Why Dreamforce Is Not Just Another Tech Conference

There are plenty of events in Canada and around the world that focus on the latest applications, mobile devices and network gear. While you can find a lot of innovative technologies at Dreamforce too, the past 20 years have proven it offers much more than that.

Dreamforce is, at its core, an opportunity for Trailblazers across the entire Salesforce ecosystem – including Canadian customers, partners and employees – to connect and further each other’s success.

Like a traditional conference, this happens through learning from seasoned business leaders in keynote and breakout sessions. However Dreamforce also aims to cultivate an environment where Trailblazers can find inspiration, whether it’s to transform the way we work for the better, to reimagine customer experiences, or to use business as a platform for positive change in the world.

Whereas most tech conferences focus primarily on how to achieve business outcomes, Dreamforce has a longstanding tradition of also opening up avenues that allow people to give back. Partnerships between Salesforce and non-profit organizations, for instance, have helped Dreamforce attendees tackle pressing social issues, such as combating climate change. This has totalled more than $100 million in giving since Dreamforce began.

Finally, participating in Dreamforce is a lot of fun, where discussions of complex technologies and business strategies are followed by social networking, concerts headlined by chart-topping artists, and more.

Dreamforce 2022 marks a special moment in the event’s history, for two important reasons. First, the 20th anniversary of the event is a good time to reflect on how far we’ve come in digital transformation (and how far we still have to go). Second, Dreamforce returns home this year to its traditional base in San Francisco, with the option to participate in live and on-demand virtually via the streaming service, Salesforce+.

Throughout its two-decades-and-counting, Dreamforce has attracted countless Canadian business professionals who want to benefit from meeting the other more than 180,000 attendees from around the world. It’s a chance to connect with other Trailblazers who have earned badges alongside you on Trailhead, or to converse with a fellow developer, admin or architect.

If you haven’t come to Dreamforce before, here’s a rundown of why it can offer more than what you’d get out of a typical tech conference:

Visionaries From Every Walk Of Life, With Transferable Knowledge

There’s obvious value in tech conferences that break down the complexities of IT, but when you want to fully understand the challenges facing our environment, you need Al Gore. He’s been a Dreamforce keynote speaker.

Many CEOs can talk broadly about competing in their particular market, but Dreamforce has featured athletes like David Beckham and Stephan Curry, whose victories are the stuff of legend.

Then there are political powerhouses – Bill Clinton among them – who can get into the nuances of leading under pressure like no one else.

Dreamforce 2022 will be no different, with a lineup that already includes musician and activist Bono, track and field Olympian Allyson Felix and Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConoughey. Their messages will transcend technology to address the issues that our digital tools are intended to help us tackle.

Close-Up Encounters With Canada’s Top Trailblazers

When you’re heads-down and struggling to achieve a business goal, it’s easy to feel like you’re alone. Dreamforce is a way to fully immerse yourself in the knowledge that you’re not.

At previous Dreamforce events, for example, Canadians have had the chance to learn from a cross-section of international Trailblazers, as well as those they might not have realized were innovating in their proverbial back yard.

In fact, you can still read the details of these success stories that were discussed at Dreamforce, whether it’s fashion industry pioneers such as Indochino, or masonry and landscape product market leader Brampton Brick.

Just hearing digital transformation journeys and being able to ask simple questions like, “How did you do that?” can be more than enough to make coming to Dreamforce worth it.

The ‘Eh’ Factor

No matter how you organize your Dreamforce agenda, you’ll find moments to socialize and add a more human touch to some of the professional relationships you’ve developed. These aren’t limited to the parties that are open to all registered attendees. Previous iterations of the event have featured gatherings specifically geared for Canadians.

How Canadian are these gatherings? So Canadian that you can get in the spirit before you even board a plane for San Francisco by listening to the Dreamforce Canadian Ohana playlist on services like Spotify.

“Social” in this case can also refer to social media, of course. Just take a look at the share-worthy images from our Canadian photostream and be ready with the hashtag #DF22 for all your own posts.

We’ve all gone through a lot over the past several years, from the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, to ongoing economic and political uncertainty today. There’s never been a better time to join us at Dreamforce 2022 and find common ground with Trailblazers who share your priorities, ambitions and hopes to transform how business is conducted – in Canada and everywhere else.