From where we’re sitting today, it’s increasingly likely that quantum computing will be one of the most disruptive technologies on the medium-term horizon. Here’s why: Harnessing the properties of matter as it behaves at the sub-atomic level – by taking advantage of strange phenomena like entanglement and superposition means certain types of computation can be vastly accelerated. These include:

1. Identifying patterns across vast data sets
   
2. Solving complex optimization problems involving many variables
   
3. Cryptographic encryption for encoding and decoding information
   

Solving vital real-world challenges such as artificial intelligence, drug and materials discovery, and cyber security all rely on these calculations. So, the impact of quantum computing is likely to be immense. There are some, though, who believe the reality is still some way off. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s views on this recently caused a mini-crash in the stock price of quantum computing providers. His belief is that “very useful quantum computers” could be 30 years away. On the other hand, evidence shows that quantum computing is increasingly accessible. Most of the big cloud providers—Google, Amazon, Microsoft—offer quantum-as-a-service, along with a growing ecosystem of startups and disruptors such as D-Wave and IonQ.

Full opinion : Despite recent innovation in quantum chips from Google, Microsoft and Amazon, we are still very far from real Quantum Computing.