International Business Machines (IBM) has touched a new high in India. The tech major has crossed the $5 billion in revenue mark here. It has been learnt that the company has posted revenues of Rs 32,325 crore ($5.01 billion) in the fiscal year to March, compared with Rs 23,005 crore corresponding period last year. With this it has become the numero uno technology services firm in the domestic outsourcing market. However, the situation was not so rosy in the beginning of the year.
However, in the global level, International Business Machines Corp reported a bigger-than-expected drop in revenue for the first time in five quarters due to weak demand in its technology services business, its biggest. Shares of IBM, whose revenue had fallen for 20 quarters in a row, tumbled 4 percent to $163.15 in trading.The company said revenue declined 2.8 percent to $18.16 billion in the quarter ended March 31. Analysts on average were expecting $18.39 billion, according reports.
Earlier, researchers at International Business Machines Corp have developed a new approach for simulating molecules on a quantum computer. The breakthrough, outlined in a research paper to be published in the scientific journal Nature Thursday, uses a technique that could eventually allow quantum computers to solve difficult problems in chemistry and electro-magnetism that cannot be solved by even the most powerful supercomputers today.
In the experiments described in the paper, IBM researchers used a quantum computer to derive the lowest energy state of a molecule of beryllium hydride. Knowing the energy state of a molecule is a key to understanding chemical reactions. In the case of beryllium hydride, a supercomputer can solve this problem, but the standard techniques for doing so cannot be used for large molecules because the number of variables exceeds the computational power of even these machines. The IBM researchers created a new algorithm specifically designed to take advantage of the capabilities of a quantum computer that has the potential to run similar calculations for much larger molecules, the company said.
The problem with existing quantum computers – including the one IBM used for this research, is that they produce errors and as the size of the molecule being analyzed grows, the calculation strays further and further from chemical accuracy. The inaccuracy in IBM’s experiments varied between 2 and 4 percent, Jerry Chow, the manager of experimental quantum computing for IBM, said in an interview.
