About 30% of enterprise organizations are starting to identify use cases for quantum computing, and 23% already have started working with the technology or are planning to, but only 3% have moved on to the critical next step–launching a technology pilot program, according to the Capgemini Research Institute report “Quantum technologies: How to prepare your organization for a quantum advantage now.”
There are a mix of reasons why this is the case, but if companies and ecosystems hope to gain some competitive advantage through use of quantum technology, this situation needs to change, and fast.
Satya Sachdeva, VP of Insights & Data at Sogeti, a Capgemini company, told Fierce Electronics via email, “Some companies lack budget, skilled talent, or executive vision. But the most pressing factor is arguably that many organizations simply do not understand they are at risk of losing their competitive edge in the next five to ten years if they do not have quantum technologies. These enterprises think quantum technologies are not mature right now—and they’re correct. They also think this means they should delay investments in quantum—and that’s where they’re wrong.”
About 400 different investors invested $3 billion in quantum technology last year, according to The Quantum Insider, a figure also noted by Capgemini, which added that $5 billion total has been invested in the last 20 years. With the clear ramp-up that occurred in 2021, “organizations would be wise to address their budgetary, staffing, or organizational concerns soon, and join the early adopters that are already making waves in the quantum market,” Sachdeva said.
It’s possible companies also are waiting for another company in another industry to prove the value of quantum computing so that they can be more confident about pursuing it and use the work of those early adopters as a model for their own efforts.
“As with any new technology, some organizations are waiting to see what happens with early movers, but they are putting themselves at risk of disruption in doing so,” Sachdeva said. “Organizations don’t need to dive deep and invest heavily in quantum technologies. They can start on a small scale and take simple steps to emulate quantum computing on regular computers, for example. It may be worth the effort to do these simulations or similar low-stake investments to begin preparing for the future of quantum technologies.”
There is not a lack of belief in quantum’s potential, according to the Capgemini study, which surveyed executives from 857 organizations. About 43% of organizations working on quantum technologies expect them to become available for use in at least one major commercial application within the next three to five years, the study found.
“Quantum technology will help address problems that require complex algorithms for optimization, random sampling and artificial intelligence, such as logistics, financial portfolio optimization, protein folding techniques in drug research, and system distribution optimization for utilities,” Sachdeva said. “If we were to solve these problems with today’s [classical] computers, it would take years to find answers.”
The report also cited quantum communications and security and quantum sensing as areas of early application development.
While truly fault-tolerant quantum computers may be years away, Sachdeva said early movers can create “immense value for themselves—from IP rights to enhanced, skilled talent pools—and this success will set them ahead of industry competitors.”
To become one of those early movers, Sachdeva recommended that organizations ask themselves the following questions:
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What are the pain points and bottlenecks that lead to cost outlays and missed revenue opportunities?
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What are the hardware and software breakthroughs that will need to be achieved to reach solution maturity (e.g., full-scale fault tolerance)?
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What share of the cost outlay/missed revenue opportunity can be addressed by quantum computers at a given level of solution maturity?
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