Salesforce Dreamforce 2021 runs this week as a virtual event and in-person conference (by invitation only) across multiple locations worldwide. So what's in store for Salesforce partners and customers worldwide? The short answer involves workflow automation, data protection, cybersecurity, M&A and more.
Track this live blog now through September 24 for continued updates. Here's the Dreamforce 2021 recap so far...
10. Field Service Management Software: ServiceMax Asset 360 for Salesforce has gained new features to "better equip customers to leverage asset data across the organization, breaking down data silos and ensuring customers get the most out of their assets," ServiceMax asserts.
9. Salesforce Backup and Restore: Salesforce today announced Backup and Restore, a new data recovery service native to Salesforce Platform. Backup and Restore "automatically creates backup copies of business data, empowering any organization to restore data and recover, in just a few clicks, from even worst-case scenarios," the company says. We're not sure if or how Salesforce Backup and Restore relates to the company's investment in OwnBackup (see item eight below).
8. Salesforce Data Protection and Cybersecurity: OwnBackup will have a major presence at the conference. The cloud backup, disaster recovery (BDR) & data protection software company raised $240 million in August 2021. Key investors include Salesforce Ventures, and Insight Partners -- which is emerging as cloud backup's dominant investor. So what's next? OwnBackup in early September 2021 acquired RevCult. That deal further converges SaaS-focused BDR, data protection and cybersecurity services. Watch for more OwnBackup details at the event.
7. Salesforce Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - Part Two: Ahead of the conference, Salesforce unveiled three new Einstein Automate products to "help every Salesforce customer, regardless of technical background, use low-code tools to automate time-consuming, manual processes and integrate data across systems right from their digital HQ," the company says. The new products include MuleSoft RPA (Robotic Process Automation), Einstein Document Reader and Digital Process Automation.
6. Salesforce Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - Part One: Salesforce acquired Servicetrace in August 2021. The deal tucks robotic process automation (RPA) and workflow automation software into the Salesforce cloud strategy. Partners and end-customers gain new ways to automate IT service management (ITSM), security operations, sales, marketing and other tasks. The effort positions Salesforce against ServiceNow, Automation Anywhere and UiPath, among other companies in the RPA sector. It's safe to expect strategy updates at the conference.
5. RMM, ITSM and Cybersecurity Software: Tanium and Salesforce in March 2021 launched IT Service Center, a combination platform that supports ITSM (IT service management), RMM (remote monitoring and management) and cybersecurity capabilities. The effort potentially:
- positions Salesforce to compete against ServiceNow's ITSM capabilities; and
- set the stage for PSA (professional services automation), RMM, help desk and CRM capabilities to live together on the Salesforce cloud platform. (Yes, numerous companies offer PSA designed for Salesforce’s cloud.)
We'll be watching for more Tanium moves at the event.
4. Salesforce Partner Merger and Acquisition (M&A) Deals: Conferences often provide fertile ground for merger, acquisition and investment discussions. M&A activity between Salesforce partners was strong ahead of the event. Things could get extra hot as IT consulting firms, cloud integrators and ISVs seek to complete M&A deals before Congress nails down potential capital gains increases in the U.S. tax code. Key buyers and investors in the Salesforce ecosystem so far in 2021 have included:
Who's next on the list? Stay tuned...
3. Salesforce Acquisitions And Cloud Expansion: Salesforce acquisitions such as Heroku, Mulesoft and Tableau are typically represented at the event. We'll be watching to see how the company further integrates those acquired technologies while expanding the overall Salesforce cloud strategy.
2. Oracle Fusion Marketing: An Oracle Fusion Marketing announcement was timed to coincide with Dreamforce. Fusion Marketing "enables marketers to easily create campaigns that span traditional marketing and advertising channels, and is the first marketing automation solution that is engineered to bypass the entire lead qualification and conversion process," the company asserts. Moreover, Fusion Marketing can "generate a qualified sales opportunity in any CRM system," Oracle says...
1. Got News to Share? Send your Dreamforce 2021 news and observations to [email protected]. We'll keep the inbound tips in mind for potential updates to this blog.
