Taking the guesswork out of ArcGIS Enterprise migration
Ireland’s national transport infrastructure agency used Ripple to see every dataset, application, and dependency across its GIS estate. First results landed within a couple of weeks, and its applications now run reliably.
THE CHALLENGE
Insight across the GIS estate
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) delivers and manages Ireland’s major transport infrastructure: national roads, Luas light rail, metro projects, greenways, and active travel networks. Behind all of it sits a large GIS estate, and its GIS team was preparing to move that estate from ArcGIS Online (AGOL) to ArcGIS Enterprise.
The migration exposed a familiar problem. Nobody had a clear picture of where data was stored, how datasets and applications were connected, or what would break if something moved. Staff spent significant time tracking down datasets and working out which applications relied on them. Duplicate copies had multiplied across the organisation, so the authoritative source was not always obvious.
The result was broken applications, inconsistent data, and a steady stream of troubleshooting, right when the team needed certainty most.
Who felt the pain
Hours lost locating datasets, tracing dependencies and hunting duplicates, putting the migration at risk.
When apps broke or sources were unclear, colleagues couldn’t rely on the information they needed to do their jobs.
Broken links and unavailable public-facing apps and open data meant a poorer experience for the people TII serves.
We had numerous duplicate copies of data across the organisation, making it difficult to identify the authoritative source.
GIS Manager, Transport Infrastructure Ireland
THE DECISION
Why Ripple, rather than doing it by hand
The trigger was TII’s planned move from ArcGIS Online to ArcGIS Enterprise. The team knew it couldn’t migrate safely without first understanding where its data was stored, how datasets and applications were connected, and what moving any one piece would affect.
Doing nothing wasn’t an option: migrating blind meant broken applications and services for staff and the public. The team considered auditing everything by hand, but it would have been very time-consuming and carried a high risk of missing important data and application dependencies. Ripple offered a faster, clearer route to a smooth migration.
The deciding factors
Speed. TII’s top priority. Ripple surfaced dependencies far faster than any manual audit could.
Lower risk. Automated discovery meant fewer blind spots going into a live migration.
Trusted partner. A long relationship with DataBuilders gave TII the confidence from day one.
One clear view of every connection
Ripple automatically discovers and visualises the relationships across ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise. For TII, that meant the team could finally see:
Interest spread well beyond the GIS team. Once colleagues saw the value of understanding dependencies, ArcGIS Online users across TII started asking about Ripple too.
Process explained up front; whole team on board from day one.
Full visibility of data, applications and dependencies.
Broken items fixed, duplicates removed, single source of truth set.
Content moved with far greater confidence and less risk.
Life after Ripple
Today, TII’s applications work reliably and the regular error emails caused by broken data links have stopped. It’s the result the GIS team is proudest of. Where an outage once meant time-consuming detective work and doubts over which data was correct, the team can now see exactly how data and applications connect.
The pressure has eased, confidence in TII’s systems has grown, and users across the organisation are working from the correct, up-to-date data. Colleagues have noticed too, with feedback highlighting reliable applications and a far clearer view of where data comes from.
“Absolutely. It saved significant time, reduced risk, helped us remove duplicate data and ensured people were using the correct data sources. Most importantly, our applications are now working reliably. For us, it was worth the investment.”
Building on a clear foundation
With its migration complete, TII’s next step is to integrate Ripple with its upgraded ArcGIS Enterprise environment as it moves to a newer version of the platform.
Sound familiar? Let’s talk about your migration.
If you run ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise and are planning a move, we’ll show you what Ripple could uncover in your environment.
Clients Details
Industry
Transportation
Service Provided
Ripple, supporting an ArcGIS Online to ArcGIS Enterprise migration