Quantum computing has long been the domain of theoretical physics and academic labs, but it’s starting to move from concept to experimentation in the real world. Industries from logistics and energy to AI and cybersecurity are beginning to explore how quantum capabilities could solve—or cause—complex problems that classical computers struggle with. Early use cases suggest surprising applications for—and challenges from—quantum computing may arrive sooner than many people expect. Below, members of Forbes Technology Council detail some of the ways quantum may soon be making a real-world, widespread impact. 1. Communication Security Quantum computing is poised to rapidly transform cybersecurity, likely altering information exchange sooner than organizations expect. It is critical for organizations to explore quantum communication technologies, such as quantum key distribution and quantum networks, to defend against threats and level the playing field by integrating quantum computing defense strategies into defense frameworks. – Mandy Andress, Elastic 2. Simulations For Autonomous Vehicle Testing Accelerated road testing demands simulating millions of scenarios related to weather, traffic and terrain to train and validate autonomous systems. This involves optimization of scenarios to ensure maximum coverage, risk modeling and detecting anomalies in high-dimensional data obtained from LiDAR, radar and cameras. Quantum computing will be instrumental in performing these simulations much faster. – Ajay Parihar, Fluid Codes Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify? 3. Rapid Data Analysis Quantum computing promises to revolutionize data analysis—for example, helping scientists simulate molecules and gene pools and rapidly unlock life-saving cures. However, the same power that accelerates progress also breaks existing data-protection techniques, putting global digital security at risk. It’s a double-edged future: Quantum is miraculous for analyzing data, but it’s also dangerous for protecting data—unless we prepare now. – Srinivas Shekar, Pantherun Technologies 4. Drug Discovery And Materials Design One surprising area where quantum computing could help soon is drug discovery and designing new materials. Quantum computers can study molecules in ways normal computers can’t. This can help scientists develop new medicines or better batteries faster. Big companies are already working on this, so real-world use may come sooner than people think. – Jay Krishnan, NAIB IT Consultancy Solutions WLL 5. Logistics Optimization Logistics optimization represents an unexpected area of impact. Quantum computing shows promise for transforming complex routing problems that affect delivery networks and supply chains. The technology could optimize shipping and traffic routes in real time across the globe, which would reduce costs and emissions at a pace that’s beyond current supercomputers. – Raju Dandigam, Navan 6. Telecom Network Optimization Quantum computing could make a real-world impact sooner than expected in telecom network optimization. Quantum computing can revolutionize telecom networks by significantly enhancing their resilience and delivering richer user experiences. Additionally, with principles like superposition and entanglement, QNLP can address current natural language processing challenges, including nuanced understanding and bias. – Anil Pantangi, Capgemini America Inc. 7. Food Waste Reduction World hunger is one unique challenge where quantum could have an immediate impact. Roughly one-third of all food produced is lost across the entire supply chain, from farm to table. Quantum algorithms could be applied to optimize the food supply chain, improving demand forecasting, logistics and resource allocation. It can determine the best delivery path and ensure no food goes to waste. – Usman Javaid, Orange Business 8. Synthetic Biology Innovation Entropy-based quantum computing using nanophotonics is optimized for solving very complex polynomial mathematics. This type of quantum computing can be performed at room temperature and could accelerate the development of low-energy protein configurations and synthetic amino acids. That, in turn, may give synthetic biology a boost in biochip and biosensor development. Products using biochips could elevate patient diagnostics, monitoring and drug delivery to a new level. – John Cho, Tria Federal 9. Smarter Energy Grids Quantum computing will revolutionize energy systems by enabling real-time monitoring and modeling of electric grids. This will be critical as today’s grids transition to match distributed sources of renewable energy, with growing demand from EVs, electric heating and data centers. I expect quantum will be a key technology to create smarter grids that deliver reliable, clean and affordable energy. – Steve Smith, National Grid Partners 10. Breaking Of Current Identity And Encryption Systems Attackers are now harvesting internet data for the time when quantum computers are ready to break today’s identity and encryption systems.​ CEOs and boards are asking, “What’s our risk? How do we defend ourselves?” It’s a reason why lifetimes for TLS certificates—the identity system for the internet—will drop to 47 days as demanded by Google, Apple and Microsoft. – Kevin Bocek, Venafi, a CyberArk Company 11. AI Training Quantum computing could soon transform large language model training by accelerating matrix operations and optimization, potentially breaking today’s cost barrier. With skyrocketing demand for AI and breakthroughs like DeepSeek, quantum-accelerated AI may arrive faster than expected, as the extremely well-funded AI industry considers this its most urgent problem. – Reuven Aronashvili, CYE 12. Smarter Water Systems Municipal and industrial water systems lose an estimated 20% to 30 % of the water they pump through undetected leaks, pressure miscalibration and energy-hungry pumps. Finding the optimal combination of where to place sensors, how to set valve pressures and when to run pumps is a classic combinatorial-optimization headache; the search space explodes as a network expands. It’s a perfect use case for quantum. – Jon Latshaw, Advizex 13. Generation Of Specialized AI Training Data Quantum computers could impact AI by generating high-fidelity training data for domains like pharmaceuticals, chemistry and materials design, where real-world training data is scarce. They can accurately simulate the complex molecular structures needed for training generative AI algorithms. The synergy of quantum computing and AI is poised to be more transformative than either technology alone. – Stephanie Simmons, Photonic Inc. 14. Cybersecurity Threat Detection Most of us focus on the risks of quantum in relation to breaking public key cryptography. Quantum will also have a positive impact by preventing and detecting attacks early through its ability to solve complex