Each year at the Esri User Conference (esriuc) a highlight of the sessions is always the "Road Ahead"  and the presentations from key Esri Managers informing and educating on the latest solutions and plans for future releases.

One such session was a session titled ArcGIS 10.1 road ahead  delivered by Damien Spangrud, Senior Product Manager at Esri - I had to catch this the second time it was delivered due to limited seating at round 1.
Speaking to a packed room, Spangrud shared, to no surprise, that  Content once again is key and that the notion of information sharing is central and critical. The reason, according to Esri solution users a continual update  of information is expected and perhaps key, people want to see information as it is collected - real time.  These ideas laid the foundation for where ArcGIS is going at 10.1.

At 10.1 there's loads of new capabilities  coming and a critical component of ArcGIS at 10.1 is ArcGIS Online - Esri's cloud solution. ArcGIS online is evolving rapidly -as are the main components: base maps, catalog and group based sharing. For the developers and end users, good news  as according to Spangrud, the ArcGIS Beta will be opened (hopefully) around the end of July (2011), apparently being open and available to current users interested in participating. If the schedule holds, look for the official roll out of ArcGIS 10.1 the first part of 2012 and it's all about making info sharing easy!

A few key points overheard:

• ArcGIS 10.1 is about empowering developers with new tools to build custom solutions
• New functionality - make maps from your data, drag maps and data, build base service layers with your data and extend to your office and users
• With the new version of online in the future, you can control your own services, setup your own organizational community, control the permissions (publish, admin)
• Create hosted map services, tiled maps and feature services and control who has access
• No servers, infrastructure, or technical expertise is required
• Provides for a cataloging of information
• Catalog your existing ArcGIS servers
• Create a personalized look and feel
• Bring it all together without having to physically move it all around
• At 10.1 publishing is very easy from the desktop
• Create secure groups, control users, control sharing policies
• Share your maps, analysis and information
• New at 10.1 - geoprocessing, tile server, and locator packages (Package - a set of files and just use them)
• Share to servers in the cloud and to ArcGIS online
• Sharing your analysis ("we've always been bad at it")
• Sharing your locators - share as a geocoded service
• Go to ArcGIS online from within ArcMap and share -  even sharing your visualization tools

Other enhancements at 10.1

• Visual enhancements at 10.1 - Dynamic legends
• More python scripting - create better thematic mapping
• Time live mode - inclusion of real time data
• Rules-based generalization
• Improved layout, symbology, labeling and coordinate systems (2000+ coord systems supported)
• ** Maplex now included in all license levels at 10.1

Improved analysis tools:

• Spatial scale, geodetic buffers, space time clusters, much more
• GeoDB improvements - Admin tools, feature edit tracking, native SQL access
• More tools for 3D and virtual cities and tools for better modeling (shadow, 3D routing)

Enhancements to server noteworthy at 10.1 are improved performance, easy installation, simple service creation, scalable architecture, Strong Linux support, Native 64 bit only (in server), On the fly symology, Web printing, support for connected and disconnected environments.

Clint Brown, Esri Manager of Software Products, also discussed ArcGIS 10.1 at length at the conference.  To get a bit of a sense about where 10.1 is headed take this into account... "Today, we all work in the cloud, we share, we use smart devices as a window to a constellation of information. The cloud is a great place for GIS to live." (Clint Brown, Esri) 

GIS has evolved and ArcGIS is setting the standard. As the company's platform evolves, Brown pointed out that GIS is now moving to a new landscape. This is a landscape where:

• Users require mobile and tablet devices
• Hi res graphics with touch are a requirement
• Location aware all the time
• Connected
• Ubiquitous mapping and information sharing is expected
• Cloud computing

Brown went on in his discussion to note how GIS is opening up, we have web access every place, users are sharing information in new ways, we're using new, interactive maps. Your maps can go anywhere and can be delivered in many ways to many devices... maps that go anywhere - This is the landscape at 10.1

So, what excites me me the most about 10.1? From what I heard at the event, leveraging the power of ArcGIS in the cloud is going to be huge. The expanded support for  for a wide range of tablet and mobile devices running iOS, Android, and Windows Phone & mobile helps extends the reach to all and the advances in Server and connectivity with ArcGIS Online truly does make GIS available to all. Publishing, analysis, cartography, and more are all much easier to get a grip on and advances in hardware and technology are enabling users to easily take their GIS with them any time and any place. The fact that right now I can easily author a map service via ArcGIS online and immediately access is using a free client on iPad is huge and if I can do it so can you!

Look for ArcGIS 10.1 early in the new year...  

• For more about ArcGIS 10.1 Beta see the Esri blog
• ArcGIS 10.1 at the ESRIUC