Salesforce Announces Cloudforce 2010: Cloud 2 Mania

Salesforce.com announced the largest cloud computing conference of the year, Cloudforce 2010. It is to be held on June 22nd, 2010 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA.

Focus will be on what is thought of as Cloud 2 – the next generation of collaborative, real-time, mobile cloud computing. Top technology leaders such as BMC, CA, Dell, and VMware (as well as many surprise guests) will participate in a forum to present the new economic developments of Cloud 2. All told, more than 35 industry leaders will join Salesforce.com at the event to discuss the future of the cloud computing industry.

The event held for customers and developers alike will allow attendees to meet with Salesforce.com product teams, hear from experts at leading customer companies, get hands-on training, and learn strategies for social enterprise collaboration success.

Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com, will give a keynote speech at 10 a.m., Pacific Time. It will be followed by 18 expert-led breakout sessions. Benioff’s keynote will also be available on the salesforce.com website in video or audiocast.

A highlight of the event will be Salesforce.com’s announcement of its premier Cloud 2 product, Salesforce Chatter. Chatter will be made available globally during the event.

Chatter represents a new way to communicate with work associates. Business CEOS and employees will be connected in a social network akin to Facebook with profile pages, status updates, groups, and live feeds. Chatter can also integrate with other social networks operating in the cloud, such as Twitter and Youtube. Private beta testers have given the Salesforce product much acclaim in the past few months. The rest of us will just have to wait and see if business collaboration really can “work as easily as Facebook.”

Salesforce.com will host a Chatter DevZone so developers can gain insight into building Cloud 2 apps with Chatter. They will be able to obtain a Chatter workbook and cheat sheet. Salesforce will also host a Chatter Hackathon to challenge the attendees.

Many other Cloud leaders will also present their innovations at the conference. Showcase companies will include: 7 Degrees, Accenture, AppExtremes, Appirio, AvePoint, Big Machines, Birst, Bluewolf, BMC, CA, Cast Iron, Cloud 9, Comity Designs, Contactual, Deloitte, DocuSign, EchoSign, EDL Consulting, Eloqua, FinancialForce, inContact, Informatica, InsideView, JPW Consulting, Marketo, Mindjet, Model Metrics, Ping Identity, Ribbit, Sertifi, ServiceMax, Silverpop, Steel Brick, Symplified, Xactly, and others.

Cloudforce 2010 is free with prior registration.

[Photo courtesy of bakedaddictions.]

George Middleton: