Basemaps are used to precompute and cache a series of small tiles covering the map extent and for multiple map scales. Retrieving these precomputed map tiles is much faster and more scalable than dynamically computing the map display each time a map is requested from the service. You'll want to publish and cache a set of basemaps for your organization or agency so users can leverage your authoritative maps in web maps and apps, mobile apps, and desktop editing workflows.

To get started, use the tools to publish a basemap in your environment using your data.