Salesforce History: Journey 25 Years From Inception To Today

Salesforce has long established itself as the world’s leading CRM platform, empowering millions of businesses worldwide. To achieve this level of trust and recognition, Salesforce has gone through a remarkable journey and milestones recorded in salesforce history. In this article, MOR Software will highlight key milestones in the history of salesforce and show how salesforce is shaping the future of global CRM.

Salesforce History Overview Of Company Services

Salesforce is the world’s leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. It was created to help businesses manage customer relationships more effectively through cloud-based CRM solutions. 

From its early days, Salesforce has continuously developed a diverse range of services, aiming to deliver a comprehensive customer experience. Here is a list of Salesforce’s key services as of 2025:

• Sales Cloud: Salesforce service cloud manages sales processes, forecasts revenue, and optimizes sales workflows.
• Service Cloud: Enhances customer experiences through multi-channel support and service management.
• Marketing Cloud: Integrates marketing campaigns and customer behavior analytics.
• Analytics Cloud: Provides advanced data analytics to support informed decision-making.
• Salesforce Einstein AI: Salesforce einstein AI integrates artificial intelligence to predict customer behavior and automate business processes.
• Commerce Cloud: Supports multi-channel e-commerce and retail solutions.
• Experience Cloud: Builds online communities and interactive websites.
• Data Cloud: Unifies and analyzes customer data in real time.

In addition, Salesforce offers a variety of industry-specific and specialized solutions to meet diverse business needs. With its comprehensive Salesforce services, the platform is more than just a CRM tool. It is a strategic solution that enables digital transformation, workflow optimization, and improved customer experiences.

Salesforce History In The Early Stage (1999–2004)

The early stage of Salesforce, from 1999 to 2004, laid the foundation for the rapid growth of the world’s leading CRM platform. These initial steps established Salesforce as a top CRM technology company and transformed how businesses leverage cloud-based technology to optimize customer experiences.

1999 – The Beginning of Salesforce

Marc Benioff was a senior sales executive at Oracle, where he learned how large tech companies operate but felt constrained by rigid structures. In February 1999, he left Oracle with the vision to create a world-class Internet company specializing in sales force automation. 

On March 8, 1999, together with co-founders Parker Harris, Frank Dominguez, and Dave Moellenhoff, Benioff started developing the first Salesforce CRM. This marks an early milestone in salesforce history, showing how the company started and adopted a fast, simple, and feedback-driven startup culture. 

They wore Hawaiian shirts, had brunch at Mama’s, and appointed their dog Koa as Chief Love Officer. In the same year, Salesforce wrote its first V2MOM strategic plan to guide future decisions, expanded to 40 employees, and moved into an 8,000-square-foot office at Rincon Center.

2000 – Launch of the First Product

In March 2000, Salesforce officially launched its first CRM version, focused on sales force automation. This web-based CRM, a first of its kind, represents a key moment in salesforce history. 

During this year, the team expanded from 40 to over 60 employees, rented additional office space in San Francisco, and implemented structured customer support processes. Salesforce demonstrated that the SaaS model was truly feasible, allowing small and medium businesses to deploy CRM quickly without heavy infrastructure costs. 

This phase highlights how salesforce started and evolved into practical solutions, reflecting the early salesforce company history.

2004 – Salesforce IPO and Major Milestone

In 2004, Salesforce reached a major milestone in its history by completing its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange on June 23, raising $110 million at $11 per share. This achievement marked the first time a SaaS company successfully attracted significant capital from the public market, strengthening Salesforce’s position in the tech industry.

For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2005, the company reported $176 million in revenue, with a workforce of 767 employees and 13,900 customers worldwide. Around 8,000 developers and 150 independent software vendors were using salesforce technology to build applications, laying the foundation for the future growth of the salesforce AppExchange ecosystem.

Salesforce History In Growth And Platform Expansion (2005–2015)

The period from 2005 to 2015 marks a significant chapter in salesforce history, highlighting its growth and platform expansion. Here are the key milestones in this journey:

2005 – Launch of AppExchange

The year 2005 marked a pivotal moment in Salesforce history with the introduction of AppExchange. This platform laid the foundation for the robust SaaS ecosystem that Salesforce would continue to expand.

By the end of the year, Salesforce served 20,500 customers worldwide, with nearly 400,000 unique users. The company employed over 1,300 staff, and revenue reached $309.98 million for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2006. 

2006 – Salesforce Platform and Force.com

In 2006, Salesforce entered the mobile arena with the acquisition of wireless startup Sendia and the launch of its first mobile app, AppExchange Mobile. The AppExchange ecosystem grew into a vibrant marketplace with 575 apps from 250 independent vendors, expanding customization options for customers. 

The Power of Us program was launched, encouraging Salesforce partners to adopt the 1-1-1 philanthropic model. By the end of the year, Salesforce served 29,800 customers globally and reported revenue exceeding $497 million for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2007. 

2007 – IdeaExchange and Force.com

The year 2007 was another milestone in salesforce history, with the launch of IdeaExchange (now Trailblazer Community). This enables customers to propose new features for future Salesforce releases.

At Dreamforce, Salesforce unveiled plans for the Force.com platform, allowing developers to build apps on Salesforce and create custom user interfaces. Revenue for 2007 reached $748.7 million, with over 1.1 million users across 41,000 customers globally. 

2009 – Launch of Service Cloud

In Salesforce history, 2009 stands out with the introduction of Service Cloud, offering automated customer service and support capabilities. Fiscal year revenue ending January 31, 2010, grew over 20% to $1.3 billion, while the global customer base expanded to 72,000.

The company also released the first Force.com application for iPhone, becoming the first enterprise partner on the Apple App Store. Philanthropic efforts through Salesforce.org reached $14 million in support for nonprofit organizations.

2010 – Heroku Acquisition and Global Growth

A key moment in salesforce history, 2010 saw Salesforce editions acquire Heroku, expanding its PaaS platform for the next generation of application developers. By the end of the fiscal year, the company served over 92,000 customers with 5,000 employees and achieved nearly $1.66 billion in revenue.

These achievements strengthened Salesforce’s position in Salesforce history. And then, earning recognition from Fortune as one of the fastest-growing companies and acknowledgment by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the world’s most ethical companies.

2011 – Chatter and Expansion of Social Enterprise

In salesforce history, 2011 marked the launch of Chatter, a social collaboration service for businesses. Over 80,000 customers adopted Chatter in its first year.

Salesforce also expanded its social enterprise capabilities into marketing by acquiring the social monitoring company Radian6. Revenue increased by 37%, reaching nearly $2.27 billion for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2012.

2014 – Launch of Trailhead

In Salesforce history, 2014 stood out with the launch of Trailhead, a platform that allows anyone, regardless of technical background, to build the skills needed for top technology jobs. The number of registered developers reached 1.5 million.

Salesforce achieved $5 billion in annual revenue faster than any other enterprise software company, serving over 150,000 customers. Salesforce Foundation donated $80 million, and employees contributed over 840,000 volunteer hours.

2015 – Lightning Experience and IoT Cloud

2015 furthered salesforce history as the company joined the Fortune 500 and earned recognition as a top software company and great workplace. Salesforce introduced Lightning Experience, a completely new CRM solutions, and launched IoT Cloud, connecting billions of events from devices, sensors, and apps.

At Dreamforce, when San Francisco faced hotel shortages, Salesforce used the ‘Dreamboat’ yacht to provide 1,000 additional accommodations.

Salesforce History In AI Cloud Expansion And Digital Transformation (2016–2019)

The period from 2016 to 2019 represents a turning point in salesforce history, as the company expanded strongly into AI Cloud for millions of businesses worldwide. Below are the key milestones that highlight Salesforce’s technological innovation and its path to becoming a global industry leader during this stage.

2016 – Launching Commerce Cloud and Einstein

In salesforce history, 2016 is marked as the year Salesforce significantly expanded its retail ecosystem by acquiring the e-commerce platform Demandware. In the same year, the company also introduced Commerce Cloud to enhance customer experiences and optimize online retail services.

Additionally, CEO Marc Benioff was recognized by Forbes as the “Innovator of the Decade,” highlighting the company’s strategic vision. Salesforce also launched Einstein, the first AI fully integrated into CRM, helping businesses use AI to boost productivity and make better decisions.

2017 – Launching mySalesforce

In salesforce history, 2017 highlights Salesforce’s environmental efforts, achieving net-zero emissions and launching a carbon-neutral cloud.

At the same time, Salesforce introduced mySalesforce, a platform that allows administrators and employees to build and deploy modern. It has highly customizable mobile applications using simple drag-and-drop tools.

2018 – Salesforce Customer 360, Einstein Voice, and MuleSoft 

The year 2018 was another major milestone in salesforce history with the launch of Salesforce Customer 360 (now Einstein 1). This is a platform enabling seamless customer data management across clouds while improving user experience with a click-based interface.

Einstein Voice was also introduced, allowing any user to interact with Salesforce using voice commands, streamlining daily tasks. Furthermore, Salesforce acquired MuleSoft integration to enhance system and data integration capabilities, achieving an annual revenue of $13.3 billion for the fiscal year.

Salesforce History In Post-Pandemic Growth And AI Integration (2020–2024)

From 2020 to 2024, salesforce history reached a major milestone as the company rebounded from the pandemic and pioneered AI integration in CRM. Below are the key milestones that highlight Salesforce’s journey of innovation and growth during this transformative era.

2020 – Pandemic Response Solutions

In salesforce history, 2020 was a year where Salesforce actively supported businesses in responding to the global pandemic. The company launched Salesforce Care, offering free rapid-response solutions to help businesses connect with employees, customers, and partners.

Work.com was developed to provide data, tools, and products to help companies reopen safely and restore growth. Additionally, Vaccine Cloud assisted public health agencies, healthcare providers, and nonprofit organizations in managing the entire vaccination process, accelerating global vaccination campaigns.

2022 – Customer Data Cloud, Safety Cloud, and NFT Cloud

2022 marked the 20th Dreamforce with major announcements. Salesforce launched Customer Data Cloud, a large-scale real-time data platform that helps businesses manage and analyze customer data seamlessly while powering the Einstein 1 Platform.

The company also introduced Safety Cloud to ensure safe events and workplaces. Additionally, NFT Cloud was launched as a sustainable and reliable NFT commerce solution, opening new digital opportunities for businesses.

2023 – Einstein GPT and Einstein Copilot

In Salesforce history, 2023 was a milestone with the introduction of Einstein GPT, the world’s first content-generating AI integrated into CRM software. This technology enables businesses to automate content creation, analyze data, and improve customer engagement effectively.

Salesforce also unveiled Einstein Copilot, a secure conversational AI assistant integrated directly into CRM apps. It helps employees and managers make faster decisions while enhancing customer experiences with timely and accurate insights.

2024 – Agentforce and Zero Copy Partner Network in Salesforce history

2024 highlighted the launch of Zero Copy Partner Network, a global ecosystem connecting technology and solution providers with Salesforce Data Cloud without copying data. The same year, Salesforce introduced Agentforce and Agentforce 2.0, an AI system fully integrated into the Salesforce Platform. 

It creates customizable AI agents that can perform complex actions across systems and workflows. Teams can deploy these agents in Slack conversations to enhance reasoning, data retrieval, and multi-step decision-making.

Looking Ahead At The Future Of Salesforce In The New Digital Era

The future of salesforce looks very promising, with strong growth potential in the CRM sector. In 2025, salesforce is expected to significantly expand its custom AI solutions, enabling businesses to automate processes. Following a strong Q1 performance in 2025, Salesforce has raised its forecast for the 2026 fiscal year.

On the sustainability front, Salesforce aims to become a fully carbon-neutral company while expanding solutions that help customers reduce emissions. The Zero Copy Partner Network ecosystem will allow businesses to integrate data securely without creating redundant copies.

These advancements indicate that the job market in CRM and AI will continue to grow, with high demand for data analysts, customer experience managers, and AI agent developers. The combination of AI, digital transformation, and sustainability commitments demonstrates that salesforce history is still making significant strides.

Why MOR Salesforce Services Are The Best Choice For Your Business

Throughout salesforce history, this leading CRM platform has proven its ability to help businesses optimize sales processes and improve customer service efficiency. As a result, many companies today are seeking trusted Salesforce implementation partners to leverage the platform’s potential fully.

MOR Software is one of the most reliable salesforce consulting companies. Founded in 2016, MOR has demonstrated strong expertise in consulting and developing Salesforce solutions.

Here are key reasons to choose MOR Software for implementing Salesforce in your business:

• Extensive Project Implementation Experience: MOR has successfully executed numerous large-scale Salesforce projects domestically and internationally, ensuring solutions are tailored to each business’s specific needs.
• AI and Big Data Integration: MOR helps businesses apply artificial intelligence and big data analytics within Salesforce, enhancing forecasting, optimizing sales strategies, and improving customer experiences.
• Awards and Reputation: MOR Software was honored with the Sao Khue 2025 Award for outstanding Salesforce solutions, demonstrating its capability to deliver advanced and trusted CRM solutions in Vietnam.
• Comprehensive and Customized Support: MOR provides salesforce crm consulting, implementation, and post-deployment support services, ensuring businesses maximize Salesforce benefits and achieve effective digital transformation.

In Conclusion

Looking back at salesforce history highlights the powerful growth of CRM and the limitless potential businesses can leverage. With the support of MOR Software, your business can implement Salesforce successfully and stay ahead of future trends in AI, data, and digital transformation. Contact us today to explore comprehensive Salesforce solutions tailored for your business.