I’m back stage here at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where Michael Dell just finished his Dreamforce keynote. He followed Marc Benioff (see Techmeme reactions here), CEO of Salesforce.com, who talked a lot about the innovative ways Dell is using the Salesforce platform within our business. He and his guests also talked a lot about the new Winter 09 release of the Salesforce.com platform. The audience seemed REALLY excited about the new features – there were some healthy rounds of applause.
Note from Lionel: Here’s the IdeaStorm video that kicked off Michael’s keynote. If you’re not familiar with the concept of what it’s all about, this video illustrates it pretty well in a short amount of time.
Michael’s keynote focused on what customers of all sizes should do now, when the economic crisis underscores the need to make our businesses as efficient as possible. From focusing on hard returns to rethinking how our businesses operate, Michael’s message was clear – now is not the time to stop investing in IT. Challenging times present a great opportunity for companies to focus on productivity, efficiency and the tools that get you there. When the economy turns the corner, the companies that have invested in these technologies will come out ahead.
Michael focused his talk in two areas – mobility and the data center. The audience applauded the 19-hour battery life of Dell’s new Latitude laptops, and the road warriors in the audience cheered when Michael showed off our Pico projector, which weighs less than a pound, fits in the palm of your hand and is powered with your laptop’s power cord.
In the data center, Michael gave ideas for customers to simplify and save, from deploying blades to investing in iSCSI storage, to rethinking your server refresh cycles (specifically, to replace 25 percent of your servers every nine months) to ensure you always have the capacity you need.
And, of course, Michael wrapped up with a discussion of green IT and how it contributes to a truly efficient business (not to mention saving the planet). Dell’s commitment to the environment continues to be front and center in all of our activities, something that makes me (as a 9-year Dell employee) very, very proud.
The energy here at Dreamforce is great. Look forward to sharing it with you very soon. Check back for a link to video of Michael’s keynote!