- Tell us a little about your organization: Based in Zurich, we offer consulting and training services since almost 20 years. We see ourselves as an independent enabler for the digital transformation, helping our customers getting fit for the digital age. To this end, we use the ‘Glenfis Principle’ – a holistic approach that, alongside theoretical knowledge, attaches particular importance to the mediation of practical skills (competence), which can be used to successfully and lastingly deploy this knowledge in the company or organisation (Implementation).
- What other topics do you teach or consult on? Topics include:
– Cloud & Sourcing
– Lean, Agile & DevOps
– Value Chain Service Models
– Training and Awareness (Cloud, ISO, ITIL, Cobit, Security, Agile, DevOps)
– Security & Cyber Resilience
– Change Enablement - What type of interest in DevOps are you seeing in your region? As everywhere the interest of DevOps is rapidly growing, in Switzerland this in not different. For many it’s really to understand in a first step what DevOps is about and why it is relevant for them. In Switzerland we deal a lot with financial institutes with a high level of legacy and regulations, the question is often how to apply DevOps practices in such an environment.
- How do you think that DevOps contributes to the business’ value stream? DevOps is all about getting faster and better and this is how it positively influences the value stream. And DevOps does it in a holistic way by looking at the value stream end-to-end, from idealization to $$$.
- What topic area in DevOps excites you the most? Dev’s and Ops’ finally talking to each other!
- Why should enterprises and individuals consider formal DevOps Training? Before starting any change initiative, it is paramount that everybody gets a common understanding. This is especially true for DevOps, as it includes a wide range of Agile, Lean and ITSM practices. A training or special awareness sessions definitely facilitates this.
Tag: devops institute
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REP SPOTLIGHT: Glenfis AG
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REP SPOTLIGHT: Soft2Solve
DevOps Institute: Tell us a little about your organization,
Soft2Solve: We work with our customers in order to help them to enhance IT performance, saving cost, and training on best methods, process and practices, selecting at the same time the best solutions for Spanish Speaker Customers.
DevOps Institute: What other topics do you teach or consult on?
Soft2Solve: Cost savings in some specific areas as printing, energy.
DevOps Institute: What type of interest in DevOps are you seeing in your region?
Soft2Solve: The interest is initial. Most of customer are aware of DevOps initiatives, but they are still learning and looking how movement evolves and how they can set up the practices on their companies. Some of them already started with agile methodologies in development.
In the other side, most of them already have ITSM practices implemented, based mainly in ITIL.
DevOps Institute: How do you think that DevOps contributes to the business’ value stream?
Soft2Solve: First, aligning IT with the business requirements in terms of speed, flexibility and agility. Then it contributes to analyze the bad processes in place and getting high cost savings when implementing DevOps practices. It also enhances the internal relationships between IT departments, as usually there is a big fight between them. Also, that impact on quality and speed to answer the business.
DevOps Institute: What topic area in DevOps excites you the most?
Soft2Solve: It is an IT answer to the business requirements to follow the business needs; meanwhile, being more productive and less expensive. In other areas, the automatization is a base for DevOps.
DevOps Institute: Why should enterprises and individuals consider formal DevOps Training?
Soft2Solve: Although sometimes the organizations do not know, any new change—especially culture changes—need internal sponsors as much as possible in the organizations. These people have to be trained by third-party independent people outside their organizations that are aseptic and not influenced from the internal existing culture and way of doing. These people will be the people that will support the change and the IT alignment with the business organization and will answer quickly to business requirements.
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Introducing PEOPLECERT, DOI’s Examination Partner
The DevOps Institute (DOI) is proud to introduce you to PEOPLECERT, our strategic examination and accreditation partner. Since DOI’s inception in 2015, PEOPLECERT has been supporting our Registered Education Partners and administering DOI’s certification exams worldwide. To date, these certifications include DevOps Foundation®, Certified Agile Service Manager (CASM)® and Certified Agile Process Owner (CAPO)®. Going forward, PEOPLECERT will help DOI create additional DevOps qualifications as emerging practices highlight the need for the assessment of specific knowledge, skills and expertise.
For the past 15 years, PEOPLECERT has been the global leader in the assessment and certification of professional skills by developing and delivering leading qualifications around the world. In fact, you may already be familiar with PEOPLECERT – it currently offers certification schemes in several IT frameworks including ITIL®, COBIT 5®, PRINCE2®, PRINCE2 Agile® and Lean Six Sigma. PEOPLECERT focuses on both the individual candidate and the business organization. It helps IT professionals reach their full potential by achieving certification that demonstrates proficiency. PEOPLECERT also helps organizations achieve their goals by certifying that staff have the skills and knowledge to contribute to the business value stream.
The DevOps Institute chose PEOPLECERT as our strategic partner because of its unwavering commitment to continual improvement and innovation. The organization has demonstrated these values by meeting the rigorous requirements several ISO standards. Working together, DOI and PEOPLECERT will ensure that all DOI certifications meet the highest levels of quality, integrity and relevance. In addition, PEOPLECERT’s state-of-the-art assessment system provides candidate support from exam registration to exam delivery and the issuance of the certificate. Its award-winning online proctoring services provide flexible solutions for REPs and candidates while addressing the growing trend of virtual training. It has worked hard to ensure that the candidate experience is positive and professional.
DOI is so confident in PEOPLECERT’s capabilities that we have expanded our partnership to include the accreditation of training organizations and instructors. Not only does PEOPLECERT’s global presence extend DOI’s learning community, its accreditation processes are thorough, expedient and conform to internationally accepted standards. This ability will allow us to be more responsive to the needs of the learning community.
Coupled with DOI’s go-to-market training materials, our Registered Education Partners are able to stand up DevOps certification courses quickly and often to enable more individuals and organizations to gain access to the latest training,certification and knowledge about emerging DevOps practices.
DevOps Foundation®, Certified Agile Service Manager (CASM)®, Certified Agile Process Owner (CAPO)® & Agile Service Management® are registered marks of the DevOps Institute.
ITIL®/PRINCE2®/ PRINCE2 Agile® are registered trade marks of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. RESILIA™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.
COBIT® 5 is a registered trademark of ISACA in United States and other countries. -
The DevOps Institute, What a Difference a Year Makes
It was just about a year ago that we announced the formation of the DevOps Institute (DOI) here on devopsy.kinsta.cloud. Wow, what a difference a year makes! Some folks thought that formal training and testing for DevOps knowledge was sacrilegious, others thought it a joke, others that it was pre-mature. But here we are a year later and the idea of DevOps training seems to have taken root. So much so that even some of the old warlords of the traditional IT training space are trying to muscle their way into DevOps training as well.
We are launching a DOI neighborhood here on devopsy.kinsta.cloud to feature content related to DevOps training, the DevOps Institute, their partners, reps and students. We welcome your input. If you would like to contribute you can write me at editor@devops.com.
I wanted to take a moment though and return to this past year and the state of DevOps training. I think much of the initial resistance we encountered in some quarters was to the idea of certifications of DevOps training. In fact, I would say much of it was resistance to the idea of certification in IT period. Over time the market and certainly we here at the DevOps Institute realized that while certification is something that is important for some employers or career paths, it shouldn’t take away from the real aim of the DOI’s mission.
The DOI’s mission is to gather information, evangelize and educate the market about the emerging practices in DevOps. Notice I did not say best practices. This is because we believe that we have not had really recognized or perfected best practices. We are seeing emerging practices and watching closely to see which ones continue to emerge and offer the best state-of-the-art in DevOps training and education.
In the meantime, we are seeing DevOps training offerings coming out of the woodwork. Many of the tools vendors are developing and putting out training and certification specific to their tools. I think this is essential for employers to be confident that an employee has the expertise with a given tool set. Practitioners are going to want this training and certification to prove their proficiency on a given tool. I would like to see us incorporate some of these tool classes as part of the DOI offerings in the coming months.
Some of the traditional IT training folks are taking matters into their own hands and developing one-off DevOps classes. As with everything else, some are better than others. In digging in you will find some are a quick money grab and some are actually pretty good.
As I mentioned earlier, some of the older stakeholders behind ITSM, ITIL and Scrum training are trying to jump on the DevOps bandwagon. They promise openness, but their business models are all but open for the most part. There is more to DevOps training then putting logos on a website. In the meantime, one thing we have learned for sure is lets not repeat the mistakes of the past with some other types of IT training.
The IT industry and IT training are well evolved global industries. It is a for profit industry obviously. My advice is, buyer beware, your mileage may vary when choosing a DevOps training provider. DevOps is not ITIL, not ITSM and while Agile is tangential, it is not exactly the same either. In fact while Scrum Agile training is pretty well developed, it is not the same as DevOps training per se. Their are Agile methods and lessons that DevOps classes can take, especially the DevOps for Ops type of classes. But lumping DevOps and Agile together is not the right path either.
At the DevOps Institute we have a world-wide network of registered education partners who are offering our tried and vetted DevOps Foundation class, as well as our other two classes. If testing and certification are important to you, our global partner PeopleCert will administer and deliver it for you.
We are also hard at work to deliver the next generation of DevOps training classes. I don’t want to talk out of school, but we have spent the last year listening to the hundreds of people who have taken our classes, our partners, speaking with the leading lights in the DevOps world, I think what we have in store will once again set the bar in DevOps training and education.
In the meantime, check here at the DOI neighborhood often. There will be a steady stream of good content related to DevOps education from many different sources. You may just learn something 😉
Indeed the first year of the DOI has been quite a ride, but buckle in because things are really going to pick up now.
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Welcome to the New DevOps Institute Neighborhood
The DevOps Institute (DOI) was founded in March 2015 as a global learning community for emerging DevOps practices. DOI’s goal is to establish the standard for DevOps training and certification at the enterprise scale based on the most current guidance from the most respected resources. We are guided by a Board of Regents comprised of thought leaders from the DevOps, Agile and ITSM spaces. We are establishing strong alliances with global leaders such as PEOPLECERT and devopsy.kinsta.cloud.
DOI is not a training organization; all education and certification is delivered through our worldwide network of Registered Education Partners (REPs) and PEOPLECERT as our examination institute. Since our launch, hundreds of candidates have sat the DevOps Foundation and Certified Agile Service Manager courses and exams with positive feedback and results.
Why do we need a DevOps Institute?
DevOps does not have a single body of knowledge. It literally touches almost every aspect of IT, from culture to automation to metrics and beyond. While the lack of a single body of knowledge may be frustrating to some, the evolution of an inclusive and collective body of knowledge allows DevOps to continue to grow and adapt organically.
On a higher plane, that’s great. However, enterprises wanting to transform their environments to be faster, more collaborative and more automated are seeking a more formal approach to training and certification to ensure their teams are fully equipped with holistic knowledge, skills and competencies. That’s where DOI comes in.
DOI strives to capture emerging DevOps guidance into meaningful and sustainable training and certification. We do this by relentlessly studying the wide DevOps’ collective body of knowledge, engaging subject matter experts, attending conferences, interviewing case studies and just plain paying attention to the evolution of DevOps at scale. We track and trend innovations that are delivering real value in real organizations. Our working groups and subject matter experts then encapsulate all of the knowledge on a topic into practical and tangible training. Where appropriate, a certification exam will accompany the training to demonstrate an individual’s skill and qualification in a specific topic area. Successful candidates will become members of the DevOps Institute.
What are the benefits of formal training and certification courses?
- Creates a common mindset and vocabulary
- Encourages dialogue, sharing and collaboration
- Sparks ideas and innovation
- Provides sustainable and actionable steps
- Teaches something that can help teams, organizations and individuals to improve
- Creates holistic expertise
- Gives individuals a sense of pride and accomplishment when achieving certification
Did you notice that DOI is focusing more on “emerging practices” over “best practices”? We believe that DevOps is an emerging space where new practices are being discovered, proven and promoted frequently. We also believe in the DevOps spirit of sharing and collaboration, and will never designate candidates as “masters” or “experts.” DOI’s training and qualifications instead will support a more modern role approach that embraces DevOps’ cultural focus on adaptability, transparency and organizational agility.
In the DevOps Institute neighborhood, we hope to provide:
- Just-in-time knowledge articles from our REPs and others that focus on an emerging DevOps practice or related framework
- Information about current and upcoming training courses and qualifications
- Access to a calendar of available classes from worldwide Registered Education Partners
- Video interviews, templates and other assets to help along your DevOps journey
So, welcome to our neighborhood. We hope you find value in our sharing and come back often.
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devopsy.kinsta.cloud State-of-the-Union
Well it’s already almost the end of January, well past the time when we still wish people Happy New Year. I think that now is a good time to post a “State-of-devopsy.kinsta.cloud 2016.
Entering our 3rd year (we launched March, 2014), we are so grateful for all of the support we have received from the community and all that it has enabled us to accomplish. But we can’t rest on our laurels and we have so much more to do. So I wanted to outline to you our readers what we have in store for 2016:
Site Redesign: If you haven’t noticed we have given devopsy.kinsta.cloud a facelift. We knew the original design was far from perfect and this iteration isn’t either. But it does address a lot of the shortcomings the first design had. We will continue to iterate and improve in true DevOps fashion.
We also have a new Media Kit that lays out all of the ways we are interacting with our audience as well as our editorial calendar. The calendar will help you determine when we are focusing on a particular facet of DevOps. We are always looking for original, vendor neutral content.
Container Journal: We launched Container Journal last summer. We have been building up container-based content since then and now Container Journal has a great amount of container related content and news. We will continue to publish everything containers there, but will have deep integration between devopsy.kinsta.cloud and Container Journal.
DevOps Connect: Our conference schedule this year is beyond ambitious. Teaming with our friends at CloudBees and IBM we are producing a roadshow called CD Summit – Jenkins Days. There will be 8 or 9 US based stops, 4 European dates and even one in Bangalore next fall. You can get full details on our DevOps Connect site. We have other sponsor opportunities for these events, as well as looking for good speakers and topics. Strong preference given to practitioners.
In addition to the DevOps Connect: CD Summit – Jenkins Days, we are also producing two DevOps Connect: Rugged DevOps events this year. One is at RSA Conference and one will be at InfoSec Europe in London. These are in partnership with Sonatype and the Nexus community.
Also on the conference front we will be sponsoring many DevOps related events, including Scale, several DevOps Days, Container World, Container Days and more. Wherever there is DevOps news and events, we will try to report on it.
Local DevOps scene – We started this last year but we are looking for more correspondents who want to report on what is happening with local DevOps scenes the world over. Email editor@devops.com if you are interested.
Stack Analysis – You will see it mentioned in the Media Kit. Much of our research, surveys and long form reports will be under the Stack Analysis brand. More than the articles that we usually publish here on devopsy.kinsta.cloud, more in depth reports and research will be released under this brand. Look for the first reports soon.
The DevOps Institute – DOI has had a year to work out its mission and with over 30 registered education providers providing DOI courses over the world, the future is now for DevOps training. The DOI will be expanding its curriculum and footprint this year. They will be regular contributors here on devopsy.kinsta.cloud and at our conferences.
It’s an ambitious plan but we think we can do it. We have doubled the amount of staff here and anticipate adding more through the year. We think the future is now for DevOps and devopsy.kinsta.cloud. If you have any suggestions or ideas you would like to see us do please write me at editor@devops.com
Like any Sate-of-the-Union, let me end this by saying that the state of devopsy.kinsta.cloud is strong. With your help we want to make it stronger!
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Why I became DevOps Certified
I usually do not care too much about diplomas or certifications. To me, one’s value isn’t reflected by a piece of paper but rather by his or her actions, dedication, motivation and efficiency. And yet, I decided to become DevOps certified and furthermore, become a teacher for that very same certification. Have I gone insane or did I make a choice based on reasons that could appeal to you? Read further to find out.
Set up a standard.
I have been advocating DevOps for years now, reading everything I could about it when it was just a fun word created by Debois and recently writing quite a lot and giving conferences about it too. One thing that always strike me is that, no matter the context, no matter the experience of the people I’m speaking to, there is always one person asking me: “but can you tell me what exactly is DevOps?”.
DevOps strength is also its weakness. By not defining a manifesto, a chart of good conduct or even a clear definition, DevOps leaves room for improvement over time but also creates what it tries to break down: silos. By being so undefined, you end with people “in the know” and the others who are desperately trying to get a grasp of an idea that’s clear to many.
A certification, while arguable, brings exactly that level of standardisation we needed. By enabling me to have a clear definition of what DevOps is, it gives me the opportunity to spread it further but not only that, I also finally talk about the same thing as others around the globe. Gone are the days where you would see a new definition a minute, now that we all know – and agree on – what we are talking about, we can finally start to actually do it.
I could have stopped here, taking the certification, being all knowledgeable about that topic but it would have been a bit against DevOps’ philosophy. Sharing is caring and if I get people to understand at least the basics of I what I preach, then we understand each other better and I make others better at their job (hopefully). And that’s exactly why I became a teacher: to spread the word and get people who don’t know to finally know. People over everything else, right?
The DevOps Institute.
Ok this part will sound a bit like a commercial but I’m just going to explain the reasoning behind my decision to go with that one.
There are many certifications about the topic popping up these days so it was not necessarily an easy decision to make. After all, since we are still discussing whether or not to have a certification on that specific field, nobody was more legitimate than another. And then I read this article by our dear Alan Shimel: here.
The fact that his name was associated with a certification intrigued me and I went to check it out. Then I realized that names I was already familiar with were also a part the institute (Lisa Schwartz and Jayne Groll) which made me think I was actually facing serious people.
I read a bit more about them and discovered that both Gene Kim and Sanjeev Sharma, two persons I highly respect and read a lot from, were part of the institute’s board.
That was it! It all went super-fast after I took contact with the institute. I filled up the usual forms and in no time, I was in the program, training myself to become the trainer, reading even more about DevOps, learning some new things and exchanging with brilliant minds before taking the final exam.
What it all means
While it won’t change your life, those of you who wanted to become unicorns still have to buy a costume for that, becoming a certification trainer gives you the opportunity to meet and help people who want to know more. Whether or not they take the actual test does not really matter. What matters is that you hold the same speech as others around the world and that people who come to you with questions might leave with a bit better understanding of what it is that you talk about.
Before comments rain down on me, telling me that this is heresy and that I should be condemned to watch Nyan cats for 48 hours non-stop, I just want to precise that I do not have any interest in anything other than my job. I am just advocating for a certification and explaining why I took this one more than another.