Navigating the Global Quantum Landscape: A Timely New Report for Government Leaders

Quantum technology is no longer a distant scientific possibility. Governments worldwide now treat it as a strategic, operational, economic, and national security priority. Its applications span materials science, pharmaceuticals, energy, finance, healthcare, logistics, communications, and defense. The risks are equally serious. Quantum computing threatens to break the cryptographic systems that protect government data, financial networks, military communications, critical infrastructure, and digital services.

That is why this report is so timely. Both the promise and the threat demand attention.

On June 22, 2026, the Trump administration issued two Executive Orders on quantum technology. Executive Order 14412, Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks, directs federal agencies t directs federal agencies to begin transitioning to post-quantum cryptography. Agencies must inventory vulnerable systems, migrate high-value assets to NIST-approved post-quantum standards, and coordinate across government to meet defined milestones. The order also calls for engagement with critical infrastructure owners and international partners.

Executive Order 14413, Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation, updates the nation’s whole-of-government quantum strategy. The order accelerates development, deployment, and commercialization of quantum computing, sensing, and networking technologies. It calls for an updated National Quantum Strategy, expanded workforce recruitment and training, stronger supply chain planning, and tighter alignment with international partners to protect American leadership in quantum information science and technology.

Together, these Executive Orders place quantum readiness at the center of national security, technology, workforce, and innovation policy. They reinforce the central message of Dr. Ganga’s report: awareness of quantum is not enough. Government leaders need strategic understanding, operational readiness, and sustained action.

Why This Report Matters Now

Quantum technology is developing inside a global ecosystem that is both competitive and collaborative. Nations are committing serious money. Companies are working to bring new capabilities to market. Universities and research institutions are training right now the next generation of quantum scientists and engineers. Governments are working to protect sensitive technologies while also encouraging scientific exchange and market development.

Global investment in quantum technology surpassed $40 billion in 2024, with major public commitments from the United States, China, the European Union, and other countries. .  These commitments matter because quantum leadership will not be determined by scientific discovery alone. Policy choices, investment strategies, workforce pipelines, public-private partnerships, supply chain resilience, and cybersecurity preparedness will all play deciding roles.

Dr. Ganga’s report gives government leaders a structured way to read this global picture. It does not treat quantum as a single technology or a single-country race but places quantum in a broader global context. The report examines five strategic elements across five major players: the United States, China, the European Union, India, and Australia.

Those five elements are investment, innovation, education, security, and cooperation. The framework is useful for public managers because it connects the science of quantum to the to the governance choices that will shape its development and use.

A Global View of Quantum Competition and Cooperation

The report offers a perspective on global competition and cooperation around quantum and provides some interesting insights.

• The United States leads in research depth, startup activity, and a decentralized innovation model. That structure drives private sector dynamism, academic discovery, and market-driven development. It also produces governance challenges: fragmentation, unclear lines of accountability, and funding gaps.
• China has taken a centralized, state-directed approach. It has deployed major public investment and coordinated national planning across multiple technological domains. Centralized direction speeds development but also reflects a governance model built on state authority rather than market competition.
• The European Union has built its approach around shared research programs, multilateral coordination, and a strong scientific base. Its challenge is not scientific capacity. The EU needs to translate research strength into commercial leadership outside the academic sector.
• India is an emerging player in the field. Its national quantum program shows how developing economies can enter advanced technology sectors through targeted research, education, and infrastructure spending. International partnerships will be central to India’s trajectory.
• Australia brings deep scientific traditions, strong universities, and a record of innovation. Its challenge is scaling research excellence into commercial impact while addressing talent retention and market development.

Taken together, these cases show that there is no single path to quantum leadership. Nations bring different assets, different constraints, and different policy models. But all face a similar challenge: how to turn scientific promise into public value while managing security risks and geopolitical complexity.

Quantum Is Broader Than Computing

The report also makes an important distinction. Quantum is often used as shorthand for quantum computing, but the field is broader than that.

Quantum sensing can enable ultra-sensitive measurement of motion, gravity, electromagnetic fields, and other physical phenomena. Its potential applications include medical imaging, navigation, geophysics, radar, and defense.

Quantum communication can enable highly secure data transmission. This makes it highly relevant to governments, militaries, financial institutions, and critical infrastructure operators.

Quantum computing remains the most visible branch of the field. It promises the ability to solve certain classes of problems far beyond the reach of today’s most powerful classical computers. These applications could transform scientific discovery, optimization, simulation, and artificial intelligence.

For government leaders, this broader view matters. Quantum is not simply a research topic for laboratories. It is a strategic capability that could affect how agencies secure data, model complex systems, manage infrastructure, deliver services, and protect national interests.

Five Strategic Themes for Government Leaders

The report organizes quantum strategy around five themes.

First, investment matters. Quantum development depends on sustained public and private funding. Basic research, applied science, infrastructure, testbeds, commercialization pathways, and workforce development all require long-term commitment. Governments that cut investment prematurely risk falling behind in a field where accumulated technical depth is difficult to recover.

Second, innovation must connect to public value. Scientific breakthroughs are essential but insufficient on their own. Government leaders must create the conditions for quantum discoveries to move into practical use. That requires partnerships among agencies, national laboratories, universities, startups, established firms, and international allies.

Third, education is central. Quantum will demand a workforce that goes beyond physicists and engineers. Program managers, procurement officials, cybersecurity professionals, policy leaders, and agency executives all need enough knowledge of the technology to make sound decisions. Quantum literacy across the workforce is as important as deep technical expertise.

Fourth, security cannot wait. The risk that future quantum computers will break widely used encryption systems has direct implications for federal agencies and critical infrastructure. Post-quantum cryptography is not a routine technical upgrade. It is a major modernization challenge. Agencies need to know which systems they operate, what data those systems protect, where vulnerabilities are greatest, and how to manage migration without disrupting operations.

Fifth, cooperation is essential. Quantum is often framed as a competition among nations, yet many of the field’s important advances have come through cross-border scientific collaboration. Governments must balance openness with security. Protecting sensitive capabilities while preserving the collaborative networks that produce scientific progress is a real and ongoing management challenge.

Recommendations for Action

Dr. Ganga’s report closes with actionable recommendations for government leaders.

• Sustain support for scientific innovation. Public investment is essential, particularly in foundational research and early-stage technologies. Private capital helps bring discoveries to market, but government support typically creates the scientific base from which commercial applications eventually grow.
• Expand quantum training programs now. Agencies should prepare their workforces across the board, including technical training for cybersecurity and technology professionals and broader education for executives, acquisition leaders, policy staff, and mission owners.
• Invest in quantum-resistant encryption. Agencies should prioritize developing and adopting cryptographic methods built to withstand quantum-enabled attacks. This aligns with the federal emphasis on post-quantum cryptography established in the June 2026 Executive Orders and underscores the urgency of starting migration planning immediately.
• Protect the quantum supply chain. Quantum technologies depend on specialized components, materials, hardware, software, and talent. Resilience across that supply chain is necessary to sustain national capability and reduce strategic exposure.
• Strengthen collaboration. Governments should deepen partnerships with academic institutions, private companies, national laboratories, and international allies. Those partnerships accelerate research, spread best practices, expand workforce capacity, and help direct quantum advances toward public purposes.

A New Addition to the IBM Center’s Quantum Library

This report extends the IBM Center’s growing body of work on quantum technology and government. It builds on earlier IBM Center publications examining quantum computing for public value and the government’s role in responding to quantum technology challenges in an era shaped by artificial intelligence and quantum computing. leaders understand emerging technologies not as abstract trends, but as practical governance challenges.

Quantum technology requires public leaders to think across multiple time horizons at once. Some applications are already taking shape. Others will take years to mature. Some risks, particularly cryptographic risks, demand preparation now, before large-scale quantum computers become fully operational. Government must therefore act in the present while preparing for a future that is still developing.

None of this is easy. It requires strategic foresight, sustained investment, technical expertise, interagency coordination, international engagement, and executive leadership. The cost of delay is too high to accept.

Quantum will shape economic competitiveness, national security, and the future of cybersecurity. It will open new possibilities for scientific discovery and public problem-solving. The decisions government leaders make today will determine how prepared their institutions are when the technology fully arrives.

Navigating the Global Quantum Landscape gives public leaders a useful framework for understanding this moment. The report provides a global context, clarifies strategic choices, identifies risks, and offers concrete recommendations. For government leaders working to prepare for the quantum era, this report provides timely insights to navigate the ever-evolving quantum landscape.