work on making sure that people understand the importance of this industry.” To that end, education became the main focal point. Accessible education “I want to highlight a space where education regarding this industry is accessible to all ages, starting with the younger generation, so we can continue to grow this ever-expanding industry and make it more sustainable for the future,” Mahmood explained. It is the reason the Foundation launched the Nomad Futurist Academy. “This platform will be free educational content for all ages,” Mahmood said. “From getting kids excited about the industry to adults that are just getting into the industry, the academy will provide educational content sourced from the leaders and experts of the industry.” With Checkhub’s announcement, Koblence and Mahmood are heading in the right direction. Nabeel Mahmood Rooted in the data center industry, Checkhub’s partnership embraces the goal of building the leaders of tomorrow by developing scholarship funds and an education platform for underdeveloped communities globally. A Technavio study reports the data center industry is forecast to increase by $616 billion by 2026, with an estimated growth rate of 20 percent year over year. However, the percentage of data center owners/operators having difficulty finding qualified candidates for open positions rose in 2020 to 50 percent, according to Uptime Institute. Phil Koblence Chekhub’s Data Center Operations Platform is designed to empower the data center industry workforce. The recent addition of the LMS module allows users to create custom training materials, add qualifications to individual profiles and to ensure work is being assigned to qualified people. For these reasons, Chekhub’s expertise and ambitions align with Nomad Futurist’s mission and goals for the academy, making the company the optimal partner to introduce the industry to the next generation of data center professionals. “It’s been Chekhub’s mission since inception to support the training and development of the workforce in this industry,” explained Jon Trout, founder and CEO of Chekhub. “Our team is honored and excited to be part of this initiative and be the LMS platform used by the students of the Nomad Futurist Academy.” Word of mouth Mahmood is careful to separate the foundation from his regular job by saying the organization is a “non SCB initiative.” He added, however, that “being a part of the organization and the mass data center and information technology sector has helped us engage them. “Obviously being an IT industry influencer helps with the recruitment effort,” Mahmood continued. “With word of mouth and, again, the desire to create and provide a sustainable change that will help this industry grow.” This may be why the four-member Nomad Futurist Foundation’s Advisory Board comprises industry personnel – Zachary Smith, managing director at Equinix; Mark Thiele, CEO of Edgevana; Bill Kleyman executive president at Switch; and Jezzibell Gilmore, co-founder of PacketFabric. Mahmood warned, “If we don’t continue to hit the pavement and get the younger generation excited about this industry, we are at risk of losing a lot of knowledge that can be passed down from the leaders of the industry today. “The great thing about this industry is that many people are aware of this problem and want to help in any way they can,” he continued. “It is a matter of putting words into action.” That word-of-mouth action along with constant banging on doors to rally people has helped to put Mahmood’s words into action. “The goal of our foundation isn’t to reinvent the wheel, it’s to bring together the people of our industry and create something that will be sustainable for the future of this industry,” he explained. “There are plenty of other organizations such as iMasons, Loyality Foundation, E2D that have a focus on human capital. One of our goals is to bring other NGO’s and nonprofit initiatives together, find a common thread among all the organizations, whereby the education message comes across clearer and stronger and creates even more opportunities for people to learn about the industry.” But he implored the Foundation needs all the help It can get. “Exposure and mass outreach is imperative, as well as financial contributions are important to fund the initiatives, including and not limited to scholarship, computing devices (laptops, tablets etc.) and creating content,” Mahmood said. “Getting in front of people and sharing my story and the initiative at the main stage will be helpful. Creating awareness and partnerships will get the message out and help us do good and give back. “A strategic partnership heretofore helps your organization with the philanthropic efforts and addresses the biggest issue of human capital deficit, secondary markets, global reach and just being good citizens,” he concluded. o For information on how to sponsor the organization, go to nomadfuturist. org/sponsorship INTERNATIONAL AGENTS 26 CHANNELV ISION | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2023
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