DF19 perspective
For our final Dreamforce blog, Benjamin Murray, Head of Alliances & Marketing at CloudShift, talks about his highlights from his first Dreamforce experience and some of his favourite moments.
My first Dreamforce was, in a word, incredible!
Thousands of keynotes and takeaways
First things first, my DF19 experience kicked off with the Opening Keynote with Marc Benioff and Keith Block. I learnt about the fantastic innovations taking place in our Salesforce ecosystem including Salesforce’s noteworthy commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the contribution of Salesforce on the global economy.
One highlight from my trip has surely been hearing from President Barack Obama – we were treated to some great thought leadership and insight with inspiring take-outs including the President’s remarks on how we can make the tech-industry better by starting a common conversation on equality, diversity and a collaborative economy – as Obama said, “Diversity is not a charity”. He also highlighted the simple value of values; “Part of solving big problems is not just finding a technical solution, it’s about finding common values”.
We also enjoyed the MuleSoft keynote, a topic particularly dear to our practice, being a certified MuleSoft Partner. The keynote focused on how integration is now a strategic part of every digital transformation and brought home with us key insights on how to accelerate business innovation with the MuleSoft platform.
Networking, parties and much more
The CloudShift team had an action-packed calendar throughout Dreamforce. Aside from the keynotes and sessions, we had some great meetings and conversations with our Customers, Salesforce and partners in the Salesforce ecosystem. I was inspired by my conversations with many of the Independent Software Vendors (ISV’s) within the Salesforce Partner Community who outlined their exciting innovations and plans for their Apps to further enhance how Customers can continually digital transform their business. It’s important for us all to take back this knowledge to our businesses so we can ensure we are best serving our Customers with solutions which will truly deliver transformational change.
There are of course many events and celebrations throughout Dreamforce which proved excellent networking for CloudShift as we relaxed and caught up with friends and made new ones within our ecosystem.
The UKI Welcome Party was certainly one of them! As UK partners we were invited to join fellow colleagues for the annual UK & Ireland Dreamforce Welcome Party at the stunning venue of Hibernia Bank. The venue is a historic San Francisco building, recently renovated where we joined in a wonderful evening of networking and amazing food.
And let’s not forget Dreamfest! the rock n’ roll concert is a Dreamforce favourite and I would recommend it to anyone going to Dreamforce next year! It was the perfect opportunity to relax after a jam-packed day, and enjoy some good vibes and incredible music.
Promoting equality and diversity
My favourite event, however, was the Dreamforce Equality Festival which took place on Thursday evening in the Salesforce Tower.
The first-ever Dreamforce Equality Festival was organised by Tony Prophet, Chief Equality Officer at Salesforce, who, together with his team, delivered this fantastic event and work to build a workplace that reflects the diverse communities Salesforce serves and further Equality for All.
We caught the lift up to the top of the San Francisco Salesforce Tower to the Ohana Floor on level 61, and were greeted by a real celebration! Around us, there was a carnival atmosphere that made us feel welcomed and part of the Ohana family.
Taking part within the festival were 12 groups, who each had a stand where everyone was warmly greeted and told about their objectives and some of the great work they have done. It was an amazing night, hearing from Ability Force, Women’s Network, Earthforce, Vetforce. Genforce, WINDforce, Asiapacforce, Southasiaforce, BOLDforce, Faithforce, Outforce and Latinoforce!
The event was such a great celebration of the fantastic diversity and inclusivity that we have within the Salesforce ecosystem. We really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about all of these communities and Salesforce’s commitment to Equality. President Barack Obama put it perfectly, saying “It’s not about making yourself important but about making everyone important”
My first Dreamforce showed me that business growth needs to go hand in hand with a commitment to sustainability, equality and diversity. I’ll be definitely looking forward to Dreamforce 2020 – Will I see you there?
