14.5 Hardware

A quantum computing system needs real quantum computing hardware. While simulators may be helpful for learning, experimenting, and debugging small problems, the sooner you use actual hardware, the quicker you’ll take advantage of its potential. You are not doing quantum computing if you are solely using classical hardware.

• Are you sure your vendor provides access to real quantum hardware, or is it only a simulator?
• Is the quantum hardware general purpose (also known as universal), or is it designed to solve only one kind of problem?
• Can your quantum hardware be used to solve problems significantly better than classical technologies? If not, when will this happen?
• Does the choice of qubit modality make a difference to you?
• What qubit modality produces systems with the best benchmark scores for your intended applications?
• How are the number of high-quality qubits scaling for the technology...