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Questions from the Insights Webinar Series

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02-15-2022 12:32 PM
ScottSandusky
by Esri Contributor
Esri Contributor
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‎02-15-2022 12:32 PM

If you recently attended one (or all three) of the Insights webinars, we hope that you found value within those sessions. During those presentations, we received several questions that we didn’t get the opportunity to answer. This blog summarizes those questions and provides answers. Hopefully this clarifies some things for you, but if not – feel free to ask us again for more detail. Thanks, the ArcGIS Insights team.

Resources

  • Q1: What are the links to the online resources described? What are the best resources to learn?
  • Q2: Which version of Insights does the trial include?
    • The trial provides access to Insights in ArcGIS Online (a SaaS), and so it always is updated with the most recent version. This same trial username can be used with the Insights desktop client, just download it from the link provided above, and use your same trial username and password to authenticate.

Technical and Capabilities

  • Q3: What are the Insights deployment options? What is the difference between Insights in ArcGIS Enterprise, Insights in ArcGIS Online, and Insights desktop? Are database connections supported in all three options?
    • ArcGIS Insights can be used as a SaaS (with ArcGIS Online), deployed on your own infrastructure (with ArcGIS Enterprise), and installed locally on your desktop (Windows or Mac).
    • Insights desktop is not licensed separately, but rather uses your Insights license from Online or Enterprise. This desktop client is just another option for you to use, in addition to the Online and Enterprise Insights web clients.
    • The biggest differences between these 3 options is that scripting and database connections are not available with the Insights in ArcGIS Online web client. There are some other smaller differences, and these are described in the shared table here.
  • Q4: What is the difference between Insights, ArcGIS Dashboards, and ArcGIS Experience Builder? When should each be used vs. the other?
    • When evaluating to use either ArcGIS Dashboards or ArcGIS Insights, you should consider three primary aspects. First is access to data. ArcGIS Dashboards requires connections be a feature layer, while Insights supports other types of data connections. Second is the real-time data. ArcGIS Dashboards is fantastic at consuming and presenting real-time information (monitoring dashboards), while Insights does not consume stream layers. Third is analytics. Insights provides an exploratory analysis and iterative analysis environment, and analysis operations create new information and datasets. Conversely, Dashboards does not create new datasets nor run analytical operations.
    • When evaluating to use either ArcGIS Experience Builder or ArcGIS Insights, you should consider a few things. Insights is designed to be an analytic workbench, while Experience Builder is designed to create compelling web apps. The Insights environment provides iterative analytics, and then allows analysts to create and share interactive reports. Experience builder is focused on creating a focused application for viewers – this includes bringing together different resources and services, support for 3D, and support for mobile. The two work well together.
  • Q5: Do the Insights visualizations update real-time from a data connection? Or is the data refresh strictly managed by the scheduling of shared Insights pages?
    • It depends. When using files added to Insights, updated files must be re-added, and then the page must be refreshed. When connected to databases, data warehouses, or feature layers – Insights usually pulls new data when cross filters are used or when the page/workbook is first opened. There are a few scenarios when Insights will not update the analysis (eg: calculating geometric properties), and in those cases you can refresh the page manually.
    • It’s also important to consider whether the user is accessing an Insights workbook that they own as an analyst, or if they are consuming a shared page as a viewer. When Insights pages are shared, a snapshot of that data may be copied as part of the shared page. To keep the content of shared pages updated, you should schedule updates for shared pages.
  • Q6: Does Insights support editing data, or does it use data read-only?
    • Insights does not edit nor modify existing data. It uses the data read-only. Many of the operations (such as calculating a new field) are stored within the Insights workbook. When Insights creates a new derivative dataset, it can be published, shared, or exported. When using a connection to a database or cloud data warehouse with read/write privileges, Insights will create new temporary tables within that data store and relate those records to the original table.
  • Q7: What type of data does Insights support working with?
    • Insights supports working with tabular data and vector data. It does not support 3D analysis nor raster analysis. Raster content can be added to Insights as a basemap by configuring your primary portal connection.
    • Details about supported feature services, files, and cloud drive connections can be found here and here. Details about the supported relational database and cloud data warehouses can be found here.
  • Q8: How are the data connections to say SQL Server or Snowflake made?
    • Relational database connections and cloud data warehouse connections are supported with Insights in ArcGIS Enterprise and Insights desktop. They are not supported with Insights in ArcGIS Online.
    • When using Insights in ArcGIS Enterprise, a prerequisite step is required to register the vendor (JDBC) files with Insights. This extra step is not needed when using Insights desktop.
    • In general, the connection properties are entered into the “new connection” interface.
    • This short video give a nice overview, and this technical workshop digs into more details.
  • Q9: How was the AirSpace Link application created with those tabs on the side?
    • They used Experience builder, and embedded shared Insights pages within it.
  • Q10: Is it possible to export a Python script that could be automated as part of a Windows scheduled task? Or does Insights do automation differently?
    • A Python script can be exported, however if that scrip calls any Insights functions it will not operate within the Windows scheduler. The best way to schedule tasks is by using the Insights capability to schedule updates for shared pages.

Licensing and Pricing

  • Q11: How much does it cost? Does Insights consume credits?
    • Pricing is described on the ArcGIS Insights pricing page. It is also very common for organizations to purchase Esri software through and enterprise agreement, and Insights may be part of it.
    • Insights consumes credits for the following: using enable location and accessing the ArcGIS Online World Geocoding service, using the buffer/drive times tool and accessing the ArcGIS Online Service Area service, using the enrich data tool and accessing the ArcGIS Online GeoEnrich service, and storing data in ArcGIS Online.
  • Q12: How is it licensed? What are the prerequisite requirements? Is it part of the Essential Apps bundle?
    • Insights is a premium “add on” app and is not part of the Essential Apps bundle.
    • There are two ways to license Insights, and these apply to all Insights deployment options (Online, Enterprise, and desktop). First, you must first have either ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise – these organizations are used to manage the license, services, sharing, and more. Insights desktop can be used with a license from either ArcGIS Online or Enterprise, with the same subscription used to access the Insights web client.
    • The first and most common option is to assign an Insights add-on license to a creator user type (or higher). Both components are needed – the user type as well as the add-on license.
    • The second option is the Insights Analyst user type. Unlike the first option, this only provides access to Insights, and not other ArcGIS apps. This is a great option if analysts need to access just Insights, and don’t need to access other ArcGIS apps.

We hope that this answers those questions we were not able to get to. If there’s additional questions you may have, let us know!

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