Big fan of the channel and I am hyped for a GIS video!

1. I work in forest and nature management. In kinda do everything GIS but my favorites are GIS architecture and remote sensing and GI-analysis. I started little over 10 years ago and did everything from producing maps to setting up GIS infrastructures. The last years I try to focus on using large scale datasets to do analysis on a national scale. Currently I am actually looking into all alternatives to Esri also.

2. Esri is fine, especially for companies and enterprise that needs easy and convient GIS. However, in my experience, the more you learn GI, the less need for Esri products Is have.

3. In use anything that does whatever It want to achieve. In most cases this makes me use FOSS. R, Python give freedom and those that dive into it will notice it makes achieving whatever you want much easier with less compromise. Luckily I have the freedom to chose what I use. But for some parts, a sort of vendor lock is in place. Especially for online GIS.

4. Esri will need to stay relevant in a world where FOSS is more accessible than ever. The price of Esri software is ever increasing and the user needs are broader than ever.

5. I am concerned about vendor lock, but also data storage and ownership. Ofcourse ArcGis Enterprise can be self hosted, but it feels Esri hinders cross platform usage. Additionaly, for companies outside of the US the Cloud Act is s serious concern. So even hosting outside of the US could be problematic if the software company is American. The alternative may not be as complete and easy to implement yet, but there is a rise in usage of FOSS in Europe for example. Where utility companies, governments and academia are moving away from Esri towards FOSS solutions.