A decision framework for corporate leaders who already know quantum is coming — and want to move from vague awareness to concrete action. Four questions, honest answers.
You don't need to address all three quantum technologies at once. Each sits at a different point on the maturity curve — and each has a different concrete first step for an Austrian corporate that wants to move from awareness to action.
PQC standards finalised August 2024. EU migration target: 2030 for high-risk systems, 2035 full transition. If your data must stay confidential beyond 2030, this belongs in your 2026 planning.
Use Case Examples
Long-lived customer and financial data · IP and R&D records · Legal, medical, and government archives
Your First Step
Make it a leadership topic. Assign executive ownership and bring your CISO, CTO, and business leads to the same table.
Hybrid pilots producing real results today in logistics, finance, and energy. Broad enterprise advantage is still years away — but the gap between companies starting in 2026 and those starting in 2029 is significant.
Use Case Examples
Portfolio and risk optimisation · Route and supply-chain planning · Grid and energy scheduling
Your First Step
Identify where classical computers struggle — complex scheduling, routing, simulation at scale. A 1–2 day use-case workshop produces a prioritised shortlist.
Commercial gravimetry deployed for oil, gas, and geotechnical today. Magnetometry for industrial infrastructure monitoring: 2027+. Relevant if you operate underground or large-scale infrastructure assets.
Use Case Examples
Subsurface surveys in oil & gas · Buried pipeline and cable location · Geotechnical and infrastructure assessment
Your First Step
Identify your measurement gaps. Which physical quantities can you not measure directly today — and what would direct measurement change?
Every organisation sits somewhere on this journey. Understanding where you are is the prerequisite for knowing what to do next. You don't need to reach Stage 3 overnight — you need to take the right next step from where you are today.
Quantum is a headline without content. You've heard the term. You know something is happening. But you can't answer: which of the three technologies matters for us? In what timeframe? Who are the relevant partners in Austria? Is there internal budget or mandate?
Typical Indicators
What to Do Next
Read this guide completely. Attend a Quantum Reality Check — Webinar. Identify who internally should own this topic.
You understand the three technologies but can't assess the business case. You can name the relevant players in the Austrian ecosystem and have a rough sense of where each technology sits on the maturity curve. But you can't answer: should we push this internally? What is the ROI case? Which specific use case fits our organisation?
Typical Indicators
What to Do Next
Join a Quantum Reality Check — Roundtable. Commission a use case workshop with an Austrian quantum partner. Take one concrete step in your priority area — a cryptographic inventory, a computing use-case shortlist, or a sensing measurement-gap review.
Convinced and with clear relevance — but unsure how to start. You have internal mandate, a shortlist of use cases, and support from leadership. But: which partners? Which funding instruments? What does the first pilot actually look like — technically, financially, organisationally?
Typical Indicators
What to Do Next
Structure a first pilot with the right technology partner — in cryptography, computing, or sensing. Scope technical feasibility with Austrian providers and research institutions, and set a 12-month pilot milestone with clear success criteria.
“We need to wait for quantum computers to be more powerful before acting.”
Wrong for security. Post-Quantum Cryptography migration is needed now — before quantum computers break today's encryption. The window is the next 3–5 years, not 10+.
“Quantum computing will replace our existing IT infrastructure.”
Quantum computers complement classical systems — they don't replace them. Hybrid architectures will remain the norm for the foreseeable future.
“We need quantum physicists to explore quantum computing applications.”
You don't. Use-case identification requires domain experts who understand your business problems. The quantum expertise is provided by partners like AQT, ParityQC, and FFG-supported specialists.
“PQC migration is just a software update.”
Not quite. It requires a cryptographic inventory, protocol updates, certificate replacement, and for legacy infrastructure: potentially hardware changes. For large organisations, this is a multi-year programme, not an afternoon project.
“Austria is too small to have relevant quantum technology.”
Austria is home to Nobel Prize-winning quantum research (Zeilinger, 2022), Europe's leading trapped-ion quantum computer builder (AQT, Innsbruck), Europe's first banking-sector eQKD pilot (zerothird + Erste Group + A1, 2026), and one of 18 OECD countries with a comprehensive national quantum strategy.
The quantum ecosystem in Austria is small enough that the key people are reachable directly — not behind layers of enterprise sales. These are the entry points a corporate can use today to start a meaningful conversation.
Start Here
Entry Point
FFG Quantum Services →Cryptography Technology
zerothird — eQKD Systems →Computing Hardware
AQT — Alpine Quantum Technologies →Computing Architecture
ParityQC — Quantum Software →The Quantum Reality Check is a structured programme for Austrian corporates, SMEs, and startups at any stage of the quantum journey — with several formats throughout the year. Two key entry points: open Webinars to build foundational knowledge, and invite-only Roundtables for structured peer exchange and direct access to Austria's quantum experts.
No physics knowledge required. Participation is free of charge — funded by the FFG.