Quantum computers offer compute power that is orders of magnitude greater than classical computers. It can solve problems that can never be solved on classical computers, like design new personalized medicines and treatments, optimize logistics and the supply chain, improve travel and traffic routes, and create secure eavesdropping-free communication. For optimization-based business problems, quantum computers can be used to enable real business results today. It is imperative companies start now on their quantum journey to get themselves quantum ready so they can enable real business value, address the big business problems, and enable business transformation, but where do you start? Listen as our experts share insight and remove the mystery of quantum. Featured experts: Paul Bromelow, Quantum Business Leader and Global Sales Leader, Kyndryl Guy Siviour, Strategy and Technology Consultant, Kyndryl
Most business leaders agree that quantum computing will have a profound impact on industry as we know it, yet few are actively preparing.
Quantum computers offer compute power that is orders of magnitude greater than classical computers. The technology will enable economic and commercial advantages across a broad range of business use cases—from designing personalized medicines and treatments to creating secure, eavesdropping-free communication channels.
Quantum computers can be used to enable real business results, today, and companies that adopt quantum will gain significant advantages over those that do not. But where do you start?
Listen as our experts explore the question and remove the mystery of quantum.
Tom Rourke00:01
Hi, my name is Tom Rourke. And I'm the Global Leader for Kyndryl Vital and welcome to the latest edition of The Progress Report for a conversation on quantum computing. Now, over the last number of years, the two most significant developments in the world of computing have undoubtedly been quantum computing and generative AI, both with significant potential to impact on business models, and the way we work in the way our world is organized. It's interesting, however, that while generative AI in more recent years has generated significant discussion and experimentation, quantum is still perceived as the preserve of specialists. Here today to somewhat demystify the world of quantum computing to talk about how we can take practical steps to begin to experiment and understand its potential are Paul Bromelow and Guy Siviour. Paul, Guy, welcome to The Progress Report. So for listeners who are not necessarily familiar with quantum, so they've heard the term, but they perhaps haven't fully understood the concept. Guy, how would you go about introducing the topic of quantum and describing it essentially, for the layperson.
Guy Siviour01:04
The key thing I think people need to think about with quantum is that quantum computers and quantum technology are using the kind of laws and the fundamental principles of the quantum world. We can think about the world split almost into kind of two types, what we call the classical world, which is what we see around us on a day to day basis, the objects that we can touch and feel. But underlying that is the quantum world. And this is something that the likes of physicists have been exploring for the last 100 years or so. Our listeners may have heard around things like quantum mechanics, and particle physics. So quantum is all about trying to use the most fundamental building blocks of the universe, and actually to use some to do computations and actually do calculations. And to fundamentally create a completely different computing paradigm to what we see today.
Paul Bromelow02:05
The fact about quantum computing is all of that really basic, incredibly complicated physics is what has been used in a quantum computer. And nobody gets it, you know, even physicists don't get it. So Albert Einstein, perhaps the most famous and greatest physicist of all time, fundamentally didn't believe in two of the concepts that underpin quantum computing, he just couldn't accept it. First of all, he couldn't accept that the nature of quantum was probabilistic, you know that there was some kind of chance associated with it. He thought that there was some maths underneath it that made it definite, and he was wrong. He said, God doesn't play dice. And the truth is that she does every day. And the other thing that he just couldn't accept, is he couldn't accept that you could intertwine two particles. So something that happens to one particle will happen to another particle, that it's entangled with this technical term, even if the other particle was the other side of the universe. So as he said, I just don't believe in what he calls spooky action at a distance. And the truth is, it does work. So what we're trying to do in Kyndryl, is we're trying to demystify that. And what we're trying to get to is the point where you don't really need to worry about the physics, in our messages. You don't have to be a theoretical physicist to understand what quantum computers can do for you. This is a complete paradigm shift. It's not just bigger, better, faster. It's totally different, a new way of doing things that the human race has never been able to do before.
Tom Rourke03:52
And so we're picking up on that theme of being able to do things, Paul, I mean, obviously, you know, we're both yourself and Guy, you're enthusiastic for the topic, you have some grasp of the physics, it's an exciting area of exploration. But how far are we from that moment when quantum can actually do things for us in the real world?
Guy Siviour04:10
It's an ever evolving landscape. So there are a small number of use cases where there are quantum computers that are being used for real life problems. And the companies that the businesses using them are gaining real benefits from it in terms of many of the other quantum computing technologies, they're continuing to evolve and continuing to develop. So in terms of how far into the future will they become in a position where they can be used by businesses? The key thing is, is that it's it's a continuous and sort of a sliding scale. And gradually over time, that maturity will enable more and more business problems to be addressed. One of the key things for our clients is start to explore them start to experiment and start to understand all of those different technologies so that as they start to mature more and more then that businesses can start to adopt them. And they're ready to start that adoption.
Tom Rourke05:13
Quantum obviously, has been a topic that's been subject to a lot of discussion over the last number of years with different businesses investing at a different level. But what's your view on how business would actually make their initial step into the world of quantum and begin their quantum journey?
Paul Bromelow05:30
Yes, a very good question, Tom. I think some businesses have already taken that step, an interesting report was pulled together last year, where they polled 1500 CEOs, CXOs CSOs CIOs globally of 1500, of the world's biggest companies, and asked them what they thought about quantum and 97% of them said that they believe that quantum would disrupt their industry within the next seven years. So by 2030, and yet, only 24% of them that actually started planning for it. Our experience of talking to companies who have got started is that they actually set up a small working group, and started really small, to explore what the potential use cases could be for their industry. And that kind of starting small instead of taking a big bang approach really is the way that we would recommend that people go forward, you know, keep the investment at the start relatively small, identify where it's going to make a difference for your business, and then see if you can get some commercial advantage there. And most of the companies that we've talked to have actually begun to see the benefits relatively early. The challenge is that it's complex when you look at the marketplace. So how'd you get started, it's very natural for me to say you need someone like Kyndryl to help you. Because we can help you navigate your way through that minefield of hype and misinformation, and complexity that is this kind of burgeoning, nascent quantum marketplace.
Tom Rourke07:09
What are the skills that people need to look to, as they begin their quantum journeys as they begin to think about how they might derive value from quantum?
Paul Bromelow07:21
I think one of the really good places to start is to sit down with consultant, an advisor, who knows a thing or two about quantum and what can actually be achieved with quantum. When you open your mind and begin to use your imagination as to how quantum computers could do something for your business. So I can give you an example. There is a retailer in Canada that was looking to make real time management decisions about their stock management and control. And they tried to do it with classical computers and weren't able to do it really, because it was taken 25 hours today to get an answer. So that kind of takes you into day three, you know, 24 hours tomorrow, 25 hours is day three. And you can't really make management decisions if you three days out to date with your data. But they found that by using quantum annealing technology, that they were able to optimize those multiple lines and the multiple parameters in that stock to get an answer in seconds. And when you can get an answer in seconds, you can make a management decision. And the way you discover where that's going to work within your organization, is by talking to an organization who can independently advise you. So it's best to stay relatively independent and agnostic about the technology from day one and just explore those different technologies and understand what you can what they can do for you.
Tom Rourke08:44
I guess the question I'd have is, how easy is it to begin that path of experimentation? When you compare that with what's going on with generative AI, for example, where there is a similar conversation around the nature of the impact of the scale of the impact, but there seems to be a greater willingness and appetite to experiment. And is that something to do with the accessibility of the technology? Does it you know, are there very specialized pathways into Quantum? What do you think is holding people back from doing the same kind of experimentation they're clearly doing in the AI space?
Guy Siviour09:14
With AI, it's probably a number of reasons why people have started with it, and they can grasp it. In some respects. It's been around much longer than Quantum. If you think about AI, AI has the ability to learn from its previous experiences. There's neural networks that underpin AI and machine learning are easier for humans to grasp. Whereas quantum this kind of magical, deep physics deep maths, set of ideas, perhaps people a little bit unnerved by it may have been bit scared because of the old bad maths and physics lesson at school so people aren't grabbing hold of it as much as they are where they AI.
Paul Bromelow09:57
If you think about it even back in 1981 people were building machines that had some degree of a learning capability. And we as human beings, we find it really easy to anthropomorphize things, you know, like, putting a personality on a teddy bear, or imagining what a robot might be. That's kind of easy for us to do, isn't it? Because we're human beings, just as Guy said, we see that learning happening all around us. Quantum something a little bit different. And when you look at it as a client, you kind of look at it, you think, my God, that's complicated? Where do I start? It's just a difficult thing for clients to look at. So you look at it. And although 97% of them, in my words, everybody recognizes that quantum is going to change the world by 2030. Knowing where to start, is tough.
Tom Rourke10:48
It does appear to be one of those things where, you know, it might cost you significant capital investment, or, you know, is it is it a game that's only available to the larger players, such as the banks who are able to invest significant amounts of money in this? Or are there pathways into the application of quantum that have have a lower barrier to entry or a lower cost to begin to experiment?
Paul Bromelow11:10
Gartner have done some research on this. And Gartner is saying that 95% of quantum computing will be delivered as a service. So you know, it's not that people are going to have to go out there and start buying quantum computers, most of it is going to be delivered, integrated with existing systems, for particular types of problems, you will go out to some kind of cloud based service that will deliver an answer for a specific problem using quantum technology. So no, it's not just for large organizations with millions to spend, but you have to take those first steps, little baby steps.
Tom Rourke11:50
And Guy if I could turn to you, as I just think about those skills, what are those first skills? Or, are there models evolving yet about the skills people want? And again, drawing the analogy with generative AI, we're talking about people who are really good at designing prompts now as a way to interact with that sort of experience? Like what are those key skills that we need to think about having in our organizations so that we are best placed to exploit the benefits of quantum computing?
Guy Siviour12:15
Quantum is going to complement existing classical systems. So what many of the quantum technology and hardware providers are doing is they're creating programming languages built on existing programming languages. So Python, which is a standard coding program, is being extended to include quantum computing and the ability to program quantum computing. So I think the key thing is, and this ties in some respects into digital transformation, it's very important that people understand what the business problem is. What is the sort of underlying mathematical or computational problem? Is that a problem that is suitable for quantum computers? If it is, then it's about understanding how that can be coded onto a quantum computer? For a company, it's about deciding do you want to keep everything in house? And then you need to go through training programs, many of which were available. Or is it better to start working with a partner who has knowledge in this area, and can bring in the right people at the right time to enable you to actually start to develop a quantum computing capability.
Paul Bromelow12:23
What Guy said they're about starting with the business is so important, because quantum, it is completely different. So starting with the business and imagining, you know, freeing up your mind to imagine what could we do if we could do this? And that's where it starts, it starts with the ideation. It's going to do things that your business has never been able to do in the past. So the ideation point - where you actually think what if we could do this as a business - hat's really by far the very most important part.
Tom Rourke14:11
It does seem like a very positive story, we don't have quite the same anxiety around or at least don't perceive that we have the same level of anxiety around it. So Guy may be looking to you to bring the balance on this. I mean, are there concerns around quantum and of a similar nature? I mean, I, you know, sometimes I hear people make reference to what it might mean in terms of, for example, cybersecurity, are there potential downsides to quantum and how we approach adapting and adopting quantum computing?
Guy Siviour14:36
Quantum computers can solve complicated problems and many different factors to consider. And the way the modern cybersecurity works in terms of encryption algorithms, many of those encryption algorithms rely on on mathematical problems that are very complicated to solve. The ability of quantum computer to then solve complicated problems. It's where the danger starts to arise, and where people are talking about sort of quantum computers breaking the Internet. The flip side, though, is that what this allows us to do is also use that whole quantum technology to actually secure the whole encryption and secure networks again. So there are mathematical problems that quantum computers can't solve.
Paul Bromelow15:34
The point is, though, you have to start protecting yourself. And if you don't protect yourself, it could actually be an existential threat. So just last year, a group of PhD students in China broke 48 bit RSA encryption, with 10 qubit quantum computer, which is really a very small quantum computer. And that's why all of us need to think about how we address the threat of quantum decryption that's kind of called post quantum cryptography. But you have to start thinking about it now. Because if you don't, and somebody gets hold of the crown jewel data, and decrypts it, then that could be an existential threat for any organization.
Guy Siviour16:23
I think it's interesting as well, when you talk about the ethics around AI, which is certainly a key topic that is getting discussed quite a bit, very recently. Because when you think about quantum computers, and what that can do, the capabilities, there are potentially unethical things that you could start to think about with quantum computers as well, which perhaps aren't as discussed as much as AI. It's not just cybersecurity, you then could also think about one of the big things that's cropping up with AI would be potentially accelerated by quantum is that understanding of our business's customers. So the ability to model customer behavior, the ability to more granularly separate and kind of group behaviors of different people, whether that's based on age, gender, race, all of which are obviously huge, huge ethical discussions around AI. Well, quantum computing has the ability to accelerate that. So those ethical considerations are very much applicable to quantum computers as well.
Tom Rourke17:33
As we look to the future, our purpose here is exploring opportunities for progress in The Progress Report. So I'm very keen to think about the roles and opportunities at an individual level this creates. So again, you know, we've seen how certain technologies are perceived to be a threat to traditional roles, but the argument is always that three are opening up new areas opportunity for skills, and so on, what would you see as we close as the key roles that are going to make a difference to the development of quantum and the skills that organizations and individuals should be thinking about acquiring as they prepare for the world of quantum?
Paul Bromelow18:08
I think some of this is already beginning to happen in many organizations includes organizations like Kyndryl, you find that new people who are coming through university and entering this world that we're in now may already have touched quantum, and have some background in actually experimenting with coding in quantum. And when you put that into new industry situations, that creates a kind of thought leading discussion within teams about what might actually be possible. So I think some of it, Tom, is happening organically. The challenge is trying to speed it up to create the catalysts that moves it forward. So we need people who can think big ideas, you know, what if? But it starts as Guy said with the business thinking.
Tom Rourke19:07
And Guy, obviously, you work very closely with some of our leading customers. Do you see in the marketplace of our customers, particular companies or organizations that are leading the path to quantum or is it still very nascent?
Guy Siviour19:20
I think it's a mix. So there's there are some companies out there who are fully embracing quantum investing in it through various channels. It might be that research or innovation teams but also across their business and technology, because it's so key that business and technology work together with it's certainly in something in the finance sector. There are a lot of banks and financial institutions, investing in quantum computing, they have very good use cases, such as things like portfolio optimization, etc. Modeling economic systems, so they have a good and strong use cases for quantum. Car manufacturers, many of them investing in it's the ability for chemical simulation that will support the development of the next generation of batteries and electric vehicles is key. Here's a problem that it's very difficult to address on classical computers, a very good opportunity for Quantum. So there are many companies looking at Quantum, even retail has potential large opportunity, anything that's looking at logistics or supply chains. So there's some real powerful use cases that many companies are starting to look at because quantum computer can provide such a large potential benefit and value to companies to address the big problems that they can't address today.
Tom Rourke20:54
Thank you Guy. Thank you, Paul. I think this is obviously one of those topics that we may return to, again and again in future episodes and series of The Progress Report. And speaking of future episodes, please do like, share and subscribe.