Summary Advancements in nano-fabrication as well as improved control over quantum states has brought quantum technologies to the technological readiness level where large business took increased interest in this technology and started playing an active role in its development. Perhaps as a result of that, quantum computing has received a lot of media attention in the recent years, which makes it very important to understand what quantum computers (once sufficiently powerful one gets built) could or could not do and separate science from the hype which starts to surround this field. In this talk I will attempt to address these opportunities as well as challenges and suggest a few possible areas within upstream business where quantum computing could make an impact.
Summary Advancements in nano-fabrication as well as improved control over quantum states has brought quantum technologies to the technological readiness level where large business took increased interest in this technology and started playing an active role in its development. Perhaps as a result of that, quantum computing has received a lot of media attention in the recent years, which makes it very important to understand what quantum computers (once sufficiently powerful one gets built) could or could not do and separate science from the hype which starts to surround this field. In this talk I will attempt to address these opportunities as well as challenges and suggest a few possible areas within upstream business where quantum computing could make an impact.
Quantum computing has evolved from a largely theoretical discipline into a field of growing interest for commercial and industrial applications. Recent advances in quantum hardware, algorithms, and cloud-based access have enabled early experimentation outside academic environments, raising questions about its potential impact on real-world decision-making and operational problems. This paper provides an overview of the current state of quantum computing with a focus on its emerging relevance in commercial contexts. It examines the categories of problems that have attracted attention from industry, particularly those involving high combinatorial complexity such as optimization, scheduling, logistics, and resource allocation. The analysis also reviews the global landscape of companies and initiatives engaged in quantum computing, highlighting different technological approaches, maturity levels, and regional characteristics. In parallel, the paper discusses the principal challenges and limitations that constrain widespread adoption, including hardware immaturity, algorithmic readiness, cost factors, and organizational requirements. By considering both opportunities and risks, this study aims to present a balanced and realistic perspective on the role quantum computing may play in business environments. The objective is to clarify the current position of quantum computing within the broader technological landscape and to support informed interpretation of its potential, limitations, and future trajectory in commercial applications.
It is expected that quantum computers would enable solving various problems that are beyond the capabilities of the most powerful current supercomputers, which are based on classical technologies. In the last three decades, advances in quantum computing stimulated significant interest in this field from industry, investors, media, executives, and general public. However, the understanding of this technology, its current capabilities and its potential impact in these communities is still lacking. Closing this gap requires a complete picture of how to assess quantum computing devices' performance and estimate their potential, a task made harder by the variety of quantum computing models and physical platforms. Here we review the state of the art in quantum computing, promising computational models and the most developed physical platforms. We also discuss potential applications, the requirements posed by these applications and technological pathways towards addressing these requirements. Finally, we summarize and analyze the arguments for the quantum computing market's further exponential growth. The review is written in a simple language without equations, and should be accessible to readers with no advanced background in mathematics and physics.
There are signs that we are approaching a technical revolution that might take humankind’s computational capabilities to a new level. Quantum Computing leverages the principles of quantum mechanics, enabling the computational power to solve specific problems currently intractable for classical computers (e.g., cracking cryptographic keys). Since we are getting to a point where we can no longer build smaller, more powerful, more efficient devices with conventional methodologies, we need to think of new ways for technological progress. The manufacturing of microchips is reaching its limits in the use of traditional architectures. Hence, new and more advanced technologies need to address the challenges of increasing energy consumption and data processing. Connectivity, scalable architectures and concepts like Cloud Computing and Software-as-a-Service have already helped to scale computational-intense applications in the last years and have attracted the interest of IS researchers (e.g., Benlian et al. 2009 ; Benlian et al. 2018 ; Messerschmidt and Hinz 2013 ). Looking ahead to the next generation, computing will comprise technologies that enable high-performance applications far beyond today’s possibilities. One prominent example with a disruptive potential is Quantum Computing. While there are abundant open questions and directions for further developments, researchers in this area have made substantial progress in the last decade, indicating that, after medical imaging, lasers, and superconductors, another quantum-technological innovation might be approaching. We, therefore, intend to provide an overview of the current state of Quantum Computing research and outline how this new technology might stimulate research in Information Systems.
Advancements in computer technologies have been evolving in order to provide new services or to improve recent computing performance. Applications of computer technologies to several real-world domains are becoming more realistic and efficient. Two challenges are taken into consideration when applying such technologies including more complicated user requirements and exponential growth of data. In the real world, which is driven by business, achieving user requirements is one promising way of yielding competitive advantages. Moreover, time constraints are also crucial for corporate users. Apart from structured data, unstructured data have been significantly generated via several platforms. Such aspects make data processing more demanding. Quantum technology, which is instantiated in physics, has been utilized in various fields including computer science. Even the real quantum computer is still in its early development, but other concepts such as quantum information and quantum computing are making progress. Furthermore, some quantum-based algorithms have been analytically proven to have higher performance compared to the traditional ones. According to such important milestones, quantum computing has been regarded as one of the key infrastructures of future computing. This paper aims to focus on the main aspects of quantum computing including its backgrounds and recent advancement to provide a clearer picture. Its recent applications to intelligent system enhancement, cybersecurity and cryptography empowerment, and finance are addressed. Several key ideas, and opportunities of quantum computing utilization are also outlined based upon systematic reviews of existing works and case studies. Moreover, comparative analysis between classical and quantum computing in terms of core principles, computational efficiency, and practical feasibility is given. Better understanding and proper preparation of applying quantum computing are thus achieved.