Welcome to the Dreamforce Reporter, our collection of the key announcements, ideas and insights coming out of Dreamforce 2019.
The first two days of Dreamforce featured top news, conversations on the future of work, and dialogues with leaders and Trailblazers. Below are some of the top announcements and highlights from day one, and don’t miss our coverage of day two highlights.
Key Announcements
- Salesforce Announces Customer 360 Truth—A Single Source of Truth for Every Customer Across the World’s #1 CRM
- Salesforce and Amazon Web Services (AWS) Expand Global Strategic Partnership
- “Hey Einstein”— Salesforce Brings Voice to Every Customer Experience
- Apple and Salesforce Ignite Productivity and Learning on the Best Devices for Business
For a summary of today’s announcements, visit our Key Announcement Guide.
Trailblazers, Together – The Dreamforce Opening Keynote
KEY MULTIMEDIA ASSETS – Click the photos to find downloadable Media Library versionsKEY QUOTES
- “As we move into this digital revolution, we can squarely say that this fourth wave of computing is now upon us… We’ve moved from systems of record, where many of us started in the industry, to systems of engagement… We moved from systems of engagement to systems of intelligence… Now we’re moving from systems of intelligence toward something in computer science we’ve been talking about for years: the single source of truth.” – Marc Benioff, Co-CEO, Salesforce
- “I remember sitting in the cohort, I got that first Trailhead badge and thought I could do this. I spent days and nights trying to accumulate as much knowledge of Salesforce as I could, and it paid off. Now I’ve got 5 certifications, I’ve been working for an amazing company, and I just purchased my first home.” – Sheldon Simmons, Board Member, Merivis
- “As a tech industry we are constantly innovating… And if the tech industry has the freedom to innovate, they also have the responsibility to create – create pathways to new professions, pathways that are inclusive of everybody, pathways that are equitable and accessible, because it’s going to take all of us to close the skills gap.” – Leah McGowen-Hare, Vice President of Trailhead Evangelism, Salesforce
- “At Salesforce we believe that business is the greatest platform for change, and that’s why we’ve signed up with the UN to focus on supporting 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These are very important to our future. Whether it’s eradicating poverty from the world, or peace strengthening us. We believe in these sustainable goals, as all of you should.” – Keith Block, Co-CEO, Salesforce
- “Einstein Voice is transforming how teams work together… Einstein not only offers me the insights of how my business is doing now but also the next steps to grow my business… Einstein empowers your team by seeing things that we cannot see.” – Qingqing Liu, Principal Mobile Architect Salesforce
- “People think that AI is kind of scary, but to us it’s about taking those insights and supporting your people to give a better experience. I would urge people to think about data in the context of how you better support the human to provide a better customer experience.” – Fawad Ahmad, Chief Digital Officer, State Farm
For a deeper dive on the Opening Keynote, check out the highlights on the Salesforce blog.
Future of Work: How AI Will Affect Our Workforce
KEY MULTIMEDIA ASSETS – Click the photos to find downloadable Media Library versionsKEY QUOTES
- “There have been all sorts of peer review studies showing that if you use a resume to hire, you’re less likely to hire women, people of color, older workers, and also people who don’t come from prestigious Ivy League backgrounds… All of these inequalities exist in our world. The problem with AI that is not built in an ethical fashion is that it is going to codify and amplify this bias.” – Dr Frida Polli, co-founder and CEO, pymetrics
- “We’re going to start seeing all this software that will get even more automated, which is going to mean that you as a person, your EQ as an individual will be the most important skill you can bring to the table. And I think the more diverse populations we have, the more diverse voices we have, the better technology we’ll have.” – Lili Gangas, Chief Tech Community Officer, Kapor Center
- “There’s a front door to hiring and there’s a back door. The front door is broken. A lot of people are getting in through the back door. We can fix that through these scalable, audited, unbiased technology solutions.” – Dr Frida Polli, co-founder and CEO, pymetrics
Fireside Chat with Marco Bizzarri and Marc Benioff
KEY MULTIMEDIA ASSETS – Click the photos to find downloadable Media Library versionsKEY QUOTES
- “Why are we at Dreamforce? Because we really believe that blending technology and human touch — that kind of personal one-to-one — is going to be the differentiating factor for us.” – Marco Bizzarri, CEO Gucci
- “Values is part of the change of aesthetic. The two go together… the Changemakers program is in fact something that we launched one year ago, and it was inspired by the 1% pledge that you started many years ago, and it was a way for us to get the possibility to get different cultures to be exposed to the fashion industry… We think that diversity is a strength for the company… We were able to gather 50 students from around the globe to join the design team and bring ideas to Alessandro.” – Marco Bizzarri, CEO Gucci
- “What has inspired me is people like you… who are spontaneously having the same ideas, that your business is the greatest platform for change… So if we’re loathing a future that has not happened yet, we can get involved now and take a position to prevent that from happening… That’s probably the best part about being a CEO — that you can have a platform…” – Marc Benioff, co-CEO Salesforce
Creating the Future of AI: How Salesforce Research Advances AI for CRM
KEY MULTIMEDIA ASSETS – Click the photos to find downloadable Media Library versionsKEY QUOTES
- “AI is currently in what I call a dual state. You can roughly categorize those states as the electricity and the sci-fi state. And the electricity state is where AI is basically ready to have a huge impact in a variety of different applications. In the supermarket for example, you can use computer vision to count the different objects on a shelf, identify them and ensure they’re placed in the right order… In the sci-fi state, we still can’t have full general conversations with AI, we can’t have fully self-driving cars that can deal with all kinds of complex situations and don’t need a steering wheel any more.” – Richard Socher, Chief Scientist, Salesforce
- “Nobody enjoys logging calls, creating reports, and updating tedious records. You’re professionals and you want to spend your day serving your customers. Well, one exciting thing about the field of AI is that it makes us all more productive, and Salesforce research is committed to advancing AI that keeps you doing your most important work and helps you do the same for your customers. The end of data entry is the beginning of data conversations.” – Indira Iyer, VP Engineering, Salesforce
- “At Salesforce, equality is one of our values, and it is also applied to AI research and development. In our team, we constantly work hard to make sure our voice engine is accessible to different accents.” – Caiming Xiong, Senior Director, AI Research, Salesforce
Check out our timed event agenda and media guide for what’s happening as Dreamforce continues.