Constellation Insights

Microsoft sets out quantum computing vision: While Microsoft has been investing in quantum computing research for more than a decade, it took a significant step forward during this week's Ignite conference, unveiling a new progamming language aimed at quantum computers that is fully integrated with its Visual Studio developer environment.

Microsoft is also releasing quantum computing simulators that can be run on local machines or on Azure. The language and tools will be available at no charge by the end of this year.

"We set out with a goal of not just achieving a few scientific milestones, but rather what would it take to build a truly scalable quantum computer," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during a keynote.

While classical computers are binary, storing bits as either a one or a zero, quantum systems leverage the behavior of subatomic particles, which can hold multiple states. This phenomena, which is known as superposition, stands to give quantum systems vast amounts of processing power. 

For his part, Nadella referred to that favorite fall tradition, corn mazes, to explain the difference. While a traditional computer would solve the by "brute force," checking one possible path through after another, a quantum computer introduces "amazing parallelism" and could take every path in the corn maze simultaneously, he said.

POV: Microsoft has made major investments in people for its quantum research, bringing on the likes of Fields Medal-winning mathemetican Michael Freedman. He and other Microsoft quantum researchers representing math, phsyics and computer science disciplines joined Nadella onstage for a roundtable discussion aimed at explaining how quantum computing works at a conceptual level, and showcasing Microsoft's advancements, which include a new chip.

Microsoft may have been working on quantum computing for more than 10 years, but is a bit behind the likes of IBM and Google overall. IBM has said it will have commercial quantum systems in the market within a few years. It launched Quantum Experience, which allows developers to interact with an IBM quantum computer through its cloud, in 2016. Google, among others, is close to achieving "quantum supremacy"—the development of a quantum computer than can complete a task faster than the world's fastest supercomputers.

Notably, Microsoft made no announcements regarding the future availability of quantum computing services. But it's a safe bet that when they are available, the vast majority will be procured through Azure. General-purpose quantum computers are years away, but in the meantime, Microsoft is making a smart play by introducing a quantum software stack delivered through the familiar Visual Studio environment. Getting its vast developer community skilled up on its flavor of quantum is a good way to seed the future market.

SAP buys Gigya for customer identity management: Mass personalization at scale is a key goal of any customer engagement strategy. To that end, SAP has acquired customer identity and access management vendor Gigya for a reported $350 million. SAP's Hybris omnichannel e-commerce division had already partnered with Gigya since 2013. Here are the key details from SAP's announcement:

Gigya’s customer identity and access management platform helps companies build digital relationships with their customers. Its platform allows companies to manage customers’ profile, preference, opt-in and consent settings, with customers maintaining control of their data at all times. Customers opt in and register via Gigya’s registration-as-a-service, which addresses changing geographical privacy issues and manages compliance requirements such as the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Gigya currently manages 1.3 billion customer identities in order to build identity-driven relationships for its enterprise clients.

POV: While referred to almost as an afterthought in SAP's announcement, GDPR-readiness is a hugely important and pressing task for companies in or which do business in the European Union. The strict new privacy framework goes into effect in May 2018 and will be vigorously enforced. Companies in violation can be fined up to 4 percent of their annual revenue and the EU is expected to collect billions in fines during the first year of its enactment.

Amazon expands brick-and-mortar presence in India: For a mere $28 million, Amazon is gaining a presence in 80 Indian brick-and-mortar locations. That sum has given Amazon a 5 percent stake in Shoppers Stop, a national department store chain. Amazon will open "experience centers" in the stores, where shoppers can try out products that are available online. In turn, Shoppers Stop plans to open an additional 20 stores.

POV: The deal is a pittance compared to the $5 billion Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has pledged to spend in India overall, but on a strategic basis has some echoes with Amazon's partnership with Kohl's in North America.

One difference is that while Kohl's has developed a strong omnichannel commerce plan, the vast majority of Shoppers Stop's revenue comes from in-store sales, particularly when it comes to clothing. Shoppers Stop represents a chance for Amazon to figure out the best way to convert the chain's loyal shoppers to online buyers, and in the process gain valuable insights about the Indian market overall.