EXPERT SPEAK
EXPERT SPEAK
The technology
has the force
to solve some
of the world’s
biggest social,
economic and
environmental
problems.
Quantum
computing:
A thrilling
leap into the
unknown
Miguel Vega, Vice-President, IBM Systems
Hardware, Middle East & Africa, discusses
how innovation and technological progress
are key to worldwide economic growth,
not forgetting where the roots of this
growth take hold: within future-focused
organisations that push for progress.
B
ringing truly inventive products
or services to market is a powerful
competitive differentiator, and IT
infrastructure is both the factory and vehicle
for these big ideas to reach your customers.
Modern systems allow companies like
yours to turn an idea born on a piece of
paper into a profit-driving platform or
service in a matter of weeks. Speed, agility
and data-derived intelligence are the
pillars of these systems and while they’ve
helped industries create some remarkable
innovations in recent years, we’re on the
verge of monumental change.
After decades of daring and big
thinking from IBM, quantum computing
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is coming to mainstream business. Forget
what you thought about innovation;
quantum computing will redefine the
meaning of the word.
In short, quantum computing is a
fascinating new computing model which
applies the rules of nature to solve
challenges that are far too complex for
today’s systems to comprehend. They will
do so using quantum bits – or ‘qubits’
– which are bits of information that can
take on different states, beyond the 0s
and 1s of traditional computers. As a
result, workloads can be completed at a
magnificent pace, which opens the door to
previously unreachable outcomes.
Putting aside the technical details, what
we can do is imagine a tantalising world
where the technology is readily available to
your company.
First and foremost, quantum
computing is not designed to replace the
computer you’re sitting in front of right
now, or automate jobs done by humans.
Instead, the technology will enhance and
complement what, of which, ‘traditional’
systems and the human mind are capable,
on an unprecedented scale.
Quantum computing will allow you to
understand vast amounts of data just as
today’s computers do, but on a level that
simply isn’t currently possible. This is
ssue 07
NTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
just the start. As today’s computers take
care of data crunching, quantum systems
could combine these data-derived insights
with lessons from places where data does
not exist.
Allow me to explain with an example.
Today, a cognitive system like IBM
Watson can analyse masses of data on
drugs to understand which are the most
effective, so we can improve medicine
by doing more of what works. Quantum
computing would dig far deeper to
understand the relationship between
molecules and how they interact, so we
can create more effective drugs from
scratch. How else could it be used?
Financial services firms could apply
quantum computing to trading, sifting
through a staggering volume and variety
of structured and unstructured data to
make a more precise decision on when
to buy, sell or hold. Meanwhile, logistics
firms could task the technology with
finding the most cost-efficient route for a
land, sea or air courier to take, based on
past routes and current conditions.
Through IBM’s own breakthroughs
when developing quantum computing,
we’ve managed to store data in a single
atom. Consider that today’s hard drives
require 100,000 atoms to store a single bit
of data and the potential for the technology
becomes even clearer. It means we would
be able to fit Apple’s entire iTunes music
catalogue – approximately 35 million
songs – into a device around the same size
as a credit card.
The breakthroughs that have been
made with IBM Q and quantum computing
have created an unstoppable snowball
effect of innovative momentum. Soon,
we will release the IBM Q programme to
businesses and organisations for their own
purposes, but I want you to think big with
this technology.
Like the first binary computers and the
Internet, the opportunities for quantum
computing are far greater than fatter
profits. It’s no exaggeration to say that the
technology has the force to solve some of
the world’s biggest social, economic and
environmental problems.
What could your sector achieve with the
power of quantum computing behind it?
Miguel Vega is the Vice-President IBM
Systems Hardware, Middle East &
Africa. He is based in Dubai.
In 2014, he held the position
of Director, Server Solutions, IBM
Systems, Middle East & Africa. He
then moved to Dubai in 2011 in the
role of Director, Power Systems, IBM
Systems & Technology Group, Middle
East & Africa.
Previously he ran the Systems and
Technology Group – which includes
IBM hardware, servers, storage and
point of sale – for Colombia. Prior to
this, he held several IBM managerial
positions in Venezuela, including the
Systems and Technology Group and
Multi-Industry sector with clients
in Communications, Industrial and
Public sectors.
Previously, he was an account
executive for the biggest bank in
Venezuela: Banesco. Prior to this,
he was on international assignment
for three years in Miami at the
headquarters of IBM Latin America,
where he was in sales and operations
for iSeries, an IBM hardware brand;
and Mexico City, where he was iSeries
Business Unit Manager for Mexico
and Central America.
He began his career at IBM
Venezuela in 2004 in the midrange
AS/400 unit.
He is a graduate of Electrical
Engineering at Universidad Simón
Bolívar, in Venezuela, with a Post
Graduate in Business Management
from the American Institute of Higher
Business Management (IPADE) in
Mexico City.
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