Microdrones is delivering high-end products, affordable pricing models, software solutions, and quality service.
When Microdrones announced its Microdrones as a Service (mdaaS) program in May of 2020, the goal was to make its equipment and software available to an ever-broader market of surveyors and geomatics. Or, as CEO Vivien Heriard-Dubreuil put it then, “We developed mdaaS to propel the industry and expand the market from innovators and early adopters into the early majority phase of growth.”
The mdaaS business model allows customers to choose high-end drone surveying equipment appropriate to their work, and then select a tailored pricing model and a data processing plan that meets their needs. As mdaaS continues to grow, the pricing evolves based on customer input and demand so that Microdrones is able to deliver what Heriard-Dubreuil describes as “what people are after— the complete and combined hardware-software solution.”
mdaaS is focused around actual use patterns, so pricing models for buying systems continue to evolve. According to Heriard-Dubreuil: “We have something for every type of customer. It’s really been beneficial”–to all concerned. reduced a barrier to entry for the option of owning a system outright.
The Right Price
First, the company has significantly reduced a barrier to entry for the option of owning a system outright.
“We lowered our hardware costs considerably, to intrigue our customers to take that initial step,” said Vincent Legrand, Microdrones vice president of global sales explained. That pricing requires using the mdInfinity workflow—which proves its value even as it moved software usage costs downstream.
With mdaaS, users choose how to pay for their survey equipment through unique “Traditional” or “Buy It” options. Alongside the purchase option, data processing plans “Explorer” and “Unlimited” packages are available based on the amount of usage by the customer. Users choose subscription processing capabilities, available in 12 month unlimited or 12 month explorer options, based on their needs and usage. With convenient packages and flexible payment options, drone surveying has never been so accessible.
The Right Plan
“While some companies prefer a one-time capital investment,” Heriard-Dubreuil said, “mdaaS made drone surveying much more accessible for small to mid-size surveying companies, as well as larger ones that prefer the convenience of monthly payments."
"It really opened things up for us in 2020," said Legrand. "And it is still going strong today–so much that we just expanded our options and updated our program again to offer ‘Explorer’ plans, to help address the needs of our customers who process collected data and points within a budget. The ‘Explorer’ Package is recommended for those who fly up to 10 times per month and is available in a 12-month subscription plan.
Offering flexible options seems to be gaining traction. “Volume has just gone up dramatically with mdaaS during the past year," Legrand said. “We didn’t see a slowdown at all.”
Legrand matrixed adoptees by their choice of mdaaS options.
“A lot of these bigger institutions actually like the ‘Traditional’ model better—they’d rather manage capital expenses upfront. For these larger firms, it fits their business model to buy the equipment and use unlimited processing.
But these “traditional buyers” can opt for innovation. “We had ‘traditional customers’ that were using our system before mdaaS,” Legrand added. “Then they’d say, ‘Hey, I want to get on mdInfinity.’”
Mom-and-pop shops seek to advance but have to closely watch cash flow. “The Explorer option gives them a more affordable and flexible option to manage their data processing,” Legrand said. Likewise, our ‘Buy-It” option, allows them to add fully integrated drone surveying equipment to their services and help grow their business.
LiDAR DATA PROCESSING PLANS
“Microdrones as a Service is a combination of having the right selection process for our customers to acquire drone surveying equipment and the ability to manage their process data costs. Again, recognizing the capabilities of mdaaS may lead growing businesses to shift options. “As the processing side of their business expands, they realize they can benefit from switching to the 12-month unlimited subscription. And they’ll sign up for that.”
“Our plans are designed to allow customers to build the costs into their business plan and grow with them,” Legrand said.
In addition, processing plans also offer an added level of flexibility with ‘Basic’ and ‘Pro’ user levels for LiDAR data processing, allowing users to decide the breadth of modules they need to access.
Photogrammetry users also benefit from an Explorer Basic Mapper plan to help align data processing needs with their business.
These updates demonstrate the commitment from Microdrones to making sure that customers get everything they need for drone LiDAR and photogrammetry through flexible packages and payment options.
Throughout, full understanding of customer needs is key. “We take their input and use that to drive new features,” Heriard-Dubreuil said. “We add flexible options for equipment and improved ‘Explorer’ or ‘Unlimited’ options for data processing based on what fits their business.”
If you're ready to use Microdrones as a Service and get started with drone surveying equipment, talk to one of our friendly sales managers today.