ArcGIS 9.3, which began shipping in June 2008, offers a complete suite of software that improves organizational workflows through more efficient spatial information management, ability to create better maps, enhanced mobility, easier information dissemination, and improved planning and analysis.

Manage and Access Spatial Information More Efficiently
ArcGIS 9.3 offers more tools to access data within an organization including support for the new Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and PostgreSQL. ArcGIS 9.3 also makes it easier to connect to and manage data from other systems via direct backward compatibility, new version management features, enhancements to geodatabase replication, and better geocoding. A new image service within ArcGIS Server also advances an organization's data management capabilities. Finally, ArcGIS Server adds one way replication to file geodatabases.

Make Better Maps
ArcGIS 9.3 includes many enhancements that make it easier to create and share production-quality maps. For example, a new Disperse Markers tool allows you to spread out representation markers when they coincide. Feature attributes can be included when exporting a map to Adobe PDFs and accessed interactively by Adobe Reader users. In addition, Maplex for ArcGIS now includes better contour labeling and more control over where labels are placed inside and around polygons.

Send and Receive Information to and from the Field
The new ArcGIS Mobile application allows you to quickly deploy mobile GIS and is configurable out of the box. The ArcGIS Mobile Software Developer Kit (SDK) now includes enhanced map control rendering to support multiple data sources and graphic layers, improved data storage capabilities with support for large compressed basemaps, and expanded projections.

Share Common Operating Information
ArcGIS 9.3 makes dissemination of geographic information much easier. For example, ArcGIS Server 9.3 has new tools to facilitate map cache management. ArcGIS Server users can now selectively build map cache for the areas that are the most popular and enable on-demand caching to let the map cache grow as end users access the map service. ArcGIS Server 9.3 also includes an API for mashup-style development using JavaScript. The ArcGIS API for JavaScript takes advantage of the new REST interface.

Perform Better Planning and Analysis
In ArcGIS 9.3, many modeling tools have been enhanced and some entirely new tools have been added to help you get more answers from your data. A new scatterplot matrix graph lets you explore relationships between sets of related variables, and new advanced Ordinary Least Squares and Geographically Weighted Regression tools help you understand how processes vary over space. In addition, a new vehicle routing problem (VRP) solver in ArcGIS Network Analyst generates routes for fleets of vehicles.

Support for Standards
In addition to these themes, ArcGIS Server 9.3 also provides enhanced support for WMS, WFS, and WCS and complies with the OGC specification for KML. It also includes support for the Collaborative Design Activity (COLLADA) file format that is used for displaying more realistic 3D models as well as for a variety of purposes in ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server.

Resource Centers
Also with the release of ArcGIS 9.3, ESRI introduced a series of online resource centers that offer a unified location from which users can access online help, documentation, support, a user community, and content.

To learn more about ArcGIS 9.3, visit www.esri.com/whatsnew.