It wasn’t too long ago that our COO, David Hansen (@dhansen601) shared some thoughts, stating “ArcGIS Online is the largest global repository of geospatial information in the history of the species.” Yes indeed, there is data galore available to the community via ArcGIS Online – lot’s of it! We are reminded of this in a blog from Kelly Gerrow-Wilcox , Esri Product Manager. So, exactly how much data is there, and how do you share it?
Kelly points out that, at the time of writing, May, 2018, there are roughly 17 million layers, maps, scenes, apps, and files that are available to users of ArcGIS Online. These are data that can be used in your maps, apps, presentations, data collection efforts, and more – yup, that’s a LOT of data! Now, not everything is available to all; that depends on how sharing properties have been set for each item. However, she does point out that roughly 23% of all content in ArcGIS Online is available for public consumption (group sharing accounts for about 30% of the content).

Now, we aren’t sure how you all use ArcGIS Online. You may have a public or personal account (yes, anyone can setup an account), or you may be part of an organization like us at GEO Jobe. Organizations use ArcGIS Online to collaborate with each other as part of a team, typically setting access control properties to restrict data and content access only to members of the organization. However, what if you need to share your org’s content, data, apps, etc… with other users of ArcGIS Online outside of your organization?
Kelly has shared some tips and pointers for cross-organization sharing. From the article, “All members and groups have the capability to participate in cross-organizational group sharing, but there are some required privileges and settings that are needed to ensure that the user and group can be viewed and accessed by the intended audiences. ” Indeed something to be aware of. The article shares how to securely setup a number of sharing properties including:
- profile visibility
- group settings & visibility
- inviting users
- collaboration tips
Indeed, ArcGIS Online is all about sharing, collaboration, and enabling teams. Read on for some useful strategies and collaboration tips you can implement in your org – oh, and thank-you Kelly for the mention!
More on Group Management
We’ve seen that groups are a powerful resource for ArcGIS users and user organizations. Groups can be made up of users from a common organization or perhaps a public group who all share a common interest. Creating Groups for use in ArcGIS Online can be somewhat tedious; however, it doesn’t have to be. Admin Tools for ArcGIS Online has a set of tools that are specifically for the creation and management of groups and group properties. Read more on Group Management with Admin Tools
See Also:
- Tips on creating Groups
- Tool Tips – Export Items, Groups & Users from ArcGIS Online to CSV
- Create Groups for Sharing Maps and Apps in ArcGIS Online
- Export Items, Groups & Users from ArcGIS Online to CSV
#Sharing and #Collaboration across @ArcGISOnline Organizations https://t.co/VERsUyKJzk #bestpractices #security #esri #TheScienceOfWhere #arcgis #WebGIS #GIS #mapping #maps @Esri @ArcGISPro @EsriFederalGovt @EsriSLGov pic.twitter.com/8m4MlvImdh
— Derek Law (@GIS_Bandit) May 22, 2018