Shifting to a Quantum Mindset: Why The Time is Now

“An organization’s ability to learn and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage,” said Jack Welch, the preeminent business leader who served as chairman and CEO of GE for 20 years.

As we celebrate World Quantum Day today, Mr. Welch’s words are ringing in my ears.

Harnessing the massive amount of data available at our fingertips and analyzing that information quickly and constructively into problem formulation, and ultimately solutions to better business and society, is daunting, to say the least. As the volume of accessible data continues to exponentially increase, so does computer processing power and the ability to tackle more computationally complex problems.

Enter quantum computing. Quantum technology is emerging as a key strategy for solving the seemingly unsolvable by finding new and better ways to build businesses, navigate disruption, accelerate transformation and outpace the competition.

While World Quantum Day is one occasion meant to encourage us all to “think quantum,” the imperative is to adopt a quantum mindset that is ever-present. Now is the time to bring quantum to the forefront of decision making when it comes to tech investment, business operations, national and global competitiveness, and workforce development. Not just today, but every day.

Put another way, if you’re not already thinking about quantum, you’re behind.

So, why do we need to transform to a quantum mindset?

1)     Its market potential is massive.

Boston Consulting Group projects the quantum computing market to grow to between $450 billion and $850 billion over the next 15 to 30 years. For quantum hardware, software and service providers, the near-term total addressable market (three to five years) is expected to be $400 million to $1 billion, with projected growth of $90 billion to $170 billion over the long-term (15 to 30 years). Driving factors behind this growth include rising investments in quantum computing tech by governments and an increasing number of commercial use cases.

Forward-thinking organizations are taking advantage of quantum to move ahead of the competition. From finding efficiencies and reducing waste to decreasing time to solution and solving problems abandoned due to complexity, the business value is real. According to data from Hyperion Research, 80% of quantum early adopters are planning to increase their commitment to quantum in the next two to three years, and one-third are planning to invest at least $15 million in quantum efforts.

2)     Quantum tech is here and ready for enterprises to benefit from today.

Some equate quantum computing solely to a specific modality – gate model – which is inaccurate and misleading. Quantum annealing, a quantum technology that finds the lowest point in a multi-dimensional landscape, is commercial-grade and market-ready today. This type of quantum technology is uniquely suited to solve optimization problems, which nearly all businesses across every industry are trying to address. These are big, meaty, computationally complex problems that require the power of quantum annealing to identify optimal solutions in a reasonable time frame.

Customers are increasingly recognizing the value quantum annealing brings to the enterprise to address optimization challenges today. Solving these types of problems can ultimately cut costs, drive revenue growth, accelerate innovation and outmaneuver competition at a time when companies need to look at every possible tool for navigating complexities. Quantum annealing has the potential to change the way businesses and governments operate. From supply chain to patient care, from energy needs to agriculture, optimization problems cut across every single industry and sector, and quantum is already delivering answers to highly complex optimization questions.

D-Wave’s relentless pursuit of practical quantum computing has resulted in the technology being used today by some of the world’s most advanced enterprises – our customers include more than two dozen of the Forbes Global 2000 companies. D-Wave’s commercial customers include blue-chip industry leaders like Volkswagen, Mastercard, Deloitte, ArcelorMittal, Siemens Healthineers, Unisys, Accenture, NEC Corporation, Pattison Food Group, DENSO and Lockheed Martin. They’re tackling a myriad of problems including employee scheduling, e-commerce delivery, missile defense optimization, protein folding, fraud detection, industrial manufacturing efficiencies and more.

3)     Governments around the world are pouring money into quantum.

This quantum mindset isn’t just relevant to commercial enterprise, either. Governments around the world are increasing investments in exploring quantum technology, facilitating near-term use case application development and accelerating the education of a quantum-ready workforce. Quantum programs are escalating in importance on governments’ national agendas to fuel national competitiveness. The UK, Canada, France and India all have recently shared updated quantum strategies that map out adoption and investment plans, signaling a heightened commitment to the technology.

4)     The demand for quantum-capable talent is huge.

We often say that you don’t need to be a quantum physicist to work in quantum (though quantum physicists are incredibly important too!). If you have a background in computer science and can code in Python, you have the foundational skills to get started in quantum. As governments increase funding in quantum education, and commercial enterprises spanning nearly every industry sector increase adoption of quantum and quantum-hybrid solutions to fuel business efficiencies and innovation, those who successfully add quantum skills to their portfolio of expertise stand to uniquely capitalize on this incredible moment in computing.

The era of commercial quantum computing is here now. Adopting a quantum mindset will help us collectively future proof with resiliency and deftly navigate continued disruption and complexity. On this World Quantum Day, I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to our customers, partners, investors and employees for being on this remarkable journey with us. This is just the beginning.

Damir Bogdan Steve Flinter Kate Abrey Scott Buchholz Rodney Lessard Dale Moore Brian Lenahan Heather C. West, Ph.D Peter Rutten