What is quantum cloud computing?

Simon Edward • 22 July 2024

Quantum computing is one of the most exciting areas of technology. Get to grips with the basics in our article.

The world of cloud computing is developing all the time. One of the most recent developments has been quantum computing in the cloud – a type of technology that combines the awesome processing power of quantum computers with the accessibility and scalability of the cloud.

Along with artificial intelligence (AI), it's one of the most exciting advances in technology – and it's just getting started. But it's fair to say that most people don't have a firm grasp on what it is.

And frankly, we don't blame you. Even Wikipedia isn't much use. Within two sentences, it's referring to "quantum superposition and entanglement", which for most of us may as well be in a foreign language.

This article isn't going to get into the weeds of gate arrays, eigenfunctions, wave packets and other super-technical details. We hope, however, that you come away from it feeling like you have a basic grasp of a branch of technology that has far-reaching possibilities for cloud computing and beyond.

What is quantum computing?

We carry portable computers around with us that can do incredible things – things that a matter of decades ago would have seemed outlandish.

Want to watch a Hollywood blockbuster on the train? Phone will do it. Want to superimpose bunny ears on a photo of a friend? Go ahead.

It's jaw-dropping stuff – but this is small fry compared to what supercomputers can deal with. We're talking big fat numbers that need a huge amount of computing power to crunch. And some of these calculations are pushing at the very limits of what traditional or "classical" computers can do.

See, there are these things called "bits". These are the basic units of information for traditional computers. But when calculations reach a certain point of complexity, the nature of bits slows the computer down.

Quantum computing can crunch numbers that are dizzyingly large – ones that even a supercomputer would glance at and say "pass". This is all thanks to the qubit (pronounced "queue-bit"): a unit of information that allows for unprecedented computing power.

What is a qubit?

In classical computing, the basic unit of information is the bit.

A bit is binary – it can either be a zero or a one, meaning "true" or "false". Each bit has one possible value. Calculations proceed linearly from one bit to the next.

Quantum computing, by comparison, runs on qubits. A qubit can be both zero and one at the same time. Their quantum state determines the probability of their being one or the other.

This means that multiple calculations can be carried out at the same time, making them significantly faster than classical computers.

How does the cloud fit in?

Quantum computers are large, beautiful, elaborate structures. IBM's model has been compared to "an upside-down gold steampunk wedding cake". Their size makes them extremely hard to move around.

Quantum computing in the cloud offers a solution to this problem. Just as Netflix lets you watch movies from any location, so quantum computing in the cloud lets you run quantum algorithms without being in the same room as the steampunk cake.

One consequence of this could be that storage becomes far more efficient. A quantum computer could one day store terabytes of data in the same amount of space that a classical computer uses to store far less.

What is blind quantum computing?

At the moment, quantum cloud computing has an in-built security risk. When carrying out a computation, the user has to tell the cloud provider what problem they're trying to solve.

Along with the price of hardware, this security risk is the key reason why quantum computing isn't going mainstream. However, something called "blind quantum computing" could be the solution.

This is where two quantum computing entities are connected – much as an employee at home or in the office might remotely connect to the cloud.

The cloud provider doesn't need to know what problem the user is trying to solve, and the user can verify the authenticity of the result with ease.

Picture of someone looking at complex calculations on a computer screen.

Blind quantum computing is happening on a small scale in university research teams. However, if it became scaleable, it could bring quantum computing to the mainstream.

David Lucas, a professor of physics at Oxford University, has described the breakthrough like this:

"We have shown for the first time that quantum computing in the cloud can be accessed in a scalable, practical way which will also give people complete security and privacy of data, plus the ability to verify its authenticity."

It's early days for blind quantum computing. But it's an exciting development that's bringing the mega computational power of quantum computing ever closer to the mainstream.

Cloud quantum computing in the public sector

Think of quantum computing and your mind may go straight away to the world of scientific research. But in fact, this technology is being supported by governments across the world.

In New South Wales, Australia, for instance, the government is planning to use quantum computers to manage its transportation network.

In 2021, politician Rob Stokes explained that "quantum computing can actually help us to deploy resources far more accurately" and could lead to a "self-healing" network.

"While this might sound like the stuff of science fiction," he said, "Transport for NSW is making quantum computing a reality. It has the potential to solve problems on the network in real time by instantly recalculating timetables and routes."

Meanwhile, in Japan, AI and quantum computing have been used to perform "waste collection route optimisation" in the Marunouchi area of Tokyo.

The bottom line

Quantum computing is one of the most exciting areas of technology – and while its applications are currently limited, this is likely to change in the coming years. We'll keep you posted…

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