Building a Sustainable Public Data Platform: Lessons from a Socrata to ArcGIS Hub Migration

Overview

In 2025, the City of Memphis migrated its public open data platform from Socrata to ArcGIS Hub as part of an effort to consolidate public data resources within the City's existing ArcGIS enterprise environment.

The migration involved more than transferring datasets between platforms. The project required evaluating existing workflows, establishing new publishing practices, documenting data processes, and recreating public-facing resources in a GIS-centered environment.

My Role

As part of the migration team, I supported the transition by focusing on data preparation, documentation, quality assurance, and operational workflows.

My responsibilities included:

  • Preparing and transferring datasets for publication in ArcGIS Online

  • Migrating manually maintained files and supporting dataset updates

  • Developing metadata and data dictionaries to improve dataset understanding

  • Creating user documentation and publishing guidance

  • Testing datasets and applications during the transition

  • Supporting the development of repeatable publishing workflows

Challenge

The migration required adapting from a general-purpose open data platform to an enterprise GIS environment.

While ArcGIS Hub provided expanded capabilities for spatial data management and visualization, it also introduced new considerations around feature services, permissions, metadata, publishing workflows, and data governance.

The Office of Performance Management works across departments to support data-driven decision-making. The project required developing processes that could support both GIS and non-GIS users who contribute, manage, and consume public data.

Lessons Learned

The migration highlighted several important lessons about implementing enterprise data platforms:

  • Successful platform migrations require more than moving datasets; they require documentation, standards, and support processes that allow organizations to maintain the system over time.

  • Enterprise GIS platforms provide powerful capabilities, but they require thoughtful governance and workflows to support broader organizational needs.

  • Implementing a GIS-based open data platform requires balancing technical capabilities with the needs and expectations of non-GIS users.

Tools and Technologies

  • ArcGIS Hub

  • ArcGIS Online

  • ArcGIS Experience Builder

  • ArcGIS Pro

  • ArcGIS REST API

  • ArcGIS API for Python

  • FME