Second Quantum Datacenter Alliance forum at Battersea focuses on real deployments

[SchrodingersCat]

The second Quantum Datacenter Alliance forum, held at Battersea Power Station in London, focused on the practical business of fitting quantum computers into data centres, The Quantum Insider reports. Speakers came from Nvidia, IBM, Coherent, Equinix, Quantinuum, Atom Computing, Nu Quantum and the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. A recurring theme was that system architecture, error correction, interoperability and power use now matter as much as the qubits themselves

Nu Quantum chief executive Carmen Palacios-Berraquero said: "As quantum computing moves towards large-scale utility, collaboration becomes critical." Atom Computing chief executive Ben Bloom made a similar point. "Building a utility scale quantum computer doesn't just fall to one company," he said. "It's the combination of multiple components together."

Equinix's Petrina Anne Steele described quantum as "an incubating technology that sits alongside classical HPC and now AI environments, and is highly complementary." That fits what we have seen in several stories recently, from Oak Ridge's work with Frontier to Nvidia's push to link GPUs with quantum processors. The vision is not quantum computers replacing data centres, but becoming another type of processor inside them

Computer scientist Dame Wendy Hall made a point that anyone running this forum will appreciate. "It's all about communication," she said. "Quantum computing is the hardest to explain to non technical audiences." The Alliance plans more forums and working groups. Holding it in a converted power station in London was a nice touch, given how much energy use came up

What will it take to put quantum computers in ordinary data centres? And is Dame Wendy Hall right that quantum is the hardest technology to explain?

Second QDA Forum Focuses on Real-World Deployments And Progress of Quantum Computingthequantuminsider.com

[NightReaper83]

Equinix getting involved is significant. They run data centres all over the world. If they start offering quantum alongside normal servers, access could become much easier

[SignalMage92]

Cooling is the big practical issue. Superconducting machines need dilution refrigerators, which are not standard data centre kit. Trapped ions and neutral atoms are easier in some ways, but have their own needs. Power, floor space and vibration all matter too. Data centres were not designed for any of this

[RightNutter82]

Wendy Hall is right. AI you can show people with a chatbot

Quantum you have to explain with analogies that are all slightly wrong. It is a real communication challenge

[Mia_76]

DSIT being there shows the UK government wants to be part of these conversations. With the ProQure procurement programme coming, data centre readiness matters

[LordGaz90]

Battersea Power Station is a great venue choice. From coal power to quantum computing conferences in one building

[Rosie_81]

Collaboration sounds nice in speeches, but these companies are also fierce competitors. Will be interesting to see how much they share in the working groups. Shared standards for the boring parts, like power and racks, would still help everyone