Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.

Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., doing business as Esri, a for-profit Subchapter S corporation headquartered in Redlands, California, delivers geospatial information system (GIS) software, data, and spatial analytics services to the federal government as a prime contractor on a full-and-open competitive basis with no set-aside posture. Esri is the dominant federal GIS software vendor and competes without SBA certifications or small business set-asides, positioning itself as a market leader in commercial geospatial solutions.

The vendor's customer base is broad and fragmented across the federal government's civilian and defense missions. Among the top five funding agencies by award count (covering 21% of awards), the Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey leads with 593 awards; the Department of the Army follows with 590 awards ($311.9 million combined potential value); the Environmental Protection Agency (419 awards); NOAA (361 awards, $117.6 million); and the Army Corps of Engineers Geospatial Center (338 awards, $441.7 million). However, the dollar concentration diverges sharply from volume. The Department of the Navy Naval Sea Systems Command anchors the top-value ranking with 181 awards carrying $76.51 billion in combined potential value—a massive outlier driven by a single $62.3 million delivery order for ArcGIS software to the Distributed Common Ground System at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex and a $55.7 million delivery order to PEO Intelligence Electronic Warfare & Sensors, both dated 2026. The Air Force (117 awards, $955.2 million) and the Army Corps of Engineers rank second and third by dollar value. This concentration pattern shows Esri dominates defense sector GIS spend while maintaining deep penetration across civilian agencies.

Esri's capability footprint is anchored in ArcGIS platform licensing, maintenance, and support. Concrete award examples include a $62.3 million delivery order with DoD's Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex (FY2026) for ArcGIS software supporting the Distributed Common Ground System; a $16.49 million delivery order with US Special Operations Command (April 2026) for an enterprise license agreement; a $12.65 million order with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (July 2025) for GIS capability development; and a $6.41 million BPA call with NOAA (February 2026) for AI-powered natural language interface development to transform National Weather Service communications. Beyond licensing, Esri delivers geospatial data hosting, consulting, enterprise data migration and cloud environment deployment, training, and technical support. GSA Schedule labor rates span $195–$476/hr across 10 active categories, reflecting roles from technology support specialists through principal enterprise GIS subject matter experts with up to 15 years' experience. No security-cleared labor is offered through the GSA Schedule.

Esri's primary vehicle is the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) under Federal Supply Schedule GS-35F-5086H, which carries 4,870 task orders worth $712.7 million in combined potential value. The broader MAS accounts for 1,953 task orders and $2.12 billion in potential value. Esri also holds or sits on multiple Blanket Purchase Agreements under the MAS: a $99 million BPA with the Department of the Army (through February 2029) supporting ArcGIS software, geospatial data hosting, consulting, training, and technical support; a $54.44 million single-award BPA with DHS (through May 2031) for enterprise license agreements and GIS services; a $75 million BPA with the U.S. Census Bureau (referenced in source, through September 2029); a $5 million BPA with the National Park Service; and a $51 million BPA with the Department of the Interior. Esri was also awarded a $151 billion multiple-award IDIQ contract by the Missile Defense Agency on December 29, 2025, designated the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) initiative running through December 28, 2035, structured to support multi-domain defense R&D, prototyping, systems engineering, and production across air, missile, space, cyber, and hybrid threat domains. The SHIELD contract diverges from Esri's traditional GIS footprint and likely reflects technical capability and facility clearances aligned with MDA's modernization objectives.

Activity across recent years shows a downward trajectory. Awards per year fell from 210 in 2023 to 136 in 2025 and 93 in 2026 year-to-date, indicating either contract consolidation (fewer, larger orders), recompete dynamics, or shifting vendor engagement patterns. Within the next twenty-four months, 131 awards carrying combined potential value of $369.5 million reach ultimate completion and face recompete exposure, representing material revenue at risk.

Across SCI-reportable service contracts above the $150,000 federal threshold (prime records only), Esri invoiced $110.1 million from FY2022 through FY2025. FY2025 saw $35 million invoiced across 18.4 FTEs (government-delivered), up from FY2024's $18.9 million across 19.1 FTEs. Government-paid hourly rates on SCI contracts run a median of $257.95/hr, with the 10th percentile at $32.56/hr and the 90th percentile at $971.04/hr, reflecting a wide range from entry-level support to senior subject-matter expertise. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, Esri self-performs substantially all work; named subcontractors account for only 1% of contractor hours on average, with 11 total named subs reported. This heavily self-delivery model contrasts with Esri's teaming posture: the vendor also sits as a named subcontractor under primes including Booz Allen Hamilton (on CDC data modernization and geospatial solutions work), Science Applications International Corporation (Air Force Weather sustainment), Lockheed Martin (Air Force support equipment), and BAE Systems (instrumentation range programs), indicating selective but material engagement as a specialist sub where geospatial capability is embedded in larger defense or civilian modernization efforts.

NAICS concentration is extreme: 5,194 awards fall under Other Computer Related Services (primary NAICS), and 3,329 fall under Software Publishers, together accounting for roughly 78% of all awards. PSC coding mirrors this: 4,792 awards carry Information Technology Software classification, with smaller volumes in facility operations, support equipment, and annual software maintenance.

Esri competes in the full-and-open federal marketplace with no set-aside participation. The vendor's federal footprint spans 580 distinct customer agencies, with 11,019 total awards (10,973 prime, 46 sub) carrying $102.96 billion in combined potential value across FY1981–FY2026. Combined obligated dollars are $2.46 billion (2% of potential value), indicating substantial backlog execution and multi-year performance obligations typical of software licensing and enterprise agreements. The vendor holds no named federal grant programs or sub-recipient funding based on the source; its federal engagement is entirely contract-driven through GIS software procurement, maintenance, and professional services under GSA and agency-specific IDVs.