What's new in Business Analyst Enterprise 10.8.1

Available with Business Analyst license.

ArcGIS Business Analyst Enterprise 10.8.1 introduces several new features and improved functionality. Updates to the ArcGIS Business Analyst web application include new workflows and a refreshed user experience with new guided tours to provide an in-app learning experience for key workflows. An update to ArcGIS GeoEnrichment server includes new capabilities and an improved setup experience and an update to the Business Analyst widget has been added for ArcGIS Web AppBuilder.

ArcGIS GeoEnrichment Server

ArcGIS GeoEnrichment Server was originally included with 10.7 release of Business Analyst Enterprise. This modern, industry-standard server architecture is based on the same GeoEnrichment engine used in ArcGIS Online, it was the next-generation replacement for the legacy Business Analyst Server software as the primary demographic enrichment engine for ArcGIS Enterprise solutions.

The 10.8.1 release builds on this foundation with new features and several quality and stability improvements. For example, the primary new feature of the 10.8.1 release is the ability to run batch infographics, this capability is powered by new server-side functionality. Also, the setup and configuration process have been improved. The configuration experience for the server environment is improved, allowing better installation/management of datasets through wizard-driven installations.

ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App

An updated version of the Business Analyst web app includes new workflows and a refreshed user experience. The 10.8.1 version of the Business Analyst web app corresponds to the version released with ArcGIS Online in June 2020. If you are upgrading from 10.7.1 to 10.8.1, all updated online features and data are cumulative and will be included in this latest release.

For a deep dive into the many new features of these of each of these releases since 10.7.1, click on the What’s New blog resources for June 2019, October 2019 (10.8 release version app), December 2019, March 2020 and June 2020 (10.8.1 release version of app).

Note:

References to data updates in the blog resources are specific to ArcGIS online. For Business Analyst Enterprise, the annual USA data update is typically released in Q3 of each year and is independent of software releases.

Here are some highlights of what’s new in the Business Analyst web app from the blog resources above.

Batch Infographics

With the new batch infographics capability, you can run multiple infographics for multiple areas at once, then export up to 100 at a time as a zip file. An Export toggle and a button to Export All is provided so you can export your infographics without having to run them individually.

Run batch infograhics

Guided Tours

Several new guided tours for the most popular, requested, and useful workflows are added to the Business Analyst Web App. These new tours are more visual, contextual, and user-friendly and are a great resource for administrators who are tasked with getting their teams up-to-speed.

Guided tours

Improved menu structure in the Business Analyst Web App

With this release, you'll notice a brand-new menu structure and renaming that's bringing two new menus with it: Add Data, Create Maps, Define Areas, Run Analysis, and Share Results. Common workflows have been reorganized in a more intuitive way to help you navigate to them quicker. Note that none of the existing menus and their workflows have been removed.

New workflow arrangement

For those that are familiar with the existing structure, here's how the tools have moved:

Old menu structure
Old menu structure
New menu structure
New menu structure
  • The Suitability Analysis workflow has been moved under the new Run Analysis menu.
  • Share Results is a brand new menu consisting of the new Story Maps workflow and the ability to share via PDF, image, and via ArcGIS Web Maps.

As ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App continues to grow, adding and improving functionality along the way, we feel that these five menu topics will help to better organize, order, and house all of the tools and workflows.

New Story Map workflow in Business Analyst Web App

ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App users can now add sites, maps, infographics, and reports in interactive Esri Story Maps in just a few clicks. Select one of the four starter Story Map templates, choose your sites, configure items for the sites (attributes, notes, infographics, reports, etc.), and watch as all of your selected content is added to a Story Map. You can further customize the story map using the Esri Story Maps building experience, too!

New Story Map workflow

Save your map state

Introducing the Autosave toggle in the Business Analyst Web App—just turn the toggle on, and the state of your map will be saved when you log out or close your browser. The next time you sign in, you will be directed straight to the map with everything open just as it was when you ended your previous session.

Autosave toggle

Compare locations using side by side infographics

Business Analyst Web App users can now view side-by-side comparison infographics for all the boundaries in your site. You can also add other sites to the side-by-side comparison infographic. When you run an infographic for your site, expand the area drop-down and turn on the Side by side comparison toggle to view the comparison infographics. You can also add other sites to the comparison.

Side-by-side infographics

Add nearby location counts and summaries

Business Analyst Web App users can now summarize attribute values in Nearby tables. When running infographics with a Nearby table, click the gear icon, choose the attributes that you want to summarize, and see the results added at the bottom of the table. Optionally, you will be able to choose to display the Nearby table as a summary count in its own panel.

Nearby location counts

Business Analyst widget for ArcGIS Web AppBuilder

The ArcGIS Business Analyst team has created a new widget for ArcGIS Web AppBuilder. This new widget gives users the power to use infographics and classic reports in their ArcGIS Web AppBuilder applications. Access the dozens of starter infographic and classic report templates created by Esri or any of the custom templates created by you or others in your organization.

ArcGIS Web Appbuilder application


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