Esri uses the name ArcGIS to refer to its suite of GIS software products, which operate on desktop, server, and mobile platforms. ArcGIS also includes developer products and web services. In a general sense, the term GIS describes any information system that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares and displays geographic information for informing decision making.
Desktop GIS
As of January 2026, the company's desktop GIS suite is ArcGIS Pro 3.6, with the older ArcGIS Desktop (or ArcMap) version 10.8.2 in mature support (to be fully retired in March 2026). The older ArcGIS Desktop consisted of several integrated applications, including ArcMap, ArcCatalog, ArcToolbox, ArcScene, and ArcGlobe. Esri's main desktop, or thick client, application is ArcGIS Pro which is slowly replacing the former main components of ArcGIS Desktop: ArcMap, ArcCatalog and ArcToolbox. Esri's desktop products allow users to author, analyze, map, manage, share, and publish geographic information.
ArcGIS Pro was introduced in early 2015 as a modern and fully 64-bit application with integrated 2D and 3D functionality. The product suite is available in three levels of licensing: Basic (formerly called ArcView), Standard (formerly called ArcEditor) and Advanced (formerly called ArcInfo). Basic provides a basic set of GIS capabilities suitable for many GIS applications. Standard, at added cost, allows more extensive data editing and manipulation, including server geodatabase editing. Advanced, at the high end, provides full, advanced analysis and data management capabilities, including geostatistical and topological analysis tools. Additionally, ArcGIS is compatible with following OGC standards: WFS, WCS, GFS and various others.
ArcGIS Explorer, ArcGIS Earth, ArcReader, and ArcExplorer are basic freeware applications for viewing GIS data.
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ArcGIS Desktop extensions are available, including Spatial Analyst for raster analysis, and 3D Analyst for terrain mapping and analysis. Other more specialized extensions are available from Esri and third parties.
Esri's original product, ARC/INFO, was a command line GIS product available initially on minicomputers, then on UNIX workstations. In 1992, a GUI GIS, ArcView GIS, was introduced. Over time, both products were offered in Windows versions, and ArcView also as a Macintosh product. The names ArcView and ArcInfo were used for a while to name different levels of licensing in ArcGIS Desktop, and less often refer to these original software products. The Windows version of ArcGIS is now the only ArcGIS Desktop platform that is undergoing new development for future product releases.
Server GIS
Server GIS products provide GIS functionality and data deployed from a central environment. ArcGIS Server is an Internet application service, used to extend the functionality of ArcGIS Desktop software to a browser based environment. It is available on Solaris and Linux as well as Windows. ArcSDE (Spatial Database Engine) is used as a relational database connector for other Esri software to store and retrieve GIS data within a commercially available database: currently, it can be used with Oracle, PostgreSQL, DB2, Informix and Microsoft SQL Server databases. It supports its native SDE binary data format, Oracle Spatial, and ST_geometry.
ArcIMS (Internet Mapping Server) provides browser-based access to GIS. As of ArcGIS 10.1, ArcIMS has been deprecated in favor of ArcGIS Server, but there are still many instances of ArcIMS (10.0 and older) in production environments.
Other server-based products include Geoportal Server, ArcGIS Image Server and Tracking Server as well as several others.
Mobile GIS
Mobile GIS conflates GIS, GPS, location-based services, hand-held computing, and the growing availability of geographic data. ArcGIS technology can be deployed on a range of mobile systems from lightweight devices to PDAs, laptops, and Tablet PCs. The firm's products for this use include ArcGIS Field Maps, Survey123 for ArcGIS, ArcGIS QuickCapture and more. Former products and applications in this category included ArcPad, Collector for ArcGIS, and ArcGIS for Mobile.
ArcGIS Online
ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based mapping and analysis platform produced by Esri, utilizing a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. Users have the capability to make maps, analyze data and share their work. This platform can display both 2D and 3D data, and allows users to collaborate with other users to produce various GIS products. Unlike ArcGIS Server and Portal, ArcGIS Online is completely managed by Esri and is accessed utilizing a wide range of access options.
Features included in ArcGIS Online include:
2D and 3D map creation
Data visualization in multiple formats
Integration with other authoritative data sources such as IoT and sensor feeds
Robust and native data analysis
Automation using both python notebooks and no-code options
Core applications included with ArcGIS Online:
ArcGIS Pro
ArcGIS Dashboards
ArcGIS Field Maps
ArcGIS Experience Builder
Scene Viewer
ArcGIS Portal
ArcGIS Portal, also known as Portal for ArcGIS, is a web-based component of ArcGIS Enterprise developed by Esri. It provides an organizational platform for managing, discovering, creating, and sharing geospatial information, including maps, scenes, layers, applications, and other geographic data. Portal provides a central website through which users can access GIS content and collaborate with other members of an organization.
Portal supports the creation and sharing of web maps and 3D scenes, development of web mapping applications, and organization of content through groups and user accounts. Administrators can configure the portal's appearance, security, user roles, and access permissions. Portal can also be integrated with ArcGIS Server and other ArcGIS Enterprise components to provide access to GIS services and data.
Unlike ArcGIS Online, which is hosted by Esri, Portal for ArcGIS is part of the self-hosted ArcGIS Enterprise platform and can be deployed on an organization's own infrastructure or supported cloud environments. This allows organizations to maintain greater control over the storage, security, and administration of their GIS resources.
