Why use ArcGis Online we have ArcGis Enterprise Server?

[MichaelWestmoreland1]

I've been asked  why do we need a subscription for ArcGis Online when we have an ArcGis Server with an Enterprise license.  What are the advantages of ArcGis Online over an ArcGis Server, if any?  I need a business reason to justify the expense of the subscription.

A few months back I attended an ArcGis Online demo and I asked why you still needed an ArcGis server if you have an ArcGis Online subscription.  And the answer was ArcGis Online didn't yet offer all the features that a server provides.  Is there a matrix that details the differences in the features between the two.

I work as a sys admin who manages the ArcGis Server.  I'm not a Gis Desktop Analyst with an in depth knowledge of the product gained from working with it eight hours a day.

Thanks

[PaulLohr]

We use ArcGIS Online to host maps that we don't want to be publicly accessible. Map services are provided by our instance of ArcGIS Server. We have both ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Server.

ArcGIS Online allows you to setup groups to control access to your maps. If I understand correctly, you don't need a subscription for maps that are publicly available. Also, you probably lose the ability to use map groups to categorize your maps (that is, without a subscription).

You can get away without purchasing an ArcGIS Online subscription. Use the ArcGIS mobile content section on your ArcGIS Server instance to host your maps. You have to go through a bit of a tedious process to get the JSON document built that becomes your actual map. You can get through the process though. Security is not taken care of as it is with an ArcGIS Online subscription. You'd pretty much have to setup your own security. It can be done, but an elegant solution will require a fair amount of time.

You will likely find that ArcGIS Online has quite a few bugs. It's mostly usable.

Paul Lohr

[MichaelWestmoreland1]

We use ArcGIS Online to host maps that we don't want to be publicly accessible. Map services are provided by our instance of ArcGIS Server. We have both ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Server.

ArcGIS Online allows you to setup groups to control access to your maps. If I understand correctly, you don't need a subscription for maps that are publicly available. Also, you probably lose the ability to use map groups to categorize your maps (that is, without a subscription).

You can get away without purchasing an ArcGIS Online subscription. Use the ArcGIS mobile content section on your ArcGIS Server instance to host your maps. You have to go through a bit of a tedious process to get the JSON document built that becomes your actual map. You can get through the process though. Security is not taken care of as it is with an ArcGIS Online subscription. You'd pretty much have to setup your own security. It can be done, but an elegant solution will require a fair amount of time.

You will likely find that ArcGIS Online has quite a few bugs. It's mostly usable.

Paul Lohr

Paul - Thanks for the feedback.

[danbecker]

I've been asked  why do we need a subscription for ArcGis Online when we have an ArcGis Server with an Enterprise license.  What are the advantages of ArcGis Online over an ArcGis Server, if any?  I need a business reason to justify the expense of the subscription.

A few months back I attended an ArcGis Online demo and I asked why you still needed an ArcGis server if you have an ArcGis Online subscription.  And the answer was ArcGis Online didn't yet offer all the features that a server provides.  Is there a matrix that details the differences in the features between the two.

I work as a sys admin who manages the ArcGis Server.  I'm not a Gis Desktop Analyst with an in depth knowledge of the product gained from working with it eight hours a day.

Thanks

this is a great question.

Back in 2012 when we purchased a new server and ArcGIS for Server Workgroup, we would have been much ahead if we would have gone the arcgis online subscription route.

Now we're stuck with a $10k setup that has limited functionality and told to purchase more.

I guess 1 nice thing about having your own server is you don't have to mess with credits and a limited ammt. of users...or atleast with v 10.11, this is probably coming in 10.2

[AndyWallace]

I've been asked  why do we need a subscription for ArcGis Online when we have an ArcGis Server with an Enterprise license.  What are the advantages of ArcGis Online over an ArcGis Server, if any?  I need a business reason to justify the expense of the subscription.

A few months back I attended an ArcGis Online demo and I asked why you still needed an ArcGis server if you have an ArcGis Online subscription.  And the answer was ArcGis Online didn't yet offer all the features that a server provides.  Is there a matrix that details the differences in the features between the two.

I work as a sys admin who manages the ArcGis Server.  I'm not a Gis Desktop Analyst with an in depth knowledge of the product gained from working with it eight hours a day.

Thanks

ARCGIS online is scalable so if you publish maps or data and 10,000 people want to view it then that is possible. With a server you would need a few servers and a lot of money to do that.

There are no server set-up costs, no sys admins are needed :eek:

ArcGIS online is cheap for certain tasks but expensive for others - tile storage and geoprocessing for instance

Securely sharing maps with people across the internet is possible - with ArcGIS server there's all kind of security and stuff to consider if its exposed to the internet.