The City of Mesquite, GIS Division uses industry-standard GIS software which includes the ESRI suite of products. ESRI (Enivronmental Systems Research Institute) designs and develops the world's leading geographic information system (GIS) technology.

ESRI uses the name ArcGIS to refer to its suite of GIS software products, which operate on desktop, server, and mobile platforms. ArcGIS also includes developer products and web services.

Desktop GIS

• ArcGIS Desktop software products allow you to author, analyze, map, manage, share, and publish geographic information.
• ArcGIS Desktop comes in three levels of licensing: ArcView, ArcEditor and ArcInfo.
• ArcInfo is at the high end and provides full, advanced analysis and data management capabilities, including geostatistical and topological analysis tools.
• ArcGIS Desktop Extensions are available, including Spatial Analyst which allows raster analysis, and 3D Analyst which allows terrain mapping and analysis. Other more specialized extensions are available from ESRI and third parties for specific GIS needs.

GIS Server

• Server GIS products allow GIS functionality and data to be deployed from a central environment.
• ArcIMS (Internet Mapping Server) provides browser based access to GIS.
• ArcSDE (Spatial Database Engine) is used as an RDBMS connector for other ESRI software to store and retrieve GIS data within a commercially available RDBMS.
• ArcGIS Server is an internet application service, used to extend the functionality of ArcGIS Desktop software to a browser based environment.

Mobile GIS

• Mobile GIS conflates GIS, GPS, Location-based services, handheld computing, and the growing availability of geographic data.
• ArcGIS technology can be deployed on a range of mobile systems from lightweight devices to PDAs, laptops, and Tablet PCs