Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), a global Quantum Computing-as-a-Service (QCaaS) company, and Equinix, the digital infrastructure company, have announced that OQC aims to make one of the most powerful quantum computers available commercially to businesses worldwide via Equinix's TY11 Tokyo International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre.
OQC is installing its quantum hardware in TY11 and plans to leverage Equinix's on-demand interconnection solution, Equinix Fabric, to make its Quantum Computing-as-a-Service available to businesses and organisations around the world on Equinix's global platform in late 2023.
Once connected to Equinix Fabric, businesses gain access to quantum computing as if it is on-premises, meaning that they can trial and experiment with the technology by directly connecting to QCaaS within their own digital infrastructure with greater security and ease, according to the company.
It is expected there will be growing demand from organisations, with the technology set to support a wide range of sectors, from drug discovery and development to risk management, banking and advanced manufacturing.
Andrew Buss, Senior Research Director, Europe: Future of Digital Infrastructure, IDC points to recent research IDC carried out. He says, "For data-driven businesses, the ability to differentiate and remain competitive comes down to delivering meaningful insights on ever-more complex scenarios and in tighter timespans. This is driving them to invest in cutting-edge technologies, such as quantum computing, that have the potential to revolutionise key data-to-insights functions.
"IDC predicts that by 2026, 95% of companies will invest in compute technologies that deliver faster insights from complex data sets to drive differentiated business outcomes. Making quantum computing available as-a-Service on a globally interconnected digital infrastructure should significantly reduce barriers to experimentation and adoption such as cost, skills, and the complexity of integration and open up quantum technology to many more organisations to test and use."
Commenting on the news, Dr. Ilana Wisby, CEO at OQC, says, "The world has been waiting for quantum computing to mature to the point that it can change our lives. Installing quantum computing in Equinix's world-class TY11 data center brings us a step closer to this reality."
Wisby says, "Quantum computing represents a major shift in terms of technology and process. Unlike traditional classical computers, quantum computers can crunch vast amounts of data at incredible speeds. We are excited to work with Equinix to help businesses around the world to build their quantum skillset and capabilities. The future is here, and we are setting the pace for the era of quantum computing."
Arun Dev, Global Head of Digital Interconnection at Equinix, highlights the benefits and importance of Equinix Fabric for customers such as OQC wanting to expand their connectivity opportunities.
Dev says, "Quantum computing has the potential to transform the way businesses solve problems both now and into the future, especially as our customers look for more innovative solutions.
"As the world's digital infrastructure company, we are proud to enable easier, secure, high-bandwidth access to this pioneering technology to thousands of businesses around the world. Welcoming OQCs quantum computer to our global interconnection ecosystem on Platform Equinix underpins our commitment to supporting innovation. We are looking forward to working together to solve some of the key digital challenges organisations face today."
Minister of State at the new UK Department for Science Innovation & Technology, George Freeman, says, "Quantum computing is set to be a transformational revolution in processing speed and power, creating big opportunities in everything from improved cyber security and faster drug discovery to climate modelling and shattering heat emissions from computing.
"Thats why we've invested approximately 1 billion over 10 years to support the world-class UK quantum sector, attract the brightest and best talent to the UK and attract world-leading companies to invest here to drive economic growth. I recently visited Japan to work on deepening our strategic collaboration in computer science and technology. Today's announcement shows the UK-Japan alliance is a key part of the global race for the quantum industry."
Equinix Fabric is an on-demand interconnection solution. Customers can build private connectivity with their enterprise workloads, whether they sit at a private data center, in an IBX facility, or with any one of the major cloud providers. Equinix Fabric also provides throughput performance and low latency for customers, allowing them to move data efficiently between any of these secure endpoints, the company states.