BURNABY, B.C. (November 17, 2021) – D-Wave Systems Inc., the leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, and the only company developing both annealing and gate-model quantum computers commissioned Hyperion Research, the high performance computing analyst group, to explore enterprise attitude and appetite with regard to quantum computing. The survey garnered over 400 responses from key decision makers integral to their company’s strategic technology planning and procurement processes in North America, Europe, South Korea, and Japan. The unique data and insights not only illuminate that nearly 70% surveyed have some form of an in-house quantum computing program, but also how enterprises are engaging with quantum computing today and how they intend to utilize the powerful technology in the near future.
Key takeaways include:
Increasing Revenue Is a Must-Have
Businesses are looking to quantum computing to offer a range of corporate-level benefits, with increasing revenue high on the list. In fact, 21% of enterprises surveyed cited boosting revenue as the greatest opportunity quantum computing can offer their organization. Additional areas of opportunity and benefit include improving research capabilities (21%), driving innovation (17%), achieving competitive advantage (16%), and enhancing business process efficiencies (12%).
Quantum Optimization Forever
Hyperion’s research analysis shows that optimization problems are the leading category of tasks solvable with quantum computing resources. Those surveyed consider the strongest candidates for improved operational capabilities to be solving financial optimization problems (52%), manufacturing and factory process problems (49%), logistics/supply chain problems (47%), and staffing/scheduling problems (36%).
Across all industries, logistics and supply chain problems specifically – many of which tend to be optimization problems – were the most selected business problems addressable by quantum computing. The data showcases that tackling large-scale optimization problems with quantum computing is a priority across industries. In fact, solving for optimization problems such as logistics, supply chain, and scheduling can positively impact a company’s bottom line and help to be more efficient with resources.
It’s Only a Matter of Time-to-Solution
Time-to-solution was cited as an obstacle that interferes with a business’ ability to successfully tackle computationally-intensive business problems. Of those surveyed, 43% believe that it currently takes too much time to implement a solution using classical resources, and 36% are concerned with the amount of time it takes to compute once a solution has been implemented. Additional obstacles include the complexity of problems given the incredible number of variables and constraints for many business problems (28%) and high cost of existing resources (15%).
The research showcases the maturation of the industry and signals increased importance of quantum computing in enterprises. With the ability to manipulate enormous combinations of physical states at once, its proven speed, and new onboarding programs, quantum computing can be a powerful tool to speed computation.
About the Respondents:
The survey targeted hundreds of global enterprise decision-makers who are deeply involved in their company’s strategic technology planning across numerous industry verticals, including pharmaceuticals, financial services, advanced manufacturing, and more. Over half of those surveyed reported that they serve as a CTO, CIO, or IT Director, and 60% describe themselves as procurement process decision-makers with the power to select enterprise technology for their business.
The survey results are in-line with industry trends that D-Wave is seeing from its global customer base: customers and users across financial services, manufacturing, life sciences, energy, and telecommunications are experiencing business value using D-Wave’s products.
Specifically, quantum annealing is demonstrating customer benefit on real-world optimization problems, such as maximizing the return on financial portfolios, increasing the efficiency of waste collection routes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and advancing logistics processes and workflow at manufacturing facilities.
"The combination of broad commercial interest in quantum computing technology as a driver of technological, business, and competitive advantage coupled with near-term applicability of quantum computing technology bodes well for the future of the quantum computing sector writ large," said Bob Sorensen, Chief Analyst for Quantum Computing at Hyperion Research.
“As business leaders and decision-makers across the world rethink business processes and technologies to become more innovative and nimble, it’s clear that quantum computing is emerging as a powerful tool that can have a tangible impact on a business’ bottom line,” said Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. “Quantum computing is already fundamentally transforming the way businesses solve critical problems, from fraud detection to supply chain issues. D-Wave is committed to working with our enterprise customers and unlocking new quantum hybrid applications together for business value across diverse industries.”
In line with the increased demand for practical quantum computing, D-Wave recently announced details around its product expansion and cross-platform roadmap, Clarity. The Clarity roadmap broadens D-Wave’s scope and positions the company as the industry’s only provider focused on delivering both annealing and gate-model quantum computers via an integrated, full stack quantum platform.
More information on the roadmap can be found here, and the full survey results and insights from Hyperion Research can be downloaded here. Additionally, D-Wave is hosting a webinar today with Hyperion to go in-depth on these findings. Interested attendees can register for the webinar here and can find a recorded version of the webinar on D-Wave’s YouTube channel here.
About D-Wave Systems Inc.
D-Wave is the leader in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software and services and is the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers and the only company developing both annealing quantum computers and gate-model quantum computers. Our mission is to unlock the power of quantum computing today to benefit business and society. We do this by delivering customer value with practical quantum applications for problems as diverse as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, cybersecurity, fault detection, and financial modeling. D-Wave’s systems are being used by some of the world’s most advanced organizations, including NEC, Volkswagen, DENSO, Lockheed Martin, USC, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. With headquarters near Vancouver, Canada, D-Wave’s US operations are based in Palo Alto, CA. D-Wave has a blue-chip investor base including PSP Investments, Goldman Sachs, BDC Capital, NEC Corp., Aegis Group Partners, and In-Q-Tel. For more information, visit: www.dwavesys.com.