CLOUDFORCE

Outside the San Jose Convention Center I am greeted by two young people in blue shirts. They hand me a hard stock card that states: Stop Cloud Computing...I guess I would compare such an act to Jose Canseco standing outside Oakland Coliseum handing out a flier that reads: Stop Drug Free Baseball. (the culprits later revealed to be Microsoft employees).

To the contrary, June 22nd, 2010 was a landmark day for Salesforce.com!

I walked in the Chatter Zone to receive a free flip phone (no questions asked), 10 random people won free I-pads, a nice Norwegian Gentleman gave me a free #chatter shirt, lunch was on the house & the cost of this extraordinary thought leadership think tank - $0.00.

At Cloudforce one distinct message range true:
A consumer market has created a business market!

With the introduction of Chatter...Salesforce has legitimized the social media skyscape as a business critical function.

Scenario:

• A driver is out on a route
• A sales rep needs to place an order to have a delivery made
• She calls a customer service representative
• He places an order
• A transportation supervisor receives the order
• He puts it on an itinerary
• It is printed out
• The next day the driver picks up a route list
• Goes to the same building he was at yesterday
• Delivers the requested materials
• Has the customer sign a document
• Hands him/her a carbon copy receipt of delivery

With Chatter:

• A Sales Rep Logs into a business collaborative
• Thus alerting the driver, transportation manger and customer service representative in real time that a pick up is necessary (for all to see)
• All are alerted as the order is processed by customer service
• The driver stops in to drop off materials
• Customer signs electronically on the spot and is emailed a receipt

What used to take a day, now takes 10 minutes.

This is an example of the collaborative function that Salesforce.com has created mirroring social media in their CRM.

It's Cheaper, Faster, Greener, More Customer Service Savvy, a Team Builder, a Source of Instant Gratification and the ROI is astronomical!

So, here is the next wave of computer geeks clawing tooth and nail for the next big idea, battling for talent and hiding behind their I-phones in arrogance....wrong!

Salesforce seem to have replicated Chatter from their business practices. Instead of badgering their competitors they are consistently open to finding a place a for them on cloud....as evidenced by the 50 or so business partners (vendors) in the Cloud Expo. In addition Marc Benioff has founded and will be a key contributor to a Children's Hospital on UCSF's Mission Bay Hospital campus. Keeping and extending his 1% mission to the Salesforce Foundation.

Underground in Area 51 - A whole bunch of servers are pondering their extinction and in a bowling alley somewhere Mark Zukerberg is laughing his ass off. A new day is dawning in business:

• Formality is a thing of the past
• Competition is a thing of the past
• Your information is everyone's information

The biggest takeaway from Cloudforce and the introduction of chatter: The number 1 element of collaboration is trust!

We can no longer hide behind old ideas or cower from competition! We have to get comfortable with putting ourselves out there.

If you don't believe in the relevance of social media, now would be a good time to hop on the train...it is coming in fast and it will not wait at the station for you!

As I crossed the street to my car with my new Chatter t-shirt in hand, I felt an awesome sense of pride! A sense of purpose among a welcoming community of technical thinkers. We are no longer huddling behind the dumpster to plot our next idea....we are sharing it, gaining everyone's perspective and allowing expansion through chatter.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave