Five steps for Nordic businesses to kick-start their quantum journey

Quantum computing is still finding its feet in the business world, but can organizations afford to wait?

What do you remember of the internet boom in the 1980s? The internet represented a highly disruptive communication technology at the time, holding great promise. But before it became widespread, the viability of a technology that connected everyone seamlessly—in the times of telephone cables and letters—seemed somewhat of a stretch. Now, more than 40 years later, the internet has turned out to be an indispensable part of business and daily life.

Now, the growth of another new technology—quantum computing—is showing a strong resemblance to the early days of the internet. Quantum computers possess the power and intelligence to solve problems too complex for classical computers and can tackle large data sets that are difficult even for supercomputers. The quantum technology ecosystem is advancing rapidly, with real-world pilots and experiments now being conducted in every industry sector.

Private and public investment in quantum computers is increasing rapidly, and this interest has also spread to educational institutions that are now investing in building quantum talent. Quantum cloud services have allowed many organizations to test use cases, helping them prepare for a future when commercially viable, fault-tolerant quantum computers will be a reality.

While conversations around quantum computing are gearing up, the activity within this area has hardly been pronounced. This is perhaps one reason why many organizations are currently waiting and watching for the right time to take the “quantum leap.” But objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. Quantum computing is not a subject for the distant future, as our data shows predictions of disruptive changes to come soon for many sectors.

We are yet to discover the full potential of quantum computing. It can unlock significant benefits for society—with impactful use cases ranging from applications in healthcare to transportation systems. At the same time, it can also unveil bigger risks to security, rendering many existing encryption technologies futile.

Quantum readiness in the Nordics

The Nordics represent a region with a high technology maturity where daily life runs on robust digital platforms. The Nordic countries are also on the frontline when it comes to digitalization across sectors. The high degree of digital permeability and technology capability means a bigger impact for quantum computing. Regions like the Nordics will therefore be particularly impacted by the advent of quantum computing technologies, and hence must be well-prepared to welcome it.

Since this is a fast-emerging technology area, the competencies that it required ten years ago are not enough or adequately relevant anymore. Research development in the Nordics is also picking up pace, to accurately follow the rapid development within this area. In addition to that, universities are starting to invest in building the talent pool that would be necessary to sustain the growth in quantum computing.

Sector-specific opportunities

For many sectors in the Nordics, the future vision of technology is promising. For them, quantum computing offers opportunities to accelerate the digital agenda, optimize processes, reach new markets and drive competitive advantage.

Drilling down on some sectors that are coming along the quantum computing journey quite well, the technology, media and entertainment, and telecommunications (TMT) sector in the Nordics has a global reach and is well-positioned to be among the leading players. The healthcare sector also shows similar promise. The drug discovery process can be accelerated as simulations of new drugs in their biological environment can be done at a much higher speed than what we achieve with normal computers.

The financial sector is another area of interest, especially large banks that hold significant opportunities for disruption. Many of the global banks have already set up quantum programs as they understand that this will impact their working model in the future. The advanced manufacturing sector will be disrupted by quantum technologies as well, especially when viewed against the premise of autonomous and connected vehicles. 

The quantum risk landscape

The quantum threat will increase data breaches of sensitive health and financial personal data, challenge the integrity of digital documents and break certain cryptocurrency encryption, as per a study by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The breakage of encryption is among the biggest risks posed by quantum computing. The standard encryption algorithm that we use today will not be sufficient when we have quantum computers. Hence, identifying risks and putting in appropriate protection strategies that cover people, processes, technology and data are key for organizations today.

As standard encryption is widely used by all organizations, a massive change will be required in this area, with quantum resilience taking priority. The idea of quantum resilience is that even in the face of a quantum computing attack, your communications remain secure. The good news is that the methodology and technology to build this protection are already available.

Marking the risk of encryption as the top risk makes sense for all sectors that require business critical communication channels to be protected. In addition to breaking standard encryption methods in the future, quantum computers also pose a potential threat today since data can be harvested in advance and encrypted at a later stage.

Five steps for organizations to kick-start their quantum computing journey

The quantum community for businesses in the Nordics can do more to keep up with the pace of developments in this area. Within quantum computing, there is a need to think globally and leverage collaboration between the private sector and academia at a higher degree than for other types of technology.

Organizations must follow five steps to be well on their way in the quantum readiness journey:

1. Educate:  Quantum computing is a fast-growing area that holds both risks and promises that may transform and evolve. Business leaders taking the torch on leading the organization to a quantum-ready state must educate themselves and those around them on the latest advancement and breakthroughs in the area. Opportunities must be studied and potential risks must be understood with possible solutions devised, to avoid misinformation. The need to educate will only grow as advancement in this area accelerates.
   
   
2. Monitor for signals of disruption: The velocity with which quantum computing is progressing shows promise but also unleashes a wave of ambiguity. To deal with this, organizations must carefully watch the technological landscape for signals of disruption. Understanding incoming changes and taking small steps to welcome them offsets the need for a sudden, chaotic change in how you operate. One holistic way to do this is by following insights from analyst firms that provide comprehensive views of the quantum landscape and ecosystem.
   
   
3. Evaluate your organization’s readiness: It is important to start working internally to understand which part of your business will be appended by quantum computers and what opportunities it could unlock. Understanding these opportunities also means that one should prepare to leverage them. It would be helpful to have a dedicated team to gauge how quantum computing can enhance existing and future processes, products and services, and if the technical infrastructure is capable of supporting these new possibilities.
   
   
4. Research and explore use cases: While quantum computers might not be here yet, quantum cloud servers very much are. They give organizations a space to experiment with quantum computing capabilities and try out use cases. Businesses must proactively implement or act on some of the quantum initiatives that they have identified while staying attentive to how the new technology intersects with organizational imperatives.
   
   
5. Scope out the ecosystem: After completing the initial analysis for your organization, you must look outside to see what use cases other people and organizations are leveraging to gain insight. As the next step before you take action, you need to understand your relevant partners in this journey and which of them could support you. Closely working with trusted third parties will ensure organizations are ready to hit the ground running.

Understanding the need to be quantum-ready is a great first step. But it is even better if you have a strategic partner helping you onboard the arduous but rewarding journey to an exciting new era of computing.

The global teams at the EY organization working with quantum computing are deeply involved in testing existing technologies and preparing proof of concepts. We are currently in dialogues with EY clients across sectors on the potential of quantum computing to disrupt the way they do business, helping them identify risks and secure appropriate protection strategies that cover people, processes, technology and data.

These conversations are ongoing and are the underpinnings of an engaged, and active journey toward a successful quantum implementation. Interested in understanding the quantum computing potential for your organization? Get in touch.