Quantum Comes of Age

Quantum computing is coming of age in the enterprise with 86% of the respondents in the May 2021 HFS Pulse survey (representing 801 of the global 2000) reporting that they are either piloting, implementing in a few areas, or applying at functional or departmental scale.

• The energy sector is leading the pack with Travel & Hospitality (including airlines) and utilities just behind. The laggards are in Healthcare and Retail – but even here, what was theoretical physics not so long ago is turning into a must-have business technology.
• For context, quantum’s use in the enterprise is recorded by respondents almost as often as the fact that their organisation is applying AI.
• That alignment makes sense, given that when applied to AI applications, quantum computing promises to run faster and more precisely to extract information we couldn’t see with classical computers. The convergence of hybrid cloud and AI architectures, assisted by quantum computers, will revolutionize discovery and underpin a whole new class of mission-critical applications. Learn more in the HFS Highlight: IBM Lays down the quantum computing industry roadmap.
• We should note this data does not indicate the volume of quantum usage – simply its spread across industries.

HFS Bottomline. Take the plunge now to be ready for quantum advantage in two short years.

Quantum computing promises to overcome limitations in computing power, memory, cost and accuracy – explaining the increasing focus across industries. Currently most revenue is being made from ‘quantum-as-a-service’ cloud-based providers such as IBM, Google, Alibaba and Amazon, all providing capabilities to researchers, governments and large enterprises to explore for a range of use cases including risk modelling and analysis. Those businesses taking the plunge now will be best placed to take advantage of the rapidly-scaling capabilities promised by ‘quantum advantage’ – the moment at which quantum computers outperform the best supercomputers. IBM predicts that moment arrives in two short years from now.