Quantum Computing: A Radical New Frontier

By Brandon Ebken, director, Digital Innovation national services, Insight Enterprises, and Matt Jackson, vice president of Digital Innovation, Insight Enterprises

In the next 10 to 20 years, technology as the world knows it may become unrecognizable. Soon, we could have the ability to cure cancer, break the best encryptions and predict a hospital patient’s stay with incredible accuracy thanks to the next frontier of technology. Scientists are encroaching upon a tool called quantum computing — a process they believe is possible but doesn’t currently exist, and certainly not at scale.

Today, traditional computing uses CPUs to process information in bits — binary ones and zeros. Bits exist in a single dimension, so solving a complicated problem with a traditional computer requires adding more bits to a computation. This binary, one-dimensional system means processing happens serially. Massive amounts of data, like healthcare information or social media ad targeting, require a significant amount of computations that are still limited by today’s system architectures.

Quantum computing, however, redefines how we think about the physical world. Quantum physics grants the ability to exist in multiple states — a quantum bit can be both a zero and a one at the same time (i.e. a super position). These bits make computers astronomically faster by creating infinite dimensions to solve a problem, allowing users to process unimaginably large amounts of data.

The ability of quantum neural networks to solve incredibly complex mathematical problems could have far reaching effects, both posing fundamental challenges and opportunities to how we currently transact through technology.

Banks, healthcare providers and governments are entrusted with highly sensitive information, largely encrypted through a process called prime factorization. Because there isn’t an algorithm to find prime factors, the only way to decrypt this information is through trial and error, making it a highly secure system. Quantum computing, however, could in theory find prime factors in a matter of seconds, jeopardizing the most secure systems in existence.

While quantum computing could endanger the way information is secured today, it also could be used to find new encryption methods — ones that are less vulnerable to quantum computing systems. It also could create a vast competitive advantage for industries through modeling and predictive maintenance, vastly improving business outcomes. Quantum computing technologies could add infinite dimensions or data sets to predictive algorithms that already exist. This type of technology could be utilized, for example, by healthcare systems to create even more accurate models for how long patients will be in the hospital and necessary staffing levels.

Though many believe quantum computing is possible, it’s also somewhat theoretical. Commercial versions are starting to be announced by organizations such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM, but the technology is likely 10 years from democratization, adoption and integration into productions systems. One significant challenge with quantum computing is the more dimensions added to a system, the more complicated tracing and debugging becomes, making proper implementation complicated, time consuming and expensive.

As quantum computing moves towards immediate future, companies should be taking steps to prepare for both the challenges and opportunities that will come with the technology. When science advances to the point of quantum computing, the way the world regards computer systems will be forever changed, with material impacts on the way we treat disease, keep our information secure and conduct all forms of business.

Brandon Ebken focuses on strategic delivery efforts and new technology initiatives in his role as director of Digital Innovation national services for Insight Enterprises’ Digital Innovation team. He educates customers on the business value of IT, helping them innovate smarter and drive differentiation across digital experiences via cloud technologies.

Matt Jackson leads Insight’s Digital Innovation team in the design of enterprise software solutions, focusing on modern enterprise applications and security architectures. His passion goes beyond achieving operational excellence and deeper into transforming organizations. Read more thoughts from Matt.