Community, Collaboration, Code ... In a nutshell, for an attractive price ($1,500 US), subscribers will receive everything they need to develop and test their apps. The key here is on application development and testing. EDN does NOT replace the requirement for your existing or future software licenses.

Software - EDN developers will receive the following (latest versions) - ArcGIS Engine Developer Kit - ArcGIS Server - ArcIMS - ArcSDE - ArcWeb Services

Of course, in addition to these developer tools, subscribers also get ArcReader, documentation, data/maps and more.

The EDN Website

Designed specifically to connect developers and subscribers, the main purpose of EDN is to provide the backbone for developers to share ideas, experiences, and even code. Paramount to the success of EDN, the community and the uptake of this online resource will determine the success of EDN... should be no problem! Collaboration tools provided by EDN include: forums newsgroups user contributions sample code email alerts accelerated documentation advanced search tools

Subscribers to EDN will also be eligible to receive discounts on training and there will no doubt be special events and opportunities made available at events like the annual International ESRI USer Conference.

Exchange Code: Community is one of the keys to EDN. The code exchange seen above enables developers to share and comment on code. This 2-way communication vehicle is very useful to developers and will save time and $

Q&A: I had a chance to bounce a few initial question off Michell Cantin, EDN Product Marketing Manager, ESRI

Questions

GU: At first glance, when I heard about EDN I was thinking hey, this sounds like a developer network for GIS application developers. But it appears that is just part of the larger picture... is there anything available at EDN for non-subscribers?

EDN: The EDN website is open for the world. We welcome all GIS developers to learn and later to contribute. In the future there will be special content (software pre-releases & other goodies) that will be available only to subscribers, but the bulk of the content will be available for all who are interested.

GU: I noticed that you don't need to be an ESRI Business Partner (BP) to take part... does this mean that BPs will have access to EDN or will they need to subscribe?

EDN: BP's will have the opportunity to subscribe if they need the additional software products/licenses that EDN will provide them. BP's currently have specially priced access to individual products and bundles of product, but not all have all of the products, nor can they purchase some of them as inexpensively as they can subscribe a developer to EDN. It is their choice of how they choose to acquire access to the products. The BP program will not go away, but rather we should see the number of organizations who are involved with GIS consulting, development and COTS production rise by making the access to these products easy and affordable.

GU: Is the focus of EDN essentially Web Services? I get the impression that it's a total "canned" solution that will enable developers to quickly publish and serve apps to the web.

EDN: NO, there is no specific focus on Web services. The subscription provides access to ArcIMS, ArcSDE, ArcGIS Engine (for desktop development), ArcGIS Server and also a block of Arc Web Services. People can decide the best product for their development and deployment, desktop, client/server, "traditional" web deployments or web services. There is not a canned solution, the subscribers receive the exact products that previously one would purchase to do his GIS development or integration. Everyone is different in what and how they develop, so the notion of total canned solution is tough to make or package.

GU: Do existing licensees of ArcIMS and ArcGIS server have access to EDN? It seems like there may be some overlap.. or is EDN ideally suited for the smaller shop.

EDN: EDN is suited to anyone who needs to acquire the use of the products involved (it is an annual subscription, not a perpetual license that is "owned"). There is product overlap for some organizations, but just because someone owns an IMS license does not entitle him to the contents of an EDN subscription. He can choose to add EDN subscriptions to his stock of ESRI products to have all the products available to him if he desires. Many large developer shops will benefit from the ease of buying subscriptions once a year for their developers and not having to purchase the products individually and then make sure that maintenance is up to date and all those purchasing logistics. Large and small shops will benefit from an easy to administer program.

GU: What benefits if any will the larger/enterprise application developer get from EDN?

EDN: They get all the ArcGIS developer products for a relatively small yearly fee. They do not have to purchase products to decide which of the offerings best suit their needs and can architect a solution having all the products available to them to prototype and test before delving into development. Off subject, but tangential, We are emphasizing in the PR and web site that these EDN licenses are for development and testing ONLY. When one is ready for deployment and production use regular commercial licenses must be purchased. This portion of the program is patterned after MSDN, when you are ready to use or sell or distribute what you develop, the target user/computers must be properly licensed, in this case, it means buying an ArcIMS license or SDE or whatever the application needs. We are essentially shifting making our money back when the system goes into production, not when someone starts a development effort.

GU: How can developers contribute to EDN? Billed as a developer community, I get the sense that it's implied that developers will help with the evolution of content etc... available at EDN.. am I on target with that?

EDN: Right now the mechanism for developers to contribute content is being worked on in Redlands. The whole notion of building a community is to have info flow from ESRI out and from the users in and between themselves. Glad you picked up on that, it is key to a real community.

GU: I believe you mentioned an introductory cost of $1500.. that seems amazingly cheap. So essentially a small shop could develop a web service and have it published and hosted for only $1500 a year?

EDN: Again, the subscription software is for use in development and testing only. This is a yearly subscription fee. You cant publish or host with this license, but you can develop and test, putting the risk much lower when you need then to buy your production licenses.

GU: Is the service available in Canada and to International customers as well?

EDN: In the US the subscriptions are sold directly by ESRI, in the rest of the world subscriptions are available through authorized distributors. The price of $1500 per authorized developer (not organization-each developer using the EDN software needs his/her own subscription) is in US dollars and not necessarily that equivalent price anywhere else.

GU: Finally, I assume customers can subscribe directly via the usual channels is that right? Ie. Via a business partner

EDN: Channels are specifically through ESRI and international distributors only.

http://edn.esri.com/

Summary

I was introduced to EDN this week by ESRI staff attending at Geotec event in Vancouver. They were very excited about it and after looking a bit deeper I can see why. Licensing, particularly for developers and would-be developers of web services, has always been extremely complex.. perhaps even down-right confusing. EDN will enable developers to create, test, develop, and collaborate while they build their applications. EDN will open the doors to developers wishing to create applications and enable them to get a foot in the door without first having to experience large outlays of cash for licenses, training, and support.

We hope this overview and Q&A will help clarify exactly what the benefits of EDN are and what is takes for application developers to get involved. Myself, I'm now much more in tune with what I could expect as a developer and perhaps more important, the pricing and model seems very clear. No doubt people will appreciate this as licensing and pricing terms have typically been pretty complicated.

EDN is definitely making GIS application development accessible and affordable. I'll look forward to seeing and hearing more this summer in San Diego at the International User Conference.

Do you have any question or comments about EDN? If so we'd love to hear them. Blast your email to editor[at]gisuser.com

Some Relevant Weblinks:

• http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/edn/index.html
• http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/edn/about/faqs.html
• http://www.esri.com/partners/
• http://edn.esri.com/

See the official PR announcement here

Thanks to the ESRI staff for their speedy cooperation and support in developing this article.