7 Key IoT Innovations Spotlighted at Dreamforce 2021

At Dreamforce 2021, IoT was a dominant theme, with exhibitors showcasing everything from asset tracking to field‑service automation and smart‑speaker integration. A standout trend was conversational user interfaces—once the domain of Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant—which Salesforce has now joined.

Einstein Voice

Salesforce unveiled Einstein Voice, a voice‑powered assistant that enables seamless data entry into the Salesforce platform and empowers companies to build bots that tap into CRM data, smart speakers and smartphones. This breakthrough could accelerate enterprise adoption of conversational interfaces—currently lagging behind the consumer market, where roughly one‑third of U.S. households own a smart speaker. A demo showed a café customer simply saying “the usual” to place an order, hinting at transformative retail applications. Formal launch is slated for next year.

AWS Voice Capabilities on Display

While Alexa has long dominated the consumer space, Amazon is pushing into the enterprise with Alexa for Business and its integration with Salesforce. In the Dreamforce booth, Amazon showcased workplace skills such as navigating to conference rooms, reporting printer issues, or ordering office supplies—all via voice.

Voice in Hospitality

Amazon’s Alexa for Hospitality, launched in June, partners with Marriott (Westin and St. Regis) to let guests request pillows, control room settings, or even check in/out using voice. Daniel Rausch, Amazon VP, highlighted that guests love the ease of obtaining information, entertainment, and device control through simple requests.

Google Cloud’s IoT Advancements

Google bolstered its IoT portfolio with Cloud IoT Edge, bringing data processing and machine‑learning capabilities to edge devices—from robotic arms to oil rigs. The company also demonstrated that developers could build experimental IoT projects in roughly an hour on Google Cloud Platform, and it reinforced integration with Salesforce and a growing suite of Google apps.

Roambee: Asset and Goods Monitoring

Founded in 2014, Roambee uses beacon technology to track the location and condition of individual assets, detecting spoilage risks in logistics. Its platform integrates with Salesforce’s IoT Explorer, and the company partners with Deutsche Telekom, which holds an equity stake. With over $10 million in funding, Roambee’s story includes a 2017 headquarters break‑in where police used the trackers to recover $30 000 in stolen goods within 48 hours.

ServiceMax: A GE‑Powered Field Service Solution

ServiceMax, a GE subsidiary built on the Salesforce platform, originated as Maxplore Technologies and first appeared on the AppExchange in 2007. After winning an AppExchange Challenge, it evolved into ServiceMax, now integrated with GE’s Predix to deliver digital field‑service management.

T‑Mobile: Smart City & 5G Innovation

T‑Mobile showcased a model city featuring smart lampposts that detect movement, dim automatically, alert on impending burnout, and monitor air quality and temperature. The company also announced a 2018 5G rollout in 30 U.S. cities—including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Las Vegas—to support the growing bandwidth needs of IoT devices.