtime

The primary goal was to maintain continuous availability and minimize downtime during the phased migration of the county’s Business Portal and essential services that rely on ArcGIS Enterprise.

Transition to ArcGIS Pro & ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9.1

Transitioning from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro and from legacy software to ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9.1 required user training, planning, and adoption efforts to ensure proficiency in using the platform’s features and tools and to maximize the benefits of the new system.

Solution

  • Deployment of MACS – CyberTech deployed Managed ArcGIS Cloud Services (MACS), a platform that securely plans, mitigates, and manages data migration, to handle the county’s GIS infrastructure in the cloud, ensuring compliance and data protection.
  • Agility Boost – To minimize disruptions and facilitate rapid testing of new features and applications, we established a highly available ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9.1 environment for development, staging, and production.
  • Centralized Data Hub – We facilitated the transition to Azure SQL Managed Instance, creating a secure and centralized data hub for the county’s GIS information, streamlining data management and integration.
  • Smoother ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro Transition – We developed custom tools and automation within a virtualized environment to simplify the migration from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro, reducing manual effort and optimizing efficiency without compromising performance or data security.
  • Reliable Backup Policies – We implemented strong backup and restoration policies to ensure the safety and recoverability of the county’s critical GIS information.

Benefit

The transition from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro, supported by CyberTech’s on-demand assistance, ensured a smooth and successful transformation.
The move to a cloud-based ArcGIS Enterprise offered the county several advantages:

Faster Testing and Deployment

The county benefited from a dedicated cloud environment developed and deployed by CyberTech, enabling rapid prototyping and rollout of new features and applications. This significantly reduced the time-to-market for GIS projects.

Scalability and Cost-Efficiency

The implementation of ArcGIS systems enhanced geospatial accessibility and allowed the county to easily scale resources based on changing needs. This optimized costs and adapted to fluctuating workloads efficiently, while reducing upfront and operational expenses, resulting in strategic savings through efficient resource utilization.

Resilient GIS Infrastructure

The transition also increased the resilience and adaptability of the county’s GIS system. Application-level protection was implemented, establishing a multi-layered defense against cyber threats and data theft, ensuring smoother and safer operations at a much greater scale.

Azure Virtual Desktop

Using Azure Virtual Desktop eliminated the need for individual computers for each user, providing a centralized pool of computing power for remote access.

On-Demand Support

The county received on-demand support from CyberTech’s Engagement and Operations Managers, ensuring efficient handling of requests and dedicated support resources, which helped maintain smooth operations.

Conclusion

Through their partnership with CyberTech, the county effectively upgraded their GIS operations by implementing a cloud-based ArcGIS Enterprise solution. By choosing Azure for cloud infrastructure and implementing ArcGIS Enterprise, the county has achieved scalability, cost-effectiveness, enhanced data security, and improved workflow efficiency. With CyberTech’s continuous on-demand support, the county is well-equipped to fully optimize their GIS capabilities and drive innovation in both current and future operations.

CyberTech Systems and Software Inc.
www.cybertech.com
connect@cybertech.com