A new initiative seeks to facilitate access to this technology through the Qiskit function catalogue. This launch aims to democratize development in the area by promoting innovation and simplifying interaction with advanced systems.
While IBM has been the leader in bringing quantum computing to large enterprises and research organizations, the company has just taken another significant step in expanding its access to a broader group of developers. It announced the availability of the Qiskit Functions Catalog as part of the Qiskit software stack , which is a collection of performance management applications and services from IBM and its partners for use on the company’s quantum platform.
Quantum computing shares many similarities with artificial intelligence. While the advances in hardware are significant, the biggest challenge is enabling the ecosystem with libraries, development tools, and abstract applications so that any developer can take advantage of the technology.
Additionally, users will need to obtain licenses to use applications and resources independently from the company or partner, after an initial trial period. In the future, we hope to simplify this with a single licensing solution. As a result, this first deployment is referred to as “preview.” Think of it as a beta release of the catalog, with broader access and more solutions becoming available over time.
According to the company, the goals of the Qiskit Functions Catalog are to open up quantum development to a broader group of developers, generate economies of scope and scale for quantum computing, foster future innovation in this field, and help develop new business models for this innovation.
A key benefit of using this collection of applications will be simplified access to IBM’s fleet of quantum systems, which feature large-scale utility processors with more than 100 qubits. The features will eventually allow users to program across connected quantum processing units without having to manage the complexities of hardware.
Quantum utility was achieved in 2023 when the company and UC Berkeley demonstrated that quantum computers could obtain results for quantum computing problems beyond the capability of brute-force classical simulation. This will only continue with IBM’s aggressive roadmap for its own quantum solutions and continued investment in quantum computing across the industry. By creating the Qiskit Functions Catalog, the company remains a leader in quantum computing, while bringing the industry closer to large-scale quantum solutions.
