The Enduring Role of Cloud Computing in the Era of Quantum Computing : A Comprehensive Review

Quantum computing has emerged as a transformative technology capable of solving complex computational problems beyond the capabilities of classical systems. However, severe hardware limitations, qubit decoherence, and high implementation costs prevent it from replacing classical cloud infrastructure. Instead, cloud and quantum computing are evolving as complementary technologies. Through Quantum-as-a-Service (QaaS) and hybrid cloud–quantum architectures, cloud platforms provide scalable infrastructure, data management, and resource orchestration, while quantum processors accelerate specialized computational tasks. This review systematically examines the relationship between cloud computing and quantum computing by analyzing their technical differences, capabilities, application areas, current challenges, limitations, and future research directions. The findings indicate that cloud computing will continue to serve as the backbone of modern digital infrastructure, while quantum computing will enhance its capabilities for solving complex computational problems. Together, these technologies are expected to drive the next generation of intelligent, scalable, and high-performance computing systems. Keywords: cloud computing; quantum computing; Quantum as a Service (QaaS); Hybrid Cloud–Quantum Architecture; Post-Quantum Security; QMLOps