DroneDeploy State of the Drone Industry Report 2021

DroneDeploy State of the Drone Industry Report 2021600 respondents. 20 industries. 40 countries. Breaking down this year’s drone survey and what the results mean for your industry

State of the Drone Industry Report 2021 | 2© 2021 DroneDeploy

2020 has been a year filled with fluctuating degrees of anxiety and uncertainty. Thousands of companies worldwide have felt the effects of COVID-19, the economic downturn, and a tumultuous political landscape. Rarely has something proved itself “business as usual.” But through these challenging times, industries have adapted. Whether adopting new technologies, increasing spend on different programs, or promoting a remote-first work culture, we have seen an influx of companies looking at alternatives to traditional methods to improve their operations and streamline their workflows.

Two staples of these “alternatives” are drone utilization and capitalizing on visual data. As these technologies advance and become more accessible, more and more companies are reaping the benefits. This year, DroneDeploy surveyed more than 600 users across 20+ industries spanning over 40 countries. The goal was to determine how vital drone technology is – and has become – to their operations and how the industry will evolve in the coming years. Even during the pandemic, and amongst the uncertainty, the results are surprising.

In this ebook, we’ll examine:

 h A summary of our findings across all industries

 h How this data reflects product usage and growing trends

 h How this data could impact the year ahead

 h Key findings specific to the construction, energy, and agriculture industries

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A (Brief) Summary of FindingsFor many companies, it has been a year of cutting costs in order to combat the effects of COVID-19. Two Gartner, Inc. surveys conducted in March revealed 62% of CFOs and finance leaders planned some cuts to their 2020 selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) budgets in their organizations. The other survey found most HR departments also began cost-cutting, with 49% implementing hiring freezes. However, the survey did show that 41% are making concerted efforts to use technology more efficiently.

Our study found that despite the pandemic, industries are still investing in drone technology. 88% of respondents expect to increase or maintain their spend on drone operations in 2021. This number is consistent with last year’s results, showing that even with all of the cost-cutting amidst the pandemic, companies are still willing to invest in drone technology – only 4% of respondents indicated they plan to cut their drone budget. This data also suggests where drone technology had previously been (perhaps) a luxury for many companies, more and more industries are now embracing it as a necessity.

While drone technology has become increasingly essential for a multitude of companies, there was a vast difference between the number of flights different industries performed throughout the year. For example, 59% of all

respondents said they fly either daily or weekly, but it was the inverse between the construction and energy respondents particularly stood out. 51% of construction respondents confirmed they fly weekly, but only 15% said they fly daily. Compare that with the energy industry: just 18% said they fly weekly, and a whopping 52% said they fly daily.

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This discrepancy may be that from an aerial perspective, construction companies tend to build up rather than out – compared to a solar or wind farm (42% of energy respondents came from renewable industries) – and the need for daily comparisons isn’t as great. It’s also possible construction companies don’t capture as frequently because they have difficulty quantifying ROI to other stakeholders – 36% of respondents said the most significant challenge they face with their drone program is defining ROI (compared to a mere 14% in energy). Lastly, construction companies might not fly as frequently because energy budgets often tend to surpass those of commercial construction budgets. Consequently, project managers may be reluctant to allocate as much time (i.e., number of flights) or resources (i.e., hired number of pilots) to their drone programs.

However, many of our construction customers are looking beyond the sky for visual data and mapping needs, with 57% of respondents planning to expand beyond aerial mapping in the coming year. This number indicates growth in adoption, maturity amongst drone programs, and increased demand for more comprehensive documentation tools. For example, our newly released 360 Walkthrough enables companies to get interior and exterior vantage points of their job sites from any 360 camera (25% of respondents said they are already using 360 cameras on their job site). This new feature expands the possibilities of visual data capture and digital reconstruction. Because of this, we believe construction companies should be much more inclined to capture data with greater frequency. It is exceedingly likely that the 15% daily capture number grows in 2021 and the coming years. How much? Only time will tell.

DroneDeploy newly released 360 Walkthrough enables companies to get interior and exterior vantage points of their job sites

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This year’s survey shed light on the growing trends impacting our customers across industries. The data also suggests respondents see DroneDeploy as a complete virtual site solution, rather than just a mapping platform (less than 1% referred to us as a mapping solution). So what does that tell us about how our product has evolved? And, more importantly, what does the data tell us about how it will evolve?

Last year, many respondents expressed a desire for interior data capture. And in the years since DroneDeploy’s inception, customers previously requested more detailed maps and models, thermal inspections, and Live Map – all of which DroneDeploy has delivered. This year LiDAR/Point Cloud processing and analysis was the most requested feature across all industries (36% indicated it was their most requested feature). This makes sense: valued at $1.1B in 2019, the global LiDAR market is projected to reach $2.8B by 2025 and expected to grow to $3.21B by 2027 – representing a 34% increase in market size over an eight-year span.

As the market grows, so, too, does the enthusiasm for the product itself. LiDAR/Point Cloud processing will mark one of the next milestones from DroneDeploy and our customers. This proves that our base is looking for one solution for all reality capture. It also reflects our customers are starting to grow and expand past just aerial drones – marking a giant leap forward for visual data capture.

Product Usage & Growing Trends

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LET’S BREAK DOWN WHAT ELSE WE LEARNED BY INDUSTRY:

Construction:  h 57% of respondents indicated they plan to expand

beyond aerial maps in the coming year. This represents a certain maturity in drone programs, as well as growth in adoption.

 h Construction respondents were by far the most enthusiastic about LiDAR capabilities: 47% named it as the number one feature they would like to see implemented into DroneDeploy.

 h 27% said they plan to implement LiDAR capabilities into their program in 2021. This suggests that a number of drone programs are maturing at rates faster than initially anticipated.

 h Insights are being taken from aerial and ground data inside DroneDeploy with 67% using annotations and measurements and 55% using Overlays (bringing in multiple types of information into one source to check QA/QC).

Energy h We’ve seen a major increase in energy activity over the

last year. In 2020, the number of flights in the energy sector grew by over 200% in Q2 and Q3 compared to the same periods in 2019.

 h The number of flights also increased by 142%, as did the number of users on the DroneDeploy platform, increasing 86% from 2018 to 2019.

 h As far as DroneDeploy features go, 64% believe the annotations and measurement features are the most important tools – followed by Drone Operations Management (42%) and Templates (39%).

 h We see annotations and measurements as a reflection of the energy industry’s requirement to perform regular inspections and maintenance.

 h Those in the energy have to ensure they are following regulations and have the documentation proving that they are safe and compliant, so it

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was not surprising to see 42% of respondents believe drone operations management is the most important tool

 h 66% of respondents said safety was the most important business problem drone technology helped them solve.

 h Drone analytics allows companies and workers to gather the same amount of information as traditional methods while still staying connected. In short, drone technology allows companies to keep non-essential team members from having to go on site, while still keeping everyone on the same page.

 h 46% of respondents said digitizing their job site was a 10 out of 10 of importance (71% rated it an 8 or higher). The main need for this digitization is that it helps energy companies with overall planning & operations.

 h With clean energy a huge focus of the Biden administration, there will undoubtedly be a heavier emphasis on documentation and regulation compliance; because of this larger focus, we expect drone usage to continue to grow as the sector invests in needed construction and new operations.

Agriculture h 66% believe annotations and measurement

are the most important tools - to help with documentation (52%) and improving operations (56%).

 h Showing that companies are using DroneDeploy to gather insights within our solution to mark issues and successes to share with clients. Creates better relationships. Simplified in one tool. Deeper utilization of the tool.

 h Plant health is valued by 54% of respondents helping in planning and regular evaluation.

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Future of the Drone MarketCOVID-19 altered the operations of most, if not all, industries. Companies saw belt-tightening and cutbacks, and desperately searched for ways to improve processes without cutting costs. But the pandemic also proved drones could become the perfect “socially distant workers,” allowing companies to continue vital operations while limiting or eliminating in-person visits. We saw it first hand with DroneDeploy customers: in April and May, at the height of the first pandemic lockdown, there was a 160% increase in enterprise flights compared to the same period in 2019. And even in a year ruled by the pandemic, we saw a 259% growth in enterprise users in 2020 vs. 2019. What may be even more compelling: the number of enterprise users grew by 1.6x more in 2020 than in 2013-2019 combined. Considering such substantial growth, it will be interesting to see, next year, how companies not only continue to respond to the pandemic but how many more will scale their drone programs.

For many industries, we ponder what priorities on which they’ll focus their operations in 2021. For example, safety became a more potent driver for drone usage in 2020 vs. 2019. While safety-related benefits were important last year, respondents this year indicated that increased safety (39% vs. 29%), risk management (38% vs. 21%), and compliance (25% vs. 19%) were the main issues drone technology solved for them. These influxes could be attributed to the pandemic, so it’s feasible these numbers will dip in 2021. Though, as companies recognize the long-term benefits of improved safety, risk management, and compliance, we’re unlikely to see much of a dip.

Documentation topped the list of business problems respondents were trying to solve: 77% of respondents listed it as their top priority. Future-proofing and tracking every aspect of a company’s operations was extremely important this year, mainly due to many businesses having to pause or halt operations entirely. Companies

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required a comprehensive view of their site to ensure all assets were properly maintained and everything was in order when they were allowed to resume operations. For example, documentation was the primary use case for construction (86% respondents), since the level of detail DroneDeploy provides acted as the driving engine behind improved communication and lowering the number of disputes.

A recent study from research and consultancy firm Forrester predicts that a fifth of businesses worldwide will use commercial drones to automate business operations in 2021. And the Drone Market Report 2020-2025 by Research And Markets predicts the global drone market will grow to over $42.8B in 2025, massively up from $22.5B this year. This represents a 53% increase over the next five years. Unsurprisingly, when we asked the respondents if they plan to grow their drone programs in the coming years, 53% indicated they would increase their spend.

As this year has taught us, it’s difficult to predict anything with absolute certainty. But as this data suggests, companies are increasingly using visual data to improve their operations and increase efficiencies. As this technology evolves and use cases grow, the number of companies utilizing this technology will inevitably grow, as well. DroneDeploy provides a complete, objective view of any job site; with that level of detail, we’re confident these numbers will see an uptick in 2021.

Risk Management

Documentation

Improved Operation

Increased Productivity

Increased Safety

Top Benefits of Using DroneDeploy in Construction, Energy and Agriculture

Reduced Cost

READ ON TO SEE A MORE DETAILED BREAK DOWN OF OUR SURVEY RESULTS BY INDUSTRY.

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Construction Energy Agriculture

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Construction h The construction sector increasingly turns to innovative technologies to help

manage tight project P&Ls, coordinate employees, subcontractors, and trades. Nearly half AEC / construction professionals said that automation is important to their business (45%), with a third saying the same of machine learning (32%).

 h The main issue construction companies solve with DroneDeploy is documentation (86%). This was followed by “improved operations” (56%), “increased productivity” (47%), “reduced cost” (39%), and “increased safety” (32%).

 h 88% of respondents expect to increase or maintain their drone program spend in 2021 as compared to 2020.

Energy h Respondents from the energy industry represented a split of: 42% in renewables,

21% oil & gas, and 18% in utilities

 h Energy companies across renewables and oil & gas appear to be the most reliant on advanced technologies compared to other industries. From facilitating site inspections to ensuring compliance, 71% of respondents from the energy industry said that automation was important to their operations. Newer technology like machine learning has also gained traction, with 48% of respondents already saying machine learning is important to their business.

 h 46% of respondents said digitizing their job site was a 10/10 of importance. Most said digitizing job sites mainly helped with planning & operations. 71% rated it an 8 or higher.

 h 43% rated automation a 10 out of 10 of importance, and 61% rated security a 10/10. Across all industry respondents, the energy industry represented the most enthusiastic about automation and security.

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86% Documentation

56% Improved Operation

47% Increased Productivity

39% Reduced Cost

32% Increased Safety

Top Benefits of Using DroneDeploy in Construction

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Top Benefits of Using Drones in Agriculture

Increased Productivity Reduced CostImproved Operations

 h For energy customers, “increased safety” is the top benefit of using drones (66%). Also highly ranked is “increased productivity” (64%), “improved operations” (61%), “reduced cost” (50%), and “risk management” (50%). When compared across industries, energy companies appear to prioritize safety (66% vs. 39% overall) and risk management (50% vs. 39%), as well as productivity (64% vs. 54% overall) more than others.

 h Besides in the present, energy companies appear most invested in drone operations for the future. 62% of respondents said that they expect their spend on drone operations to increase in 2021 (above 53% overall), with 23% saying it would grow by more than 50% (above 16% overall). These numbers reflect the Research and Market Report which concluded energy is and will continue to be the largest industry for the drone market.

Agriculture h Agricultural drone usage is more seasonally dependent than other industries, as

farmers use drones to identify soil issues for planting, check on crop progress during the summer, and aid with harvest in the fall. 46% of respondents said they use drones a few times a month in their operations, with 33% using them weekly. One out of ten (10%) said they use them daily.

Top Benefits of Using Drones in Energy

66% Increased Safety

64% Increased Productivity

61% Improved Operations

50% Reduced Cost

50% Risk Management

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State of the Drone Industry Report 2021© 2021 DroneDeploy

 h Respondents essentially only use drones to digitize their job sites (98%); only a few other respondents mentioned using LiDAR or 360 cameras mounted on vehicles, robots, or helmets.

 h For agriculture customers, “improved operations” is the biggest benefit that drones provide (56%). It’s closely followed by “increased productivity” (52%) and “reduced cost” (45%).

 h Half of the respondents from the agriculture industry said that automation is important to their business (48%), with 38% saying the same about machine learning.

 h As compared to other industries, agriculture respondents said they focused more on analysis (61%), processing (56%) & plant health (54%).

 h While the majority (53%) said they do not plan to expand beyond aerial mapping, 45% of respondents said that they plan to grow their drone operation next year and an additional 43% said they planned to maintain their program spend (a mere 2% planned to reduce spend in 2021).

Methodology: DroneDeploy surveyed 600+ of its customers across 20+ industries and 40+ countries to reveal their thoughts on drones and the drone software industry, both over the past year and into the future. All respondents are paying members of DroneDeploy.

Trusted by brands globally, DroneDeploy captures every dimension of job sites, structures, and assets, and transforms it into meaningful insights for industries including construction, energy, and agriculture. Through ground, aerial, interior, and exterior data capture, DroneDeploy enables professional mapping, best-in-class processing and analytics, 3D modeling, and reporting on any device, anywhere in the world.