Dell Canada’s Ottawa office has branched out from its traditional sales roots to encompass new and exciting ventures, including a commitment to emphasize and accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for both the company and its customers.
“In 2020, we started a wireless group that became part of our Telecom Systems Business at our Ottawa office, which was a significant milestone,” says Morris Repeta, Director of Advanced Hardware Technology at Dell Technologies in Ottawa. “In April 2024, the Office of the CTO at Dell shifted our focus to artificial intelligence and advanced hardware, and this is a priority focus area today, in addition to the Telecom Systems Business.”
“We’re making significant investments in AI. It’s going to shape every technology we touch for the next decade. We’re diving deep into architecture optimization, inference scaling and workload distribution,” Repeta elaborates. Inference scaling, he explains, refers to solutions that mimic chains of thought, while scaling is the amount of compute used to train language models.
Dell is also exploring advanced hardware, which includes everything from advanced memory architecture and technology and compute-in-memory, to discrete neural processing unit (NPU) chip benchmarking – the latter having become relevant in the AI space. The company is also delving into advanced wireless technology, such as intelligent reflective surface research, which is like a tunable radio frequency mirror where the reflection angle is adjustable, says Repeta.
Dell has a significant presence in Ottawa, with the government being a major customer for its computers and servers. It also has a large enterprise customer base in the region.
“We’re a well-recognized company that sells products and services to both enterprises and consumers, everything from desktop computers and laptops to servers, storage and peripherals. We’re a one-stop-shop for our customers’ technology needs,” says Repeta
“We’re always looking for opportunities to grow and expand our presence in the region. We believe Ottawa has a strong foundation for technology and innovation now and in the future, and we’re constantly adapting to changing market conditions,” he adds.
Dell Technologies works with semiconductor suppliers that have offices and operations in Ottawa. “We work with several Canada-based companies in our supply chain, many of which are in Ottawa. We spend close to $500 million annually with suppliers in Canada,” says Repeta.
Dell has about 120,000 people working for the company worldwide, with a relatively small group in Ottawa, but one that is growing rapidly.
Note: Mr. Repeta said Dell does not share employment numbers by state or region.
“We’re always looking for talented individuals to join our team. We’re particularly interested in hiring AI research scientists and engineers, advanced computer hardware engineers, and network engineers,” says Repeta. “AI is not only transforming existing jobs, it’s creating entirely new professions. It’s hard to determine what skills we’ll require or add to the team three to five years down the road, but I expect our office to grow,” he adds.
“So far, we have found many qualified individuals to join our team. We are committed to attracting and retaining top talent. Ottawa is an attractive place for technologists to grow their careers,” says Repeta, who notes that Dell is focused on hiring both recent university graduates, recruiting mostly from uOttawa and Carleton, and experienced engineers and scientists with industry or government experience.
Repeta says the talent pool in Ottawa is one of the main reasons Dell chose to establish operations here, amidst a strong, thriving technology ecosystem, with top-tier universities, a significant amount of research undertaken locally, and proximity to the Canadian federal government and affiliated agencies. Dell is able to tap into the city’s rich talent pool and collaborate with other top tech organizations, attributes that make Ottawa a wonderful place for the company to grow and expand its business.
But while Ottawa is a great city for innovation, collaboration, and flourishing businesses, some areas need improvement, Repeta says. For example, Ottawa seems to be losing its edge on application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design companies, with many such tech companies setting up operations in Toronto, he notes.
Nevertheless, “we are confident Ottawa is a city with tremendous potential, and we’re excited to be part of it,” he adds.
By Jeff Buckstein, Ottawa Business Journal.
