20 Great Moments from 20 Years of Dreamforce

We're celebrating 20 years of Dreamforce by sharing 20 of the event's most memorable moments.

20 Great Moments from 20 Years of Dreamforce
Shelly Weaver
Shelly Weaver
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August 22, 2022
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min read
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We’re moving full steam ahead on our Road to Dreamforce ‘22, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a moment to look back at some of the most significant, iconic moments from the world’s most exciting software conference. This year, Trailblazers from all over the world are coming home for the first fully in-person Dreamforce event since 2019 to see the future of software.  

From humble beginnings at the Westin in San Francisco in 2003, to chartering a cruise ship to accommodate attendees when every hotel in San Francisco was sold out in 2015, there’s never a dull moment at Dreamforce. 

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2022: 30,000 Trailblazers, alongside Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Hudson, Allyson Felix, and Bono, are coming back to San Francisco. We can’t wait for the innovation, the reunions, and so much more—the countdown is officially on!

2021: Digital was the name of the game. Over ONE MILLION Trailblazers tuned into Dreamforce on B2B’s first streaming platform, Salesforce+, to see stars like Will Smith and Jane Fonda celebrating Slack joining the Ohana. 

2020: Salesforce hosted a virtual Dreamforce to launch Hyperforce with the first-ever virtual keynote, attracting more than 140 million views, and Dreamforce To You—content designed to meet customers right where they were. 

2019: Dreamforce gathered Barack Obama and Trailblazers from 120 countries and 50 U.S. states, with more than 171,000 registered attendees and 16 million online viewers.

2018: Apple and Salesforce announced a strategic partnership, bringing together the #1 CRM and iOS, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, enabling powerful new mobile apps for business. The celebration topped off with an awesome Dreamfest with Metallica.

2017: Dreamforce National Park welcomed 150,000 Trailblazers to launch Quip, Salesforce Lightning, and to party with Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, and Michelle Obama.

2016: Artificial intelligence took center stage with the introduction of Einstein. Investing legends, Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca, joined the fun to launch Dreampitch. 

2015: San Francisco literally ran out of hotel rooms—so Salesforce docked the Dreamboat cruise ship to accommodate 1,110 extra people!

2014: Philanthropy is ingrained in Salesforce’s DNA. The Dreamforce community donated 1 MILLION meals alongside Bruno Mars and Hilary Clinton as the Customer Success Platform launched. 

2013: More than 143,000 registrants flooded the streets of San Francisco to celebrate the launch of Salesforce 1 with Green Day and Alec Baldwin.

2012: In anticipation of the event, which had 90,000+ registered attendees to help launch Marketing Cloud, the city of San Francisco closed off the entirety of Howard Street to accommodate an iconic Red Hot Chili Peppers performance.

2011: Marc Benioff welcomed the Social Enterprise, showcasing offerings including Radian6, data.com, Chatter, and a special appearance from Will I Am.

2010: The magic of Dreamforce was experienced around the world with its debut Salesforce LIVE broadcast, drawing in 22,000+ viewers to launch Database.com and see Stevie Wonder perform.

2009: Salesforce unveiled a new way for people around the world to work with the launch of Chatter and hosted luminary politician and former Salesforce board member, Colin Powell. 

2008: The event reached a new milestone with 10,000+ registered attendees and Sheryl Sandberg made her keynote debut.

2007: Visualforce, launched in 2007, was a framework that allows developers to build sophisticated, custom user interfaces that can be hosted natively on the Lightning platform. Pretty fitting that George Lucas was in attendance!

2006: Salesforce launched the AppExchange Incubator, now the Salesforce Accelerate Program, to help companies grow with the AppExchange. Train joined the fun for special performances. 

2005: Marc Benioff took advice from tech legend Steve Jobs and launched the AppExchange & attendees boogied with Grooveline.

2004: The event doubled in size with 2,000+ attendees and 100+ sessions and hosted San Francisco-born band Pride & Joy.

2003: A star is born at the Westin San Francisco!

We can’t wait to see you at Dreamforce, have you registered yet? Click here to get all the details you need. 

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