Top 10 Reasons to be Grateful for Salesforce in 2014
Thanksgiving is always that one time of year where we give thanks for what we have. A time to reflect on the past, what we have in the present and a little of what we have to look forward to. In the spirit of being grateful, I thought it would be fun to list out some of the cool things Salesforce provided us this year that we should be grateful for. Here are the top 10 reasons, in no particular order, to be grateful for Salesforce in 2014.
#10 Dreamforce
If you haven’t attended a Dreamforce, you are missing out. Salesforce continues to deliver an amazing four day experience at their yearly conference and this one might of been it’s best ever. From new product offerings to Hillary Clinton to Bruno Mars, each day provided new learning and entertainment experiences you will never forget.
#9 Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins was part of Dreamforce but since it touched me personally on how I could be a happier and successful person, I felt it deserved its own spot on the list. If you have never experienced Tony live, this was a great taste of what he offers at his seminars. It was a fun three hours packed with high energy and message to take with you forever. Additionally, all Dreamforce attendees got a free copy of his new book that was just released.
#8 Today in Salesforce1
The Today app released in Summer 14’ was a great addition to the newly released Salesforce1 platform. The app provided some nice features like the ability to log events from Today into your Salesforce calendar (instant integration between device calendar and your Salesforce calendar), view account data, join conference calls and get weather information. Only downside is it is only available on the iPhone and not the iPad. Hopefully it is coming soon?????
#7 Salesforce1 Lightning
I cannot comment too much on this since it was just released at Dreamforce in October but what a concept. With the new Lightning App Builder, administrators can now create custom user interfaces for their Force.com applications without writing a line of code. Beyond that even, they are “mobile first” interfaces that are designed to work on your desktop and mobile devices. I’m excited to see how this unfolds in the new year.
#6 Analytics Cloud - “Wave”
Another product released at Dreamforce this year was Analytics Cloud or the “Wave” which is a great representation of Salesforce’s continual focus on innovation. Wave is a data platform as well as a data-analysis front-end created to analyze not just Salesforce data, but also any third-party application data, desktop data, or public data you care to bring into the mix. Based on some reviews it seems like Salesforce is taking a bet on dominating another market. Time will tell but it definitely shows the commitment to constantly innovating.
#5 Orders
The new Orders object released in Spring 14’ was a great addition to the Sales Cloud and especially the B2C market. With Orders, users could create a single transaction, without being part of an opportunity sales cycle, like in a retail store. It seems Salesforce is spending more time and effort on the B2C market and this is definitely a good step.
#4 Territory Management 2.0
For those “True to the Core” people, it was a nice surprise to see Territory Management get a facelift and new functionality that provides the ability to model much more complex scenarios for assigning accounts to your sales teams. This is new, so the jury is still out, but it is always great to see Salesforce core functionality get some love.
#3 NGO Connect
The NonProfit Starter Pack (NPSP) offered by the Salesforce Foundation is a great platform for most NonProfits and it has been enhanced recently with the latest 3.0 version with even more functionality. However, for those with more complex fundraising needs, it lacks some of the punch some other products have. This is still relatively new but it is exciting to see other options offered to the Foundation clients.
#2 Al Gore
Al Gore was part of Dreamforce but his keynote was another I felt deserved it’s own spot on the list. His presentation was very eye opening about our climate and our environment. Simply said, we only have one home! It definitely gave me things to think about and what I can do better. If you haven’t seen An Inconvenient Truth, I suggest you do.
#1 Giving Back - Feeding the Hungry
Salesforce does a ton of giving back with it’s 1:1:1 model, which is partly the Salesforce Foundation, but that is not all. This year at Dreamforce a goal was set to collect one million meals to give to the poor and hungry. Not only was that goal met but Tony Robbins and Marc Benioff each matched the number. 3 Million meals in one week, enough said.
If you think I missed anything please feel free to comment below, on the Salesforce Success Community, on our Facebook page, or directly at me on Twitter @Salvatoriello
