Himadri Majumdar: How to Become a Global Industry Leader with Quantum Computing

Digital transformation is advancing at lightning speed. In a perfect world, we would test out every available emerging technology, but in real life, this is impossible due to the required time and budget constraints. Therefore, CIOs must identify and invest in the right IT technologies that will benefit their organizations the most. 

Quantum computing is at the forefront of IT technologies, presenting today’s CIOs with solutions for IT preparedness, cyber resilience and business continuity. We speak with Himadri Majumdar, Program Manager, Quantum at VTT on quantum computing and why it is essential that IT leaders pilot this technology as soon as possible.  

   

Investments in new technologies and digital tools are crucial for business continuity. Why should organizations invest in quantum computing?

It is imperative that companies try out quantum computing as soon as possible. The world is moving forward fast, making it important to see and adopt the benefits of quantum computing to stay ahead of the competition. 

Luckily, organizations actually do not need to invest in quantum computing to try out or gain the initial benefits it enables. As quantum computer procurement is a significant investment, it is wise to leverage other methods of access to quantum computers rather than building or buying one. There are multiple providers of access and services of quantum computers in the cloud. IBM is one of the biggest and earliest players. 

The smartest thing to do is to pilot the available services and evaluate whether quantum computing could be beneficial for your business according to the following guidelines:  

• Only make decisions once you see a clear business benefit. The investment will depend on the magnitude of the benefit. The bigger the benefit, the better the investment should be. 
• If you decide that the benefits are so great that you would like to buy or build a quantum computer, there are companies that provide customized, problem-specific quantum computers.  
• If the benefits are good but not that big then continuing with quantum computers in the cloud might still be a good option. In that case, you also do not need to hire or build a large company quantum computing team. Companies can leverage the service provided by consultant companies who can deliver solutions customized to your business needs.  

Any model that works best for your company is ideal.  

 

Which industries will benefit from quantum computing the most? 

In simple words, decision-making in any business is based on the compromise of a huge number of, often conflicting, choices or parameters. Therefore, industries that have optimization-related aspects playing an important role in their business will need quantum computing. This can be related to process optimization, logistics optimization, and data optimization, among others. 

For example, if you are in the logistics business, in-time delivery might depend on parameters such as in-time delivery of goods from a partner, availability of fleet, choices of drivers, weather conditions, and real-time traffic towards the destination. When multiple parameters are considered, more accurate predictions can be made.  

However, computing various options with many parameters utilizing classical computers will take a long time – hours or even days. This often results in businesses making compromises by considering fewer parameters.

This can be illustrated by going back to the logistics example: businesses can compromise by choosing to ignore data on real-time traffic. The worst-case scenario of omitting real-time traffic is delays in delivery and poor customer experience.  

For more accurate predictions based on as many parameters as possible, we need computing that enables faster optimization. This is why quantum computers are critical. 

   

In 2020, VTT launched an ambitious three-phase project to acquire Finland’s first quantum computer. What are you most excited about leading this project? What progress has VTT made so far? 

I am excited for many reasons. Firstly, I am very excited that we are able to build almost the whole computer indigenously.  

Quantum technology is so strong in Finland that we do not need to rely on significant parts and components from elsewhere to build the machine. Companies like Bluefors and IQM are big domestic players with a strong global presence and acceptance. They have successfully capitalized on the deep low-temperature physics expertise and technology developed in Finland since the 1960s and are now leading the field. Therefore, we can be very proud that we in Finland invested in this technology so well and so early that we are now in the perfect position to reap the early benefits and lead quantum computing globally. 

Secondly, I am excited about the possibilities that Finnish companies will have. Companies that will be users of quantum computers will be able to find world-leading solutions close to home. They can become global leaders in their respective fields by leveraging quantum computing.  

There are so many other excellent reasons too. We are on track for the first phase of building the quantum computer in Espoo, Finland. We expect to demonstrate the 5-qubit quantum computer by end of 2021. We will then continue building phases 2 and 3 with 20 and 50 qubit computers respectively. We are also making excellent progress in the R&D front which will help us make quantum computers more integrated and cheaper in the future.  

At VTT we now have a dedicated quantum algorithm team comprising experts in quantum theory, mathematics, and AI. The team is ready to help companies see the benefits of quantum computing in their businesses. 

 

Organizations are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks than ever before with the rise of digitalization. What is your advice on building a resilient and scalable cybersecurity system? 

Indeed. Cybersecurity is one of the biggest threats for businesses in this decade. We already witness the risks in the U.S., where the vulnerability of even traditional businesses, like oil and gas, are exposed through ransomware attacks. So, we need to be prepared.  

Quantum computing and quantum communication add another dimension to cybersecurity. Quantum communication is an emerging topic that will be the mode of quantum-safe (tele)communication protocols based on things like quantum key distribution (QKD). It needs to be understood that quantum computers are amazing codebreakers. Once there are affordable and fully deployed quantum computers in the market, malicious players will take advantage of them to break the current cryptography protocols like RSA. We also must be prepared for that. Europe and more specifically, Finland, is also at the initial stages of making its communication infrastructure quantum-safe. Currently, available QKD solutions involve dedicated hardware in special-purpose networks, but in the long term we will need to improve safety protocols for communications more generally.  

Apart from the quantum communications hardware I mentioned above, we also have to be ready from a software perspective. We have to update or replace the classical software with new quantum-resistant algorithms, that will be unbreakable with quantum computers. This software is what we call post-quantum cryptography. Finland is already running a big national project on that topic. We are getting prepared with cryptographic and cybersecurity codes that will protect us from attacks made with quantum computers. 

This is a two-pronged approach where we use quantum communications to our advantage to strengthen cybersecurity and create solutions that keep organizations secure from attacks by malicious quantum computers. 

   

How do you expect quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography to affect IT trends in 2021 and 2022? 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. is leading the effort globally. The goal of post-quantum cryptography, also known as quantum-resistant cryptography, is to develop cryptographic systems that are secure against both quantum and classical computers and can interoperate with existing communications protocols and networks. Almost 70 potential candidates have been narrowed down to seven in 2020. In 2021, the winner(s) will be declared, and it will become the chosen platform for future post-quantum cryptography.  

Efforts in 2021 and 2022 will be dedicated to the identification and understanding of new standards and how they can be implemented. Following that, the implementation phase will begin. Time is of the essence as quantum computation, the potential threat that makes post-quantum cryptography relevant is making progress very fast. Preparedness for the future needs to start early enough for companies to have business continuity in the post-quantum era. 

 

Today’s CIO no is longer just a manager of the IT department. How has the IT leader’s role transformed since the pandemic? 

I agree. The CIO’s office is now both the first line of defence for a company’s IT department and solution provider for companies’ current and future ICT needs. During the pandemic, the CIO’s office went into overdrive to create IT solutions that could enable maintaining the companies’ business in remote settings of employees without compromising security.  

Finding solutions for remote work placed a lot of pressure on IT teams, that they had to, very unwillingly, make some security compromises over business continuity. The pandemic was an unforeseen, unfortunate event and not every business was prepared for it. 

The IT security vulnerability caused by this sudden change has left many companies susceptible to ransomware attacks. We will probably learn in the future the extent of this during the pandemic, but it is not hard to imagine the magnitude of it.  

Therefore, the CIO’s office should also look into future opportunities and threats like quantum computing and communications. This could be a strong aspect of their IT preparedness for the future. If the situation demands, they will not need to make any security compromises. In that respect post-quantum cryptography is one topic that CIOs of companies should start paying attention to. 

 

 *The answers have been edited for length and clarity.