From left to right: Palo Alto Networks Vice President, Public Policy & Government Affairs Daniel Kroese; BSA Senior Vice President of Global Policy Aaron Cooper; IBM Global Quantum Policy Lead, Technology & Science Policy Executive Jeff Brown; Cisco Senior Director, Cyber & Emerging Tech Policy, Global Government Affairs Eric Wenger; and Microsoft Senior Director of National Security Government Affairs Daniel Lerner.
Quantum computing is moving swiftly from concept to practical reality and challenging policymakers to stay ahead of the curve, industry leaders told a Capitol Hill audience on Friday convened by the Business Software Alliance.
A panel featuring representatives of BSA member companies that are working actively on quantum and its implications walked tech policy staff through the profound impacts quantum computing will have on industry, services, and scientific research.
The leaders underscored findings in “Quantum Leap: A New Computing Reality,” a new report on the cross-sector impact of quantum produced by the Digital Transformation Network.
During the briefing, industry leaders outlined practical examples and strategic imperatives.
“What we believe is that AI and quantum and hyperscale computing are all going to be complementary to each other,” said Daniel Lerner, Microsoft Senior Director of National Security Government Affairs. “I think for the United States to really succeed here, it’s about prioritizing resources, whether it’s resources in a financial sense or resources in a knowledge sense.”
Moderated by BSA Senior Vice President of Global Policy Aaron Cooper, the panel offered compelling insights into how quantum computing is poised to drive unprecedented innovation and the key policy considerations that must be addressed to harness its potential. Earlier this week, BSA released its first-ever quantum policy agenda, “Accelerating Leadership in Quantum Technology.”
Among the key elements of that agenda included the importance of global leadership on quantum policy coordination.
“With the Quantum World Congress taking place next week – with delegations of quantum officials from around the world coming in – they’re hungry to know how they can collaborate with the United States, and what avenues are available for that collaboration,” said IBM Global Quantum Policy Lead, Technology & Science Policy Executive Jeff Brown.
Also critical are upgrades to networking technologies and cybersecurity infrastructure to guard against cryptographically relevant algorithms.
“2035 is too late. That is the current migration timeline for federal systems to migrate to PQC-ready and quantum-hardened systems,” noted Palo Alto Networks Vice President, Public Policy & Government Affairs Daniel Kroese. “There’s an effort going on right now to recognize that when this shift happens, it’ll have major implications for cybersecurity. So how do we get ahead of it?”
“We think that it’s important to have a scaled-out quantum data center, data centers where processors will work together. And this is going to require some advancements in specialized networking to drive this path forward,” said Cisco Senior Director, Cyber & Emerging Tech Policy, Global Government Affairs Eric Wenger of the need for quantum-specific networking improvements.
Quantum computing’s extraordinary promise lies in its unique capability to leverage qubits, which empower computations exponentially more powerful than traditional computing. As BSA’s recent report highlights, quantum technology breakthroughs are reshaping three critical areas:
- Quantum for Industry: Quantum innovations could revolutionize industries from material science and energy management to infrastructure, creating opportunities for enhanced economic resilience and sustainability.
- Quantum for Services: Service industries, particularly financial services and healthcare, are beginning to experience quantum-enabled precision and efficiency, redefining how critical services are delivered.
- Quantum for Science: Scientific research stands on the cusp of a quantum revolution, with quantum computing enabling scientists to tackle complex, data-rich challenges such as particle physics and chemical simulations with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
Explore the details in the full quantum computing report here.