UK Companies Lead Expansion in Quantum Computing

(Reuters) Britain has long been a leader in fundamental research in science and technology, but – with some notable exceptions – has struggled to harness the commercial opportunities that followed.
More than 80% of large companies in Britain are scaling up their quantum computing capabilities, making the country a leader in deploying the nascent technology to solve complex problems, according to research by Accenture.  The majority of the companies expanding quantum computing in Britain said they would increase investment in the technology in the next three years.
Britain has long been a leader in fundamental research in science and technology, but – with some notable exceptions – has struggled to harness the commercial opportunities that followed.
Britain was outpacing the global average of 62% of large firms scaling quantum technology, according to the research, and was leading the United States, where the figure was 74%.
Maynard Williams, a managing director for Accenture Technology in the UK & Ireland, said COVID-19 had forced companies to adopt new technology faster and had increased their willingness to innovate.
“It’s an exciting moment of focus around what these new technologies can do,” Williams said, pointing to areas such as financial markets and supply chains as fertile ground for quantum computing. While the technology is still being tested to create new products and services, we expect quantum computing to bring huge advances in computing power and solve business problems that are too complex for classical computing systems.”