Bringing GIS into Everyday Forestry Workflows with ArcGIS and Microsoft 365

[Jennifer_Parker]

On April 30, 2026, Esri hosted the webinar GIS Where You Work: Forestry Insights in Microsoft 365, featuring Sarah Eshpeter, Harry Mathur, Lakshay Sood, and Henrietta Krellenstein. The session explored how forestry organizations can bring spatial context into familiar tools like Excel, SharePoint, and Teams as part of existing workflows.

Throughout the webinar, the team walked through practical examples showing how data, collaboration, and location-based context can move together across systems without requiring entirely new processes. The conversation also included attendee questions around implementation, usability, automation, and where teams may choose to begin.

Looking at How Work Moves

In many forestry organizations, work does not stay within a single system. Planning may begin in Excel. Supporting information is stored in SharePoint. Conversations take place in Teams. GIS is part of that process as well, though it is not always present in those same spaces where decisions are being discussed.

As work moves between these environments, information is often shared, adjusted, or interpreted along the way. These are generally small steps, but they can influence how work progresses from one stage to the next.

This session follows that movement more closely and looks at how spatial context can be introduced within those existing steps.

The discussion remains centered on how work progresses, rather than focusing on a single tool.

Starting with Familiar Workflows

For many teams, early-stage work begins in Excel. It is commonly used to review data, explore initial questions, and begin working through possible scenarios. That starting point tends to remain consistent, even as other systems are introduced later in the process.

In the session, the workflow begins here and continues forward from that point. This makes it easier to see how additional context can be introduced without changing how work begins.

For teams considering a similar approach, it can be useful to identify where initial review and discussion typically take place, and how those early steps connect to what follows.

Continuing Within the Same Environment

As the example develops, the focus shifts to how the workflow can continue without requiring data to move into a different system.

In this case, spatial context is introduced alongside the existing data. The spreadsheet remains the working environment, while location provides an additional way to interpret what is already there.

For teams that currently move data between systems, this approach may reduce the number of intermediate steps during early-stage work.

Working Through Questions During Planning

From there, the session moves into questions that often come up during planning. Distance, access, and proximity are common considerations, though the analysis behind them may not always occur at the same stage.

In this example, those questions are explored within the same workflow where the data is being reviewed. This allows teams to examine options while discussions are still taking shape, before moving into more detailed analysis.

Extending Beyond a Single Tool

As the session continues, the example moves into how information is handled in SharePoint.

Documents are typically organized in folders or structured systems. In this case, location is introduced as another way to view and navigate those materials.

This can be helpful when multiple datasets or documents relate to the same area, particularly when work spans larger geographies.

Working Within a Shared View

The workflow then moves into Teams, where collaboration takes place.

In this example, the map, documents, and discussion are present within the same environment. This allows teams to continue working from the same reference point during conversations.

Looking at the Workflow Across Systems

Toward the end of the session, the workflow is viewed from beginning to end.

The same data is used across Excel, SharePoint, and Teams, with each tool supporting a different part of the process. The example follows how that information moves without needing to be recreated at each stage.

Q&A: Working with Data and Access

During the Q&A portion, several questions focused on how data behaves within these workflows and how teams access the tools shown throughout the session.

Question:
How does the data in Excel interact with ArcGIS? Does it move somewhere else or stay where it is?

Answer:
Lakshay Kanwar explained that data can remain inside Excel while working within ArcGIS for Excel. Organizations can also choose to share that information to ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise when needed, while still maintaining Excel as part of the editing and review workflow. The discussion also touched on how analysis can be performed without necessarily saving additional layers back into another system.

This portion of the conversation stayed focused on how teams may continue working within familiar environments while deciding when and where information should be shared more broadly.

Question:
How do you install or access ArcGIS for Microsoft 365 tools?

Answer:
Lakshay Kanwar described ArcGIS for Microsoft 365 as a SaaS-based offering and walked through two common approaches for access. In some cases, users can install the applications directly through the Microsoft App Store. In other environments, deployment may be managed centrally through a Microsoft tenant administrator.

The discussion reflected the different ways organizations manage applications and user access across enterprise environments.

Q&A: Automation, Usability, and Updates

Several additional questions focused on how these tools connect across systems and how teams interact with them in practice.

Question:
How does Power Automate connect with ArcGIS?

Answer:
Harry Moore discussed how ArcGIS connectors within Power Automate allow workflows to connect between Microsoft environments and ArcGIS systems. The conversation also covered permissions, noting that the connectors are considered premium connectors within Microsoft’s ecosystem and may require the appropriate Microsoft identity and administrative access. Once configured, the connectors can work with ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise, and ArcGIS Passport.

This portion of the discussion focused on how organizations may connect workflows and automate processes across systems already being used within their environment.

Question:
Do teams need training to use these tools?

Answer:
Lakshay Kanwar explained that the applications were designed with non-GIS users in mind and discussed the importance of keeping the experience familiar and approachable. Part of the conversation focused on aligning the interface closely with the broader Microsoft 365 environment so that the applications feel consistent with tools teams may already use regularly.

The discussion stayed close to usability and how organizations may introduce these tools within existing workflows and teams.

Question:
How do updates work across these tools?

Answer:
Lakshay Kanwar also walked through how updates are managed across the Microsoft 365 applications. Excel and Teams applications generally update automatically, while SharePoint environments may require administrative approval before updates are enabled within an organization.

This part of the Q&A focused on the differences between user-managed environments and systems that are administered more centrally.

Q&A: Where to Begin

A final question focused on where teams may choose to begin.

Question:
Where should teams begin?

Answer:
Sarah Eshpeter discussed starting with a smaller, familiar workflow rather than approaching the process as a large implementation from the outset. Examples include beginning with an existing spreadsheet, planning process, or recurring team discussion and then introducing spatial context within that workflow over time.

The conversation stayed focused on working within processes teams already know and building from those starting points gradually.

Key Takeaways

Before closing, a few themes from the discussion may be useful to revisit.

Workflows often begin in familiar tools, and those starting points can help guide where spatial context is introduced. Transitions between systems can add steps to a process, even when each step is small on its own. Looking at how work moves between those systems can provide a clearer picture of where adjustments may be helpful.

Early context and more detailed analysis tend to occur at different points in a workflow. Exploring questions earlier in the process can help shape how more detailed work is approached later. Information is often organized in structured ways, but may also be viewed through location. Adding that perspective can provide another way to work with existing data.

Starting with a single workflow or use case can make it easier to understand how these changes fit into day-to-day work before expanding further.

Watch the recording of the webinar here

A huge thank you to the product team for taking the time to answer questions from attendees, and provide additional context throughout the session.