As of March 1, 2026, ArcGIS Desktop, including ArcMap, has officially retired.

For more than 20 years, ArcMap has been a trusted tool for generations of GIS professionals worldwide. It helped map communities, analyze environments, support critical decision-making, and bring spatial thinking into countless organizations. For many of us, ArcMap was where we first learned to think spatially, created our first maps, and developed workflows that shaped our careers and the organizations we served, fundamentally transforming how GIS was applied.

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ArcMap wasn’t just software; it was reliable, familiar, and deeply connected to our daily work and professional identity. It was built at a time when GIS existed solely on the desktop, a model that worked exceptionally well for many years.

As technology advanced, so did GIS. The launch of ArcGIS Server enabled maps to be shared online, expanding GIS beyond a single desktop application. Since then, ArcGIS has continued to evolve to meet changing workflows and broader needs. Today, ArcGIS is a modern geospatial platform that spans desktop, web, and mobile environments. GIS now supports more roles across organizations, with data shared widely, updated frequently, and used to inform real-time decision-making.

With ArcMap’s retirement, it’s important to reflect on what it made possible. The work accomplished with ArcMap laid the foundation for modern GIS, influencing tool design, workflow thinking, and the ways we support the people who rely on GIS every day.

This is not about forgetting the past, it’s about honoring it, building on it, and moving forward intentionally.

If you’re ready to look ahead, resources are available to help you explore modern GIS capabilities and plan your next steps.

Thank you for everything you created with ArcMap, and for being a valued part of the ArcGIS community.

Continue the Journey

• Keep Innovating with GIS
• Download the Migration Guide
• Reimagine Your GIS: From ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro and User Types