Highlights from Salesforce Dreamforce 2022
Dreamforce 2022 was a memorable reunion. It was the first in-person conference for Salesforce since the pandemic, once again bringing together the global community for learning, networking, philanthropy and a great dose of fun. It was also the first time that colleagues from Emakina and EPAM could enjoy the event together and forge new relationships. Philippe Trichet, VP EPAM France, and Rob Hoekman, Head of Solution Consultancy & Architecture at Emakina.NL, shared their highlights from the three-day event in San Francisco.
Everyone loves Genie: the first-ever real-time CRM
Hailed by many as the biggest innovation in twenty years, Salesforce announced an all-new Customer Data Platform (CDP) called Genie. With Genie, customer data that is typically siloed in different channels and applications can now be unified into a single multi-use profile and viewed in real-time. From sales and commerce to IT and marketing, Genie brings it all together to create magical customer experiences.
“Genie will forever change how data is managed”, commented Rob. “It also marks the end of application silos and will bring users an unprecedented level of personalisation in milliseconds. Integrating data from every step in the customer experience will give way to magical ‘how did they know that!’ interactions.”
Social responsibility permeated the event
Underlining the fact that sustainability has become a core value for Salesforce, several keynotes touched on the climate change challenge and how the company wants to be an example to others. Every single aspect of the event was carefully considered, from conserving resources and responsible sourcing to reducing waste, and inspiring attendees to do the same. Lunches were beefless and porkless, packaging 100% compostable, badges and lanyards recycled, and water stations cut the need for single-use plastic.
To set the stage for an ‘ecopreneur’ revolution, Salesforce announced the Net Zero Marketplace. A trusted platform that makes carbon credit purchases simple and transparent, this climate action hub will help businesses to accelerate climate positive impact at scale. Run on Salesforce Commerce Cloud, the marketplace connects buyers with pre-vetted carbon credit providers involved in projects like wind farms, forest conservation and tree planting.
Along with several sustainability sessions, the conference also featured a star-studded line-up of environmental trailblazers like Al Gore, Leah Thomas and Jane Goodall. Rob particularly enjoyed the primatologist’s inspiring interview with Salesforce, leaving the audience with this to ponder: “Our species is at the start of a very long, very dark tunnel. At the other end is a bright star: hope… I have great hope for young people. If we can’t learn to live in harmony with nature, we’ll never live in peace. We need to find the will to act.”
NFT Cloud moves in on the crypto market
A few months since launching its NFT Cloud pilot, Salesforce held various sessions to delve deeper into Web3 and how brands can amplify their presence in this new market. With no coding required, NFT Cloud let brands securely mint, manage and sell non-fungible tokens within the Salesforce Customer 360 platform.
It explored how NFT Cloud can help brands launch new digital product lines and loyalty programmes with trusted, sustainable NFTs. Salesforce presented demos on how NFT Cloud can help deepen customer relationships and drive revenue.
Sharing knowledge at the EPAM Cabana and beyond
EPAM once again invited Salesforce Trailblazers to visit them at the EPAM Cabana to enjoy a break from the Dreamforce sales floor. It also hosted exclusive thought leadership sessions, keynote streaming, partner co-sponsored events and lots of networking opportunities with industry peers. EPAM and Emakina relished the chance to talk to new prospects and share our unparalleled Salesforce experience.
“The Salesforce platform offers an ever-growing business and functional scope – and it’s getting highly sophisticated, as illustrated by the case of L’Oréal, ” says Philippe. “In addition, the IT capabilities enable customers to better manage their performance through an omnichannel, personalised, real-time customer and transactional experience. More than ever, these customers need partners like EPAM and Emakina to help them design, build, and succeed in the adoption and value creation of the CRM platform at scale.”
The team from Emakina was inspired by the latest announcements and insights shared at this year’s Dreamforce and look forward to seeing what other developments will be coming in the future. As an official Salesforce Partner since 2017, Emakina brings its European clients a competitive advantage and hyper-personalised omni-channel shopping experiences.
