Challenges, opportunities and application fields of quantum computing - an introductory overview

Abstract

This paper elaborates on the technology of quantum computing. It is aimed at people new to this field and introduces characteristics of quantum computing along with comparisons to classical computing. Furthermore, the paper describes the challenges and opportunities of quantum computing. In addition, applications have been explored where quantum computing could create value for businesses. The findings include three categories. First, quantum computing might make a difference in simulating nature, which was also the initial idea that led to the invention of quantum computing. Second, quantum computing could benefit the category of machine learning. Last, optimization problems will take advantage of quantum computing. It is concluded that quantum computing is still in its early stages and there are many challenges to overcome ‚ in particular the challenge of error correction. To gain in the foreseeable future from the advantages that quantum computing pledges, more advances in research have to be made to have a fault-tolerant system. A fault-tolerant quantum computer is a promising technology that could create significant value for various branches, such as finance.