ArcGIS Pro vs ArcGIS Enterprise vs ArcGIS Online

[StuartMatthews]

Hello,

Our organisation currently has staff using ArcGIS Desktop. Our laptops do not have dedicated graphics cards, so looking at the hardware requirements for ArcGIS Pro they might not be suitable.

I'm not an ArcGIS user myself, so I'm struggling to understand the ArcGIS product suite. Ideally I would like a on-premise server or cloud based version of ArcGIS so we don't need to purchase new laptops.

Is there a full feature breakdown of what is available in ArcGIS Pro vs ArcGIS Enterprise vs ArcGIS Online? So I can go to our ArcGIS users and confirm their requirements before making a decision.

Thanks

Stuart

[RobertBorchert]

I honestly feel the best answer is to get laptops with dedicated graphics cards. 

This link shows the hardware requirements for ArcGIS Pro.

ArcGIS Pro Requirements

You will see that Pro recommends Dedicated GPU.  There is no way around it no matter what you are using you are trying to display graphics. 

Personally i do not believe Laptops are suitable for GIS unless you have them docked to a docking station that is connected to larger monitors.

[JacobBoyle412 · Accepted solution]

Hi Stuart, 

First, let's tackle the background information:

What is ArcGIS Online?—ArcGIS Online Help | ArcGIS 

What is ArcGIS Enterprise?—ArcGIS Enterprise | ArcGIS Enterprise 

ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop  

So, after reading through that, you should have a much better understanding of the 3 products.  

The TL;DR,

ArcGIS Online is a SaaS offered by Esri. ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based mapping and analysis solution. Use it to make maps, analyze data, and to share and collaborate. Get access to workflow-specific apps, maps and data from around the globe, and tools for being mobile in the field. Your data and maps are stored in a secure and private infrastructure and can be configured to meet your mapping and IT requirements.

ArcGIS Enterprise is an on-premise or cloud based single tenant WebGIS.  ArcGIS Enterprise puts collaboration and flexibility at the center of your organization's GIS. It pairs industry-leading mapping and analytics capabilities with a dedicated Web GIS infrastructure to organize and share your work on any device, anywhere, at any time.

ArcGIS Pro is the essential application for creating and working with spatial data on your desktop. It provides tools to visualize, analyze, compile, and share your data. It is a desktop client, with hardware requirements:

ArcGIS Pro 2.2 system requirements—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop 

Now, as far as hardware is concerned, depending on workload, a laptop with a GPU will be more than enough to satisfy most users.  your power users will be better suited with a desktop machine, or even a virtual desktop on a server with a GPU and a lighter weight laptop. 

Hope this helps.

[RobertBorchert]

GIS is a system of maps that are tied to databases.

ArcGIS Desktop is the software you install on your machine to manage the GIS.  Make maps etc.

ArcGIS Pro is another software program that does the same thing.  It is built to be more integrated with ArcGIS Online but it not a requirement for making online Maps.

ArcGIS Online is an online map that people can use.  A good example is getting driving directions via Bing or Google Maps. 

ArcGIS Enterprise is a suite of software that combine so you can make those maps and make them available to the world.  You don't need to have them to use ArcGIS online.  However, when your organization gets large enough it can be a better solution to provide the Enterprise option yourself.  You can use ArcGIS online and ESRI manages the back end for you.  

[tn76com]

Thanks for the definition 

i liked it the most 

[StuartMatthews]

Thanks very much for the quick replies.