Is Desktop ArcGIS Pro Headed to the Cloud

[CarlaRogers]

I have been running Desktop ArcGIS Pro at my employer for three years.  A peer told me all ArcGIS Pro products are moving to esri cloud, no exceptions, in March 2026.  Is this true?  Is the Desktop product being discontinued?  This applies to all extensions of ArcGIS Pro?

[Robert_LeClair]

No.  March 1, 2026 is when ArcMap is officially retired per the ArcMap Life Cycle page here.  ArcGIS Pro is not moving to the cloud and is a PC based software installation on your computer/laptop.  The extensions used by ArcMap are the same extensions used by ArcGIS Pro.  I hope this helps clarify your question.

[George_Thompson]

Now to add to Robert's response, you can install ArcGIS Pro in the cloud, if you would like: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/get-started/cloud-overview.htm

[Robert_LeClair]

Ah yes, I forgot about that little gem there George!  Great catch - thank you!

[BarryNorthey]

Any thoughts on a Citrix deployment of ArcGIS Pro. We used it for light users back in the ArcView GIS and ArcMap days and it did OK for our purposes. I had access to user accounts making it simpler for me to help them, load data and run programs such as the DocDefragmenter while no one was on. The main problem was not the Citrix software per se but our overall infrastructure and trying to get IT to understand that we were not running MS Word. Is Citrix a viable option for AGP? 

[George_Thompson]

Here is some additional information related to your question: 

https://architecture.arcgis.com/en/framework/architecture-practices/deployment-concepts/vdi-and-arcg...

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/get-started/citrix-on-premises-vdi.htm

https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-pro/announcements/arcgis-pro-virtualization-faqs

Hope this helps, thanks!

[ModyBuchbinder]

What is changing is that the Pro license will not be "local" (float or single) any more.

You can have the Pro license in esri cloud or on local Enterprise only.