Dreamforce 2017: Ushering in the 4th Industrial Revolution

Written by

Duarte, Inc.

“Every industrial revolution is defined by trailblazers. We’re in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a wave of innovation and technology, radically transforming our economies, societies, and lives.”

These words opened Salesforce’s Dreamforce 2017 as 171,000 live attendees and 10 million online viewers sat in awe taking in the video of trailblazers and the technologies they created that shaped the world forever. Dreamforce is a home for trailblazers, and Salesforce CEO and Chairman, Marc Benioff, welcomed them back in his opening keynote.

Benioff set out to persuade the audience that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be where artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) transform the customer experience. You can already see this change every day: shopping via voice command, autonomous cars, and smart devices that keep you connected and always-on.

In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence will help businesses connect to their customers in a whole new way. Benioff sought to instill in the audience, that they, the “Trailblazers” were the drivers behind this movement.

Salesforce users from 21st Century Fox, T-Mobile, adidas, and more took center stage during Benioff’s keynote—highlighting Salesforce’s customer-centric emphasis and these companies’ key role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution wasn’t the only thing front and center in Benioff’s keynote. Salesforce was nominated by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the Best Places to Work 2017 for LGBTQ Equality as well as Fortune’s #1 Workplace for Giving Back. Salesforce sees this as being important because while the Fourth Industrial Revolution is going to bring progress, it also increases the chances that there may be more inequality in this world, and that is something we all as individuals and as businesses need to be mindful to address.

Last year Salesforce spent $3 million to close the gender pay gap and this year they spent another $3 million to raise pay for 11% of employees, proving that Salesforce is a true trailblazer in setting the standard for equality in the workplace.

Benioff, who sees Dreamforce as a big family reunion, always brings things back to the idea of Ohana — the Hawaiian word for “family,” which includes Salesforce’s employees, customers, partners, and community.

This was Duarte’s seventh year working with Salesforce on Dreamforce, and we certainly feel like family. The experience of working on this always incredible event, which is in a constant state of reiteration and change, is nothing short of rewarding.

Benioff not only brought to light how The Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing unprecedented change to our lives, but also unprecedented opportunity for growth and deeper customer connections. As Salesforce scales and prepares for the future, this year’s Dreamforce encouraged attendees to be on the lookout for ways that they, too, can blaze a trailblazer.

Duarte is proud to have worked with the Salesforce team on executing yet another amazing Dreamforce keynote. Now, we blaze a trail onwards towards Dreamforce 2018…