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It might all sound like a sci-fi concept, but building quantum networks is a key ambition for many countries around the world. Recently the US Department of Defense (DoE) published the first blueprint of its kind, laying out a step-by-step strategy to make the quantum internet dream come true, at least in a very preliminary form, over the next few years.

The US joined the EU and China in showing a keen interest in the concept of quantum communications. But what is the quantum internet exactly, how does it work, and what are the wonders that it can accomplish?

WHAT IS THE QUANTUM INTERNET?

The quantum internet is a network that will let quantum devices exchange some information within an environment that harnesses the weird laws of quantum mechanics. In theory, this would lend the quantum internet unprecedented capabilities that are impossible to carry out with today's web applications.

SEE: Managing AI and ML in the enterprise 2020: Tech leaders increase project development and implementation (TechRepublic Premium)

In the quantum world, data can be encoded in the state of qubits, which can be created in quantum devices like a quantum computer or a quantum processor. And the quantum internet, in simple terms, will involve sending qubits across a network of multiple quantum devices that are physically separated. Crucially, all of this would happen thanks to the whacky properties that are unique to quantum states.

That might sound similar to the standard internet. But sending qubits around through a quantum channel, rather than a classical one, effectively means leveraging the behavior of particles when taken at their smallest scale so-called "quantum states", which have caused delight and dismay among scientists for decades.

And the laws of quantum physics, which underpin the way information will be transmitted in the quantum internet, are nothing short of unfamiliar. In fact, they are strange, counter-intuitive, and at times even seemingly supernatural.

And so to understand how the quantum ecosystem of the internet 2.0 works, you might want to forget everything you know about classical computing. Because not much of the quantum internet will remind you of your favorite web browser.

WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION CAN WE EXCHANGE WITH QUANTUM?

In short, not much that most users are accustomed to. At least for the next few decades, therefore, you shouldn't expect to one day be able to jump onto quantum Zoom meetings.

Central to quantum communication is the fact that qubits, which harness the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics, behave very differently to classical bits.

As it encodes data, a classical bit can effectively only be one of two states. Just like a light switch has to be either on or off, and just like a cat has to be either dead or alive, so does a bit have to be either 0 or 1.

Not so much with qubits. Instead, qubits are superposed: they can be 0 and 1 simultaneously, in a special quantum state that doesn't exist in the classical world. It's a little bit as if you could be both on the left-hand side and the right-hand side of your sofa, in the same moment.

The paradox is that the mere act of measuring a qubit means that it is assigned a state. A measured qubit automatically falls from its dual state, and is relegated to 0 or 1, just like a classical bit.

The whole phenomenon is called superposition, and lies at the core of quantum mechanics.

Unsurprisingly, qubits cannot be used to send the kind of data we are familiar with, like emails and WhatsApp messages. But the strange behavior of qubits is opening up huge opportunities in other, more niche applications.

QUANTUM (SAFER) COMMUNICATIONS

One of the most exciting avenues that researchers, armed with qubits, are exploring, is security.

When it comes to classical communications, most data is secured by distributing a shared key to the sender and receiver, and then using this common key to encrypt the message. The receiver can then use their key to decode the data at their end.

The security of most classical communication today is based on an algorithm for creating keys that is difficult for hackers to break, but not impossible. That's why researchers are looking at making this communication process "quantum". The concept is at the core of an emerging field of cybersecurity called quantum key distribution (QKD).

QKD works by having one of the two parties encrypt a piece of classical data by encoding the cryptography key onto qubits. The sender then transmits those qubits to the other person, who measures the qubits in order to obtain the key values.

SEE: The UK is building its first commercial quantum computer

Measuring causes the state of the qubit to collapse; but it is the value that is read out during the measurement process that is important. The qubit, in a way, is only there to transport the key value.

More importantly, QKD means that it is easy to find out whether a third party has eavesdropped on the qubits during the transmission, since the intruder would have caused the key to collapse simply by looking at it.

If a hacker looked at the qubits at any point while they were being sent, this would automatically change the state of the qubits. A spy would inevitably leave behind a sign of eavesdropping which is why cryptographers maintain that QKD is "provably" secure.

SO, WHY A QUANTUM INTERNET?

QKD technology is in its very early stages. The "usual" way to create QKD at the moment consists of sending qubits in a one-directional way to the receiver, through optic-fibre cables; but those significantly limit the effectiveness of the protocol.

Qubits can easily get lost or scattered in a fibre-optic cable, which means that quantum signals are very much error-prone, and struggle to travel long distances. Current experiments, in fact, are limited to a range of hundreds of kilometers.

There is another solution, and it is the one that underpins the quantum internet: to leverage another property of quantum, called entanglement, to communicate between two devices.

When two qubits interact and become entangled, they share particular properties that depend on each other. While the qubits are in an entangled state, any change to one particle in the pair will result in changes to the other, even if they are physically separated.The state of the first qubit, therefore, can be "read" by looking at the behavior of its entangled counterpart. That's right: even Albert Einstein called the whole thing "spooky action at a distance".

And in the context of quantum communication, entanglement could in effect, teleport some information from one qubit to its entangled other half, without the need for a physical channel bridging the two during the transmission.

HOW DOES ENTANGLEMENT WORK?

The very concept of teleportation entails, by definition, the lack of a physical network bridging between communicating devices. But it remains that entanglement needs to be created in the first place, and then maintained.

To carry out QKD using entanglement, it is necessary to build the appropriate infrastructure to first create pairs of entangled qubits, and then distribute them between a sender and a receiver. This creates the "teleportation" channel over which cryptography keys can be exchanged.

Specifically, once the entangled qubits have been generated, you have to send one half of the pair to the receiver of the key. An entangled qubit can travel through networks of optical fibre, for example; but those are unable to maintain entanglement after about 60 miles.

Qubits can also be kept entangled over large distances via satellite, but covering the planet with outer-space quantum devices is expensive.

There are still huge engineering challenges, therefore, to building large-scale "teleportation networks" that could effectively link up qubits across the world. Once the entanglement network is in place, the magic can start: linked qubits won't need to run through any form of physical infrastructure anymore to deliver their message.

During transmission, therefore, the quantum key would virtually be invisible to third parties, impossible to intercept, and reliably "teleported" from one endpoint to the next. The idea will resonate well with industries that deal with sensitive data, such as banking, health services or aircraft communications. And it is likely that governments sitting on top secret information will also be early adopters of the technology.

WHAT ELSE COULD WE DO WITH THE QUANTUM INTERNET?

'Why bother with entanglement?' you may ask. After all, researchers could simply find ways to improve the "usual" form of QKD. Quantum repeaters, for example, could go a long way in increasing communication distance in fibre-optic cables, without having to go so far as to entangle qubits.

That is without accounting for the immense potential that entanglement could have for other applications. QKD is the most frequently discussed example of what the quantum internet could achieve, because it is the most accessible application of the technology. But security is far from being the only field that is causing excitement among researchers.

The entanglement network used for QKD could also be used, for example, to provide a reliable way to build up quantum clusters made of entangled qubits located in different quantum devices.

Researchers won't need a particularly powerful piece of quantum hardware to connect to the quantum internet in fact, even a single-qubit processor could do the job. But by linking together quantum devices that, as they stand, have limited capabilities, scientists expect that they could create a quantum supercomputer to surpass them all.

SEE: Guide to Becoming a Digital Transformation Champion (TechRepublic Premium)

By connecting many smaller quantum devices together, therefore, the quantum internet could start solving the problems that are currently impossible to achieve in a single quantum computer. This includes expediting the exchange of vast amounts of data, and carrying out large-scale sensing experiments in astronomy, materials discovery and life sciences.

For this reason, scientists are convinced that we could reap the benefits of the quantum internet before tech giants such as Google and IBM even achieve quantum supremacy the moment when a single quantum computer will solve a problem that is intractable for a classical computer.

Google and IBM's most advanced quantum computers currently sit around 50 qubits, which, on its own, is much less than is needed to carry out the phenomenal calculations needed to solve the problems that quantum research hopes to address.

On the other hand, linking such devices together via quantum entanglement could result in clusters worth several thousands of qubits. For many scientists, creating such computing strength is in fact the ultimate goal of the quantum internet project.

WHAT COULDN'T WE DO WITH THE QUANTUM INTERNET?

For the foreseeable future, the quantum internet could not be used to exchange data in the way that we currently do on our laptops.

Imagining a generalized, mainstream quantum internet would require anticipating a few decades (or more) of technological advancements. As much as scientists dream of the future of the quantum internet, therefore, it is impossible to draw parallels between the project as it currently stands, and the way we browse the web every day.

A lot of quantum communication research today is dedicated to finding out how to best encode, compress and transmit information thanks to quantum states. Quantum states, of course, are known for their extraordinary densities, and scientists are confident that one node could teleport a great deal of data.

But the type of information that scientists are looking at sending over the quantum internet has little to do with opening up an inbox and scrolling through emails. And in fact, replacing the classical internet is not what the technology has set out to do.

Rather, researchers are hoping that the quantum internet will sit next to the classical internet, and would be used for more specialized applications. The quantum internet will perform tasks that can be done faster on a quantum computer than on classical computers, or which are too difficult to perform even on the best supercomputers that exist today.

SO, WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

Scientists already know how to create entanglement between qubits, and they have even been successfully leveraging entanglement for QKD.

China, a long-time investor in quantum networks, has broken records on satellite-induced entanglement. Chinese scientists recently established entanglement and achieved QKD over a record-breaking 745 miles.

The next stage, however, is scaling up the infrastructure. All experiments so far have only connected two end-points. Now that point-to-point communication has been achieved, scientists are working on creating a network in which multiple senders and multiple receivers could exchange over the quantum internet on a global scale.

The idea, essentially, is to find the best ways to churn out lots of entangled qubits on demand, over long distances, and between many different points at the same time. This is much easier said than done: for example, maintaining the entanglement between a device in China and one in the US would probably require an intermediate node, on top of new routing protocols.

And countries are opting for different technologies when it comes to establishing entanglement in the first place. While China is picking satellite technology, optical fibre is the method favored by the US DoE, which is now trying to create a network of quantum repeaters that can augment the distance that separates entangled qubits.

In the US, particles have remained entangled through optical fibre over a 52-mile "quantum loop" in the suburbs of Chicago, without the need for quantum repeaters. The network will soon be connected to one of the DoE's laboratories to establish an 80-mile quantum testbed.

In the EU, the Quantum Internet Alliance was formed in 2018 to develop a strategy for a quantum internet, and demonstrated entanglement over 31 miles last year.

For quantum researchers, the goal is to scale the networks up to a national level first, and one day even internationally. The vast majority of scientists agree that this is unlikely to happen before a couple of decades. The quantum internet is without doubt a very long-term project, with many technical obstacles still standing in the way. But the unexpected outcomes that the technology will inevitably bring about on the way will make for an invaluable scientific journey, complete with a plethora of outlandish quantum applications that, for now, cannot even be predicted.

See more here:
What is the quantum internet? Everything you need to know about the weird future of quantum networks - ZDNet

The UK government has announced that it is backing the nation's first commercially available quantum computer to the tune of millions of pounds.

Quantum technology is estimated to offer 4 billion of economic opportunities globally by 2024 (and 341 billion through productivity gains in coming decades) - which will result in creation of new jobs, knowledge and skills in the United Kingdom, the government claims.

A Rigetti superconducting quantum computer is already commercially available in the Amazon Web Service (AWS) Bracket cloud, alongside other US-based systems using different approaches from D-Wave and IonQ. "This a key part of our plan to build back better using the latest technology, attract the brightest and best talent to the United Kingdom and encourage world-leading companies to invest here".

Pharmaceuticals, aerospace and transport are thought to be among the industries that will get maximum benefits from quantum computers. A recent BCG report projected the global quantum industry to reach 4B by 2024.

The University of Edinburgh will develop new techniques to test the hardware and the performance of the programmes that will run on the computer. Phasecraft will develop algorithms for energy, materials design and pharmaceutical purposes, while Standard Chartered Bank will look at financial applications.

It still sounds like early days in the development of a UK-based quantum computer - yesterday's investment kicked-off a three year development program.

"Oxford Instruments" new Proteox dilution refrigerator will be used as the cryogenic platform. "I am sure this collaboration will open a new future for many more innovative applications, and these applications will require an ecosystem where skills development, design & engineering excellence, and technology partners all combine to enable new discoveries and solutions', Simon added".

"We are excited to deliver the UK's first quantum computer and help accelerate the development of practical algorithms and applications", affirmed Rigetti Computing CEO Chad Rigetti. By providing access to quantum hardware, the collaboration aims to unlock new capabilities within the thriving United Kingdom ecosystem of quantum information science researchers, start-ups, and enterprises who have already begun to explore the potential impact of quantum computing.

The funding for the project forms part of the government's Quantum Technologies Challenge, which itself is led by the UK Research and Innovation public body, according to the press release.

Oxford Instruments plc published this content on 02 September 2020 and is exclusively responsible for the information contained therein. And more research should bring us closer to advanced quantum technologies and the grandest goal of quantum information science, creating a fault-tolerant quantum computer that can indefinitely compute without errors. The company's contributions range from underpinning mathematics through to developing software on real or emulated quantum hardware. It is hoped the quantum computer will provide better or quicker ways to solve problems in complex United Kingdom industries like pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and transport.

With over 100 academics, 120 research staff and over 1,600 students from over 80 countries worldwide the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics is the largest European centre of its kind. It will also provide access to quantum computers for both research institutions and businesses.It is based at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. Standard Chartered's Data Science & Innovation group, with a proven research track record in quantum computing and machine learning/AI, has been active in quantum computing since 2017.

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Quantum computer to be hosted in Abingdon - ClickLancashire

Ten years ago, shares of International Business Machines (IBM) traded for $123.13. As I write these words, the stock trades for $123.01, the very definition of dead money.

The company's once formidable moat narrowed as the firm's legacy businesses declined. Consequently, this titanic tech firm trades for a pedestrian P/E multiple below 14 while other tech names lead the market.

But as is often noted by investing pundits, past performance does not predict future returns. While that oft reiterated line warns investors that high flying stocks can spiral to the ground, businesses that muddle along for extended periods can also change course for the better.

My 2014 article on Microsoft (MSFT) is testimony to an unloved company that outperformed the market by a 6 to 1 margin since that piece debuted.

While I'm unconvinced IBM will return to its former glory, I see developments that offer real hope. If the initiatives bear fruit, investors may reap rich rewards.

IBM is characterized as a "no growth" stock. If only that were true. The fact is the company's revenues dropped throughout the last decade. Peruse the chart below to view a business in decline.

Source: Metrics Macrotrends/ Chart by Author

Despite the loss of revenue, IBM still generates fairly robust FCF. Consequently, management mitigates share value losses through stock buybacks.

Source: Metrics Macrotrends/ Chart by Author

This year, IBM's revenue fell to $35.7 billion, dropping by 4%. Much of the decline is attributed to currency impacts and divested businesses. Additionally, the COVID-19 crisis reduced revenues from the global technology hardware and financial segments.

Meanwhile, the company's cloud and cognitive software business fared well. IBM's hybrid cloud revenues grew 34% in the second quarter after a 23% increase in Q1.

IBM once dominated the server market. While that heyday passed, the company's server offerings still rank among the top five in the industry. In Q4 of 2019, IBM was the 3rd largest server vendor with 8.3% of the global market.

IBM experienced a 17.6% growth in server revenues during that quarter while the two leaders, Hewlett Packard (HPE) and Dell Technologies (DELL) reported -3.4% and -9.9% revenue growth, respectively

Last August, the company unveiled its newest POWER processor. Using a 7nm manufacturing process, the POWER10 is designed to support 3X the number of users and workloads as the processor it replaces. Perhaps of greater importance is that the chip is designed to enhance IBM's Red Hat OpenShift platform.

The POWER10 chip will also improve AI inference performance ten to twenty-fold and provides enhanced security.

Source: Forbes

I don't view this as game changing news. Rather, I am providing an example of IBM's ability to compete against rivals in one of the company's legacy businesses.

Despite headwinds related to the pandemic, IBM notched double-digit YoY cloud revenue growth for four consecutive quarters.

Source: IBM/Chart by Author

Source: IBM/Chart by Author

While IBM's cloud growth does not match that of the company's three largest rivals, its growth is accelerating while that of AWS, Azure and Google Cloud is slowing.

Source: Venture Beat

Despite getting in the game late, IBM's cloud revenues (Q2 revenue $6.3 billion) are substantial when compared to its top rivals, Amazon's (AMZN) AWS (Q2 revenue $10.8 billion), Microsoft's (MSFT) Intelligent Cloud (Q4 revenue $13.4 billion) and Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Cloud (Q2 revenue $3 billion).

IBM need not be the number one cloud provider to experience strong revenue growth. The global cloud market is projected to experience a CAGR of 17.5% over the next half decade, growing from roughly $370 billion today to $832 billion in 2025.

Source: MARKETSANDMARKETS

I posit IBM's client relationships often provide the company with an inside track in the competition for cloud customers. For example, Morningstar claims IBM holds 90% of the global mainframe market. In the US alone, the company has over 13,000 mainframe customers, and 47 of the Fortune 50 companies are IBM clients.

Last July, IBM announced a cloud initiative described as, "the world's first financial services-ready public cloud." In collaboration with Bank of America (BAC), the platform is designed to "address specific requirements of financial services institutions for regulatory compliance, security and resiliency."

This technology offers a speed and efficiency that's profound But this technology, like any technology for banks, is truly only accessible if it meets all the regulatory requirements for safety and soundness and other compliance obligations that banks have.

Eugene Ludwig, CEO Promontory Financial Group

BAC's work with IBM underlines the company's ability to leverage business relationships to woo cloud clients. IBM mainframes are the backbone of the globe's financial institutions, processing 87% of all credit card applications and 29 billion ATM transactions annually. The top ten financial institutions are customers of the firm.

Not only does IBM have an advantage due to its hardware being utilized by these companies, Big Blue also has an insider's understanding of the needs of financial firms. Consider this:

Accenture estimates financial services will lose $700 billion due to cyber-crime over a five year period.

...the financial services industry continually has the highest cost of cybercrime.

Chris Thompson, Accenture Security

From 2009 to 2017, $321 billion in fines were paid due to banks failing to meet financial regulations.

Once again, I use a recent development to illustrate the company's ability to compete against top rivals.

The chart below illustrates the magnitude of IBM's client relationships.

Source: Forbes

Before I outline the positives of quantum computing, let me advise readers of the obstacles in the way of this tantalizing development.

There are those that view quantum computing as an exercise in futility. Decoherence, a term used to describe error producing flaws created by vibrations, temperature fluctuations, electromagnetic waves and properties inherent in current quantum computers, could stand in the way of worthwhile results.

Furthermore, quantum computers are cooled to near absolute zero. This, and other design aspects, results in equipment much larger than mainframe models. Consequently, quantum computers will not be marketed to the average consumer.

Nonetheless, and despite formidable obstacles inherent in the development of these devices, recent events indicate quantum computing could be used by mainstream businesses in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, IBM is one of a handful of companies competing for the lead in this arena.

Early last year, IBM introduced the Q System One, the world's first quantum computer designed for scientific and commercial use. The company operated a forerunner of the Q System One since May of 2016. More than 100,000 users completed 6.47 million experiments resulting in the publication of 130 research papers on that equipment.

To appreciate the superiority of quantum computing, look no further than a recent exercise conducted by Google. That company's Sycamore quantum processor recently completed a problem in 200 seconds that would require a supercomputer 10,000 years to solve.

A day will likely come when companies without access to quantum computers will be incapable of competing in their fields. A prime example is the formulation of drugs.

The first step in designing a compound used to alter a disease pathway is to determine the electronic structure of the associated molecule. Penicillin contains 41 atoms and requires conventional computers to utilize 10 to the 86 bits to conduct the required research. That is a number that would require more transistors than the sum of all of the atoms in the universe. However, it is projected that a quantum computer will one day be capable of this level of computation.

For investors longing to take advantage of the opportunities inherent in this technology, be aware that the financial rewards associated with quantum computing are still over the horizon, albeit not so far away as to be beyond our reach.

Estimates have the industry generating $2 billion to $5 billion in revenues by 2024; however, as the technology improves, a virtual explosion in its use will materialize. Projections are for a CAGR of 56% from now to 2030 with the quantum computer market share reaching roughly $65 billion by that date.

I will readily admit I have not been a fan of IBM's former management teams. I also note I've read a great deal of commentary on SA by employees and customers of the company, past and present, indicating the firm is gripped by a systemic malaise. I will add that those with a bit of life experience can appreciate that a system wide ingrained business culture can be difficult to uproot.

There is some evidence that Arvind Krishna, the new CEO, is responsible for the positive steps IBM has taken in the cloud over the last few years. I would opine it is too soon to make a judgment on his ability to turn IBM into a leader in the tech industry.

However, hope springs eternal, and Krishna's leadership (or lack thereof) will be the determining factor moving forward.

IBM's current yield hovers around 5.1%. The payout ratio is a bit below 60% and the company has a five year dividend growth rate of 8.63%.

Moody's debt rates IBM as A2, roughly in the middle of investment grade credit ratings.

As I type these words, the shares trade for $123.86. The 12 month price target of 16 analysts is $139.07. The price target of the 6 analysts rating the company after the Q2 report is $142.66.

I do not claim that IBM stock is on the cusp of a monumental shift. Rather, I view developments as intriguing and worthy of perusal. The change in leadership, the company's efforts in the cloud, and the firm's position among the leaders of quantum computing lead me to believe IBM could regain a position as a tech leader. If so, there are big gains to be made in Big Blue.

Nonetheless, there is no clarity in these areas. Consequently, I rate IBM a HOLD.

Early this year, IBM's list of quantum computing clients passed 100, a surge from 40 the year before. The company predicts that 20% of business and government organizations will budget for quantum computing by 2023, an increase from less than 1% in 2018.

When considering this and the recent double-digit gains in the company's cloud offerings, I would not quibble with the idea that IBM presents as a Speculative Buy. With that in mind, I initiated a very small position in the company (about of 1% of my portfolio).

The company notched $1.4 billion in FCF in Q1 and $2.3 billion in Q2, so even if the hoped-for initiatives fail to gain momentum, I believe IBM will manage to muddle along, providing a safe dividend for the short to mid term.

I hope to continue providing articles to SA readers. If you found this piece of value, I would greatly appreciate your following me (above near the title) and/or pressing "Like this article" just below. This will aid me to continue to write for SA. Best of luck in your investing endeavors.

Disclosure: I am/we are long IBM. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Additional disclosure: I have no formal training in investing. All articles are my personal perspective on a given prospective investment and should not be considered as investment advice. Due diligence should be exercised and readers should engage in additional research and analysis before making their own investment decision. All relevant risks are not covered in this article. Readers should consider their own unique investment profile and consider seeking advice from an investment professional before making an investment decision.

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IBM: Why My Eye Is Fixed On Big Blue - Seeking Alpha

By Jenna Somers and Jane Hirtle

Margaret Martonosi, assistant director of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation, will speak at a virtual campus visit on Friday, Sept. 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. CT hosted by Vice Provost for Research Padma Raghavan. Faculty, students and staff are invited to register to attend the presentation and take part in an open discussion and Q&A session about CISE and its key focus areas, including cyberinfrastructure, computing and communication, computer and network systems and information and intelligent systems, as well as funding opportunities and NSF future directions in these areas.

Register for the event here. >>

I am pleased to welcome my close colleague Dr. Margaret Martonosi to Vanderbilt, said Raghavan, who serves as a member of the advisory boards for the CISE Directorate and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure. Margaret is a preeminent computer scientist who has made foundational contributions to computer architecture and hardware-software interfaces in both classical and quantum computing systems. Now as the assistant director of CISE, she stewards the development of strategy and programs to strengthen fundamental research and education in order to advance U.S. leadership in computing, communications and information science and engineering. I am delighted to welcome her to share her insights with the Vanderbilt community and join us in a roundtable discussion.

Under Martonosis guidance, CISE also strengthens innovation in research cyberinfrastructure and promotes inclusive, transparent participation in an information-based society to ensure the success of the computer and information technology workforce in the global market.

Along with the Office of the Assistant Director, CISE includes the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, Division of Computing and Communication Foundations, Division of Computer and Network Systems, and the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems. Each of these units manages a portfolio of proposal competitions and grants while collaborating across units and directorates to achieve the mission of CISE.

Noteworthy examples of CISE-funded programs include Broadening Participation in Computing Alliances, which aims to increase the diversity and amount of college graduates in computing and computationally-intensive disciplines; the Foundations of Emerging Technologies, which supports fundamental research in disruptive technologies and models in computing and communication; and the Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs, which engage state and local government officials, local industry and nonprofits and regional academic institutions to use big data research to address regional concerns.

Most recently, NSF partnered with the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation to launch the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes. As the name suggests, these institutes will serve to accelerate AI research nationwide, developing the U.S. workforce and protecting and advancing society across many aspects of daily life from education to natural disaster preparedness.

While serving as the assistant director of CISE, Martonosi is on leave from Princeton University, where she is the Hugh Trumbull Adams 35 Professor of Computer Science. Her research focuses on computer architecture and mobile computing. Martonosi has received numerous awards, including the 2019 SIGARCH Alan D. Berenbaum Distinguished Service Award, the 2018 IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Award, and the 2010 Princeton University Graduate Mentoring Award, among many others. Additionally, she is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Please visit CISE to learn more about its programs, funding opportunities and awards.

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Assistant director of NSFs Computer and Information Science and Engineering to give virtual talk Sept. 11 - Vanderbilt University News

Amazon (AMZN)

What was the last thing you heard about Amazon (AMZN)?

Let me guess. Its battle with Walmart WMT ? Or was it the FAAs approval of Amazons delivery drones? Most of this news about Amazons store is just noise that distracts investors from Amazons real force.

As Ill show, Amazon is running an operating system that powers some of todays most important technologies such as virtual reality, machine learning, and even quantum computing. Behind the scenes, it is utilized by over a million companiesincluding tech giants Apple AAPL , Netflix NFLX , and Facebook FB .

This is Amazons key and ever-growing moneymaker that has been driving Amazon stock to the moon. But before I pull the curtains, lets step back for a moment.

First, how Amazon makes moneyfor real

For all the online shopping fuss, Amazon doesn't earn much from its store. Yes, Amazon.com AMZN flips hundreds of billions of dollars worth of products every yearand its revenues are on a tear. But Amazon turns only a sliver of that into profits.

In the past year, Amazons store generated a record $282 billion in revenue from Amazon.com. That translated to just $5.6 billion in profitskeep in mind that was Amazon.coms most profitable year ever.

Meanwhile, most of Amazons profits came from the lesser-known side of its business called Amazon Web Services (AWS), as you can see below:

Amazon's profits from AWS vs Amazon.com

Its Amazons cloud arm that is serving over a million companies across the world. You may have heard that AWS has something to do with storing data in the cloud. But its much,muchmore than that.

AWS is the operating system of the internet

To get an idea of how AWS works, take your computer as an example.

Like every other computer, it runs on an operating system such as Windows or MacOS, which comes with a set of programs. This software puts your computer resources to use and helps you carry out daily taskssuch as sending emails or sorting out your files.

Now, think of AWS as an operating system thats running not one, but hundreds of thousands of big computers (in tech lingo: servers). It gives companies nearly unlimited computing power and storageas well as tools to build and run their software on the internet.

The difference is that these big computers sit in Amazons warehouses. And companies work on them remotelyor via the cloud. In other words, AWS is like the operating system of the internet.

Amazons operating system now powers AI, blockchain, and other next-gen technologies

In 2003, when Amazons AWS first started out, it offered only a couple of basic cloud services for storage and mail. Today, this system offers an unmatched set of 175+ tools that help companies build software harnesses todays top technologies.

The list includes blockchain, VR, machine learning (AI), quantum computing, augmented reality (AR), and other technologies that are the building blocks of todays internet.

For example, Netflix is using AWS for more than simply storing and streaming its shows on the internet. Its also employing AWS machine learning technology to recommend movies and shows to you.

Youve also probably heard of Slack (WORK), the most popular messaging app for business. Slack recently announced it will use Amazons media technology to introduce video and audio calls on its app.

And its not just tech companies that are utilizing Amazons AWS tools.

Take GE Power. The worlds energy leader is using AWS analytics technology to store and sift through avalanches of data from its plants. Or Fidelity. Americas mutual fund giant experiments with Amazons VR technology to build VR chat rooms for its clients.

In a picture, Amazons AWS works like this:

How Amazon's AWS powers the internet

Amazons AWS is earning more and more... and more

Amazon is not the only company running a cloud service. Google, Microsoft MSFT , Alibibaba, IBM IBM , and other tech giants are all duking it out for a slice of this lucrative business. But Amazon is the biggest and most feature-rich.

Today, Amazon controls 33% of the market, leaving its closest competitors Microsoft (2nd with 18%) and Google (3rd with 9%) far behind in the dust. That means nearly one third of the internet is running on Amazons AWS.

And it doesnt appear that Amazon will step down from its cloud throne anytime soon. Amazons sales from AWS soared 10X in the past six years. And last year, Amazon reported a bigger sales gain from AWS (dollar-wise) than any other cloud company.

Heres the main takeaway for investors

If you are looking into Amazon stock, dont get caught up in the online shopping fuss.

For years, AWS has been the linchpin of Amazons business. And this invisible side of Amazon is where Amazons largest gears turn.

Problem is, AWS is like a black box. Amazon reports very little on its operations. So if you want to dig deeper, youll have to do your own research.

Youll also have to weigh a couple of risks before putting your money into Amazon stock:

Other than that, Amazon is an outstanding stock, killing it in one of the most lucrative businesses on the planet. And its proven to be resilient to Covid, whose spread could hit the markers again.

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How Amazon Quietly Powers The Internet - Forbes