After all the months of preparation and growing excitement, it's hard to believe that Dreamforce '15 is over. Four days packed with breakout sessions, hands-on training sessions, keynote speakers, networking, sightseeing, and parties can go by fast — so in case there's anything you missed, here's our rundown of the top 10 highlights from Dreamforce '15.
As an opener before Marc Benioff’s Dreamforce keynote address, none other than Stevie Wonder hit the stage to serenade attendees. Included in the arrangement were favorites like “Superstitious,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” and “You are the Sunshine of My Life.”
Ladies and gentlemen, Stevie Wonder! ON NOW #SalesforceLIVE #DF15 http://t.co/yzvIcvMJ6h pic.twitter.com/YduBG4h5hs
— Salesforce (@salesforce) September 16, 2015
Reigning NBA champions the Golden State Warriors were represented on the Dreamforce stage by General Manager Bob Myers and President and CEO Rick Welts. The two discussed the Warriors’ philosophy and what they look for in building a championship-calibre team.
.@warriors GM, Bob Myers, on leadership. http://t.co/SO3MRPxaYq #SalesforceLIVE #DF15 pic.twitter.com/kyLuHOABIJ
— Salesforce (@salesforce) September 15, 2015
As part of the first annual startup summit, Dreamforce hosted two days of keynotes and sessions specifically for startups and small businesses. One of those keynote speakers was Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box. Levie shared some of his secrets, missteps and triumphs since launching Box a decade ago. One of his key tips? “Being able to have that kind of dual culture where you have really experienced senior talent that have seen where you're going mixed with folks that have a fresh mindset."
During Benioff’s keynote, he was joined onstage by Dr. Laura Esserman, Professor of Surgery and Radiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center (oh yeah, she also has an MBA!). Esserman shared how the Wisdom study team is using Salesforce to deliver precision medicine and transform the way we screen for breast cancer. You can learn more about the Wisdom Study here.
Join the landmark #WisdomStudy to help improve breast cancer screenings. Learn more: http://t.co/iSGi0ZMdJM pic.twitter.com/zVsRIkvZKd
— Salesforce (@salesforce) September 16, 2015
Takeaways from @Dreamforce conference...We need Moneyball for Medicine! That would be a game changer RT if you agree #DF15
— Dr. Laura Esserman (@DrLauraEsserman) September 16, 2015
At Pier 70 on Wednesday night we rocked out to the tunes of Gary Clark Jr., The Killers and the Foo Fighters. Even better, the concert raised $10 million for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital!
Kara Swisher, executive editor for Re/code, joined Marc Benioff and Parker Harris on the keynote stage for a frank discussion about the state of women in tech, as well as what we can do to make the future brighter. Benioff took ownership of the issue, admitting that it was something that he should have prioritized 16 and a half years ago when Salesforce was founded. Harris also shared some of the programs that are being enacted today to start developing the pool of female leadership that is at Salesforce: “Where are all the amazing women leaders? They’re right here.”
"We're going to be the change we are seeking." @benioff #DF15WomenLead: http://t.co/J5lDjLqnEM #SalesforceLIVE pic.twitter.com/FdWkyCfldL
— Salesforce (@salesforce) September 17, 2015
Day three of Dreamforce was devoted to our product keynotes, with some amazing customers sharing the stage to show how they’re using Salesforce products to power their success. Some amazing stories include how Mattel uses Marketing Cloud to build customer journeys, how IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association) uses Community Cloud to build a virtual community for veterans to connect with one another, and how App Cloud helps Bosma Enterprises enable their blind employees to use Salesforce.
Powerhouse leaders Jessica Alba, Founder of The Honest Company, and Susan Wojcicki, CEO of Youtube, were joined onstage by talk show host Gayle King for a candid discussion about women in the workplace and their leadership. As a mother of five children, Wojcicki said she was surprised to learn just 12% of women receive paid maternity leave in the private sector and that 25% go back to work after ten days. “We found that having longer maternity leave helped us retain women at [YouTube].” Alba announced that paid parental leave for their employees will increase to 16 weeks as of January 2016.
"Everyone should take computer science." @SusanWojcicki #DF15WomenLead http://t.co/Yb5UBdyEFQ #DF15 pic.twitter.com/SbJMGUO0Xu
— Salesforce (@salesforce) September 18, 2015
It was one year ago that Salesforce acquired relationship intelligence company RelateIQ, and during Benioff’s keynote it was officially unveiled as SalesforceIQ. In fact, Benioff announced two products: SalesforceIQ for Small Business and SalesforceIQ for Sales Cloud, bringing the power of relationship intelligence in multiple different ways. You can learn more about SalesforceIQ here.
Giving back is always at the heart at what we do, and Dreamforce is no different. Each day was devoted to a different cause, including women in tech, the environment, veterans and education. Additionally, we sought to collect one million books to donate to kids in need, and we did it! The total number was 1,006,225, making it the world’s largest book drive ever.
And that’s a wrap for Dreamforce ‘15 — see you next year!