25 Scenes That Show Dreamforce 2016 Was An Extravaganza For The Senses
Welcome To Dreamforce
Salesforce has turned Dreamforce into a glamour event, transcending the traditional programmatic confines of tech conventions with a star-studded, politically-charged, socially conscious gathering of employees, partners and customers.
Guided by the vision of founder and CEO Marc Benioff, Dreamforce offers attendees a non-stop barrage of recreational, entertainment and personal enlightenment opportunities in addition to the conventional trappings of a software vendor's annual conference.
While the politicians, philanthropists, musicians and business luminaries who grace the various Dreamforce sessions create a lot of buzz, and there's certainly a lot of fun to be had on the plaza outside the main convention halls, Dreamforce is still, at its core, an immersive showcase of the technology Salesforce is bringing to market with its partners.
Einstein
Partners coming to Dreamforce 2016 were most excited to see the debut of the Einstein artificial intelligence platform—a technology infused in almost all of Salesforce's apps.
The product's bushy mascot was ubiquitous at the event, even flying high atop a construction site adjacent to San Francisco's Moscone Center.
Meet Einstein
Throughout the convention halls were eye-catching stations at which Salesforce partners could engage the new artificial intelligence platform and start getting a deeper sense of its capabilities and the opportunities to bring the technology to market.
Discover Einstein
Partners were encouraged to discover the attributes Einstein would deliver to Salesforce's flagship products, like the Sales and Marketing clouds.
Cover Model
Einstein, depicted as a Salesforce product icon, was a cute and cuddly scientist.
This Forbes Magazine cover, blown-up and on display at a few sites inside the convention hall, reminded Dreamforce attendees who the real mad genius was.
Channel Chief
Salesforce Channel Chief Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh delivered much of the opening Dreamforce keynote, revealing upgrades to the channel and technology partner programs designed to ease the process of doing business with the CRM leader.
Lounging
Dreamforce delivered a barrage of information about technical innovations and business opportunities at its many keynotes, breakout sessions, and throughout the exhibition pavilion. But in the plaza outside of the Moscone Center's conference halls, attendees found plenty of comfortable spots—some with beanbag chairs—to relax and enjoy a sunny San Francisco day.
Experience New Clouds
Partners found many interactive stations inside the convention halls at which they could directly tinker with Salesforce products such as the App and IoT clouds and learn how those technologies could boost their practices.
Thirst Solutions
Appirio, a standout systems integrator in the Salesforce ecosystem, based in Indianapolis, tended to the needs of Dreamforce attendees looking to take a break from wandering the pavilion floor.
Ping Pong
The grassy outdoor plaza between the various Moscone Center buildings abounded with recreational opportunities. It seemed to never lack a competitive game of ping pong.
(RED)
CEO Marc Benioff strongly encourages Salesforce partners to do good as they are doing well. Benioff gave (RED), an organization whose mission to eliminate AIDS in Africa he strongly supports, a massive platform to raise awareness and funding at Dreamforce.
All Your Devices
We usually talk about the miniaturization of electronics. But these devices on the Dreamforce pavilion floor were super-sized.
Crowds
With 130,000 attendees registering for Dreamforce, getting in and out of keynotes, and for that matter just about anywhere else throughout the Moscone Center, involved some close contact with the masses.
U2
Dreamforce attendees trekked across San Francisco to the Cow Palace arena, where the massive surrounding parking lot was converted to an outdoor venue dubbed the Cloud Palace. Legendary rockers U2 did the rest. Lead singer Bono works with Marc Benioff to support the (RED) organization.
A Smaller Stage
While U2's performance was the musical highlight of the conference, bands were playing round the clock in the plaza between the Moscone Center exhibition halls on multiple stages.
A Little Zen
For Dreamforce attendees looking to experience some joy, calm, and compassion, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff made sure the monks of the Plum Village Monastery were available to offer guidance at the Engaged Mindfulness Zone.
Marc's Monks
In his keynote, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff called attention to the Plum Village Monastery monks on hand at Dreamforce, telling attendees they could learn much from the monks about maintaining inner peace and avoiding stress amid the hectic conference.
Benioff drew a crowd while mingling with some monks outside the Engaged Mindfulness Zone.
Benioff Keynote
Marc Benioff's keynote was a sprawling, socially conscious affair.
Salesforce's CEO was introduced to the stage by musician and activist Will.I.Am, talked about artificial intelligence with co-founder Parker Harris, encouraged attendees to donate to charitable causes, and circled the room repeatedly.
Bluewolf
Salesforce's channel partners played an outsized role throughout Dreamforce, helping customers understand implementation strategies for the latest-and-greatest Salesforce products, including Einstein and the new Commerce Cloud.
Bluewolf, the first-ever partner of the CRM giant from back in its startup days, now a global systems integrator owned by IBM, is always a major presence at the annual conference.
A Tall Cold One
Salesforce customers were well represented at Dreamforce. And some, like Coca-Cola, set up innovative displays to showcase their familiar products.
Deloitte DJ
IT consulting giant Deloitte brought in a DJ to set the mood in its booth on the pavilion floor, providing a soundtrack to accompany nearby foosball matches.
Airstream
Salesforce adopted a campy -- sorry! -- camping theme for Dreamforce, and an iconic vehicle parked on the plaza helped drive home the feel of enjoying the great outdoors.
Lightning In The Wild
Some furry friends promoted Lightning, Salesforce's drag-and-drop development platform for building apps.
Portal
The Moscone Center spans two city blocks in downtown San Francisco. But if you looked into this digital portal, people across the street appeared to be standing just a few feet away. Which inspired some unconventional interactions.
Sage
Sage was once a Salesforce rival, but the two companies have become quite friendly since entering a global strategic partnership last year.
The UK software giant came to Dreamforce to promote its accounting and payroll solutions integrated with Salesforce's CRM.
Treadmill
As if there wasn't enough walking to do just to get around Dreamforce, this treadmill was available in a section of the pavilion focused on health care applications.