Amazon Starts Offering Quantum Computing Options to Clients
Since the announcement of quantum supremacy, companies such as Microsoft have started offering the use of quantum systems on their cloud offering. Amazon has decided to enter the quantum computing fray by letting its users tap into existing quantum computing services offered by providers. During December, Amazon will partner with three quantum computing suppliers, Rigetti Computing, IonQ, and D-Wave Systems, to provide the new service, termed Braket, to cloud users.
Is Quantum Computing Such a Big Deal?
Quantum theory, the basis behind quantum computing, is still not 100% understood. Primarily, quantum particles exist in multiple different forms, and when they’re observed, the collapse into a final state. Quantum computing uses this fact to distribute processing across numerous possibilities, and collapse the answer into a single solution at the end of it, potentially cutting down processing time. Earlier this year, researchers managed to prove that quantum processors were faster than traditional computers by asking it to solve a problem that would be impossible by conventional means. Quantum supremacy, as it was called, war praised throughout the computing world as the next step in the evolution of processors.
No Practical Applications as yet
Quantum supremacy is a particular edge case in the use of quantum computing. Using the processors to do practical computing isn’t viable just yet. However, AWS’s investment in quantum processing is vital for companies that may want to experiment with the technology before it starts taking over. Both the AWS methodology and Microsoft’s system for linking business partners with processing providers match how the tech world does business these days. However, Amazon has stated that, in the future, the company may start producing quantum processors of its own, more in line with how IBM offers its services.
While Amazon’s dedication to presenting cutting-edge technology to its clients is noteworthy, offering it alongside their regular cloud offerings may raise expectations as to how fast the technology will mature and become usable. The risk that their users who have started using quantum tech will be disappointed if it doesn’t advance as quickly as they expect is one that the company has to manage.
