Eagle Technology has started promoting Local Maps in NZ – it is a supported map viewer based on Esri’s Web AppBuilder and aimed at organisations who want to quickly implement a JavaScript/HTML5 map viewer. For ELA (Enterprise License Agreement) customers it is free (including implementation). GBS fully supports this initiative and is playing an active role (alongside some other Esri partners) in Local Maps. We are involved from a technical point of view through our involvement with GISCo (The Local Government GIS Consortium) and the many Web AppBuilder widgets we have built for GISCo. Many of these widgets will likely end up being part of Local Maps (some are in the initial version, more are likely in the next version). We are also providing input into how Local Maps is designed and how the code will be managed – again this is due to our role with GISCo and the similarities with how the GISCO code will be managed.
While Local Maps is aimed at simplifying the choices available by providing a supported product, there are still choices to be made and the following will hopefully help you understand how to approach this.
So, for anyone looking at implementing a new map viewer or replacing an old technology Flex or Silverlight viewer, we would recommend you undertake a gap analysis which looks at what functionality you currently have, what you wish to take forward into your new viewer, and what is available out for the box with Esri, Local Maps and GISCo.
While the initial release of Local Maps is going to be pretty basic, it will quickly ramp up to a more powerful application. In the short term, if you like it, but feel it is not functional enough to replace what you already have, then you can extend local maps (it is Web App Builder based after all) by adding in GISCo widgets and/or custom widgets. If you don’t like Local Maps, then you can look at alternatives such as building your own solution using Web App Builder, default or custom themes, the GISCo widgets and possible new custom widgets.
If you would like some help with this please give us a call. We understand this stuff and can help with the analysis, help you make sense of the options, and we can help with the configuration, deployment and customisation (if needed) of your new modern and responsive web mapping solution.