NZ Esri User Conference 2019 featuring
Vlogs from the GBS team

The NZ Esri User Conference 2019 (NZEUC) – the largest annual gathering of the NZ GIS community – is a must-attend event to hear first-hand about the strategic Esri direction and technical advances in GIS for 2020 and beyond. With the uptake of Cloud services and the delivery of information to mobile devices, the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has expanded across organisations for decisions that impact the environment, communities and business success. The NZEUC event is designed to cover this, and more.

For GBS the NZ Esri User Conference provides an opportunity for networking, collaboration and the sharing of new Esri technologies. It’s important to maintain a presence at the conference to ensure that the company is visible in the GIS space in New Zealand, and to meet with existing and prospective clients throughout. GBS attends every year, with staff motivated to meet face-to-face with clients they have only met virtually, and explore the strategic direction the platform is taking when it comes to new and upcoming ArcGIS software.

“It’s important to attend to keep current on the platform, see how other customers are using it and their needs, and be a presence at the largest geospatial event in the country,” explains Yvette Fell, GBS’ Solutions Manager.

There are plenty of different aspects at the NZEUC that provide highlights for the GBS team. One of the majors is learning more on new releases for ArcGIS and what Esri is currently offering (or about to offer) in the international space. This ensures GBS is kept abreast of the most current technology to benefit their clients, ahead of time.

3D mapping, the Platform’s roadmap, ArcGIS for IoT and the Utility Network Model were all of interest to the GBS team at NZEUC this year.

“Visibility over the Platform’s roadmap helps us identify how changes in the technology will benefit clients on upcoming work we know about, and gives us information when considering projects in the future,” says Yvette.

For Jorn Sijbertsma, an Esri Technical Consultant at GBS, ArcGIS Analytics for IoT was a highlight. It is still in development phase with Esri, but will provide some exciting opportunities once launched.

Jorn also mentions the Utility Network as another major highlight. “Understanding some new features of the Utility Network and the developments within the ArcGIS platform has increased my overall knowledge of the network.”

We also spoke with both Jade Weideman (GBS Intermediate Esri Technical Consultant) and Richard Tanedo (GBS Business Analyst / Project Manager) during their time at the NZ Esri User Conference 2019 to see how they enjoyed it. You can view their video logs on the GBS Youtube Channel or press play on the screen below.

“The GBS team always come away from the NZEUC having learnt something new – whether it’s to do with the tech or whether it is to do with what our clients need. It’s always about the relationships for GBS – and understanding is what fuels the GBS team and makes them better”, explains GBS co-director Tony Elson.

The NZEUC concludes with a fancy-dress conference dinner to reflect the theme of the conference – which this year was the ‘Summer of ’69’. GBS loves getting behind a good theme and putting our own spin on it, and this year was no exception with our “69 through the ages” banner. As you can imagine, there were some colourful costumes on display, specifically from Harley Prowse, GBS co-director, who dressed to the year of his birth – 1969. Other costumes included Captain Cook – Tony Elson) who explored NZ in 1769 and some Star Trek characters from the original series during ’69.