Encryption standards face a reckoning as quantum computing era edges closer

The security landscape is entering uncharted territory as quantum computing moves from theoretical threat to near-term enterprise reality — and the race to post-quantum encryption is one most organizations are not yet ready to run.

As agentic AI reshapes enterprise integration, the companies building the infrastructure beneath those agents must also grapple with a parallel wave of emerging risks — from data sovereignty to the looming obsolescence of current encryption standards. Now, the clock on post-quantum encryption readiness is ticking faster than most enterprises realize, according to Michael Bachman (pictured), head of research for Boomi innovation at Boomi LP.

“One of the first instances of quantum is post-quantum encryption — the idea that you’re going to have quantum encryption on all devices being necessary,” Bachman said. “Once the first commercially-available quantum computer comes online within the next let’s call it three to six, maybe seven, years from now, if you’re not post-quantum encrypted at that point that they come online, consider yourself hacked.”

Bachman spoke with Gemma Allen at Boomi World 2026, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the shift from integration to data activation, digital sovereignty, world models, and the emerging urgency of post-quantum encryption for enterprise security. (* Disclosure below.)

Post-quantum encryption and the edge-based agentic future

The intersection of quantum risk and agentic AI is creating new urgency for enterprise technology leaders. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology has already finalized its first three post-quantum cryptography standards and is encouraging administrators to begin transitioning now — yet widespread enterprise adoption remains early. Even so, quantum is just one dimension of a broader technology horizon that demands immediate attention, with inference-based edge computing and world models equally critical developments reshaping how enterprises process and activate data, according to Bachman.

“What [data activation] means is making data contextual, consequential, clean and current,” Bachman said. “All of the innovations are happening out where the action is, not in some lab with a model or some data center that’s agglomerating a whole bunch of data and trying to figure out what the next thing is going to be. It’s really happening where the customers are using the technology.”

The data philosophy also extends to how Boomi is approaching digital sovereignty — a challenge that goes well beyond AI alone. Boomi has separated where systems are built from where they run, giving customers direct control over their data path across cloud, on-premises or hybrid environments, Bachman noted. That architecture allows enterprises to stay compliant with regional regulations without sacrificing the speed of modern agentic deployments.

“A lot of the things that we’re doing from a sovereign front are basically having our customers control where their data path is,” he said. “They can have it in cloud, on-premises, in a hybrid situation — they essentially control their data path, which allows them to mitigate risks around sovereignty, so that at least their data is compliant.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Boomi World 2026:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Boomi World 2026. Sponsors of theCUBE’s event coverage do not have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE