Dreamforce 2014: Inspiration, Imagination, and Innovation

Organized and hosted by Salesforce, Dreamforce is known as an event on technology innovation.

It was first launched in 2003 with 1,300 attendees. Ten years later, during the 2013 Dreamforce event, 130,000 attended. That’s a 10,000% increase in attendance over a decade.

This year, more people are expected at the Dreamforce 2014 in San Francisco on October 13-16. Attending it for the first time would be me – registered as a member of the Press.

There are many reasons why I got attracted to this year’s Dreamforce event.

First, its organizer, Salesforce has been the talk of the town not only in the barbershops but also among the business circles especially investment advisers and managers.  Salesforce is known for its CRM app that helps companies connect with their customers.  As a result, on average, those that use Salesforce see: +27% increase in sales revenue; +32% increase in lead conversion; +34% increase in customer satisfaction; and +56% faster deployment. I thought that I should explore this further.



Second, 95% of those who previously attended the event highly recommend it. Steven Weber of DeMatteo describes it as “half rock concert and half industry show. Anyone who hasn’t been should absolutely go.”

Third, I see a line-up of Keynote Speakers that include the next President of the United States, former US Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former US Vice President Al Gore, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com Mark Benioff, Entrepreneur and Author Anthony Robbins, Chair, President, and Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post Media Group Arianna Huffington, and other celebrities like Will I. AM and Yelp, Inc. CEO Jeremy Stoppelman.

Fourth, BRUNO MARS is going to the event. He is featured at the Dreamforce Gala & UCSF Benefit Concert. Billboard's 2013 Artist of the Year, Bruno Mars is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer and musician. The 18-time GRAMMY nominee and multi-GRAMMY winner has sold over 130 million singles worldwide. His current album Unorthodox Jukebox and his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans have a combined certification total of 74-times platinum worldwide. According to Billboard, Mars scored his first five Hot 100 No.1s faster than any male since Elvis Presley. As a singer, songwriter and producer, Mars has an impressive catalog of 22 Hot 100 hits. Mars and his eight-piece band The Hooligans are set to launch the next leg of their sold-out 155-date Moonshine Jungle world tour in the United States this summer.  Incidentally, Bruno Mars is HALF FILIPINO.

Fifth, Dreamforce is supposed to be four days of learning, networking, and a whole lot of fun.  In fact, there will be 1,400 expert-led sessions geared towards different roles and industries. Many are even non-business related: 30 sessions tailored for nonprofits; 15 sessions for higher education; and 60 featured nonprofit and university innovators.  A Keynote address for nonprofits and higher education is also scheduled.

Sixth, it will feature Cloud Expos. I will most likely spend a lot of time there because I want to get hands-on experience and get the most out of Salesforce products and solutions. Obviously, as a newbie, I would like to see live demos and meet face-to-face with more than 350 cloud computing companies showcasing over 1,000 easy-to-integrate solutions. The Showcases include the Product, Customer, and Industry.

Seventh, there will be more than 130,000 attendees who expect to network with other Cloud experts and technology innovators. I intend to do likewise.

Eighth, while other attendees are more than willing to pay $1199 for a Dreamforce Full Conference Pass, I was lucky to have been registered and got the same Pass for FREE as a credentialed member of the Press.

Algoworks went to Dreamforce 2013. They are going to attend it again this year, They describe the conference this way:

“Dreamforce promises a learning experience that can boost how you operate your business, help you create new business connections, provide solutions to problems that you want it sought quickest, and of course lots of fun- all jam packed within a time frame of glorious 4 days.”

San Francisco here I come!