GIS in Jackson County, Georgia
An Overdue Upgrade
Situated roughly an hour outside of Atlanta, Jackson County is known as one of the fastest-growing areas in Georgia. County leaders have been utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS) technology for many years, establishing a dedicated GIS department in 2007. The indispensability of GIS has been widespread for nearly all users. This extends to many county-departments, including tax assessors, city planning, sheriff, environmental, and municipalities throughout the county.
With GIS having such an established history and integral part of the county’s operations, any changes or updates to the system are made with great care. They had been using it reliably for a long time – both often and widely. After more than seventeen years they decided to implement extensive upgrades, utilizing the latest GIS technology from Esri – ArcGIS. Esri’s ArcGIS is the leading GIS solution throughout the world. It is a scalable solution that can support operations of any size and complexity. SAM is an Esri Business Partner with deep experience implementing ArcGIS.
Though the county had become comfortable managing and maintaining the GIS system in place, upgrading and implementing a major system upgrade was another matter. For that they would need some help – especially to ensure this upgrade and transition would not cause interruptions to the various stakeholders. The county decided they needed assistance with this challenge and selected SAM for the system upgrade.
The stand-out quality for the client was SAM’s marriage of technological capability and a deep, client-centered approach. The end-result being valuable peace of mind and the fostering of a long term relationship: a true differentiator for clients like Jackson County.
SAM collaborated with the various stakeholders to better understand the nuances of the county’s operations - and to begin planning the implementation strategy. Jackson County officials wanted to begin using the newer Esri apps, specifically ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Hub. Upgrading things also meant retiring the old applications from years prior. SAM’s longtime Subject Matter Expert and Business Development Manager, Tripp Corbin, MCP, GISP, helped carve out a specific plan to best approach this transition given the client needs.
One key feature of the process included a two-day transition-to-migration process, as well as a personalized tutorial for the users utilizing it within their daily workflow. This instructional plan allowed the county’s staff to hit the ground running with their new software and applications.
In the client’s words, choosing SAM was due to “the experience and expertise that SAM possesses in local government functions. SAM’s experience provided the assurance that the work would be completed efficiency and without interruption of our services.”
Reaping the Benefits
With SAM’s expertise and careful guidance, the county’s upgrades were a success. The new portal provides easy access to extensive GIS data and applications — extending to areas such as county limits, tax parcels, voting districts, roads, and fire districts.
Making this data openly available allows officials and staff to reduce the time previously spent responding to requests by upwards of 40%. This time can now be invested in creating new data layers, analysis, and developing applications, all of which further improve operations within the county.
SAM continues to provide ongoing support and training for Jackson County as needed. According to county official, Joel Logan, “we are incredibly happy with what SAM has helped us accomplish. We look forward to continuing to work with SAM as our GIS expands.” The streamlined portal can be viewed at jackson-county-ga-open-data-portal-jacksoncountyga.hub.arcgis.com/. To learn more about how SAM can help you, visit sam.biz.