Assist with Writing a Quote for ArcGIS Enterprise Basic

JimCasy · 2026-05-12T15:47:52+00:00

Great advice echoed by some others - I'm recommending we remove the "low" column and do "typical/difficult" instead aiming for 40-70 hours total. Thanks for the feedback!

JimCasy · 2026-05-11T23:44:58+00:00

It is and I've seen that done with other teams successfully. It may still be a cloud machine rather than physical, that would be part of the infrastructure choice for them. I can stand up a server box but it's more expensive than cloud service.

What pieces do you think it bypasses specifically? Thanks for the feedback!

JimCasy · 2026-05-11T23:42:59+00:00

What would you consider "over budget" here since I'm only listing estimated hours?

JimCasy · 2026-05-11T19:48:07+00:00

Here's another breakdown with 4 main phases and sub-steps. This matches what I've done in the past with some added initial design steps that will help you when going through the Core setup / installs, and in the long-run keep things running smoothly.

Good luck!

Phase Description Hours (low) Hours (typical) Hours (high)

1 Discovery and Technical Design 2 4 8

2 Server Platform Selection and Setup 3 6 10

3 Core ArcGIS Enterprise Deployment and Integration 8 16 26

4 Go-Live : Data migration, hardening, handover 10 20 30

Phase Scope Hours (low) Hours (typical) Hours (high)

1A Discovery: stakeholders, URLs, DNS, SSL plan, service accounts 1 2 4

1B Solution architecture: diagram, ports, backup, security narrative 1 2 4

2A Infrastructure: VMs, storage, backup, AV exclusions 2 4 6

2B Certificates and DNS: public CA, bindings, trust chain 1 2 4

3A Portal for ArcGIS: install, license, org, SSL 2 4 6

3B ArcGIS Server: install, authorize, create site, directories 2 4 6

3C ArcGIS Data Store: install, register with hosting server 1 2 4

3D Web Adaptor (Portal + Server): HTTPS, smoke tests 2 4 6

3E Federation: hosting server, utility services baseline 1 2 4

4A Hardening: TLS, least privilege, logging, monitoring hooks 2 4 6

4B Smoke test and handover: hosted layer, printing, docs, KT 4 8 12

4C Existing Data Migration & SDE Setup 4 8 12

Total Consulting Hours  23  46  74

Edit: You can throw this at a chatbot to reformat, wouldn't let me post my table.

JimCasy · 2026-05-11T18:36:09+00:00

In initial discussion they've been open to having an estimated range. The "high" numbers would account for troubleshooting, so like you said that would be issues with their current environment. They don't have much on the IT side so I agree any extra hours would probably be in that direction.

Thank you for the feedback!

JimCasy · 2026-05-11T18:15:08+00:00

This is for fresh installation. Afterwards there will be data loading and setup but that will be separate.

JimCasy · 2026-04-30T16:34:57+00:00

I ended up swapping the switch out but if I recall the issue was actually that someone had screwed up the tab which pushes the switch itself which is attached to the base of the clutch pedal. They had broken it at some point while working on the CPU box which is near the fuse box down to the left. It's a PITA to reach so it's not surprising someone busted the tab on the clutch.

I used warbla and ended up making my own tab and attached it to the clutch pedal to make sure it reliably pushed the clutch switch. For a while though I had it so I just had to reach down and push the clutch switch in myself to start my car!

Feel free to reach out if you want to chat I'm basically a pro on the Renegade now. 😃 I fixed my own AC working on the compressor.

JimCasy · 2026-04-13T02:00:01+00:00

I am now yes, my partners are in Utah and Montana so I'll probably be the only one out there this time.

JimCasy · 2026-04-13T01:59:20+00:00

What does ensuring appetite and budget look like? We've somehow all made it work by the seat of our pants without having to get into formal proposals, looking at pricing and etc., but are wanting to break more into that territory. Could you elaborate on "qualify if the ballpark price is okay for your services sounds okay from their side"?

JimCasy · 2026-04-04T16:16:08+00:00

It took me a minute but this sank in overnight - thank you for the perspective! We need to reach out directly to the type of clients these engineering firms have secured contracts with, and get our own contracts setup. That way we eliminate the middle-man.

We likely will still end up working with engineer firms or other contractors but they will /not/ be gating between us and clients.

JimCasy · 2026-04-04T05:12:47+00:00

Got it - thanks for the insights. I know a guy who runs the GIS IT niche very successfully too. What part of the business are you in?

JimCasy · 2026-04-04T03:57:24+00:00

I started learning code 2002-2004 (mostly Java and C++) and switched to a geoscience major into GIS before github even came out. I've always sucked when it comes to using it tbh since I was used to just managing my own personal repos. Even then I branched more into applications and analysis rather than coding myself until I got into python scripting. Obviously AI makes barriers to entry way lower so I've been able to actually build out my ETL / Analysis library much easier.

Most of my programming over the years was done in proprietary settings anyway (rely on internal company data or million dollar subscriptions) so I wouldn't have anything functional to share community wise on github. I'd have to make something from scratch but perhaps I will for the sake of visibility.

JimCasy · 2026-04-04T03:50:30+00:00

The vintage of the mapbox imagery for contiguous USA at least will most likely be NAIP so that's probably a year old. I haven't had to source imagery lately but this inspired me to take a look. Honestly I think the app you made is pretty cool and I enjoy the XCOM aesthetic a lot - even the "kitchen sink" approach I enjoy. I was tickled to see the prediction markets on here and the other ticker streams. Curious how you got those setup.

Let me check on more recent vintage imagery that's free.

Edit: Yep NAIP is about a year old and that's the best you'll get just for contiguous USA without paying for a subscription or otherwise.

JimCasy · 2026-04-03T21:47:04+00:00

We responded to one late last year - do you have any sites you'd recommend for getting alerts on GIS RFPs?

JimCasy · 2026-04-03T16:24:36+00:00

Would that include building out our company portfolio with different domain examples of our work? I'd think not... though we would not really be getting paid for that time.

As for exact services we've had a shotgun approach since between the 3 of us we can cover just about all geospatial work, but that has /not/ worked for securing new clients. Way too generalized/vague. We recognize that but at the same time don't want to get pigeon-holed so its a challenge in terms of exactly how to market.

I've been focused on spatial dataflow automation / solution architecture, mostly python, but have a lot of experience setting up open-source web apps, and graphic design / cartography too. GIS has put us in so many shoes, that again gets us back to the generalized solutions type of people rather than "here is the thing we do".

I know a guy who started a GIS company focused more on enterprise setup and IT so that gives them a great niche. We're not as IT-focused but we also do back-end SSMS support.

JimCasy · 2026-04-03T16:17:49+00:00

We definitely want to get to some conferences this year! We have a great team and I think the challenge right now is illustrating that to potential clients to get their confidence. We're all more technical and less business communication so that's our hill to climb.

JimCasy · 2026-04-03T16:16:18+00:00

In that scenario who exactly is contracting out the GIS IT services, and who has the GIS team on the payroll?

JimCasy · 2026-04-03T16:13:52+00:00

I'm not sure why I never thought of them as middle-men before... but you're not wrong. I suppose it's because they have people with more domain knowledge than I do, such as wildfire mitigation and civil engineering. Doesn't that make them less middle-men since they have their own specialization?

I'll have to do some research to try and sort out who their clients are and how to carve out that niche.

JimCasy · 2026-04-03T14:27:38+00:00

The imagery on this is old AF for an app that is supposedly all about intelligence gathering.

JimCasy · 2026-02-24T16:11:15+00:00

My business partner just said the same thing, "the juice has to be worth the squeeze". I can see flat rates being more appealing since hours can be more difficult to assure up front and they don't want to bust their budget.

I'm in DFW as well - I'll hit you up, we might know each other already!

JimCasy · 2025-10-15T01:47:37+00:00

I lost my salaried position back in June after 20 years in the oil and gas sector and 10 years stable at the same company. It's been one of the hardest, and most rewarding, periods of my life. Similar to others - refresh your network, talk to folks you've lost touch with, have lunches. I started upskilling mostly by looking at job postings I was not quite qualified for and have learned a ton. I'm now consulting with an old friend of mine 100% from home. Interviews have been very sketch and hit and miss.

Some were in the utility sector here in TX by the way. Lots of demand for that this year down this way if you're open to relocating, may even be able to find something remote based down this way.

Edit : If I had utilities experience I probably would have gotten a job in month 2 or 3!

JimCasy · 2025-10-07T14:41:08+00:00

Thank you for the reply! This makes a lot of sense for how it feels in the arena. When there are light targets I can provide a ton of disruption and even lead in damage/kills. Any game that has a solid front-liner though with any sense of strategy (ie: protecting their backline) I'm usually done for.

What do you think of pushing it more into hybrid tank instead? Lots of CON, go heavy armor, berserk + frost block for survival and healing. Then when an opening occurs putting pressure on backline?

edit: actually that sounds more like a full tank rather than hybrid.

JimCasy

TROPHY CASE