PwC opens global drone centre in Poland

PwC, the professional services company, has opened its first global centre of excellence, named Drone Powered Solutions, to focus on the use of drone technology and data analytics in business. According to the company, commercializing drone usage in sectors from construction to insurance could lead to disruption in $125bn worth of traditional industries. "The breadth of potential applications is so huge,” said Michał Mazur, partner at PwC’s drone-powered solutions division.  “Monitoring infrastructure, managing construction sites, insurance assessments, structural checks. It is all about connecting drone abilities and attributes with business needs," Mazur said. The center is located in Poland, because the country is the first in the world to introduce a complete legal framework and institutions regulating the commercial use of drones. Olga Grygier-Siddons, chief executive of PwC in Central and Eastern Europe, said, “I am very proud that we have developed a global centre of excellence right here in Central and Eastern Europe that uses drones and geospatial data analytics to help clients. This is the first PwC team of its kind anywhere in the world. “For a long time, business success in our region has been based on cost competitiveness, but now there is a real desire on the part of our clients and colleagues to compete instead on value, created through innovation.”