We’re posting a series of vignettes to celebrate Salesforce’s 20th birthday. Follow our digital scrapbook to get a behind the scenes glimpse of our history.
You can’t shut down innovation. That’s why even a surprise cancellation of CEO Marc Benioff’s keynote at Oracle OpenWorld 2011 couldn’t silence the message Salesforce had for the world: it was the end of software, cloud computing could extend enterprise applications to every company.
News of the cancellation barely registered before the team made a critical decision — customers wouldn’t get left behind.
![](https://www.salesforce.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/benioff-tweet.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
The keynote team had to hustle. OpenWorld meant everything was booked, but the team found a new venue. Next, invitations, production, audio/visual, and logistics were all redone — in under 24 hours.
Overnight, a planned protest with signs and employee demonstrators took shape. By morning on October 5, the streets around Moscone Center were brimming with action.
![](https://www.salesforce.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/protest.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
“While some companies were trying to shut down the cloud, Salesforce was democratizing cloud computing for everyone,” says Al Falcione, SVP Corporate Messaging.
![](https://www.salesforce.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/saasy-protest.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
Meanwhile, Marc Benioff gave his keynote and met customers.
![](https://www.salesforce.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/benioff-keynote.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
In the end, innovation would thrive, new companies would have access to enterprise-class applications, and Salesforce’s innovative approach to OpenWorld 2011 became company legend.
Happy birthday, Salesforce. May the next 20 be as innovative as the first 20.