What Skylogic Research , LLC does

Skylogic Research, LLC, operating under the DroneAnalyst brand, is a privately held research and advisory firm focused on the commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry. Founded by Colin Snow around 2014 and based in Redwood City, California, the firm produces the longest-running annual benchmark survey in the drone industry, begun in 2016, which it uses to publish annual Drone Market Sector Reports covering drone buyers, service providers, business and public-agency users, and software vendors. Its core technology is a survey-based market research methodology — collecting self-reported data from 1,300-2,600+ industry respondents per year across 60+ industries — rather than forecast-based modeling.

The company's product portfolio centers on annual research reports (88-129 pages, featuring 40-92 figures and tables) sold under Single User ($1,450) and Enterprise ($2,850) license tiers, supplemented by specialized deliverables including a Drone Hardware Sector Report (unit-level shipment and brand-share data, launched 2021), industry-specific white papers for construction, mining, public safety, inspections, and agriculture, and a monthly newsletter plus blog content. The firm distributes exclusively through its own e-commerce storefront with reports delivered digitally within 24-48 hours of purchase.

Revenue is generated through three streams: one-time license sales of research reports, sponsored research underwriting from industry players (notably DJI, DroneDeploy, DroneInsurance.com, Trimble, PrecisionHawk, and BZ Media), and freemium survey participation incentivized with free summary reports and gift card prizes. The company maintains a 1-10 person headcount with no disclosed external funding, operating as a founder-controlled, bootstrapped boutique research firm. Customers include a horizontal mix of drone buyers, service providers, enterprise and government drone program operators, and software vendors across 60+ industries globally.

Name

Skylogic Research , LLC

Legal name

Skylogic Research, LLC

Website

https://droneanalyst.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Skylogic Research, LLC (DroneAnalyst) is a privately held drone industry research firm that publishes annual benchmark surveys and market sector reports for drone buyers, service providers, business and agency users, and software vendors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research and Industry Analysis

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

Keywords

• Drone market research
• UAS industry analysis
• Commercial drone reports
• Aerial technology research
• Drone industry benchmarks

Headquarters

HQ city

Redwood City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Report Sales: Sale of annual Drone Market Sector Reports and white papers. Single User License and Enterprise License options available. Reports are delivered digitally via email.
2. Survey-Based Data Collection: Conducts annual surveys of drone industry participants to collect market data. Survey participation is free but incentivized with free summary reports and gift card prizes.
3. Sponsored Research: Research reports are partially underwritten by industry sponsors including DJI, DroneDeploy, DroneInsurance.com, and Trimble. This provides additional revenue while maintaining independence in findings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Skylogic Research operates the DroneAnalyst brand to deliver annual benchmark research reports on the commercial drone/UAS industry. The firm conducts large-scale surveys of drone buyers, service providers, business/public agency users, and software vendors (gathering 1,300-2,600+ respondents annually), then publishes detailed 88-129 page market sector reports and industry-specific white papers as licensed digital downloads sold directly via its website.

Product overview

Skylogic Research, LLC (operating as DroneAnalyst) is a drone industry research firm that provides market intelligence through a portfolio of annual benchmark reports and industry-specific white papers. The core offering consists of annual Drone Market Sector Reports (covering 2016 through 2021), supplemented by specialized sector reports on drone hardware sales and vertical-specific white papers on construction, public safety, inspections, and agriculture. The company conducts large-scale surveys of drone buyers, service providers, business users, and software vendors to deliver data-driven insights into the commercial drone industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 2016 Market Report 44-page research report providing comprehensive view of drone distribution and sales in North America, detailing U.S. market size, growth projections, brand market share, and types of reseller outfits.
• 2017 Drone Market Sector Report 88-page research report with survey of over 2,600 drone buyers, service providers, business users, and software service users, including insights into verticals that use drone data.
• 2018 Drone Market Sector Report 107-page research report examining worldwide drone sales, service providers, business users, and software services, with over 2,500 drone buyers surveyed.
• 2020 Drone Market Sector Report 129-page research report covering both consumer and commercial markets, providing holistic view of drone buyers, service providers, business and public agency users, and software service users.
• 2021 Drone Market Sector Report Fifth annual market report featuring 92 figures and 7 tables offering insight on hardware/software trends across sectors, industry spending patterns, purchase factors, and challenges faced by business and agency users.
• Drone Hardware Sector Report First hardware sector report providing the most accurate depiction of global drone shipments and hardware revenues, including unit sales by model, market sector sizes across regions, and forecasts for global drone hardware sales.
• Industry-Specific White Papers Series of white papers covering specific industries including construction, mining, public safety, inspections, and agriculture, offering business lessons learned and best practices for drone adoption.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,500 survey respondents in 2018 representing 60+ industries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• BZ MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBZ Media sponsored the series of white papers including 'Five Valuable Business Lessons Learned About Drones in Construction'. The partnership produced industry-specific research content for the drone industry.
• DJImajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDJI was a sponsor of the 2018 Drone Market Sector Report. While providing funding, DJI does not control editorial direction, maintaining research independence.
• DroneDeploymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDroneDeploy sponsored the 2018 benchmark survey and 2020 survey. DroneDeploy leverages the research data for product development and market positioning.
• DroneInsurance.comminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored the 2018 benchmark survey as part of industry support.
• TrimbleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored the 2018 benchmark survey as part of industry support.
• PrecisionHawkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrecisionHawk sponsored research on drone use in construction and infrastructure inspection, and co-sponsored a white paper on business case for drone technology.
• AirwareminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAirware was a sponsor of the 2017 Drone Market Sector Report. The company subsequently collapsed in 2018 with $118M in funding.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Inside Unmanned Systems: Inside Unmanned Systems is a trade publication covering unmanned aerial, ground and maritime systems with editorial and analyst content. Comparable in audience (commercial drone operators, vendors, public agencies) and category coverage, with similar thought-leadership positioning.
• sUAS News: sUAS News is a long-running UAS industry news and analysis site with special coverage of small UAS regulations and commercial adoption. It competes for analyst mindshare and vendor briefings in the same niche, though it lacks DroneAnalyst's paid annual survey reports.
• BIS Research: BIS Research publishes detailed paid market reports across aerospace, defense and emerging tech, including UAV/drones. It competes for the same drone-market-sizing budget with more reports but a less curated single-vertical survey methodology.

Broad incumbents

• Gartner: Gartner is a global incumbent IT and technology research firm whose enterprise customers overlap with DroneAnalyst's enterprise drone buyer segment. Gartner covers adjacent drones/automation topics, but at industry rather than drone-specific survey granularity.
• Frost & Sullivan: Frost & Sullivan is a large incumbent research and consulting firm that publishes enterprise market reports, including commercial drones/UAS coverage. It competes for the same enterprise research budget with broader industry coverage, but lacks the drone-specific annual survey depth that defines DroneAnalyst.
• MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets produces quantitative market research reports across verticals, including UAVs and adjacent robotics. It is comparable as a paid market research vendor targeting enterprise buyers, though its coverage is broader and less editorially independent than DroneAnalyst's.

Direct peers

• Drone Industry Insights (DroneII): DroneII is the closest direct competitor — a specialized drone market research firm that publishes paid reports, market sizing and buyer trend analyses. It serves the same enterprise and vendor audience as DroneAnalyst, with overlapping product formats (annual sector reports, custom research).
• DroneLife (Saratoga Media): DroneLife is a leading drone-industry media and information publisher covering commercial UAS news, market analysis and enterprise use cases. Comparable in serving drone buyers, vendors and service providers with proprietary content; complements DroneAnalyst's report-led model with daily editorial.
• Commercial UAV News (Commercial UAV Expo): Commercial UAV News publishes drone-industry editorial, news, and analysis alongside the Commercial UAV Expo tradeshow. It overlaps with DroneAnalyst in target audience (enterprise drone buyers, service providers, vendors) and provides thought-leadership content rather than surveys.

Others

• PrecisionHawk (now part of FieldGroup / Drone Industry Insights Network): PrecisionHawk, a former drone-services and analytics firm, has historically published industry research and white papers, and was a sponsor of DroneAnalyst reports. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct research competitor, with overlapping vendor and buyer network reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/droneanalyst
• Facebookfacebook.com/droneanalyst
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colinsnow

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Skylogic Research , LLC