The increasing complexity of ArcGIS licensing in recent versions has created challenges for organisations managing larger numbers of users with diverse needs. The legacy license manager for ArcMap and earlier versions of ArcGIS Pro, along with a small number of user types and roles, have now been superseded. ArcGIS Pro licensing has now been consolidated into ArcGIS Enterprise and aligned with user types, which themselves have more fine-grained licensing options. 

Overlaying this evolving licensing landscape is the practical reality of many ArcGIS Enterprise deployments, where users often have different requirements depending on their role within their workflows. For example, a team member may need to:  

• Collect data in the field using ArcGIS Field Maps
• Update different data in the office using a web app 
• Change the schema of a feature class in an enterprise geodatabase
• Create a dashboard to communicate the activity status to stakeholders 

Each of these requires a different ArcGIS license and/or user type. Simply assigning the user to the highest level of license to be able to do all these tasks may not be practical if licenses are limited and need to be shared between multiple users. 

To address this challenge, NGIS has developed a model that helps organisations manage their license pool more effectively using ArcGIS Enterprise tools. The process is simple:  

1. A user requests a license for a set period 
2. The request is reviewed by a license administrator
3. If approved, the license is assigned to the user for the requested time 
4.  At the end of the period, the license is unassigned and becomes available for others 

This process is illustrated below:

In smaller organisations this workflow can be managed manually. However, in larger organisations, with more complex user needs, the workflow can be automated. The basis of automation is the gis.admin module of ArcGIS API for Python and the ArcGIS REST API. Together, these can be used to manage the assignment of licenses and user types to members of an organisation. These commands can be called from scripts or other automations tools (such as FME) available to the ArcGIS administrator. 

To further extend the capability of this license management framework, the initial user request can be deployed into a framework that allows the request to be processed and reviewed automatically against a set of business rules.  

For example, a Survey123 form can be configured to allow users to enter their request for a different license or user type. A webhook on the form’s underlying feature service could then trigger a script that assigns the license to the requesting user. This pattern can be adapted for other environments that support forms and automation. 

In summary, while the changing ArcGIS licensing landscape presents challenges, options are available to assist in rationalising and automating some of the effort. Leveraging ArcGIS APIs, combined with tools such as forms and automation frameworks, can help organisations make license management more efficient and scalable. 

Simplifying license management is just one way NGIS helps organisations get the most from their geospatial investments. Learn more on our services page.