ArcGIS Knowledge is a relatively new extension to ArcGIS Enterprise that enables organizations to connect, analyze, and visualize large amounts of diverse data together in knowledge graphs. Knowledge graphs store data as a network of entities and relationships in a graph database, enabling easy visualization and querying. This quickly gives users holistic context about any specific data point, such as a place, an asset, or a person. A knowledge graph allows users to create a model that simulates a real-world system in a nonspatial manner.
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Users can investigate the explicit relationships in their data on the web with link charts, maps, and entity cards.
Performing this kind of network analysis is ideal for improving crime investigations; conducting intelligence analysis using numerous sources; planning out supply chains and infrastructure networks; identifying potential risks; optimizing logistics, facilities, and asset management; and more.
In the past, analysts were restricted to using ArcGIS Knowledge in ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS AllSource in order to perform spatial and graph analytics to find hidden and important patterns more quickly in their data. With the new ArcGIS Knowledge Studio, released in beta in November 2023 with a general release planned for May 2024, this capability is being extended to the larger organization by enabling ArcGIS Knowledge users to easily open, explore, and share their existing knowledge graphs in a web browser.
Analysts can use ArcGIS Knowledge Studio to explore, search, visualize, and share specific entities or views of interest with other stakeholders in their enterprise via a simple, direct URL. Even stakeholders who have no GIS experience can use Knowledge Studio to view projects in an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.
Several key features in Knowledge Studio will benefit the investigative process by allowing users to do the following:
- Open knowledge graphs on the web and share them with analysts who don’t use Esri’s two supported desktop applications—ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS AllSource—or who have no GIS training at all.
- Quickly find and validate data across an entire knowledge graph with text search.
- Add entities to new maps and link charts and explore their relationships using multiple layout views.
- Using a URL, easily share with other analysts or managers specific link charts and maps that feature views of curated entities and relationships of interest.
- With that URL, easily share a snapshot of an entity of interest that shows relevant context, such as that entity’s relationships with other entities.
ArcGIS Knowledge Studio is available to all customers who have licensed ArcGIS Knowledge Server and ArcGIS Enterprise 11.2. The app is to be included as part of an organization’s ArcGIS Enterprise installation without the need for a separate download. For the beta version, all ArcGIS named user types can access the app and open existing knowledge graphs.
A Few Caveats
While in beta, the app will lack some key features that users will likely need to perform link analyses. Most notably, users will be unable to migrate Knowledge Studio projects that are saved in the beta version to ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3 or later versions. While knowledge graphs can be migrated, beta Knowledge Studio projects will eventually need to be reauthored in the general Knowledge Studio release.
