PwC flies into £127bn global drone technology market

Airborne drone technology is disrupting industries from agriculture to filmmaking, with the global market for drone technology and delivery now worth over $127bn, according to Clarity From Above, a new report from PwC.

And with drones poised to have an impact on business operations of companies in a broad range of industry sectors, PwC has also established a global centre of excellence that uses drones and data analytics to help clients solve business challenges.

PwC’s global centre of excellence, Drone Powered Solutions, which is based in PwC Poland, will deliver drone and geospatial data analytics to help clients in industrial and business sectors across Europe, the UK and Ireland.  In 2013 Poland became the first country in the world to introduce a complete legal framework regulating the commercial use of drones.

Commenting on the report and on PwC’s entry into the drone technology market. Michal Mazur, partner and head of Drone Powered Solutions at PwC in Central and Eastern Europe, said:

“We are currently in discussion with major companies from a wide range of industries about how they can use drones to improve their business processes.

“With an estimated market value of over $127 bn in commercial applications, drones are making the transition from novelty item to an indispensable business tool.”

According to the PwC report Clarity from above, the potential market for drone-powered solutions is over $127 bn. This represents the current business services and labour that are likely to be replaced in the near future by drone powered solutions.

The industry with the best prospects for drone applications is infrastructure, with total market value of approx. $45.2 bn., the report says.

According to PwC, large-scale capital projects, infrastructure maintenance, and agriculture can all benefit greatly from the integration of drones into day-to-day business activities.

Insurance and mining will find potential process improvements as they gain new levels of data quality and accessibility.

One of the primary usages of drones is to supervise the ongoing investments and maintenance of existing infrastructure.

Drones are also used in transport, for last mile services, as well as in agriculture, not only gathering and quickly analysing data on land and crops but also undertaking precise spraying of plants and animal husbandry.

The PwC team has already carried out a number of drone-enabled commercial client projects. While they sub-contract the actual piloting of the drones, all the other drone powered technologies have been developed within PwC. These included a geospatial data imaging app that allows the team to present clients with data gathered by drones in a simple and intuitive way on mobile devices.