Quantum computing is closer to becoming an everyday reality than many believe today. Hardware vendors like IBM are meeting the goals set out in their roadmaps and producing technology that supports more and more qubits with lower error rates, while designing software that will make quantum coding much easier and more accessible. Governments around the world are investing astronomical sums in quantum computing: Germany has announced plans to spend €2 billion in the sector, while France’s Quantum Program has a budget of €150 million to support this nascent industry. Technology executives I’ve spoken to, who previously predicted that quantum computing was up to five years away, now predict it’s closer to just two years.
The time scale for when quantum computing will begin to solve real-world problems and produce tangible business value is narrowing, and yet many organizations have not yet begun strategic planning for this technological revolution. And because it can take up to two years to build a capable team with quantum computing expertise, companies that don’t start early risk being overtaken by their quantum computing-ready competition.
Not being prepared for quantum technology carries significant risk. Competitors that can use quantum computing will likely be able to improve their services and reduce their costs. For example, payment services provider Mastercard has spoken publicly about its own exploration of quantum computing and how the technology could improve its consumer loyalty programs, improve fraud detection and optimize its business. These are all potentially significant competitive advantages.
Furthermore, companies that are slow to act now will have difficulty gaining quantum expertise in the future, preventing them from catching up with quantum-ready competitors. We’ve seen this before with machine learning: companies that were slow to adopt this technology were unable to develop internal expertise or attract talent, as the best candidates in this field were already employed elsewhere.
What defines being quantum ready? It means that a company has the necessary skills and capabilities to take advantage of quantum computing once it becomes available and has identified areas of its operations that could be affected by the technology, whether by optimizing supply chains or improving its arbitrage decisions. You must then decide whether it is feasible to apply quantum technology to the use case, whether it will offer a competitive advantage, and how important the use case is to the business. A company may identify dozens of potential use cases, but only decide to prepare for a few. The important thing is that you have done the work and are ready to take advantage of the first-mover advantage.
Preparing for quantum technology doesn’t have to be expensive. Companies will not have to purchase their own quantum computer, as access is available in the cloud. Investing to be prepared for quantum technology is similar to purchasing an insurance policy: a company can protect itself against potentially catastrophic disruptions at little cost.
For companies ready to secure, here are the three steps to becoming quantum ready.
1. Educate your organization and get buy-in from executives
Some companies are preparing for quantum technology from the ground up, where curious engineers learn about the technology at their own pace and bring their findings to leaders. This may be surprising, but it may be too late for companies to wait to start from the bottom up.
Instead, business leaders should educate their executive team on the benefits of being quantum-ready and the risks of not doing so. For any successful project, executive sponsorship is essential, so leaders can ask one of their executives to volunteer to explore a proof of concept for their business unit.
Along with the executive team, it is important to educate your workforce about the possibilities of quantum. This will prove key, because while you may be able to hire quantum experts, they may not understand your business requirements. You will need domain knowledge experts, whether in supply chains, finance, or another aspect of your operations, to explain what the business needs from quantum computing.
Some of this educational work may already have been done for you. For example, insurer AXA has worked hard to educate the broader insurance community about how quantum computing will impact the sector. There may be a similar company in your field that you can share lessons and information with.
2. Acquire quantum coding capabilities
A quantum-ready company will have staff capable of writing quantum code, which is very different from classical coding. Since each qubit can be zero or one simultaneously, encoders need a new way of thinking and taking into account concepts such as entanglement and superpositions. Today’s programmers and coders will need to learn and develop skills in quantum coding.
The instinct of some companies will be to simply hire graduates with a quantum degree to fill this skills gap, but again, this solution is limited. There are not enough graduates to meet demand and they may not understand your company’s needs. You should build a diverse team that includes quantum experts and internal quantum-trained staff.
Upskilling your current workforce doesn’t require a huge investment. Companies will do well to find open-minded people within their organization who are smart, interested and motivated, and then give them the freedom to dive into quantum and produce a short proof of concept or identify a quantum use case. This is an inexpensive way to gain quantum experience. Meanwhile, software providers like Classiq are producing solutions that allow coders to write sophisticated quantum programs without requiring deep quantum experience.
For workers, now is an excellent opportunity to delve into quantum technology. You only need a few years of quantum computing experience to become an industry veteran with highly sought-after skills. Compare that to a field like cybersecurity, where you may need a decade of experience to stand out in the job market.
3. Be prepared to run your code
Finally, companies need to understand how they will run the software they write. Quantum computers are not all the same: some have more qubits than others, some can run longer circuits, and some use a different set of gates in their programming. As such, your code will run better on some machines than others.
Your quantum team will need to know how to run your code on simulators and research which quantum computer will produce the best results from your code so you can act quickly when these machines become accessible.
With this quantum-ready team, companies can develop proofs of concepts that address real problems and are scalable as larger, more powerful quantum computers are developed. For example, a financial company could test optimization for small portfolios of about 50 assets using a quantum computer. Could this optimization program be expanded to 500 or 5,000 assets once more powerful machines come online, or will the code need to be rewritten from scratch?
Working on a proof of concept will not only demonstrate that the application is feasible, has commercial value, and that the quantum computer can have an impact on your business, but it will also increase the skill level of your team, helping to develop the internal expertise that Secure your business against any disruption caused by the quantum revolution.
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