EY, IBM Guest Post — Up And Running on Day Two: How Businesses Can Prepare For Quantum’s Promise

Authors: Rodrigo Madanes, EY’s Global Innovation AI Officer, and Richard Padbury, Global Lead of IBM’s Quantum Commercial Ecosystem 

We all remember the early days of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). So many businesses rushed to figure out not only what the technology was, but how to catch up quickly so they could take advantage of it. For those of us focused on quantum computing, it raised the question: how can organizations avoid getting caught off-guard?

We believe we are at a moment of quantum utility where quantum and classical computations (using a platform known as quantum-centric supercomputing) provide reliable, accurate solutions to problems that are beyond the reach of brute-force classical computing methods alone. But as we approach quantum advantage — when it achieves practical applications over all known classical models including approximation methods — there is enthusiasm about what this technological promise will mean for the world. 

For those who have to balance current operations and budgets with forward-leaning strategies, the prospect of quantum can be intimidating. But it’s not too late to prepare. There are a series of near-term conversations that can help ensure your business takes advantage of quantum technology. 

First, will quantum apply to your business? Is this technology right for what you are trying to achieve?

Quantum holds immense promise when it comes to solving optimization problems. These have a vital place in modern business decision-making, with optimization providing a rigorous and quantitative approach to solving complex problems. This progress has immense potential in sectors ranging from aerospace to automotive and financial services to healthcare and life sciences. In addition to challenges like financial portfolio optimization, we’ve seen how quantum computing can successfully take on tasks such as scheduling, logistics, energy optimization and machine learning problems.

As you’ll hear from many of those who work in this space, even though a quantum solution is not right for every problem, certain optimization problems are a space where quantum’s present and future are particularly bright.

But return on quantum investment should not be viewed with immediate gains in mind. It is about laying a foundation to unlock quantum computing’s future value. To do so, there are certain immediate actions that will help prepare your workforce, one of which is identifying relevant use cases. Not all problems are created equal and worth putting in the time, effort, and currency to utilize quantum computing. Put another way, it might not always be speed that matters most, but sometimes accuracy.

Here are three examples that show the breadth of industries that will benefit from quantum.

• Healthcare and DNA: There are few areas where accuracy matters more than DNA sequencing. Here, the need for precision, combined with health impacts of immense potential, positions quantum as a technology that can have huge impact. Specifically, there are countless healthcare companies who would benefit from being able to access complete and accurate genomic sequences. Such information — combined with quantum’s rapidly advancing compute power — would help with the crafting of pinpoint treatments and preventive medicine that could save and lengthen lives.  
• Fraud detection: Quantum will be exceptional at detecting anomalies. In a situation where timing matters less than accuracy — let’s say a retrospective rather than real-time identification of fraud — quantum’s ability to overcome the limitations of classical algorithms will be huge. This isn’t to say that classical algorithms are not well-suited to detect fraud; it’s that quantum’s advantage could be finding patterns when facing sparse or imbalanced data.
• Logistics and preventive maintenance: Similarly, anomaly detection is key here. Rather than relying on approximations, those companies with large and complex infrastructure — such as utilities or hydrocarbons — will be able to utilize quantum technology to identify where a part or piece needs to be replaced before it cracks. Think about how valuable this will be when talking about infrastructure that spans thousands of miles and traverses hard-to-access places. In these cases, the anticipatory benefits of quantum would be able to help solve for the public good.   

Second, how can your organization best prepare for quantum advantage? What steps should you be taking now?

If you do anything, prepare your data, your infrastructure and your people. Many of us have seen and heard about how AI models and tools are only as powerful as the usable data that they can train on. A similar dynamic applies to quantum technology, which is only as good as the available inputs.

• Companies should start to prepare to convert their data so that it is usable within a quantum system. This need is related to encoding or feature mapping where the problem shifts from classical to something a quantum computer can process.
• But data alone isn’t sufficient; take steps to ensure that your future infrastructure can handle the types of data that are quantum compatible.
• Finally, while focused on talented technology, do not forget about your human talent. Make sure your people have the training and skills to take advantage of quantum.

Third, can your organization develop in-house? Do you need a partner to do this?

Developing quantum capabilities and building your own infrastructure is something that is so complex that it is only feasible for a few entities. Put simply, you’re probably not going to build a quantum computer. However, that’s not a problem because with such complex yet impactful technology, progress will be the work of many hands — available over the cloud and with many open-source options. Quantum presents such a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary opportunity that partnerships are really the only way to take advantage.

As quantum technology continues to evolve, these are the discussions you should be having. You don’t need to have all the answers; doing so is impossible at this point. But once quantum proves its advantage — whether as something widely recognizable like GenAI, or something behind the scenes, but critical to a business operation — that’s too late to start having “what is quantum?” conversations. When it comes to quantum’s impact on business, take advantage of the relative calm right now.

The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.