Data centres are about to get a quantum upgrade, but nobody has yet figured out how to plug quantum computers and quantum communication systems into the existing infrastructure that runs the digital economy. This project addresses a critical blind spot. For decades, quantum technologies have been developed in isolation, as standalone machines that operate differently from classical computers. Meanwhile, real-world data centres have grown into sprawling systems of thousands of components from global supply chains, increasingly using specialised chips to handle machine learning and complex data processing. No one has systematically studied how quantum and classical systems could work together inside the same facility. If successful, this research will produce the first-ever blueprint for a quantum/classical hybrid data centre and a quantum internet. That could mean data centres that solve optimisation and sorting problems far beyond today’s capabilities, while also offering fundamentally more secure communications. The impact would be felt in the infrastructure that quietly underpins everything from financial transactions to logistics networks and medical diagnostics—not in a single dramatic leap, but by making the workhorses of the digital economy dramatically more powerful and secure.
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Data centres, and the networks and systems that surround them are the future work horse of digitised economies. The data processing that they provide is a well-known driver for economic growth, providing cutting edge storage and computing systems that increasingly underpin all aspects of business and society. These data centres are huge system of systems, comprising thousands of components coming from a diverse, global supply chain. To account for the ever growing amount and complexity of data that needs to be processed these systems are becoming more complex and have started to incorporate novel chip sets within heterogeneous architectures to provide more efficient training of machine learning problems. Quantum technologies, has long been described as the solution to the world's most challenging data problems. Quantum computing has the ability to significantly enhance our ability to process optimisation, machine learning and sorting problems which are beyond the reach of today's computers, and quantum communications provides the answer to ever-increasing challenges of security. However, to date, very little activity has taken place to understand from a systems perspective how quantum technologies can integrate with existing data centres. Quantum computers and communications systems are often described in isolation, more or less at-odds with the direction of the industry for the last 50 years. This misses the possibility for very significant near term value to be created with quantum/classical hybrid systems. For the first time ever, this project seeks look at quantum technologies through the lens of the existing industry. It brings together experts in classical data centres and networking, quantum computing and quantum communications and will develop a blueprint for a quantum/classical hybrid data centre and a quantum internet.
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