Over the past decade, utilities have transformed Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from a siloed tool into a core enterprise system. Today, GIS integrates critical utility-wide IT and OT infrastructure such as Work Management Systems (WMS), Outage Management Systems (OMS), Distribution Management Systems (DMS), as well as financial and customer communication systems.
As technology advances, GIS must deliver spatial data beyond corporate boundaries to support use cases such as:
- Embedding maps in asset management apps (e.g., Maximo Spatial)
- Sharing outage maps with customers
- Providing network intelligence to operators and engineers
- Delivering data to mobile crews
- Enabling organization-wide data contributions
- Maintaining a single, highly accurate source of truth
Digital workflows and initiatives like digital twins further drive this evolution. Utilities need high-fidelity data and integrated systems to streamline operations and maximize investments.
Esri’s ArcGIS Utility Network (UN) meets these demands with a modern, service-oriented architecture (SOA) that replaces legacy client-server models of Esri’s Geometric Network (GN). This enables enterprise-wide data delivery, supports digital twins, and enhances transparency across operations. While these advancements unlock new capabilities, migrating from the ArcGIS Geometric Network to the ArcGIS Utility Network is a complex transformation, and the available options and numerous paths can be daunting.
Where should utilities begin this complex transformation to maximize success?
As industry experts emphasize, “Build on solid ground” is a guiding principle. A successful migration begins with a strong foundation: clear directions, clean data, clear governance, and a shared vision of business goals across the organization.
Today, we are launching a four-part series designed to support leaders in charting a clear, confident path for their organization’s journey from the ArcGIS Geometric Network (GN) to ArcGIS Utility Network (UN)—ensuring alignment, resilience, and long-term value.
Transformational change requires utilities to navigate complex decisions from evolving the architectural landscape to support new application environments to selecting a data model implementation pattern that provides immediate Commercial Off-the-Shelf value to reimagining business process and customization requirements to reconceptualizing integrations between GIS and other core enterprise systems to maximize the use of this new technology stack long into the future.
Let’s begin by examining the evolving architectural landscape to support application environments needed for grid modernization.
GIS has transformed from standalone and client-server desktops into a services-based web and mobile ecosystem powered by ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online. Today, capabilities are delivered as web services for browsers, APIs, and native apps—making GIS more scalable, collaborative, and accessible.
Technology transformation: Desktop GIS to GIS everywhere
Historically, Esri and Schneider Electric delivered a client-server model through legacy applications such as ArcInfo, ArcView, and ArcGIS Desktop. This means that desktops handled rendering and analysis, while geodatabases and ArcGIS Spatial Database Engine enabled multi-user access to enterprise Relational Database Management Systems (RDMBs). This technology served utility users when few people in the organization were contributing to the GIS and GIS was mainly used to generate static reports.
Historically, Esri and Schneider Electric delivered a client-server model through legacy applications such as ArcInfo, ArcView, and ArcGIS Desktop. This means that desktops handled rendering and analysis, while geodatabases and ArcGIS Spatial Database Engine enabled multi-user access to enterprise Relational Database Management Systems (RDMBs). This technology served utility users when few people in the organization were contributing to the GIS and GIS was mainly used to generate static reports.
Yet, utilities quickly needed more people to have access to map-based insights. This led to early web solutions like ArcIMS and MapObjects which introduced map publishing and basic GIS functions via browsers, backed by server engines. The shift accelerated with ArcGIS Server and a service-oriented architecture, exposing map, feature, geoprocessing, and image services for multiple applications. This moved processing to scalable server tiers, enabling rich internet apps and integrations.
One service for all applications
Flash forward, and today, ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online host web layers consumed by:
- ArcGIS Pro
- Web apps (JavaScript API, Instant Apps, Experience Builder)
- Mobile apps
All share the same services backbone, replacing the desktop-centric model with a unified, service-oriented architectural (SOA) approach.
Service-based architecture has opened-up incredible opportunities for utilities to make GIS accessible to everyone, everywhere. When considering this transition, utilities must ask:
- Who needs access to the GIS?
- Who will contribute to the GIS?
- What application environments will best serve the business practices of those teams?
- What IT infrastructure will best support those business practices.
Modern GIS infrastructure
With the advanced capabilities offered by ArcGIS technology, the GIS Infrastructure needs are shifting toward new requirements such as:
- The ability to model assets with a Utility Network in an enterprise geodatabase.
- Map Services for use across Pro, web, mobile, and integrations.
- The core stack of the solution components includes:
- Enterprise geodatabase (SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, etc.) to support a scalable, multiuser environment.
- ArcGIS Enterprise hosting branch-versioned Utility Network service to accommodate many GIS contributors.
- ArcGIS Pro for design and advanced analysis.
- Web/mobile apps for visualization, tracing, and basic editing.
Key recommendations for the hardware to match the deployment evolution
As the deployment and data architecture evolve, it’s essential to align your hardware and network configurations with the new operational model:
- Shift from Workstation-Centric to Service-Oriented Infrastructure Utility Network operations now rely less on powerful desktops and more on a balanced, server-driven stack.
- Utility Network operations now rely less on powerful desktops and more on a balanced, server-driven stack.
- Optimize for Heavy Operations
- Intensive tasks such as traces, validations, topology management, and synchronization are executed on ArcGIS Server and the DBMS, not on client machines.
- Server and Database Performance Requirements
- ArcGIS Server: Ensure higher CPU and RAM capacity to handle service workloads efficiently.
- Database Servers: Use high-IOPS SSD-backed storage and provision sufficient cores for optimal performance.
- Network Configuration
- Maintain adequate bandwidth and low latency across your environment to support smooth communication between services and clients.
Hybrid-cloud platform in the GIS utility industry
Cloud and hybrid-cloud based strategies such as those that connect on-premises enterprise GIS with cloud-based orchestration are also enabling utilities to evolve in important ways including:
- To handle growth in data and users
As utility networks generate large volumes of detailed asset, event, and time-enabled data, cloud platforms allow storage and compute capacity to be increased on demand, rather than waiting for new hardware.
Additionally, more business units (operations, planning, customer service, field crews) rely on GIS services simultaneously, and cloud environments are better suited to handle concurrent access and spikes in activity without performance degradation.
- To support modern workflows and integrations
Cloud deployment makes it easier to expose GIS services securely to other enterprise systems (OMS, ADMS, CIS, EAM) and to external partners, because APIs and web services are natively supported and easier to scale and manage from a central environment.
- To improve resilience and agility
Cloud providers typically offer built‑in redundancy, automatic backups, and failover options that can reduce downtime relative to a single on‑premises data center.
The play for utilities in the technology transformation
Utilities migrating to the ArcGIS Utility Network and a service-oriented architecture (SOA) with applications such as Schneider Electric’s hybrid-cloud ArcFM should consider:
Business and governance
- Business drivers and use cases – As migrating to the Utility Network, identify the other business drivers and use cases that can help define the scope and help prioritize which parts of the GIS (e.g., utility network services, web apps, analytical workloads) should move first and how success will be measured.
- Data governance and compliance – For utilities, regulatory requirements and data privacy/security obligations may dictate where data can reside, how long it must be retained, and who can access it. With Hybrid Cloud options, utilities need clear policies on data residency, retention, auditing, etc., and must confirm that the cloud region, services, and architecture comply with those requirements.
- Cost management and licensing – Even though cloud can lower capital expense, operating costs can grow if compute, storage, and data egress are not actively managed. To manage costs, the utility must align platform sizing, reserved capacity, and software licensing with realistic usage patterns rather than peak assumptions.
Infrastructure and architecture
- Infrastructure and Deployment: To ensure ArcGIS Enterprise and the Utility Network run reliably and perform well under heavy, multiuser editing, tracing, and sync loads, you need a tiered architecture with scalable components, fast SSD-backed storage, and secure, low‑latency network paths. This reduces bottlenecks, isolates failures, and supports future growth without constant re‑engineering.
- Cloud and Hybrid-Cloud SaaS Considerations: Using cloud or hybrid-cloud SaaS options provides elastic scalability and simplifies deployment and upgrades compared to purely on-premises setups. This reduces hardware dependency while still allowing the utility to control when changes and updates roll out to critical systems.
- Application and Workflow Integration: Integrating systems and apps gives different roles within the organization, such as planners, designers, operators, field crews, etc., tools tailored to their tasks. This would enable near-real-time collaboration between the office and the field, reducing handoff friction and improving data quality and decision-making.
Bottom line
Utilities in the future will consider GIS as a shared, service-based, and often cloud-enabled platform, rather than a desktop tool. They will be better positioned to support enterprise-wide decision-making, integrate with operational systems, and scale to growing data and user demands. By aligning governance, infrastructure, and application integration with this modern model, they can deliver more reliable services, faster insights, and greater agility in responding to business and regulatory change.
Key takeaways
Service-based architecture has opened-up incredible opportunities for utilities to make GIS accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Success in this journey demands more than just technology. It requires leadership, clarity, and a commitment to building on solid ground. Utility organizations can ensure their transition is resilient, scalable, and future-ready by evaluating platforms, aligning data models, revisiting customizations, and rearchitecting integrations. With the right strategy, governance, and vision, the GN-to-UN migration becomes a launchpad for innovation, operational excellence, and enterprise-wide intelligence.
Schneider Electric experts can help you navigate these complex questions. Contact your account executive to discuss our advisory services that can help you navigate these challenges when planning your grid modernization pathway.
Our next article will address how to select a data model implementation pattern like the ArcFM Configuration for the Utility Network that gives utilities Flexibility Without the Price Tag Through Smarter Utility Network Data Conversions.
Read on and contact us to learn more.
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