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Making Enterprise GIS Affordable for Small Jurisdictions

Esri is offering a Small Municipal and County Government Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) program that enables unlimited deployments of Esri ArcGIS software to small municipal and county governments within the United States.

GIS software has been widely accepted as a tool to enhance workflows and provide mission critical support in emergencies. While small county and municipal governments sustain themselves with limited budgets and personnel, they are still expected to provide the same level of service to citizens as their larger counterparts. This program provides access to the GIS technology that small governments need through a straightforward, tiered pricing schedule.

An ELA allows small jurisdictions to pay an annual fixed price in exchange for software, maintenance, services, and training. The program is open to municipal and county governments in the United States with populations of 100,000 or less.

Esri has designated a three-tiered system for municipalities and counties based on population. One tier is for towns and counties with populations under 25,000; another covers cities and counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents; and the third level is for cities and counties with populations between 50,000 and 100,000. The Small Municipal and County Government program will exclusively include counties, cities, villages, parishes, townships, and boroughs.

The ELA program offers a lower cost per unit and provides many benefits. Administrative costs are reduced because ELAs generally require only one payment per year and result in substantially lower procurement expenses. Additionally, administrative costs can shrink as a result of centralized coordination and management of software distribution, support, services, and training.

Other benefits include the ability to capitalize a greater part of a GIS investment by reducing short-term GIS operating expenses; access to updated versions of GIS software for a consistent platform; flexible deployments to desktops, servers, and mobile devices; and opportunities to consolidate GIS and IT initiatives, establish internal standards, and integrate Esri business partner solutions.

Esri's ArcGIS software is the core technology in the ELA for small municipal and county governments. ArcGIS, an open and interoperable technology platform, is a complete system to author, serve, and use geographic information and serves analysts, decision makers, field staff, and the public through mobile, Web, and desktop clients.

Software Included in ELA

• ArcInfo, ArcEditor, and ArcView
• GIS desktop extensions (ArcPress, Spatial Analyst, Network Analyst, 3D Analyst, Geostatistical Analyst, ArcGIS Publisher, ArcScan, Maplex, and Job Tracking for ArcGIS [JTX])
• ArcGIS Server (Advanced, Standard, and Basic at the Workgroup and Enterprise levels)
• ArcGIS Server extensions (Network, 3D Analyst, and Spatial Analyst)
• ArcIMS
• ArcGIS Engine Runtime deployments (3D Analyst, Spatial Analyst, Geodatabase Update, Network Analyst, ArcGIS Schematics, and Maplex)
• Maintenance on the unlimited licenses

The Small Municipal and County Government ELA also includes the Esri Developer Network (EDN), which offers a suite of component-based development frameworks that help users rapidly build GIS applications. These applications can be delivered on the desktop, client, Web, or server tier and are embedded in both new and existing applications.

EDN includes

• ArcGIS Server—A comprehensive Web-based GIS
• ArcGIS Engine Developer Kit—Components for creating custom desktop GIS applications
• ArcGIS Image Server—Dynamic imagery distribution
• ArcIMS—Geopublishing on the Internet
• ArcReader—Desktop map viewer

Clients may continue to purchase any product, maintenance, or service not offered in the ELA through normal channels and procedures.

With ELA, Esri will provide technical support to address problems, questions, or inquires related to

• Software installation and configuration
• Functional use of the software
• Interfacing GIS applications with an organization's hardware or other peripheral devices
• Requesting product enhancements or reporting software defects