Nick Shah is the Founder and President of Peterson Technology Partners (PTP), Chicago’s premier IT staff augmentation agency. With his relationship-focused mentality and technical expertise, Nick has earned the trust of Chicago-based Fortune 100 companies for their technical staffing needs.
What was your journey like to get where you are?
I began my career at the age of 17 when I was given the opportunity to manage all operations for a local Chicago newspaper, the India Tribune. Two years later, I decided to pursue my entrepreneurial instinct and began an import/export business. After both experiences, I began the next chapter of my career and launched Solutions 2000, which is now Peterson Technology Partners. I have been running the company for the last 23 years so, I’ve been able to navigate the many ups and downs of the tech industry.
In a simpler phrase, what is your company exactly doing?
Peterson Technology Partners is a recruiting and consulting firm that specializes in Cybersecurity, DevOps, Cloud computing, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. We help some of the country’s largest employers build effective and efficient teams. Additionally, we provide a proprietary AI-powered tool, called Gabi, that allows our recruiters to vet candidates faster and with more accuracy, helping to secure the best talent for each open position. Additionally, we employ a rigorous vetting process that goes further than the traditional recruiting best practices. And, personally, I spend a lot of time paying attention to where the industry is headed, what new competencies are on the rise, and what new roles are being shaped. This helps me to educate our clients and consultants about any directional changes that might impact their careers and the HR industry.
What about Metaverse are you most excited for in the future?
As a leader in the recruiting industry who operates primarily in the future-tech space (cloud computing, data science, and AI, especially AI), I am invested in tech industry trends. I believe that the advent of the metaverse is shaping up to be one of the most significant tech innovations of our generation. We are at the threshold of another revolution, one that will transform our world. This is exciting to me because the Metaverse tech will be game-changing for our identities and the way we interact with the world, even if we cannot fully see the consequences of its total impact. The science and philosophy of the conscious mind are fascinating. Reality is fundamentally the basis upon which every individual constructs their version of the world and it’s built largely on preconceptions and best guesses. Which makes it, at once, both unique and mutable. The growing enthusiasm for the metaverse suggests that people will increasingly accept a dematerialization of their extended self and the rise of what some psychologists call presence- during which individuals respond to a virtual environment as if it were real. Some psychologists and tech entrepreneurs have already begun to see the benefits of extension in medical science. There is talk of using the presence to help neurodivergent patients through VR therapy. It can help us unlock a new understanding of perception and consciousness.
Why should we be paying attention to the Metaverse?
Recent research published by the Analysis Group has predicted that metaverse-related growth could contribute as much as $3 trillion to the global economy within the next decade—a growth pattern that outstrips any other single tech system in the 21st century, second only to smartphones! And, a report by McKinsey suggests that $120 billion have been invested in metaverse tech in the first quarter of 2022 alone. Think of the enormous impact that smartphones have had on human development over the last decade. The ways we communicate and interact with each other and define relationships. The human connection itself has been redefined by the ubiquity of smartphones. If predictions are true, metaverse tech is headed in the same direction. It will grow into an internet-based platform with near-universal access and 3D identities, a virtual or mixed reality world where we exist parallel to the real world. It will be consumer driven and crypto-currency, blockchain technologies, and NFTs will be the basis of consumer transactions – completely transforming currencies and economies. So, the way in which we communicate and do business will evolve to accommodate a world that is largely digital – even more so than it is now.
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