Cisco will soon unveil a new network controller that lets quantum networks scale and is looking for design partners to team up with as the company plans to launch quantum Entanglement-as-a-Service (EaaS) in the future. 

Recent advancements in quantum computing are strong signs that they are the future. However, making this a reality will also require much groundwork. For instance, quantum computing and sensing will not be scalable until quantum networks are also built. 

Work on quantum computing is proceeding rapidly but is still largely done manually. From fibers to configuration, setting up states, fidelity everything that a quantum application requires is done manually. Networking giant Cisco wants to change this and has been working to address various components that are needed to make quantum networks scalable. 

Vijoy Pandey, Senior Vice President at Outshift by Cisco, compares running a quantum network today with driving a car, but one where the driver needs to do everything, handle the steering, control the fuel line, keep the engine cool, and turn the axle as well, all at the same time. 

Outshift is Cisco’s wing that turns ideas into products and now believes that quantum networks have reached a point where driving needs to be simplified. A quantum application should be able to tell a quantum network what it needs, and the network should figure out the rest to deliver the task, whether sensing, computing, or security. 

In a blog post , Pandey elaborates that scale in quantum computing won’t come from just adding qubits but by connecting machines together, and this is where Cisco’s expertise will be helpful.

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