View from the top - some personal takeaways from Dreamforce 2016
- Summary:
- It was the biggest Dreamforce to date. Andy Lawson, Salesforce's UK & Ireland Managing Director and SVP, North Europe, Middle East & Africa, selects five of his personal takeaways.
I’ve recently returned - somewhat jet-lagged but also reinvigorated – from what can only be described as a record-breaking Dreamforce event. Our annual customer and partner conference in San Francisco was a sell-out, with 171,000 registered attendees. Personally, I attended some of the 3,000 sessions on offer, spent lots of time with customers, and it was “a beautiful day” to watch U2 at the Dreamfest concert!
But it’s not the statistics or the scale of Dreamforce that really stands out in my mind. What made this year’s event so important was the fact that our entire ecosystem came together. At Salesforce, ‘Ohana’ – the Hawaiian concept of family members being responsible for one another – is fundamental to everything we do; from how we work together internally to the way we support partners and drive our customers’ success. And seeing everyone together it was easy to see that this focus on community, and the shared commitment to achieving excellence across every part of that “family,” was the ultimate Dreamforce 2016 experience.
So here are my five key takeaways from Dreamforce:
AI will change the customer experience
We’re not the first company to talk about AI, to be sure; but we are the first to start making artificial intelligence available – and beneficial – to every business, and every business user. By delivering smart, contextual recommendations, workers can serve customers better and companies are able to make better strategic decisions. Ultimately, the technology can free up skilled workers to innovate based on actual facts around what consumers most want, rather than to be stuck in endless discussions of potential customer behaviours and trial-and-error marketing and sales.
Celebrating the importance of diversity
The spirit of diversity and equality is an issue we’ve championed since day one and has become a major focus at Dreamforce. Something particularly close to my heart is helping to get more girls and women into fulfilling careers within the tech sector. So I really enjoyed hearing from inspiring leaders like Melinda Gates, who discussed this very issue. We all know that diverse teams are stronger teams and can find different solutions to problems more effectively. They’re also better positioned to meet the needs of a diverse customer base. The attendance from both men and women at the diversity and women in leadership sessions was incredible - standing room only - which demonstrated to the entire community that this isn’t something to just talk about - it’s something to take action on.
Collaboration is the key to success
In our 24/7 always-on, mobile and digital world, collaborative communication platforms are now the lifeblood of modern teams. Collaboration tools - like Quip - don’t just improve the experience and productivity of employees; they also improve the customer experience. Employees, able to access information from across the business at the click of a button, can shift the customer experience to the next level.
Embed giving back into your company
It wouldn’t be Dreamforce if philanthropy didn’t play an important role; since its inception Salesforce has focused on giving back as fundamental to the employee experience, as well as to the communities in which we work. This year, more than ever, I was struck by the generosity of the Salesforce community: as well as raising $1 million for (RED) to help eliminate new cases of HIV by 2020, attendees also helped raise $10 million for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. And while raising money is fantastic, it’s also clear that technology companies have a special opportunity to make a difference in the non-profits they support. Taking an integrated approach to giving back – donating equity, employee time, and products and services – can have a massive impact on the work of charitable organisations. To that end, it was great to talk with businesses that are following our lead and joining the Pledge 1% movement to give back in a focused manner.
The power of relationships
Obviously, Dreamforce is time for key announcements, updates and discussions. But, in our connected world, that could all be achieved virtually. The magic of Dreamforce is that we bring together our entire global community together, face-to-face – and make sure that everyone who is interested can watch our content and sessions online. By gathering as a community, we emphasised the human bonds that help us work (and play) more effectively together. In our digital world, these community events are not only important, but integral to success – because we all want to experience excitement in real time. As we become an increasingly digitalised society, it’s these gatherings that become critical to keeping our family bonds alive.