Signs ESRI ArcGIS Is in Trouble
Went to an ESRI ArcGIS information seminar that showed off their new 9.2 product line. I’m no map guy, but I heard and saw some things that made me wonder if ESRI and ArcGIS was in trouble. Here are some signs that (I think) ESRI (and ArcGIS) is in trouble.
- No on-line agenda for the seminar. For a significant product launch, you’d figure a basic schedule would be available for the attendees to see. Nope. Worse yet, the main presenter said they’ve given this presentation in over 80 cities. After 80 times, don’t you think they’d have a published agenda by now?
- Many of the features and new products, especially the forthcoming ArcGIS Explorer, look and sound just like Google Earth. Seems like the entire 9.2 line was made to keep up with the competitive heat from Google.
- The presentation contained several mistakes and typos. Again, after 80 times, you’d figure these mistakes would be caught and corrected, but nope. Things like using the contraction “it’s” when the possessive “its” is needed and using “server’s” for the plural of server as in “…improved management of your server’s.”
- This is my favorite. Some of the new features of the data table format include changing font color, column widths, and text wrap within a cell. When hearing this, the audience goes nuts and applauds these improvements! Whoa, even basic spreadsheet apps have been able to do this for years. Scary.
ESRI’s probably fine, but hey, I can blog about whatever I want. 😉
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November 4, 2006 @ 12:34 pm
At the one I went to someone had to go up the head guy and tell him he forgot to introduce himself!
November 5, 2006 @ 11:02 pm
I guess though, if the same crew has been doing these seminars again and again and again, autopilot kicks in, and you forget to do some of the basics.
I must admit that the presentations went smoothly, and the presenters knew their stuff. But it’s those little mistakes that make you cringe and detracts from the overall success.