Quantum Computing - A Technology Management Perspective

Quantum computing surpasses the gain in performance of regular computational innovations by utilizing the principles of quantum physics.By shifting away from conventional comput­ing technologies, quantum computing opens up new poten­tials in handling data-based tasks in industrial value creation. Archetypical applications include optimization, simulation, arti­ficial intelligence, and factorization. In all relevant application domains of industrial companies these archetypes have long-term potentials – from manufacturing to research and develop­ment to supply chain optimization.Nevertheless, the currently explored use cases of quantum computing do not yet generate significant business value for companies. They are only geared towards exploring problem characteristics that align well with the principles of quantum computing.Therefore, in the coming years development efforts will be required for value-generat­ing application scenarios. As a result, companies do not need to undertake immediate implementation efforts.Since building up know-how for quantum computing is far from trivial it is however crucial to understand the technology’s characteristics, principles and potentials and to organize the groundwork upfront.To guide the technology journey of manufacturing companies, the present whitepaper aims to provide insights into the functional principles of quantum computing and to give a first outlook on currently explored use cases.The use case analysis indicates that typical optimization tasks in logistics and manufacturing are currently being explored, whereas simulation use cases are primarily being investigated for research and development purposes.