8 Business Applications of Quantum Computing

Quantum technology is getting ready for its moment in the spotlight. Quantum technologies are expected to facilitate innovations in different industries, such as drug and materials discovery, financial portfolio management, climate and weather forecasting, fabrication optimization, and behavioral analytics, and many other such areas, by leveraging the peculiar properties of quantum mechanics—a branch of physics that describes the behavior of such particles as atoms, photons, and electrons.

 

( Must Read: What is Quantum Computing? )

 

Applications of Quantum Computing

 

Quantum computing is still in its infancy, as conventional computing pushes the boundaries of what can be accomplished with known manufacturing techniques. It continues to inspire awe in computer scientists, apprehension in corporate leaders, and dread in encryption specialists. 

 

Quantum computing is expected to be worth $5 billion by 2020, according to some projections, indicating that it will continue to grow in the coming years. So, how can companies profit from this development? What are some of the sectors where quantum computing shines? Here are a few industry Applications to look into:

 

( Also Read: How Does Quantum Computing Improve Machine Learning? )

 

1. Insurance:

 

According to the Gartner Hype Cycle, quantum computing is on the rise. The hype cycle is a graphical depiction of technology maturity, acceptance, and applications across sectors, as well as the business advantages they provide. It is predicted to be one of the era's most significant disruptions. 

 

Quantum computing can handle massive datasets in a fraction of a second when traditional computing took days or weeks. It can also assess nearly any type of risk, such as the impact of a looming hurricane, easing the insurance industry's workload.

 

The insurance sector is using AI to streamline many of its back- and front-office procedures, but it is still limited by binary computing limitations. Quantum computing has the potential to transform the way insurance firms do complicated calculations. Insurtech firms are developing and testing solutions based on this strategy, and the results will be evident shortly.

 

  ( Related: Uses of Big data in the insurance industry )

 

2. Cryptography:

 

Advanced cryptography is the most prevalent use of quantum computing. Encryption that employs very big prime number factorization (300+ integer characters) is impossible to break with today's machines. This decryption might become easy with quantum computers, resulting in the development of encryptions with far greater protection of our digital lives and possessions. Of course, we'll be able to crack classical encryption far more quickly while being ethical.
 

( Also Read: Characteristics, Types, and Applications of Cryptography )

 

3. Retail:

 

Quantum computing will reshape our economic, industrial, academic, and sociological landscapes in the future. In a particular period, a quantum computer can handle complicated tasks significantly quicker than a conventional computer. The retail industry creates a large quantity of data, which is examined to better understand customer demographics and preferences and manage supply chains.

 

The process of processing data will become faster and easier with the arrival of quantum computers, making it easier to provide a highly customized experience to clients. Microsoft envisions a future in which quantum computing is accessible to a wide range of people, scaling as needed to address some of the world's most difficult problems.

 

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In retail, the quantum method starts with a tool we're familiar with, like Visual Studio. It offers development resources to help create and market quantum solutions, as well as deployment via Microsoft Azure for a seamless mix of quantum and conventional computing.

 

4. Data Analytics:

 

Quantum mechanics and quantum computing have the potential to address massive problems. Due to the data set utilized, topological analysis, an area of study where geometric forms act in certain ways, explains calculations that are just unachievable with today's ordinary computers. This can be reduced to very basic computations using quantum computing.

 

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NASA is considering utilizing quantum computing to analyze the massive amounts of data it collects about the cosmos, as well as to develop better and safer space travel ways.

 

 

5. Healthcare:

 

Enzymes have always piqued the curiosity of pharmaceutical firms. These proteins catalyze a wide range of biological reactions, typically by precisely targeting a particular kind of molecule. Using enzymes to their full potential might aid in the treatment of today's main illnesses.

 

There are billions of ways something may respond across the human body, and that number grows exponentially when you think that this could be a medication given to billions of people, each with tiny variations in their genetic makeup.

 

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 We don't know the actual molecular structure of most enzymes, which is unfortunate. Today, it might take up to ten years and billions of dollars for a pharmaceutical company to develop and bring a new medication to market. 

 

In theory, scientists might use computers to model these molecules to figure out how they operate, but enzymes have such complicated structures that they are nearly difficult to simulate with traditional computers.

 

A powerful quantum computer, on the other hand, might precisely anticipate the characteristics, structure, and reactivity of such compounds in a matter of hours—a breakthrough that may transform medication development and shape the future era of healthcare. 

 

Quantum computing can substantially reduce costs and time to market, making it easier to reuse pre-approved medicines for new uses, and allow computational chemists to generate discoveries quicker, perhaps leading to treatments for a variety of ailments.

 

( Also Read: Top Healthcare Technologies )
 

 

6. Complex Manufacturing:

 

Quantum computers may be used to convert massive industrial data sets on operational failures into combinatorial problems that, when combined with a quantum-inspired algorithm, can pinpoint which component of a complicated manufacturing process led to product failure occurrences.

 

Quantum may assist decrease costly failures in goods such as microchips, where the manufacturing process might contain thousands of stages.

 

 

7. Artificial intelligence:

 

Quantum computing might offer up new possibilities in artificial intelligence, which frequently requires the combinatorial processing of vast amounts of data to produce better predictions and judgments (think facial recognition or fraud detection). 

 

Quantum machine learning is a developing topic of research that finds ways that quantum algorithms might speed up AI. Because of present technological and software constraints, quantum artificial general intelligence is a long way off, but it does make thinking machines more than a science fiction concept.

 

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8. Aviation and Self Driving Vehicles:

 

Quantum technology has the potential to enable far more sophisticated computer simulations, such as in aviation settings. The time and cost savings associated with assisting in the routing and scheduling of aircraft are considerable. 

 

Large businesses such as Airbus and Lockheed Martin are aggressively exploring and investing in the sector to take advantage of the technology's computational power and optimization possibilities.

 

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Automakers like Tesla and internet giants like Apple and Google are working on self-driving cars. Not only will these raise the level of living for the majority of people, but they will also lower pollution, reduce traffic, and provide a slew of other advantages.

 

Currently, quantum computers are being used by Google and Volkswagen to improve battery, transportation, and self-driving technologies. Volkswagen has already improved traffic flow for 10,000 cabs in Beijing, and quantum computing promises much greater benefits.

 

( Suggested Reading: Confidential Computing in AI Autonomous Vehicles )

 

Conclusion

 

For decades, scientists have pondered quantum technology, and quantum dynamics is riddled with difficulties. However, quantum technologies are gaining traction, and over the next decade, they are likely to make the transition from research labs to real-world commercial settings. Quantum technologies are similar to cloud computing in terms of potential scope and influence. 

 

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Waiting and seeing might lead to companies missing out on crucial opportunities to test and experiment with technology while their competitors gain momentum. Hence, take a more strategic approach laced with pragmatism and start an eye on this technology as it is soon going to bring a revolution in every industrial sector.