The countdown starts to Dreamforce 2013 and we have announced our first round of keynote speakers, including Marissa Mayer, Sheryl Sandberg, and Deepak Chopra.  As we get ready for the most exciting Dreamforce ever, let’s take a look back at the highlights from Dreamforce 2012. 

Here’s a look at Dreamforce 2012 by the numbers: 

1. 92,000 registrants
2. 880+ sessions
3. 350+ partners
4. 3,000+ C-level executives registered to attend, an increase of 100% year-over-year from Dreamforce ‘11
5. 1,600+ non-profit and higher education institutions were in attendance
6. 100,000+ people view Dreamforce Keynotes via Salesforce Live on Facebook
7. Sponsorships rose by 40% as Dreamforce partner ecosystem grew to more than 350 companies with a combined market cap of more than $1.3 trillion 
8. 4 local community projects for attendees: cleaning up McLaren Park, creating disaster preparedness kits with the American Red Cross, developing care packages for children in homeless shelters with Project Night Night and building bikes for local youth with Playworks.
9. $10 million in grant funding dedicated to San Francisco's District 10 in the southern part of the city in honor of the 10^th Dreamforce
10. $4 million raised for the USCF Benioff Children's Hospital during Dreamforce ($12 million raised in the last three years)

Attendees can attest that Dreamforce is more than just the numbers.  Here are some of the highlights from last year’s show:

11.  Another amazing opening keynote with Marc Benioff

Salesforce.com Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff opened the conference with another groundbreaking keynote, providing a vision for the social revolution and how it is changing business. He spoke with numerous executives, including Tim Campos, CIO of Facebook, the world's #1 consumer social app, who demonstrated how Salesforce.com helps them excel in business.  Tim demonstrated how they use Salesforce.com and Work.com to insure that the company's open and connected culture extends to employee performance reviews and management.

12. Gen. Colin Powell and GE's Jeff Immelt

General Colin Powell and General Electric’s CEO Jeff Immelt shared inspiring personal and business stories. The two leaders chatted with Marc Benioff in front of a packed keynote room and revealed not only their vision for the future job creation and current affairs, but also how they keep up with their tech-savvy grandchildren.

13.  Fireside Conversation: Sir Richard Branson & Marc Benioff

Marc Benioff and Sir Richard Branson share many traits: they are both entrepreneurs, dedicated to philanthropy, and transformed industries with radical new thinking. These two leaders had a frank and unscripted conversation during Dreamforce '12.

14.  Social Media Command Center brings crowds to Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Salesforce.com introduced Dreamforce attendees to Salesforce Marketing Cloud with the Dreamforce Social Media Command Center.  The Marketing Cloud application allows companies to measure brand presence, ROI, and more over social media.

15.  The sold out Developer Keynote

2012 was the first official Developer keynote at Dreamforce. It was so wildly popular that there was standing room only.

16.  The Dreamforce 2012 Music Festival

Many headed to the Dreamforce Plaza on Howard Street to recharge, relax and enjoy the beautiful San Francisco weather, and enjoyed entertainment including 13 San Francisco-based artists and bands.

What were your highlights of Dreamforce '12? What are you most looking forward to at Dreamforce 2013? Tell us about it in the comments and be sure to register at the button below.