ÉCOLE DE TECHNOLOGIE SUPÉRIEURE
ÉTS welcomes the Kaloom-TELUS Industrial Research Chair

The École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) is hosting a brand new Industrial Research Chair (ICR) that will help companies implement the DevOps methodology and train qualified personnel. Led by researcher Francis Bordeleau and industry partners Kaloom and TELUS, the Kaloom-TELUS Chair is based on new DevOps engineering approaches and will help entrepreneurs design new IT services 100 times faster than traditional methods. This allows them to react more quickly to the competitive environment, which is currently marked by labour shortages.

"Studies of DevOps leaders have shown that these companies not only deploy new services 100 times faster than traditional approaches, but also fix problems with existing services in less than a day," said Bordeleau.

The DevOps methodology aims to optimize the workflow by creating value for the end user, from the initial idea to the deployment of the functionality. It reduces unnecessary tasks, accelerates the time to market for products and services, and increases their quality. It also builds on the collaboration between the various parties involved in the development of reliable, high-performance products.

"Despite the growing interest of companies in DevOps methodology, it is difficult to recruit qualified personnel because few universities offer specialized courses," said Laurent Marchand, founder and CEO of Kaloom.

Nazim Benhadid, vice-president of Cloud Infrastructure at TELUS, adds, "We are proud to support this new Industrial Research Chair, directed by Professor Bordeleau. This will help companies to be faster thanks to DevOps, and to train the next generation in this sector that is so important for the future of our province and its digital dynamism. The current pandemic has highlighted the importance of being able to adapt quickly to changes and to crises that arise. In this context, the use of DevOps becomes unavoidable, but the implementation and evolution of DevOps processes represent a significant challenge for companies."

Through the work of the chair, Professor Bordeleau and his team will develop methods and tools to measure, analyze, and improve various aspects of the DevOps process, as well as to facilitate its deployment on several types of platforms and in various environments. While ÉTS currently offers two courses on DevOps methodology one for its undergraduate students and the other for its graduate students it plans to add more to the current curriculum.

About Francis Bordeleau

Francis Bordeleau is a professor in the Department of Software Engineering and Information Technology, specializing in software engineering, DevOps, model-based engineering and open-source software. He has more than 25 years of experience in software engineering in industrial and academic environments. During these years, he has worked and collaborated with companies worldwide in various application areas such as telecommunications, defense, aerospace and automotive.