Accenture granted US patent for quantum computing technology

Accenture has been granted a US patent for a solution that leverages quantum computing technology to optimise business decision making, creating unprecedented efficiency and effectiveness.

In a statement released this week, the leading global professional digital and technology company, announced that it has been granted a US patent for a “multi-state quantum optimisation engine”.

The patent shows Accenture’s belief that businesses could take advantage of the best aspects of both classical and quantum computing techniques to enable breakthrough solutions to problems that couldn’t be solved before. Through this new engine, Accenture can run multiple simultaneous simulations in order to establish and determine the ‘optimal’ outcome.

One key example, as highlighted by Accenture in the patent, is in large-scale supply chain distributors.

The challenge of deciding which trucks should go to which distribution centers to pick up what cargo to bring to which stores can be addressed for one or two carefully specified – and often simplified – scenarios using current solutions, says the Accenture patent.

“With the solution described in the patent, a distributor could explore significantly more scenarios, asking and answering new and different kinds of questions to better understand the implications of adjusting the number of trucks or frequency of deliveries so an optimal decision can be made.”

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“We recognize the significant potential that quantum computing has to fundamentally disrupt how organizations across industries operate, and we’re committed to actively helping to shape the future for how it’s applied to create business value,” said Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s chief technology & innovation officer. “Our quantum computing optimization engine patent is the latest example of how we’re strategically investing in and harnessing this technology to deliver tangible results.”

“In rapidly shifting markets, companies need to be able to predict their next best action both quickly and precisely,”said Narendra Mulani, chief analytics officer, Accenture Applied Intelligence. “Integrating both classical and quantum computing devices could allow organizations to run simulations at a massive scale to determine best possible outcomes. It’s a truly visionary concept — clients can apply it to solving optimization tasks from a wide range of applications, such as machine learning, information security, pattern recognition, image analysis, and bioinformatics.”