DF16 day one is complete. It’s almost like day 1.5 because Monday night there was a Women in Technology session with about 1000 women who watched a panel of highly successful women in tech talk about how they got to where they are and how to mentor and help women in tech. It was one of the best sessions I’ve attended so far.
Official day 1 for me started off with the Sales Cloud Lighting Road Map which showed off some great enhancements to Lightning Sales Cloud that I didn’t even know I needed, but now I can’t live without them until they arrive. There was some talk about an Intelligent Opportunities view that would list the deal most likely to be closed based on analytics. There was even a smart phone dialing list which would know the leads who would most likely be converted into accounts and it placed them at the top of the call list.
Coasting upstairs on the packed escalator in the Moscone Center West lead right to the Einstein area, the new smart AI platform with machine learning and predictive analytics that they started to showcase in the Lighting Road Map. Coffee, buttons, badges and stickers flowed plentifully in the Admin Meadow where there were lots of workstations for hands on time. I think I spotted an AI VR headset predicting what the wearer would do, but I had to run off to another session – something to circle back for. Three blisters into the day and just after lunch every session was packed, many were left standing in the back of the room and the long lines of those on the wait list were denied all together. I watched a session on Flow and Process Builder, and saw some Lightning Ready Flows. Downstairs after the session in the Admin Meadow I found 2 areas setup for Process Builder and Process Automation. They sound like areas that will be seeing enhancements and will be keeping up with Lightning in coming releases.
I managed to schedule most of my sessions at Moscone West, but I had to hike over quickly to the Hilton where the hands on trainings were taking place and where I poorly planned for the number of blisters and blocks I’d have to cover in 15 minutes. Luckily, the Dreamforce attendants around the city were very good at giving directions. I’ve watched the Salesforce University classes on YouTube in the past, but this was the first one I’ve gone to in person – I picked up some tips on how to setup objects I don’t get to use much of in real life. I rounded out the evening at the SFMOMA Dreamforce Party, with good food, good drinks and some modern art that I’m just to old fashioned to ‘get’.
