- If current trends continue, the evidence suggests
that quantum computing is going to be a disruptive
and sizable global market opportunity.
While it's apparent that we're still quite a few years out
from broad, mainstream adoption,
now is the time to learn, engage and begin planning.
Within a decade, we could see high adoption rates
for a completely new computing platform
that requires new manufacturers, software developers,
service providers, consultants and more
for a deep and wide market
worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
As with so many innovative technologies,
there will be first-mover and positioning opportunities
for many participants,
provided they take the right series of steps.
Of course good luck, place and timing will help, too.
What can individuals and enterprises do now
to position themselves for the upcoming opportunities?
- One of the really exciting things for me
is how interdisciplinary quantum computing is
right at the beginning.
So think back, now look back at those problem areas
that I talked about, chemistry,
material science, optimization, machine learning.
Those are vastly different fields,
combined with this whole stack,
building the quantum computer, and so there's
significant opportunity, and so I say,
you really look across that landscape and see
where is your passion, when is the thing
that you're going to be really excited about
and drive forward and then where is
that intersection with quantum computing?
- It's a different way to compute,
so you need to understand how quantum computers work.
There's a lot of linear algebra involved,
you need to make sure that you understand that well.
If you're a machine learning person, a lot of the things
that you learn transition over.
I think it's very important to understand
the physics, or just the quantum mechanics,
so you basically understand how a quantum computer works,
and then there's a lot of engineering
that needs to happen at very very cold temperatures
so those double Es that can understand
what's happening at cold temperatures
as well as mechanical engineers
are all going to be in high value as we go forward.
- [Instructor] There's a related way
of thinking about this, too.
If you're already in the technology space,
you might need to respond to quantum
as it makes its way into your business category.
Could it displace existing roles
or make current skills obsolete, including yours?
How great would it be if you already
had knowledge and some skills?
But learning and planning isn't just for
technical staff, today everyone in the enterprise
needs to understand technology.
After all, every business is a technology business.
A new computing platform also means
opportunities for entrepreneurs.
If you regret not getting a piece of the action
on earlier technologies that have changed the world,
the timing is still perfect for you to think
about how you might service
the quantum computing marketplace.
Next, what can an enterprise do now?
Just like individuals, enterprises
need to understand the quantum computing landscape
today, and where it might be headed.
They must research what it could mean in their industry.
This applies to the short, medium, and long term.
Add it to the innovation agenda,
use it to determine if this is just a learning phase
or whether actual applied research is required.
Assigning talent, allocating some investment dollars,
and drafting an organizational position
will be some positive next steps.
The size and nature of the business
will be determining factors here.
If experimentation at scale makes sense,
and the organization can afford the investment,
enterprises should look at a quantum computing
provider for collaboration opportunities.
- So it's important, with a quantum computer,
to note that it's a hybrid computer,
so a quantum computer won't be standalone, right?
It's controlled by all of our, it's controlled
by a classical computer, so it will plug in
to Azure, right, it'll be another accelerator
available to you in the cloud.
So as you program your classical code
and you take advantage of, say, a GPU
or an FPGA, right, you really use a heterogeneous
compute environment now to get amazing results
from algorithms in general.
And so this is going to be similar,
you're going to program in this heterogeneous
compute environment, parts of your computation
will go to this quantum computer,
right, to this quantum accelerator if you will.
Other parts may go to an FPGA, GPU,
stay on the CPU, and so really,
your operating environment is within the cloud,
this heterogeneous cloud and heterogeneous compute fabric.
- The biggest risk to business today is irrelevancy,
and it's happening at a faster rate.
Organizations that succeed are able to respond
and evolve more quickly to a changing marketplace.
They're able to adopt and utilize new techniques
and technology faster than their competitors.
Quantum computing has the qualities
and potential scale to cause rapid disruption
across multiple industries.
It also has a high likelihood of creating new opportunities.
Those with the foresight and the willingness
to take risks may reap significant rewards.
Now would be a good time to put quantum computing
on the enterprise agenda.