Global market for business services using drones valued at more than US$127 billion: PwC

The emerging global market for business services using drones is valued at more than US$127 billion, according to a report released earlier this week by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

PwC has established a global centre of excellence in Poland that uses drones and data analytics. Photo: PwC.

The “drone revolution” is disrupting industries ranging from agriculture to filmmaking, PwC said in a news release on Monday. According to the PwC report Clarity from above, the addressable market value of drone-powered solutions is US$127.3 billion – the value of current business services and labour that are likely to be replaced in the very near future by drone powered solutions.

The industry with the best prospects for drone applications is infrastructure, with total addressable market value of approximately $45.2 billion, according to the report. Agriculture follows with an addressable market value of US$32.4, transport at US$13 billion, security at US$10 billion, media and entertainment at US8.8 billion, insurance at US$6.8 billion, telecommunication at US$6.3 billion and mining at US$4.4 billion.

Worldwide, drones equipped with cameras and sensors provide companies with more comprehensive data. They are also are involved in transport and precise operational activities, exerting an increasing influence on business strategies of enterprises.

Drone-powered solutions are best suited to sectors that require both mobility and a high quality of data, PwC added in the release. Specifically, businesses that manage assets dispersed over large areas have a long history of issues that new drone powered solutions can address. Large-scale capital projects, infrastructure maintenance and agriculture can all benefit greatly from the integration of drones into day-to-day business. “Insurance and mining will find potential process improvements as they gain new levels of data quality and accessibility,” PwC said, “and the entire transport industry will surely change its concept of last-mile delivery.”

PwC noted in the release that the company has also established a global centre of excellence in Poland that uses drones and data analytics to help clients solve their business challenges. The centre of excellence – called Drone Powered Solutions – was established in Poland, which in 2013 became the first in the world to introduce a “complete legal framework and institutions regulating the commercial use of drones,” according to PwC.