I’ve used ArcGIS Pro Desktop to create an arcpy script that receives an address input, then outputs a value. Is it possible to share this over the web with a very small group of people for them to test, without having to pay for Enterprise/Server?
tldr:
In real estate, people often perform analysis on a subject property by looking at nearby comparable properties (“comps”). For example, it’s very common for someone to drop a pin on a property, draw a .5 mile buffer around that property then location all properties within that .5 mile buffer for analysis of the subject property. I am using ArcGIS to take that process one step further on a personal project. Instead of just drawing a .5 mile buffer, I’ve written the code to adjust the buffer at certain boundaries. For example, I can tell the program to buffer up to .5 miles from a point, BUT if .25 miles west of the subject property there is a major highway, school zone change, different zip code etc then the buffer will stop. Essentially, I am creating a more accurate or refined buffer. Instead of a perfect circle around a subject property, you can almost imagine it creates a polygon outline shape instead. There is quite a bit more python code being used but thats the general idea. Then, I can use clip feature to pull out comps (that I’ve added with my own GIS data) that I feel much more confident are similar to my subject property. In theory, this drastically increases the effectiveness of my analysis.
The simplest application of this is determining value. For a given property I can plug it into my formula, it draws the custom buffer, extracts the comps then tries to determine the value based on other similar properties sold. I’ve built the rough model of this code, but I need to be able to share it on a small scale (estimated several dozen people, one county) so I can test it. Ideally, I can allow other people to put a property into the formula and see what the results are so they can compare it to their own manual analysis. This allows me to effectively crowd-source my debugging process and allow some trusted people in the community to give feedback as to whether the code is accurately doing it’s job or not.
As mentioned, ArcGIS Server would allow me to do this by syncing up the code to a website then building a REST API but I’d have to pay the total cost of that license only to be using a nano fraction of what it’s meant to be used for. It’s very difficult to justify it on a product I am testing and that would only be used on such a small scale. Ideally, I’d like time to test it then if it works ultimately upgrade to full Server license. If I cannot test it, then I wouldn’t be able to move forward with it regardless.
