If you’ve found the time to read this and don’t live in San Francisco, then you are most likely not going to Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce event. But don’t worry. So we aren’t joining the one hundred and thirty thousand plus attendees of what is probably the largest technology event in the calendar. Pretty frustrating right? Hey there is next year and it will be even bigger! But until then..
Each year it continues to grow in attendance, product announcements and general stature. At last year’s Dreamforce the big announcement was Salesforce1 which was the all encompassing rebranding of various products and strategies into one. This year they have kept us guessing, well not unless you are a Salesforce employee or lucky enough to be part of the MVP circle, then you are simply waiting to tell the whole world about the cool new stuff!
Our own Francis has been teasing us for sometime now on what to expect, but rest assured he will be one of the first to break the big stuff on Twitter as it happens!
My own predication, and I don’t really know for sure, but in my head I have this one salient tag line: “Charts are Everywhere!”. What could this mean, could it be a clue for the biggie this year?
Over the years some truly massive guests have graced the stages and the more intimate fireside chats. Last year’s focus was on women in tech (#WIT) with the likes of Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg taking centre stage with Marc. This year things are flipped from tech to politics with ex president Al Gore and someone who is potentially America’s first female president in the form of ex-president Clinton’s wife, the superb Hillary Clinton.
Salesforce don’t just like rolling with the major industry leaders, they extend the invitation net extremely wide by bringing in an entourage of music legends who not only play but contributed valuable insight into the conference on how technology has changed the way they work, create music and stay connected with their fans.
It is no secret the monstrous efforts and contributions Salesforce makes in the philanthropy space with their 1-1-1 foundation program. Last year Sean Penn gave us a moving account of just how much the people of Haiti were impacted by one of the worst earthquakes on record and how support from Salesforce helped the Haitian government stay connected with and get closer to its people. We are completely expecting to hear more courageous stories from the philanthropy side of Salesforce as they extend love and support to those who really need it.
Future trend alert: Wearables are coming, and if you have don’t have one yet, you will. We are on the cusp of a major revolution as we await the imminent arrival of Apple’s Watch next year. Will.i.am is striking early and gains more airtime this year, choosing to unveil his latest invention in the shape of a wearable device. Wearables is not a fad and Salesforce are at the front by miles in this huge growth area.
Talking of wearables, we are going to see an increase in system updates from Salesforce twitterati as the many Fitbit and Jawbone devices broadcast each step attendees are taking between the many Dreamforce sessions. I completely understand why they say pack a good pair of walking shoes, as the event is a vast sprawling utopia of locations, booths, sessions, hands on training, massive keynotes and afterparties. I have blisters just writing this!
So we have established we are not going to this year’s Dreamforce, but here is what you can do to make sure you don’t miss the best stuff. If you are not on Twitter, sign up now and follow these people provided by the awesome Phil Walton MVP: http://www.philwaltonconsultancy.co.uk/25-uk-ireland-attendees-you-should-meet-at-dreamforce-2014/
Of course follow us – @Salesforceweek, @Chris_SFDC and @agentgill – as we will be tweeting and retweeting all the information you need to know as it happens.
All the keynotes and main sessions will be broadcast live to the comfort of your home – here are the main keynotes for the UK, India and Australia:
| Day | Keynote | UK | India | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Success Community Keynote | 9-10pm | 1:30-2:30am | 7-8am |
| Tuesday | Marc Benioff and Guests | 9:30-11:30pm | 2-4am | 7:30-9:30am |
| Wednesday | Developer Keynote | 6:30-7:20pm | 12-1:20am | 4:30-5:20am |
| Platform Keynote | 10-10:50pm | 2:30-3:20am | 8-8:50am | |
| Admin Keynote | 11-12pm | 3:30-4:30am | 9-10am |
* Here is the link to the full Dreamforce Agenda including US (PST) timings and the link to watch Live starting tomorrow *
Did you notice the new Admin keynote, cannot let it slip by unnoticed, for the first time in the history of Dreamforce there will be a Keynote dedicated to Admins. It’s one you will not want to missed. If you like podcasts make sure you locate the awesome CloudLife crew who will be broadcasting live from Dreamforce, I’m told somewhere between the new Admin zone and the Developer zone.
So get ready, get tuned in, pull a sickie or beg your boss for the week off and get ready to virtually attend this years Dreamforce with us!