Quantum computing? This is still in its infancy, but it is expected that the first business systems will be operational by 2030. What does this mean for customer contact and customer service?

Companies and institutions that want to serve their customers in a personal way will have to become 'data-driven': make smart use of the information they have about their customers. This is not just a matter of having your data management in order, but also ensuring the right connectivity, hardware and software. Globally, total data production is expected to amount to approximately 2025 zettabytes by the year 200 (1 zettabyte is one billion terabytes). Fiber optic is a future-proof infrastructure for the transport of all that data, but more and more data also requires more and more storage and computing power - and more efficient and more sustainable alternatives for computing power are also being sought. Quantum computing is seen as a solution.

What is quantum computing?

Quantum computing is a new approach to information processing that uses the principles of quantum mechanics, a branch of physics that describes the behavior of particles at the subatomic level. Traditional computers use bits, which can take two values: 0 or 1. Quantum computers, however, use quantum bits or 'qubits', which can have multiple states at the same time, thanks to so-called quantum superposition. This means that a quantum particle, such as an electron, does not have to be in one clearly defined state. When a qubit is in a superposition, it can be part of multiple calculations at the same time. This enables quantum computers to process complex calculations in parallel and therefore faster than with traditional computers. Acceleration is also possible with cloud computing, but it comes down to scaling with traditional computers; so that is not a solution for efficiency and sustainability.

The principle of quantum computing originated in the 2030s. Around the turn of the century, important steps were taken in its development. In addition to the advantages (such as lower energy consumption), developing quantum computers is still very expensive and so far they have been quite unstable and error-prone. It is also difficult to transport quantum information over longer distances without the information losing quality. But it is expected that the first quantum computers will be able to be used commercially around XNUMX.

What are the opportunities for customer service?

Data analytics – An important part of customer service is data analytics, which helps to gain insight into customer behavior. That insight can be a stepping stone towards automating processes, for example via chatbots, and it also brings personalized services closer. Large-scale speech analytics assignments are currently expensive because they require a lot of cloud capacity and data traffic. With quantum computing, these disadvantages disappear.

Speed ​​– With quantum computing, more processes can be processed faster or in real time at (ultimately) lower costs. This makes it easier, for example, to apply real-time translation (from speech to speech). This makes it possible for customer contact employees to work language-independently.

Security – Quantum computing also offers promising opportunities in the field of cybersecurity. Customers are finding privacy and security increasingly important. Quantum computing delivers a much higher level of cryptography (encrypting data). Quantum computers can also calculate complex simulations, which can contribute to the discovery of vulnerabilities. On the other hand: if criminals also gain access to quantum computers, traditional solutions will become extra vulnerable and advanced solutions will not add much.

Still a lot of work to do

In addition to the realization of stable, reliable hardware, a lot of work also needs to be done to develop suitable software. But when the first systems are available around 2030, quantum computing will contribute to better and faster customer service. We'll have to wait and see whether it actually becomes safer. (Ziptone/editors)

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