Come See Pica8 at Dell Technologies World – and Help Save a Real-Life Pika

Having been around the block a time or two, I’ve seen my share of trade show event booth giveaways and all manner of tchotchkes, most of which find their way to a trash can before the visitor gets home. For the upcoming Dell Technologies World 2019 in Las Vegas, we wanted to do something different – something that would impact the world in a positive way.

So, we’ll be raffling off 100 “adoptions” of real North American pikas, as part of the National Wildlife Federation’s Adopt-a-Pika program.

A pika is a small mammal, closely related to rabbits – and it’s in trouble. As the NWF explains, “Pikas live in high mountain ecosystems that are cool and moist. Higher temperatures can cause the pikas to overheat.” 

As global warming brings higher temperatures to the pika’s habitat, it’s creating real problems. Pikas can’t just go find higher ground where it’s cooler – because that higher ground is their natural habitat.

“Without our protection and help, American pikas could be the first species with the distinction of going extinct due to global warming,” the NWF says.

Helping to save the pika

To avoid that distinction, the NWF launched the “Adopt an American Pika”program. In exchange for donations that go toward preserving habitat, adoptees get a plush, 7.5” tall stuffed animal and A Certificate of Adoption. At Dell Technologies World, we’ll give away 100 of these adoptions. Recipients can put any name they like on the certificate – a son or daughter, friend, whatever.

At Pica8 we feel an affinity for the pika, our namesake, so to speak. So much so that we also came up a new mascot, Pika Ocho. (Never mind that the “8” in our name is really meant to be an infinity sign – because our PICOS network operating system represents an infinitely better way to build a network. Work with us here.)

We intend to have some fun with Pika Ocho and the Adopt an American Pika promotion, while at the same time knowing we’re doing some good. I hope you can swing by booth 941 to see us – and maybe adopt your own pika.

 
Open, intelligent, effortless networking

While you’re there, we’ll also fill you in on a couple of the announcements we’ll be making just prior to the event. We’ll divulge more shortly but suffice to say they will both be of interest to any company that’s facing growth in their access and campus networks and is looking for viable alternatives to the status quo (read: Cisco et al). 

The banner you’ll see hanging at our booth sums it up nicely: “Open, Intelligent, Effortless – Pica8 can simplify the deployment of network services across your enterprise campus.”

If you’re going to be at the event, come by booth 941 and see for yourself. If not, keep an eye on this space for announcements to come shortly. In the meantime, to learn more about Pica8, our PICOS NOS, and our new enterprise automation framework, Nymble^TM, check out the free white paper, “Simplifying Scalable Open Networking for the Campus and Access Edge.”