Smart Innovators: UAV Service Providers

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Executive Summary

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have been used for military and defence purposes for decades. The rapid growth of the consumer UAV market – Chinese manufacturer DJI had 2017 revenues of $2.7 billion – has reduced the price point for drone equipment. This commoditization of previously specialized hardware has opened up myriad opportunities to use UAVs for commercial, industrial and civil government purposes. This report provides managers with responsibilities in areas such as operations, maintenance, safety and security with an overview of the UAV market and an assessment of 12 of the most prominent UAV service providers. Buyers of UAV services must understand that two distinct types of service providers are emerging in the UAV market and despite the relatively small size of these organizations, they offer a wide range of UAV services for industrial firms covering multiple usage scenarios.
 
Smart Innovators: UAV Service Providers 
UAVs Offer Distinct Business Advantages Over Existing Work Routines
Vendors Converge On The UAV Market With Three Different Business Models

Assessing The Market For UAV Service Providers
UAV Service Providers Are A New Category In The Consulting Landscape 
Service Providers Offer A Wide Range Of UAV Services For Industrial Firms 
UAV Service Providers Need To Deepen And Broaden Software Expertise 
UAV Market Evolution Will Depend On Spending On Autonomous Innovations

Critical Mass And Innovation Will Determine Future Success 
Figure 1. UAV Service Providers: Organizational Structure
Figure 2. UAV Service Providers: Organization Scale
Figure 3. UAV Projects By Usage Scenarios
Figure 4. UAV Service Providers: Coverage Of UAV Usage Scenarios
Figure 5. UAV Service Providers: Coverage Of UAV Services 
Figure 6. UAV Software Usage
Figure 7. Approach To Software For UAV Management
Figure 8. Change in UAV Usage Scenario Spend In 2019 Compared To 2018
Figure 9. Ranking of UAV Technology Improvements By 2020

About the Author

Malavika Tohani

Malavika Tohani

Research Director

Malavika is a Research Director at Verdantix, guiding research that explores how digital technologies and services are reshaping industrial operations to become safer, more ef...

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