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Category: 
All Content > Innovation Article > New England

Title of entry: 
Quantum computing technology pushes for IT advantage

Issue or Publication date:
11/27/2024

Publication name: 
SearchCIO

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https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/

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https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/feature/Quantum-computing-technology-pushes-for-IT-advantage

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Entry Essay: 
Quantum computing is moving closer to a key milestone as industry, academia and government work to overcome barriers that have made the technology impractical for business use.
The quantum computing overview, reported and written by TechTarget Industry Editor John Moore, provides a comprehensive look at the emerging technology and its potential to dramatically speed up complex processing applications in various industries. It covers ongoing technology developments and hurdles, funding issues, evolving quantum ecosystems and quantum computing's possible social benefits. The article was the result of 15 interviews with quantum hardware and software executives, technology and business consultants, cybersecurity professionals and funding experts.
The reporting identified areas in which quantum computing is showing signs of significant progress toward "quantum advantage." That's the point at which a quantum system surpasses the computational power of a conventional computer. Those areas include work on different error-handling methods, which seek to overcome technical issues that currently cause large numbers of errors in quantum computations. Advancements in error suppression, mitigation and correction are important steps toward making quantum technology viable for business uses in financial services, government, life sciences and other industries.
The article also highlights the emergence of software as a harbinger of an industry beginning to mature. Quantum computing vendors initially built soup-to-nuts hardware and software stacks. Now, some are unbundling the software, giving rise to a nascent quantum software sector. This trend echoes the development of classical computing, in which hardware providers originally served as the focal point until unbundling stimulated the independent software vendor industry.
Moore's deep dive into the state of quantum computing also documents the worldwide emergence of quantum technology ecosystems, which consist of universities, government agencies, businesses from a range of industries and technology providers. He explains how those hubs could further the advancement of quantum technology through cooperative research and development. Accompanying graphics underscore the global growth of ecosystems: Moore used GeoPandas, an open-source geospatial data tool, to plot the latitude and longitude coordinates for 24 quantum centers, creating a world map that displays their global distribution. A table provides information on the quantum ecosystems plotted on the map, listing participants and summarizing key areas of focus.
In addition, the article outlines the top challenges for quantum to realize its full potential: Further development is required for error-handling methods to provide quantum-advantage levels of accuracy. Efforts to advance the technology are fragmented across at least six styles of quantum computing. And the strength of fully realized quantum could become an IT security problem if malicious attackers harness the technology to crack encryption algorithms, requiring work to bolster cryptography mechanisms.
Overall, the article gives CIOs, IT managers and other readers insight into quantum's potential future uses, its envisioned advantages over classical computing, the key areas of advancement they should monitor and the challenges that could block the technology's progress.