Over 170,000 people attended the 2017 edition of Dreamforce, one of the largest technology conferences in the world. OPSWAT was there to present MetaDefender Access and rub elbows with the innovators who attend Dreamforce each year. With MetaDefender Access, we are blazing a new trail in cloud security, working to keep SaaS applications secure.
OPSWAT at Dreamforce 2017
It was our first year attending Dreamforce, and it was certainly an event to remember.
We had a great four days meeting with people, talking about cloud security and the future of the cloud, and introducing MetaDefender Access. OPSWAT CEO Benny Czarny stopped by to see the event.
From left to right: Blaine Swarthout; Senior Events Manager Sarka Simanova; CEO Benny Czarny; Product Manager George Prichici
We encountered a great deal of interest in MetaDefender Access, confirming our assessment that organizations need better, stronger ways to enforce endpoint compliance as SaaS applications take over and BYOD environments proliferate.
We look forward to blazing further trails in cyber security, especially in the world of SaaS applications and cloud security.
The Conference
View of the expo floor
Since 2003, Dreamforce has taken place each year in San Francisco. The conference this year was themed around the idea of "Trailblazers," and it was decorated like a national park.
On Day 1, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff set the tone in the conference keynote speech. He touched on Salesforce values such as philanthropy and equality, and he highlighted updates to multiple Salesforce platforms, including machine-learning platform myEinstein. Benioff also spoke about the growing role of artificial intelligence in Salesforce applications going forward.
Throughout the course of the conference, topics included the rise of AI, the future of work as automation increases, new challenges to face in cloud computing, and updates and expansions to Salesforce platforms and products. Additionally, emphasis was placed on equality and access for all in many of the panel discussions and presentations, and the conference encouraged the use of the #EqualityForAll hashtag.
Key Takeaways from Dreamforce 2017
Dreamforce arch lit up at night
1. AI continues to grow in importance
Artificial intelligence and machine learning were big areas of focus at Dreamforce 2017, starting with the keynote speech by Marc Benioff and continuing throughout the four days of presentations and panel discussions. During the conference, Salesforce announced myEinstein, describing it as "powerful machine learning platform services that enable admins and developers of all skill levels to build custom AI apps across Salesforce with clicks, not code."
2. SaaS applications grow more and more complex
This is, of course, exemplified by the ever-increasing features and capabilities of Salesforce platforms. Most Salesforce systems have been expanded and customized, and Salesforce is adding more tools to the toolkit.
As SaaS applications grow in complexity, the need for greater security precautions and protections increases as well.
3. GDPR increases the need for big data best practices and cloud data security
Even though the GDPR applies to the European Union, it will have repercussions in the United States and for companies around the world as well. As might be expected at a conference so focused on the cloud, the GDPR was a topic of concern and discussion. IBM presented on how it was preparing for the GDPR and giving E.U. citizens more transparency and more control over their data.
MetaDefender Access for SaaS Security
Our motto for Dreamforce this year was, "There's a new SaaS in town." We have built and released MetaDefender Access to revolutionize cloud and SaaS access and security.
MetaDefender Access verifies devices before the devices are permitted to access SaaS applications like Salesforce. MetaDefender Access does this with a number of security and compliance checks: infection detection, anti-malware compliance, patch management, disk encryption, and more. Administrators can set up customized rules to ensure that only compliant endpoints are able to connect to cloud-based resources.
Contact our sales team to learn more about MetaDefender Access, and to learn how it keeps Salesforce deployments and data secure.
Our Photos from Dreamforce:
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