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Anton Frisk Kockum: The Impact of Quantum Computing Advancements May Be Felt Across Many Industries 

Quantum computing technology could offer enterprises a way to optimize their systems and handle challenges in ways that are beyond the reach of classic computing models.  

We speak to Anton Frisk Kockum, researcher and Scientific Coordinator of the Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technology (WACQT) at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden about the state of quantum computing research, the challenges and potential benefits of the technology, as well as how quantum computing is already changing the digital landscape.  

 

In 2019, WAQCT achieved the desired performance with a two-qubit processor. The core project goal, of course, is to create a one hundred qubit processor that can run one algorithm. How do you get there? And how far along is the project?

The performance of the two-qubit processor was good, and that allowed us to run a quantum algorithm for a simple instance of a logistics problem in the airline industry. But we always desire the performance to be better. As we scale up towards a hundred qubits, we not only need to maintain the good properties of the two-qubit device (for example, how few errors it experienced), we need to improve on them. It’s no use having many qubits if they aren’t of good quality. This is important to remember when seeing announcements about qubit numbers from any player in this field.  

We have a plan for gradually scaling up to a hundred qubits with really good quality. Along the way, there are a number of scaling hurdles. For example, when you have more than a handful qubits, you need to automate tune-up and calibration of them. When you have more than twenty or so qubits, you can no longer control them well individually on a 2D chip but need to implement a 3D structure to house the control wires needed to control each qubit. With even more qubits, you need more customized electronics to control them all and you need to avoid overheating the advanced fridge housing them at millikelvin temperatures. 

We are on track in our ten-year plan and are currently testing a first-generation 25-qubit device with 3D integration. We have recently shown that we can do such 3D integration with fewer qubits without degrading their quality.  

 

What are some of the biggest challenges in quantum technology research now? How do you propose to address them?

For quantum computing, I see two main challenges: scaling up the size of the quantum computers (while also improving qubit quality) and figuring out at what scale these computers can run quantum algorithms that provide useful results. I described some of the scaling hurdles above, but there are more of them as you go up beyond a thousand qubits, towards millions. For algorithms, it is still unclear how small and noisy quantum computers can be and still have an advantage over classical computers in solving some useful problems.   

We know that there are advantages to be had with millions of high-quality qubits, and we know that quantum computers already today can run some programs which classical computers cannot emulate efficiently, but these programs are not yet useful. Figuring out where the boundary of useful quantum computing lies is thus essential.  

In WACQT, we are addressing both these challenges. I explained above how we are working to scale up the number of qubits. We also are making efforts to improve the quality of the qubits.  

On the algorithmic side, we are working with several major Swedish companies as industry partners to see how quantum algorithms can be applied in their areas of business, and what capacity a quantum computer needs to reach to have an impact there.  

 

Of the different arms of quantum research at WACQT – computing and simulation, communication, and sensing – which are you most excited about? Why?

As a researcher who mostly works in the area of quantum computing and simulation, I may be biased, but I think this is the area with the largest potential. The most important applications in this area may be further in the future than some in quantum sensing or quantum communication, but they include the ability to simulate and understand large molecules, which could have a tremendous impact on chemistry and biology. This could open large advances in medicine, materials science, etc. I’m particularly excited about the prospects that such advances in the long term could help us enjoy healthier and longer lives.  

 
Keep up with the latest IT trends in the 90Minutes CIO Insights webinar series. View the full schedule here.
 

Businesses are investing in quantum technology research with a focus on continuity. What do you think are potential useful real-world applications of quantum computing for organizations? Which industries stand to benefit the most?

These are difficult questions that many researchers, both in industry and in academia, are working to figure out answers to. The applications in chemistry that I described above seem more certain than many others but are quite long-term. Companies in sectors like finance, the automotive industry, and IT are investigating potential applications of quantum computing for machine learning and optimization problems. It is less clear whether there actually will be clear quantum advantages in these areas in the end, but if there are, the impact will be felt across many industries.  

 

Any technological advancement presents just as much risk as it does benefits. In the case of quantum computing, how can organizations build resilience against the risks that the technology poses?

I think the first step is to stay updated on the progress in the field of quantum computing. This helps identify risks in time to act and mitigate them. A next step could be to acquire in-house competence in the field, helping the organization become “quantum ready”, i.e., ready to make use of quantum computing for its purposes before competing organizations gain an advantage by doing so. 

 

What do you think are some emerging IT trends in 2022?

From my quantum computing perspective, I note that OpenSSH (a popular tool for remote login on computers), in its latest release a few weeks ago, changed its default encryption algorithm to one that is believed to be more resistant to quantum-computing attacks. Even though quantum computers that can break RSA encryption are still many years away, I think we will see a trend toward changing encryption methods in the near future. There is data that needs to remain secure for many years.  

*The answers have been edited for length and clarity.      

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Marco Hoppenbrouwer: Fueling Growth Through Data-Driven Culture

With remote work expected to become a mainstay in the foreseeable future, IT and business leaders are looking at new ways to ensure that their employees are equipped with the necessary critical insights needed to make business decisions.

One of the key approaches is to develop a data-driven culture: the utilization of emerging technologies to drive business value, pushing an organization to be insight-driven as opposed to gut-feeling and operating in the dark.

Marco Hoppenbrouwer, Chief Data Officer for Global Functions & Finance at Shell, understands the value of data to drive value for businesses in today’s modern landscape. In this interview, Hoppenbrouwer shares his insights on how the chief data officer (CDO) role has evolved and why a data-driven culture is a necessity for corporations.

 

The Power of Digital and Data and The CDO’s Role

To compete in an age of rapid acceleration, companies need to be data-driven, but the transition from a feeling- to a fact-based organization is not an easy path. With only 24% of companies truly fostering data-driven cultures, it is up to the CDO to push the initiative of cultivating data technology in a business.

However, before CDOs can achieve that, Hoppenbrouwer points out why the components of Digital and Data are important for a business and what the focus needs to be for CDOs to streamline the transition towards a fact-based organization.

 

How has the role of the chief data officer (CDO) evolved in today’s data-driven culture?

 

Let me first set the scene as to why digital and data are so important for any business and one cannot do without the other:

The energy transition and digitalization are two mega-trends that affect the world in the coming decades. Both are expected to have a profound impact on the way everyone lives their lives.

Digital technologies can play a key role in the transition to a lower-carbon future. Furthermore, we see a rapid increase in digital products, services, and processes coupled with increasing expectations for a seamless digital experience from both our customers and employees. 

Digital is not new, but what’s different is the availability of technology, data, and capabilities that are growing at an exponential rate. Digital is also one of the few processes that require quality data as input to be successful. 

I’ve seen projects fail because a Proof of Concept was successful as it was run on manipulated datasets but this was not the reality in the field when the solution was to be deployed.

Maximizing the benefits of digital technology is heavily dependent on the readiness of an organization and its workforce, meaning:

  • It is key to upskill the workforce with new tech skills
  • The entire organization needs to be data-savvy

This also means that if the organization cannot keep up, it will rapidly be taken over by a competitor that leverages digital technologies and can deliver a more compelling value proposition faster and at a lower price point. A good example of digital disruption is SpaceX which disrupted the entire launch industry.

As to how this answers your question, the role of the CDO has changed from an information & compliance management role into a strategic value generator role. With digitalization and the emergence of the CDO, data is now at the forefront and is seen as a key-value driver that drives business outcomes.

 

What role should the CDO play in streamlining the transition to a fact-based organization?

 

There are three key areas the CDO should focus on:

  1. Accelerate digitalization and drive business value from data, meaning:
    • CDO knows how data enables the business strategy and what value it can drive
    • CDO knows what data is needed, who owns it, where it’s mastered, whether it can be trusted, and how it can be accessed
    • CDO formalizes roles & responsibilities for Data Management
  2. Increasing organization’s data literacy so that:
    • employees understand the importance and their role in data management, including data quality beyond their line of business. For example: if the quality of data you create is not good enough for downstream usage by another line of business, you create a problem in the value chain.
    • employees have the technical skills to drive value from data through citizen developer tools such as the Microsoft Power Platform. This can be achieved through developing role-based learning paths, setting up a community of practices for sharing key data-related best practices, and running DIY boot camps or Hackathons.
  3. The CDO should strive for data-based decision-making by ensuring that the required analytics & insights are timely available in the decision-making process
 

Eyeing The Potential and Opportunities of Data-Driven Culture

The field of data analytics has consistently grown, in terms of acceptance and importance, and will play a critical role as a decision-making resource for executives in modern companies. 

Gartner predicts that by 2024, at least 30% of organizations will invest in data and analytics platforms, increasing their business impact for trusted insights and encouraging new efficiencies. As such, CDOs must take the initiative in fostering data technology as an organizational asset for digital transformation.

But, what are the challenges and how should CDOs approach this transition?

Hoppenbrouwer delves into the main points of how the CDOs should facilitate the data strategy for an organization, and the perspective needed to overcome the challenges of digitalization in a post-pandemic market. 

 

With data having the potential to transform functions into a high business impact model, what initiatives should the CDO take to help this transition?

 

Ensure that there is a data strategy for each line of business. This helps pave a clear roadmap for the usage of data, the business value it enables, and the capabilities required to deliver this value.

Secondly, businesses will need to get the data into good shape, meaning:

  • Identify data ownership and resolve where ownership is unclear
  • Identify the data that matters, which means not all data, only the critical data
  • Make data issues transparent, such as data quality & remediation or master data management & replication
  • Embedding of data quality management in daily operations for data that matters
  • Drive fit for purpose improvements

Lastly, there needs to be a focus on upskilling the employees on data skills.

 

Are there challenges for the adoption of data technology skills and culture? How has the pandemic affected these challenges?

 

There are many challenges and plans that have been impacted, but I prefer to look at the opportunities.

I am heading our European Data & Analytics community and normally we hold local and focused events on specific data topics. These can be lunch & learn or deep dives on how to start on the AI journey, sharing best practices from a recent analytics project, etc. 

Due to the pandemic, we organized virtual sessions. These events offer the opportunity for staff to virtually meet other colleagues outside their daily routines and join with D&A communities in larger events across the organization, such as data literacy programs or DIY boot camps.

At the same time, the pandemic has accelerated the business’ digitalization plans, putting much more emphasis on data enablement. As a result, it has increased the need for Data, Data Strategy, Data Governance, Data Quality, Data Skills, and Data Capabilities in the organization.

 

People At The Core of Data and Digitalization

The explosion of available data has given corporations the potential to fuel a new era of fact-based innovation and new ideas through solid evidence. All this culminates in improving operations, clear strategies, and better ways to satisfy customers. 

Yet for many organizations, a strong data-driven culture still remains elusive with data rarely being the foundation for decision-making.

What makes it hard for corporations to be data-driven?

The answer lies beyond data technology. It is about kickstarting the culture at the very top through leadership that sets expectations and decisions anchored in data. The lack of data awareness is something that Hoppenbrouwer believes is one of the major pitfalls for those in leadership roles.

Not all employees are sufficiently aware of the importance of data for the organization. People have learned to store certain data, but they are not really sure why this is important and what other departments do with it.

As a result, data provided by one department to another is often incomplete or contains errors on more than one. Supplementing or correcting this leads to additional work and additional costs. It’s key for employees to understand the data value chain and the role they play in it.

 

What pitfalls should the CDO be aware of when pursuing a data-driven culture?

 

Culture is made up of people, and changing a culture means you need to get a change going with the people. People don’t change naturally unless there is a reason to do so.

Everybody wants to deliver their digitalization strategy due to the value it enables and this is a key catalyst to improve data culture. 

However, data is a foundational enabler, and data responsibilities were considered an add-on to the day job without recognition for good performance in data-related activity.

Leadership needs to change here and needs to step up, from the top, all the way to the supervisors on the shop floor.

What can the leadership do to make these changes? Some examples include:

  • Publicly speaking about the role and importance of data 
  • Clearly articulate how data enables the business strategy and the value it unlocks
  • Data roles & responsibilities need to be formalized AND effort recognized
  • Visibly recognizing the good work done in the organization to get the data right
  • Sharing of success stories and lessons learned
  • Encouraging staff to become more data literate, through sponsoring data literacy events, citizen data science boot camps, and inclusion in personal development plans

Ultimately, the CDO plays a key role here in supporting the leadership to drive change through the organization.

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Master Your Digital Leadership in Finance

Finance among organizational functions is unique in the sense that it spans all areas of a business. However, a new digital economic infrastructure and the tools to accompany it are being built with advancing digital technologies such as Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). What this means for financial innovation is that rapidly evolving technology and the full realization of the value of data are the current drivers developing the digital economy.

 

Consequently, finance leaders must adopt an all-inclusive view of their transformation across the organization. The effective finance leader needs to remain up to date by ensuring that they are conversant with the trends in technology and identify how they apply to create or support the company’s sustainable competitive advantage.

Trends and What It Means to Businesses and C-suite

Thinking about popular innovative leaders, one would be hard-pressed to remember or find a CFO on a shortlist, with most generally, seeing the CFO as the proverbial bad cop, with a bias for short term top and bottom line, depriving the creatives in the enterprise of oxygen, and subsequently killing innovation.

 

Fortunately, in the digital era, the CFO should maintain focus on the value equation: less cost, more revenues, and more margin. Thus, the caricature of the nay-saying bean counter does not apply to a holistic CFO. The digital CFO understands that the right type of innovation will, in the midterm, lead to all of that.

 

“Assuring innovation is tied to value thinking. Assuring creativity is not equal to Russian roulette. True innovation ultimately leads to superior financial performance is a mantra of the modern CFO.”

– John Brahim

 

“Digital” encompasses a set of trends and opportunities that belongs to the C-Suite. It thus should not be viewed as in contradiction of the long-term strategic focus on innovation and or delivering on the next reporting period. The CFO, as the guardian of value thinking, has a vital role to play. Such as Investment Allocation, Risk Mitigation, and Sharpening benefits cases.

How to Manage Innovation and Change

Change is inevitable, and just as the famous quote by Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, “The only constant in life is change.” Change affects us all, and we deal with each new change differently. There can be no innovation without change and vice versa.

“Make it tangible. Sure, innovation is about soft things like culture and freedom; however, sooner rather than later, it should shape up in concrete Journeys. The CFO can lead the way by focusing on 3 levers for innovation: automating the enterprise round 3, embracing analytics day to day, being digital as a way of life.”

As technology progresses and new solutions become available, the needs of financially vulnerable individuals or businesses need to be kept in mind. Players from various sectors can propel innovation effectively when they partner across sectors and keep the needs of financially vulnerable people at the center.

  1. Automating Enterprise Sequel 3

    Firstly, the hard part of the back office was automated. Softer operational processes closely followed this. Where thanks to a combination of Cloud, AI, and Visualization technologies, the third automation wave will go beyond mere operations and transform the tactical layers, augmenting those that orchestrate the enterprise.

  2. Embracing Analytics

    The past saw financial functions providing curated historical data to the enterprise. However, current trends show people clamoring for real, actionable, and predictive insights. Fortunately, enterprises only require two components to achieve this: the right tools to capture and analyze Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver more contextual and human answers.

  3. Being Digital

    Taking an enterprise digital requires a lot. For starters, the enterprise’s mission, value proposition, and business model will be affected. It will be a series of journeys requiring a dissimilar culture, new skills, different governance, and a new way of working. The mission and way of working have to transform for the CFO to assure financial health, allocate assets rightly, and mitigate risks amid novel volatility.

Remaining Relevant in the Eyes of Your Stakeholders

From a financial perspective, we can deduce that innovation requires proper budgets and timeframes. Smart financial constraints and deadlines do not impede but accelerate creativity by fostering a sense of urgency and focus. As the CFO, you play a vital role by operating with independence and critical empathy.

Cloud ComputingThis translates to creating measured freedom from business-as-usual rules, especially when it relates to funding, contracting, hiring, and reporting. The company can expect significant breakthroughs provided the CFOs know how to exercise their levers to empower and encourage innovation by understanding which rules to relax and which to follow. In this sense, a holistic CFO can validate how ideas outside of the current business logic may be worth pursuing.

CFOs are often being asked by their CEOs to assist in enabling digital innovations in their companies. As the gatekeeper of a data-rooted, value-seeking business model, the opportunity for CFOs is not so much to play the role of a skeptic but rather to be the voice of reason. Similarly, because CFOs can logically relate innovation to key business drivers, they can also engage with the innovation teams as the individual guiding them to a “Yes.”

CFOs: learning from innovation-driven leadership

Brahim shares one of the first things that CFOs need to be inspired to formulate a digital mindset for their own basic processes. Going digital touches all classical financial processes, changing everything from core accounting and treasury management to fraud detection and KPI reporting.

 

Secondly, established CFOs should take cues from the new generation of digital leaders about more effective and efficient means of collaborating internally & externally. Understandably, changing one’s working style will significantly drag a leader out of their comfort zone than intellectually absorbing the intrinsic contents of the new digital journeys.

 

Thirdly, AI should pervade the entire enterprise. CFO’s who were not raised with this technology must be willing to get their hands dirty, learning how to apply AI in their daily play. On the positive side, this makes them a better role model whilst signaling to their team that nobody stays behind.

 

This is all easier said than done. Fortunately, Maistering’s platform, Master Collections, brings all of these together in an entirely new set of services. It offers a completely natural means for CFOs and other C-suite members to adopt a digital way of working. Unlike classical ERP applications, the platform adapts organically and does not require a heavy wall-to-wall implementation. Within weeks a CFO and her team will easily engage in digital or other innovative journeys using Master Collections.

 

Digital Transformation

 

The Immediate Future of Finance Function

The finance function is set to experience the biggest era of transformation. Requiring a balance of solid technical knowledge and data science, as well as a deep understanding of the business itself. Digital and AI innovation spread from the consumer to the enterprise world so that most experiments will start with sales and marketing functions.

 

However, there will be as many use cases in production, logistics, HR, and so on. Finance will be no exception, but like all others, will wrestle with its own strengths and weaknesses in culture, talent, practices, and assets. To a certain extent, the CFO will be catalyzed by her own ecosystem as the surrounding world of accounting, funding, collections, tax, and compliance is bracing for deep impact from AI themselves.

 

In the past, enterprises were shaped by processes. However, Brahim believes that the largest impact will undoubtedly originate from leader augmentation by the more practical AI and not the mythical deep stuff.  Thus, our century will experience enterprises shaped by leader orchestrated journeys.

 

““Augmenting leaders in how they orchestrate Journeys, taps into a formidable business case. Imagine all those digital and other Journeys that a CFO or her peers in the C-suite undertake, becoming faster, richer, and more impactful. There is simply no better business case in modern enterprise than that. Surprisingly enough, Master Collections is a first mover when it comes to “augmenting masters”, as we call enterprise leaders, on their Journeys.”

– John Brahim

 

Ultimately Brahim believes that competent CFOs know how to co-shape journeys, create processes beneficial to the entire business, and make others successful. Master Collections as a new category platform offers CFOs the perfect toolset to engage in digital journeys and naturally fosters the synergies with the C-suite peers and others that require guidance and empowerment from the digital CFO. This is where the future lies for the new digital CFO.