Avasant Quantum Series: From Hype to Strategy — A Quantum Readiness Guide for CIOs and CTOs

Quantum is Coming

Quantum technology—rooted in the principles of quantum mechanics—is poised to tackle problems far beyond the capabilities of today’s most powerful classical computers. Its potential spans computing, cybersecurity, advanced sensing, and next-generation materials.

Yet, many enterprises remain on the sidelines, assuming quantum computing is still years from real-world impact. This mindset mirrors the early days of generative AI (Gen AI), when most organizations underestimated its timeline. None of the organizations anticipated the emergence of Gen AI, and when ChatGPT captured global attention in November 2022, it seemed like an overnight success. In reality, it was the culmination of years of foundational progress.

Quantum is on a similar trajectory; its “ChatGPT moment” is fast approaching.

Jay Gambetta, VP of IBM Quantum, suggests that quantum advantage—the milestone where quantum systems outperform the most advanced classical computers could happen in 2026. Meanwhile, tech giants are already racing ahead. At the 2025 COMPUTEX trade show, NVIDIA spotlighted quantum computing as its next frontier, unveiling partnerships with Taiwan’s HPC ecosystem to develop quantum-accelerated supercomputers.

The message is clear: Enterprises that wait for headline moments will miss the opportunity to lead and may struggle just to keep up.

The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating

Organizations with a solid understanding of quantum principles have already begun testing quantum-inspired approaches, and many are now scaling up efforts. They are piloting targeted applications and preparing their infrastructure for the era of practical quantum computing in the following ways:

1. 1. Experimenting with quantum-inspired algorithms for optimization, simulation, and logistics challenges on classical high-performance systems. This helps build internal familiarity and business alignment.
   2. Making critical systems crypto-agile involves architecting enterprise systems to support seamless migration across NIST-endorsed post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards without disruptive reengineering.

More importantly, these pioneers are not traditional tech companies. Their growing investments and hands-on implementations underscore an important shift—quantum has moved from the realm of academic research to the enterprise boardroom. It is now seen as a competitive differentiator and a long-term R&D priority.

Strategic Sectors Make Big Bets

Industries such as aerospace and defense, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), and life sciences are emerging as early movers in quantum technology adoption, not by coincidence but because of their inherent characteristics.

These sectors share several attributes that make them primed for quantum innovation:

• • High risk tolerance and long-term horizon: These industries are accustomed to investing in moonshot technologies that may take years to mature but offer exponential returns. Whether it’s precision-guided defense systems, next-gen financial modeling, or drug discovery, they are no strangers to bold bets on the future.
  • Deep R&D budgets: Aerospace giants, global banks, and pharmaceutical leaders consistently allocate large portions of their revenue to R&D. This financial bandwidth allows them to invest in emerging technologies like quantum without immediate pressure for returns.
  • Strategic and national importance: These sectors operate in domains critical to national security, economic stability, and public health. Quantum computing promises breakthroughs that could secure strategic advantages—from unbreakable encryption and real-time fraud detection to accelerated vaccine development and molecular modeling.
  • Complex, intractable problem solving: Quantum systems are uniquely suited to tackle problems that overwhelm classical computing, such as simulating molecular interactions, optimizing global supply chains, or solving stochastic risk models. Even marginal improvements in accuracy or speed can translate into billions of dollars or saved lives for these industries.

This confluence of strategic imperative, financial capability, and technological alignment explains why these sectors are not waiting on the sidelines. They are laying the groundwork now—testing algorithms, forming partnerships, and building quantum-ready infrastructure—to be among the first to benefit when the quantum advantage arrives. Some notable examples are listed below:

• • Airbus runs an annual quantum computing challenge to bring together academia and startups to work on real industrial cases across various aerospace challenges.
  • Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, announced an investment of about $200 million in quantum computing startups in May 2024.
  • HSBC successfully trialled the first application of quantum-secure technology for buying and selling tokenized physical gold in September 2024.

How to Become Quantum-Ready: A Strategic Framework for CIOs and CTOs

As quantum technologies move from lab to enterprise applications, CIOs and CTOs must proactively assess their organization’s readiness across key capabilities. Becoming quantum-ready requires more than experimentation; it demands a clear understanding of how the technology aligns with enterprise strategy, operations, and future competitiveness.

At Avasant, we recognize that enterprises often need structured guidance to navigate this rapidly evolving space. Based on our extensive engagements with global organizations and our deep expertise across AI and quantum ecosystems, we have developed a comprehensive framework to help enterprises evaluate and accelerate their quantum journey. This framework spans four critical dimensions: technology readiness, talent and capability, ecosystem partnerships, and investments and innovation.

For more information or to explore how your organization can accelerate its quantum preparedness, please contact research@avasant.com.

By Chandrika Dutt, Research Director, and Akshay Khanna, Managing Partner