Drone Market
DroneDeploy: Enterprise Grade or Not?
DroneDeploy’s new App Market fills a need for commercial drone use, but can the data quality measure up for widespread industrial use? THE FACTS: This past week, DroneDeploy introduced its new App Market, a store for drone applications from a range of companies—including Autodesk, Box, John Deere, and 13 others—as well as a variety of … Read more
Why I Think the Prosumer Drone Will Never Die
Innovations will flourish on drones that target the prosumer market for a long time THE FACTS: In the 1980 book, The Third Wave, futurologist Alvin Toffler coined the term “prosumer” when he predicted that the role of producers and consumers would begin to blur and merge. Today, the term is well accepted as a descriptor … Read more
Will the U.S.’s New Drone Pilot Certification Accelerate Commercial Growth?
FAA testing and certification for small UAS remote pilot certificates begins in earnest this month, but does that mean the commercial drone industry will see rapid growth? THE FACTS: Beginning August 29, 2016, the new small UAS Rule for commercial drone operations in the U.S. takes effect. One very important change is that operators will … Read more
DJI’s Foray into the Enterprise Drone Market
Will its reliance on channel partnerships address the real needs of commercial operators? THE FACTS: Without the usual fanfare associated with a new product release, consumer drone manufacturer DJI opened up a website (http://enterprise.dji.com) in July 2016 that is dedicated to commercial / enterprise use of their drones. The website lists five industrial uses: agriculture, … Read more
Insights from New Market Research on Drones Sales
We just released “Drones in the Channel: 2016 Market Report,” a research study examining drone sales and distribution channels in North America. It’s the first in-depth study of drone sales channels and reveals mixed distribution tactics as well as pinpoints market share of major UAV brands. The report is a result of a three-month project … Read more
Commercial Drone Markets: 2015 Year in Review
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, I reflected back on the news and trends of the commercial drone markets of 2014 and wrote about the mixed state of affairs in the U.S. Back then, drones got considerable media hype and you would have thought that drones could do anything from … Read more