The debate over quantum computing raged for a second week as Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg echoed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's view that the technology is not ready for prime time. Now, the CEO of SAP, one of the biggest software companies in the world, has weighed in, pushing back on the view that quantum computing won't have a significant impact in the near future.
"We see quantum, not in 10 or 15 years, but certainly in three to four years," SAP CEO Christian Klein told Investor's Business Daily.
That's dramatically faster than Huang's view that quantum computing won't be "very useful" for 15 to 30 years.
SAP, an enterprise software powerhouse, offers tools used by major corporations and big organizations for their operations, such as supply chains, sales and human resources. The company has been working with quantum computing companies to explore the use of the technology in enterprise software, Klein said. He declined to name SAP's quantum computing partners.
Klein said the technology is promising, especially in a key area: supply-chain management.
Quantum Computing: Impact On Supply Chains
"A supply chain is an unbelievably complex construct," he said. "You have millions of suppliers and to really calculate the right logistics, to really calculate which supplier can deliver best when, to really say which factory should you produce, to deliver on time — these are unbelievable, complex scenarios."
SAP — which competes with other enterprise software behemoths like Oracle, Salesforce and Microsoft — has been looking into how the company can "solve all of these very complex dependencies much better."
"There is a door which is opening with quantum computing," he said. "We see this absolutely."
The technology can have a potentially dramatic impact, Klein said.
With "scenarios which we are running on supply chains," what would "normally, today, take a week we now can do in an hour."
"There are a lot of things coming together," he said. "But time-wise, we can definitely believe that simulations you would run today in a week, you can probably bring down to an hour. Give this technology a few more years, probably we will talk hours or minutes at a certain point of time."
The debate over quantum computing erupted at a time when the spotlight has been on artificial intelligence as the major trend driving the tech industry.
SAP Developing AI Tools
It is a trend that SAP has also embraced, joining other enterprise software giants in the race to develop AI tools for enterprises.
"AI was always, for us, a key value driver for all of our solutions and for the platform," Klein said.
SAP stock gained 1.6% to close at 253.50 as it nears the 256.13 buy point of a flat base, according to MarketSurge. The stock, which is up roughly 3% year to date, has a Relative Strength Rating of 90.
Quantum computing stocks also posted solid gains Tuesday.
After slipping in morning trades, Ionq rose 6% to close at 29.51. Rigetti Computing jumped 48% to close at 8.95, while D-Wave Quantum gained 23.5% to close at 4.70. The three stocks each hold a perfect Relative Strength Rating of 99, according to MarketSurge.
