CloudForce NYC 2011 Part 2

As my three, loyal blog readers may remember, I wrote a post last April called SFDC Cloudforce 2 NYC—a Review.  In that review, I praised them for the good and then gigged them like a frog on a harpoon for the bad and the ugly.  While I take zero credit for the turn around, SFDC managed to correct nearly every challenge.

A constant complaint—so widespread that it became an inside joke—was that nothing SFDC ever sponsored started or finished on time.  In particular, the keynotes were notorious for starting 15 minutes late and running 25 minutes over, throwing everything following hopelessly off kilter. 

This year, the “warm-up” mini interviews got the crowd settled 10 minutes prior to the start time and Marc kicked off the main even nearly to the second it was scheduled.  Pacing was superb, with a good mixture of humor, announcements, tightly scripted demos, and case studies.  And it ended on time. 

Many of us have groused year after year that the physical plant where Cloudforce was held was grossly inadequate.  This year, it was at the Javits Center and we had enough room to land a plane!  It was such a joy to have space to walk, space for the vendors to spread out, and space to keep the noise level down to a mild roar.  Oh, and plenty of restrooms!

Part one of this review spoke in broad terms about the content of the convention.  On a more granular level, the breakout sessions this time were nicely focused and the three that I participated in were very well orchestrated.  I saw a sense of purpose that was lacking in years past.  I was also very happy to see a greater emphasis on audience questions.  Good job!

That’s the good.  Two things stuck out that could still use some work.  First, the minor one.
This may not be in the control of SFDC, but they need to address with the Javits Center the complete lack of taxi cabs.  After CloudForce ended, I joined a group of people who tried without success for 30 minutes to hail a cab.  Not a single one stopped.  How can you have a convention center with no cab stand?

The major challenge that absolutely, positively, must be addressed is WiFi and cell coverage.  Marc spoke much about smart devices and how they are changing the world, but without a signal, they’re little more than costly paperweights.  I understand that it’s hard, but without fail, there has to be adequate WiFi and cell coverage available.  I don’t care if I have to pay something to use it.  It’s hard to describe how frustrating it was to not even be able to send a Tweet at times because of no cell or WiFi signal.

Overall, I give this DreamForce an A-.  What do you think?