Make Quantum Readiness Real

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 2, 2026, 8:44 PM

Quantum computing is coming of age, recently showing evidence of utility—a point at which quantum systems could serve as computational tools to tackle problems that classical systems may never be able to solve—and astute... Leaders who fail to understand and adapt could find themselves far behind their competitors. By leveraging quantum mechanics, quantum systems can explore problems that have long perplexed classical computers. Many organizations are driven by this potential and are pursuing partnership and investment strategies accordingly. In 2023, organizations invested 7% of their R&D budget in quantum computing, up 29% from 2021. By 2025, this is expected to further increase by another 25%.

Additional research shows the global quantum computing market valued at $866 million in 2023—and it’s anticipated to reach $4.375 billion by 2028, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.3%. And here’s another call to action: early adopters are poised to reap the rewards. Analysts estimate that by 2035, quantum computing technology could potentially create $450 billion to $850 billion in net income for end users via cost savings and revenue generation. The catch, and a critical note at this stage of the game: in most industries, as much as 90% of that value could go to early adopters. Future proof your organization today for a quantum-powered tomorrow As quantum technology rapidly evolves, organizations must take proactive steps to stay ahead.

Microsoft’s Quantum Ready program helps business and government leaders assess the real-world impact of quantum, define a clear strategy, and build organizational readiness to future proof their investments and harness the full power of... Understand how resilient quantum computing, integrated with AI and classical supercomputing, will unlock new growth for your organization. Prepare your people, processes, and culture for a quantum future with considerations for ethics, risks, and applications with the highest near-term value. Plan for the most promising use cases, and cultivate technical expertise so that you’re ready to innovate with solutions that enhance your competitive edge. By the end of this module, you should be able to: Many businesses would leap at the chance to go back in time to capitalize early on yesterday’s game-changing technologies, such as the internet.

The chance to get ahead of the competition is here again with quantum computing. The technology is maturing, and now is the time to build your quantum skills and understand quantum’s immense potential for addressing computationally intensive problems. In the era of quantum computing, system performance will be key in achieving full quantum potential and scale—when we can definitively demonstrate, in certain use cases, a significant performance advantage over classical computers. Specifically, when a quantum computation is either hundreds or thousands of times faster, needs a smaller fraction of the memory, or makes something seemingly impossible possible. Our work with UC Berkeley demonstrates the power of currently available IBM Quantum® processors to explore meaningful computations and realistic applications before the era of fault tolerance. Quantum computers could soon solve valuable problems that have long challenged classical supercomputers.

Governments and industry leaders worldwide are already exploring potential use cases in healthcare, materials science, machine learning, and more. Organizations that dive in now and become quantum ready will have a distinct advantage as these technologies evolve. Quantum readiness is a continuously evolving measure of organizational proficiency in quantum computing strategy, technology and operations. It characterizes the company’s progressive capabilities to leverage quantum technology to disrupt industries, create competitive advantage, and respond to threats from quantum-savvy competitors. Quantum readiness is organizational preparedness to transition from current cryptographic systems to post-quantum security. It involves understanding where cryptography is used, assessing which data and systems are most at risk, and planning migration to quantum-resistant algorithms.

Achieving quantum readiness requires coordinated action across governance, risk management, technology, and vendor ecosystems to ensure encryption can be replaced safely and on time. Quantum computers powerful enough to break today's encryption don't exist yet. But attackers aren't waiting. They're already collecting sensitive data in what's known as harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks. Once a large-scale quantum computer becomes available, that stored data could be decrypted instantly. Over the past several years working with PKI, HSMs, and certificate lifecycle management across large, complex environments, I’ve watched “quantum risk” move from a theoretical talking point to a real planning priority.

Boards are asking about it. CISOs are roadmapping it. Vendors are marketing around it. What hasn’t changed is this: organizations that understand their cryptographic footprint and build crypto-agility now will be the ones least disrupted later. That’s what being quantum ready is all about. For years, quantum computing sounded like science fiction.

Today, it is a strategic risk item on board agendas, government roadmaps, and security programs around the world. You do not need a production-grade quantum computer to feel the impact. You need to be quantum ready long before that day arrives. Being quantum ready means your organization is prepared to withstand the impact of quantum computers on today’s cryptography. In January we conducted a survey gathering data from various participants involved in the quantum industry. We inquired about general feelings regarding readiness to adopt and invest in quantum and are excited to share our findings.

Read the full report here. Let’s dive into some of these findings and what they mean for the industry. We gathered responses from almost 800 participants worldwide. Most respondents were academics, followed by quantum computing vendors. Approximately 40% of participants are from Europe, 35% are from North America, and the rest are from Asia and other countries. More detailed information regarding the continental breakdown of respondents can be found in the full report.

Quantum computing efforts have largely been driven by academics, businesses, and other entities in North America and Europe, which explains this demographic. For industry experts, the intended uses of quantum computing are for scientific research and development as well as proof of concept or plot projects. There is only a small minority who intend to use quantum computing for practical use. This data falls in line with the consensus that quantum computing is not quite ready for real-world applications. However, it leaves hope for the next few years as some people are already prepared for the operational use of quantum systems. Although some parties are ready to use quantum operationally, there are major barriers present preventing them from adopting quantum.

The three most common barriers to entry are high costs of implementation, lack of a skilled workforce, and unclear business value. If you’re interested in seeing more, our full report offers covers the barriers to adoption broken down by user profile. At QuEra, we work hard towards tackling these hurdles and progressing towards quantum adoption. Looking at these current obstacles shows a clear path to success we can work towards. With more research, innovation, development, and time, the costs to build and support quantum computing will decrease, inevitably lowering the cost of implementation. By continuing to work with academic institutions and by developing programs catered towards quantum computing professions, a skilled workforce can be developed.

The issue of unclear business value is expected with the current relevant infancy of quantum computing. However, as we progress and develop new specific solutions through programs like algorithm co-design, we will adapt, and businesses will identify ROI opportunities. Besides their vast positive potential for advanced mathematical modeling and simulation, quantum computers are expected to be able to break data protection measures underpinning the digital economy. Leaders need to act, but often don’t know where to begin. The Quantum Readiness Toolkit, which is based on five key principles, provides practical steps to help them assess their organization’s Quantum Cyber Readiness and identify and prioritize future actions. Future-oriented leaders should be aware: the time to act on quantum risk is today.

In the future, powerful quantum computers will be able to break some of the cryptographic algorithms used to protect vast amounts of data every day. Mitigating this ‘quantum risk’ will require organizations to implement quantum-secure technologies, a complex and daunting task. Leaders may feel they have time, but hackers may already be harvesting their data to decrypt in the future, and the transition to become Quantum Cyber Ready may take years. To help them with this major transition, Deloitte and the World Economic Forum worked with a global community of specialists to create the Quantum Readiness Toolkit – this Toolkit provides actions for organizations who... At the core of the Quantum Readiness Toolkit are five key principles. Leaders should keep these in mind as they embark on their quantum-security journey.

They cover topics such as how to educate senior leaders and operational teams, how to incorporate quantum risk management in governance structures, and how to successfully select and implement technologies. For each of the principles, the Quantum Readiness Toolkit provides actionable practices and activities leaders can undertake today. Deloitte is already embracing these principles when helping our clients become Quantum Cyber Ready. Quantum risk is only one of many risks leaders need to consider. Further exacerbating this is that no one knows exactly when quantum computers that can break today’s cryptography will be commercially viable. Consensus is clear, however, that nobody wants to be too late when they start to address it.

An important conclusion from the Quantum Readiness Toolkit is therefore that leaders should embed quantum risk in their broader risk management approaches to help them achieve a future-oriented organization that is resilient to emerging... Considerations for kickstarting your Quantum Cyber Readiness journey While others have focused on hardware and software to build quantum, South Carolina's focus is on peopleware. We cultivate quantum-ready workers through hands-on training opportunities, curriculum development, and more. We forge lasting partnerships with key players in healthcare, finance, education, and beyond, using the power of quantum technology to achieve their goals. We support real-world quantum applications for entrepreneurs, colleges, and universities, building breakthroughs across industries.

The quantum computing revolution isn’t coming – it’s already here. In my recent conversation with Mitra Azizirad, President and COO of Strategic Missions and Technologies at Microsoft, she made it crystal clear that we’ve entered what she calls “the reliable quantum computing era.” This...

Make Quantum Readiness Real

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