The History of Salesforce: A Year-by-Year Timeline

Salesforce, a pioneer in cloud computing and customer relationship management (CRM), has revolutionized the way businesses operate since its inception. This article takes you through the remarkable journey of Salesforce, highlighting key milestones and achievements year by year from 1999 to the present.

1999: The Beginning

Salesforce was founded in March 1999 by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez in a small apartment in San Francisco. The vision was clear: to create a new business model where companies could access enterprise software applications over the internet, eliminating the need for complex and costly installations.

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2000: Launch of Salesforce.com

In 2000, Salesforce launched its website, Salesforce.com, offering a CRM solution on a subscription basis. This was a groundbreaking move, introducing the world to the concept of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

2001: Rapid Growth and First Major Release

Salesforce experienced rapid growth, acquiring over 3,000 customers. The company introduced its first major product release, adding new features and improving the user interface.

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2003: Crossing the 10,000 Customer Mark

By 2003, Salesforce had crossed the 10,000-customer mark, reflecting its growing popularity and effectiveness in the CRM market.

2004: IPO and Expanding Horizons

Salesforce went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CRM, raising $110 million. The successful IPO marked a significant milestone, providing the company with the capital to fuel further growth and innovation.

2005: Introduction of the AppExchange

Salesforce launched the AppExchange, a marketplace for third-party applications. This allowed developers to create and sell their applications, extending the functionality of Salesforce’s platform and fostering a vibrant ecosystem.

2006: Moving Beyond CRM

Salesforce introduced its first platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering, Force.com, enabling businesses to build their custom applications on Salesforce’s infrastructure.

2007: Entering the Fortune 1000

Salesforce’s revenue exceeded $500 million, and the company was listed in the Fortune 1000, solidifying its position as a major player in the tech industry.

2008: Launch of Visualforce

Salesforce launched Visualforce, a framework allowing developers to build sophisticated custom user interfaces for their applications.

2009: Reaching $1 Billion in Revenue

Salesforce reached a major financial milestone by achieving $1 billion in annual revenue, demonstrating the scalability and success of its business model.

2010: Introduction of Chatter

Salesforce introduced Chatter, an enterprise social networking tool, integrating social collaboration features into its platform and enhancing communication within organizations.

2011: Expanding to Marketing with Radian6

Salesforce acquired Radian6, a social media monitoring platform, marking its entry into the marketing cloud space.

2012: Acquiring Buddy Media

Salesforce acquired Buddy Media, further strengthening its marketing cloud offerings and enabling comprehensive social media management.

2013: Launch of Salesforce1

Salesforce launched Salesforce1, a new mobile platform designed to empower businesses to run their operations from their smartphones and tablets.

2014: Leading the Cloud Market

Salesforce was recognized as the number one CRM provider globally, a position it has maintained ever since. The company also expanded its services with the introduction of the Salesforce Analytics Cloud.

2015: The Salesforce Ecosystem

Salesforce’s ecosystem continued to grow with over 1.5 million developers and thousands of applications available on the AppExchange.

2016: Artificial Intelligence with Einstein

Salesforce introduced Einstein, an artificial intelligence platform integrated into its CRM, providing predictive analytics and automation to enhance customer experience.

2017: Expanding with MuleSoft

Salesforce acquired MuleSoft, an integration platform, enabling businesses to connect their applications, data, and devices seamlessly.

2018: Strategic Acquisitions and Growth

Salesforce continued its growth trajectory with strategic acquisitions such as Datorama and CloudCraze, expanding its capabilities in marketing intelligence and B2B commerce.

2019: 20th Anniversary and Tableau Acquisition

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Salesforce acquired Tableau, a leading analytics platform, for $15.7 billion, bolstering its data visualization and analytics capabilities.

2020: Coping with the Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Salesforce launched Work.com, a suite of tools to help businesses reopen safely. The company also achieved a major milestone of $21.25 billion in annual revenue.

2021: Slack Acquisition

Salesforce completed its acquisition of Slack for $27.7 billion, integrating the popular messaging platform into its ecosystem to enhance collaboration and productivity.

2022: Continued Innovation

Salesforce continued to innovate with enhancements to its Customer 360 platform, providing a unified view of customer interactions and data.

2023: Advancements in AI and Automation

Salesforce introduced new AI-driven features and automation tools, further solidifying its position as a leader in CRM and cloud computing.

2024: The Road Ahead

As Salesforce continues to evolve, its focus remains on delivering innovative solutions that help businesses succeed in an ever-changing digital landscape.

From its humble beginnings in a San Francisco apartment to becoming a global leader in cloud computing and CRM, Salesforce’s journey is a testament to the power of innovation and perseverance. Each milestone represents a step forward in the company’s mission to transform the way businesses operate and connect with their customers.

Here’s a table summarizing the key milestones and achievements of Salesforce from 1999 to 2024:

Year	Achievements
1999	Founded by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez in San Francisco.
2000	Launched Salesforce.com, introducing CRM as a SaaS model.
2001	Experienced rapid growth with over 3,000 customers and released first major product update.
2003	Surpassed 10,000 customers.
2004	Went public on NYSE under ticker CRM, raising $110 million.
2005	Launched the AppExchange marketplace for third-party applications.
2006	Introduced Force.com, the first PaaS offering.
2007	Entered the Fortune 1000 with over $500 million in revenue.
2008	Launched Visualforce for custom UI development.
2009	Achieved $1 billion in annual revenue.
2010	Introduced Chatter, an enterprise social networking tool.
2011	Acquired Radian6, entering the marketing cloud space.
2012	Acquired Buddy Media for comprehensive social media management.
2013	Launched Salesforce1, a mobile platform for business operations.
2014	Recognized as the number one CRM provider globally; introduced Salesforce Analytics Cloud.
2015	Ecosystem grew to over 1.5 million developers and thousands of applications on AppExchange.
2016	Introduced Einstein, an AI platform for predictive analytics and automation.
2017	Acquired MuleSoft for seamless application and data integration.
2018	Acquired Datorama and CloudCraze, expanding marketing intelligence and B2B commerce capabilities.
2019	Celebrated 20th anniversary and acquired Tableau for $15.7 billion.
2020	Launched Work.com during the COVID-19 pandemic; reached $21.25 billion in annual revenue.
2021	Acquired Slack for $27.7 billion to enhance collaboration and productivity.
2022	Continued innovation with enhancements to Customer 360 platform.
2023	Introduced new AI-driven features and automation tools.
2024	Focus on delivering innovative solutions for digital business transformation.

This table provides a concise overview of Salesforce’s key achievements and milestones over the years.

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Source: https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/the-history-of-salesforce/