Why Now’s the Best Time to Start Using Drones
It’s never too late to start incorporating drones into your business. In fact, there’s no better time than the present.
Have you ever heard the saying, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time, is today.”? Well, much the same could be said for joining the commercial drone industry, today.
Just over the last five years, the commercial drone industry has changed a lot. UAV technology has grown from a few difficult-to-fly, low-megapixel cameras, to swarms of highly autonomous and versatile aircraft.
Looking back to the limitations of the drones I first used versus current models, I’m awe-struck by the leap forward.
That said, though drones were less capable a half-decade ago, it was a great time to join the industry. Research in the field was expanding, as was investment money. The flood of cash into all things UAV fueled a continuous flow of hardware and software innovations. New use cases for drones were materializing just about every day.
Truly, it was a great time to be a commercial drone pilot.
But, while networking felt easier, and the major players in the space were well known, there’s no better time than now to start incorporating drones into your business.
While you may have missed the historical journey, the future of drones remains yours for the taking.
Drones Are Now a Proven Technology
When the industry started to take off, many drone use cases still needed to be proven. Although the technology could replicate traditional methods, the jury was still out on the efficacy of switching to UAVs.
Fast forward to the present day, and drones are now a proven technology.
One of the best examples of this can be seen in aerial surveys.
Traditionally, surveying land required a team of personnel and expensive equipment. Depending on the area to be surveyed, your typical project could take several days, or even weeks to complete. Especially challenging for survey teams was land in dangerous or hard-to-reach areas.
While drones addressed the problem of safely reaching dangerous areas, some argued the accuracy of aerial surveys couldn’t compete with manual methods.
But, in recent years, that’s all changed.
UAVs can now produce surveys that are just as accurate as traditional methods.
Additional use cases where drones are a proven technology include inspections, precision agriculture, mapping, security, environmental monitoring, and many more.
And so again, there’s simply no better time than today to start incorporating drones into your business.
If You're Not, Who Is?
While the return on investment (ROI) argument for adopting drones remains compelling, other great reasons exist to consider using UAVs.
Over the years, I’ve heard many reasons why leaders at various organizations hesitate to use drones. Issues like privacy concerns, initial investment, and a lack of in-house expertise remain among the most common reasons decision-makers offer.
And yet, all of these are easily addressed by experts in the field.
While these concerns are certainly worth exploring, the benefits of UAV technology eliminate these issues for the vast majority of end users.
A far more important issue to ask yourself is, “What disadvantages do I suffer if I’m not incorporating drones into my business, and my competition is?”
For instance, when I worked in the construction industry, project bids were serious business. Presenting clients a quote that made our company the required profit margin – while avoiding pricing ourselves out of a job – was a real art form.
Imagine providing a client with a quote that includes the cost of survey teams, inspection personnel, and project management professionals. How successful will you be against a competitor cutting their cost and time down significantly by using a drone for many of these functions?
Clients don’t usually care how a project gets finished. Clients care about their bottom line.
If you’re not incorporating drones into your business and your competitors are, you’re significantly hampering your operations.
Get Ahead of Change by Incorporating Drones into Your Business Now
With so many proven use cases, you might think the benefits of drone technology have already been exhausted. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Several advances in the industry will soon catapult us to a new era of UAV possibilities.
Such advances include autonomous flying, artificial intelligence (AI), and flying beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). In many cases, such as BVLOS, regulations limit the technology’s use more than anything else.
But, as lawmakers become more confident in such advances, another period of explosive growth for the industry looms large.
And, that’s just the sort of thing that makes incorporating drones into your business today so important.
The time and energy invested into developing drone programs now will provide maximum ROI when AI, BVLOS, and the like start to pick up speed.
Key Takeaways
While early adopters realized the advantages of UAV technology, there’s still no time like the present to start incorporating drones into your business. 2023 offers those new to the industry a proven technology with many benefits.
Whether you’re looking to maximize your ROI, improve your safety record, or keep up with your competition, utilizing drones can take you where you want to go.
Adopting drones now will deliver positive results in the short term, and set you up for the bright future ahead.
—
So, are you ready to take advantage of drones for your organization? If so, how do you get started? Do you hire out or bring your drone program in-house?
At Consortiq, we help you find a better way with drones, from consultation and program implementation to actually doing the work for you.
Ready to learn more? Just complete the form below to schedule a risk-free consultation!
David Daly - Contributing Author
David Daly, is an award-winning photographer/writer and licensed (FAA) Commercial sUAS pilot. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, David is a former Marine Corps officer with a BS in Oceanography and has earned his MBA from the University of Redlands. David has worked for Fortune 100 companies and has a background in aerospace, construction, military/defense, real estate, and technology.
Ready to Utilize Drones For Your Organization?
Contact Us Today to Get Started!
