The most common images of quantum computers feature gold “chandeliers” that encase specialized refrigerators cooling superconducting qubits to frigid temperatures (around minus 273 degrees Kelvin). In other words, it’s a very hardware-centric model.
However, quantum computing resources can be accessed today through cloud services known as Quantum as a Service. It’s an attractive option for many organizations, because very few can afford the millions of dollars it would cost to build, house and maintain an on-premises quantum system, says Heather West, research manager specializing in quantum computing at IDC.
Make no mistake: QaaS is itself pricey, with costs estimated between $1,000-$2,000 per hour by Sam Lucero, chief analyst for quantum computing at research firm Omdia, in a 2023 report. But given that a new on-premises hardware system costs as much as $40 million, the “as a service” model makes sense.
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What Is Quantum as a Service Technology?
Quantum as a Service is modeled like other “as a service” offerings. Customers purchase time or another unit of measure to access the system, which is owned, supported and housed by the vendor or by a cloud reseller such as Microsoft Azure Quantum, Lucero notes.
Given the rapid advancement of quantum technology and the 18 to 24 months it takes to deploy a new quantum system, QaaS makes sense for enterprises that want to avoid investing in systems that would be out of date by the time they got deployed.
However, there are different models of QaaS.
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How Does QaaS Work?
In one model, a company would work directly with a quantum computing vendor, and the vendor would supply the computing via its own private cloud service. This is known as a dedicated or private quantum cloud service, in which an organization “would have access through a particular price plan” to “access a quantum system or multiple quantum systems for X amount of time,” West says.
An example of this, Lucero says, is IBM Quantum’s fee-based access to its 27- and 127-qubit quantum computers, and its free access to its 5- and 7-qubit machines. Many other vendors offer similar direct access.
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The second model is called shared or public quantum cloud services, and involves quantum vendors selling access through a cloud service provider, such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, via Amazon Braket, Google Quantum AI and Microsoft Azure Quantum, respectively. This model gives organizations access to multiple quantum vendors, though in some cases, the pricing model is determined by the cloud providers, West says.
“It’s an easier way to get access to multiple types of hardware if you’re still in the experimental state and you’re trying to figure out exactly whether quantum is right for you or which quantum modality would be best suited for you,” she says. “And you don’t want vendor lock-in at that particular point in time.”
IDC is currently seeing more interest in the private model, West says, in part because, although cloud providers can offer access to a wider range of quantum vendors, their specialists might have limited knowledge of the intricacies of each vendor’s system. Organizations might start in the public model, West says, but then shift to the private approach when they want to optimize quantum computing performance.
What Are the Key Benefits of QaaS Technology?
The primary benefit of QaaS is that organizations gain access to quantum hardware without owning it. Companies do not have to pay the upfront costs of a new system and don’t have to worry about maintenance or updates as new technologies or enhancements are released.
It also gives companies access to quantum specialists. Many quantum vendors understand that the barrier to quantum is “quite high with regard to skill set,” West says, and partnering with a vendor can give organizations access to that expertise.
That relationship can be geared toward wherever a company is in its quantum journey. If it is relatively new to quantum, the specialists will be in more of a “hand-holding” mode and will give guidance on how to use quantum and write algorithms, West says. A more advanced organization can use the vendor’s specialists in support roles.
Further, West says, some quantum hardware vendors are starting to partner with software startups to provide “app stores” to give customers access to functions such as error correction, algorithmic optimization or even building algorithms.
“Those are add-ons and features that you could get, whereas if you weren’t partnering, you would have to go out to each of those smaller startups and try to figure out how you can work with them and get access to those applications,” she says.
$20M-$40M
The cost of building an on-premises quantum computing hardware system
Source: Omdia, “Evolving quantum computing access models,” February 2023
What Are the Applications of QaaS Technology?
Use cases for QaaS will vary depending on which systems an organization is using, West says. For example, quantum annealers are developed specifically for optimization problems, which increase quantum computing speeds to solve problems more quickly.
Other applications include simulations or experimentation. Quantum computers can be used to simulate natural processes, then generate new compounds for materials science or for developing personalized pharmaceuticals.
