Optimization Is The Key Challenge For Quantum Computing

Analysts with McKinsey & Co in April said in a report that quantum computing had “reached a commercial tipping point,” noting that companies in industries like climate and life sciences, travel and logistics, and financial services already are using the emerging technology to optimize processes, test scenarios, and run simulations. They also said investors last year put $12.6 billion into quantum startups, another indication of the commercial embrace of the technology.

Such data shows that quantum computing has moved well beyond the “can it be done” point to the “when will it all happen” stage. It also feeds that message that John Roese, global chief technology officer and chief AI officer at Dell Technologies, and many others in the increasingly entangled quantum and IT industries are sending out, that quantum computing will not be a flip-the-on-switch moment but rather a steady march to increasingly scalable and practical fault-tolerant systems with constantly improving error-corrected qubits, architectures, software, and applications.

Traditional original design manufacturers like Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco Systems, and IBM are putting the infrastructure parts in place for hybrid quantum-classical HPC datacenters. Cisco is building a quantum-focused networking architecture while Dell, HPE, and others are partnering with quantum vendors. At Dell Technologies World 2026 earlier this year, quantum company Equal1 put its RacQ (below) on display.