What Actually Happened – and Why the Clock Is Already Ticking

In 2026, a 15-year partnership quietly ended. Veeva Systems announced it would not renew its platform agreement with Salesforce, setting a firm 2030 end-of-support date for Veeva CRM running on Salesforce infrastructure.

Here's what that means in practical terms:

Veeva CRM on Salesforce has entered stability mode. Security patches and critical fixes will continue through 2030, but major feature innovation has stopped. The product roadmap now points elsewhere: to Vault CRM, Veeva's proprietary platform that operates independently of Salesforce.

Salesforce, in parallel, has launched Life Sciences Cloud (part of Health & Life Sciences, or HLS) as a direct alternative for pharmaceutical and medtech companies, built natively on the Customer 360 platform that already powers many enterprise functions.

By September 2030, every organization running Veeva CRM on Salesforce must have migrated to a new platform. There is no extension option. No grandfather clause. The decision is binary: Vault CRM or Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud (or, in rare cases, a third option entirely).

The industry assumption we're hearing most often is: "We have until 2030, so we'll start planning in 2027 or 2028."

That assumption is the real risk.

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1. Why 2030 Is a Cliff for Systems – But a 2026–2027 Problem for Leadership

The Hidden Timeline: Change Management, Not Code Migration

The technical migration – moving records, objects, and integrations from one CRM to another – is rarely the bottleneck in life sciences. The real constraint is organizational alignment.

Consider what a global pharma CRM transformation actually involves:

• Global template redesign across 30+ affiliates, each with its own regulatory and market requirements
• Data strategy and master data harmonization (HCP/HCO records, consent, interaction history) that often surfaces years of technical debt
• Validation and compliance documentation for systems operating under GxP, GDPR, and evolving data privacy laws
• Field force change management: retraining thousands of sales reps, MSLs, and medical affairs professionals on new workflows, mobile apps, and reporting models
• Integration redesign for CLM, sample management, events, medical inquiries, patient services, and data platforms

In our experience working with global life sciences organizations, these programs take 18 to 36 months minimum – and that's with strong executive sponsorship, dedicated funding, and an experienced systems integrator.

Organizations that wait until 2028 to begin planning will be executing their most complex, highest-risk migrations under time pressure, likely with constrained access to top-tier talent (who will already be committed to earlier movers).

The Compounding Opportunity Cost

Every year spent on a platform in stability mode is a year your competitors may be deploying:

• AI-enabled next-best-action for field teams (validated AI call planning, content recommendations, medical inquiry routing)
• Omnichannel orchestration that unifies face-to-face, email, web, and virtual engagement in real time
• Advanced segmentation and personalization powered by unified first-party data and real-world evidence
• Agentforce and Einstein capabilities (on Salesforce) or Vault's AI modules (on Veeva) that automate manual workflows

Stability mode doesn't mean your CRM stops working. It means it stops evolving – while the commercial landscape continues to accelerate.

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2. The Choice: Vault CRM vs. Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud

Both paths are viable. Both have notable early adopters among top 20 biopharma companies. The decision is not "which vendor wins?" but rather "which platform aligns with our broader enterprise strategy, talent base, and commercial operating model?"

Veeva Vault CRM: Strengths and Trade-Offs

What it does exceptionally well:

Vault CRM is purpose-built for life sciences. Out of the box, it aligns tightly with pharma commercial, medical, and regulatory processes: call planning, sample accountability, speaker bureau management, adverse event capture, and consent tracking are all natively understood.

For organizations already invested in the broader Veeva ecosystem – Vault PromoMats, Vault MedComms, Vault Clinical, Vault Safety – Vault CRM offers deep product integration and a unified data model across commercial, medical, regulatory, and R&D.

Veeva has also committed to absorbing part of the migration cost for core CRM functionality, which can significantly reduce the financial burden for customers moving from Veeva-on-Salesforce to Vault CRM.

Where complexity emerges:

• Vault is a newer platform compared to Salesforce's two-decade ecosystem. The pool of certified developers, administrators, and systems integrators is smaller. Talent acquisition and retention may require more effort.
• Custom code, integrations, and ISV solutions (sample ordering, incentive compensation, trade spend, patient services) built for the Salesforce version often do not migrate automatically. These must be re-architected or replaced.
• For enterprises already running other business units on Salesforce (commercial operations, customer service, marketing automation via Marketing Cloud, or data unification via Data Cloud), moving CRM to a separate platform introduces fragmentation: duplicate user management, separate reporting environments, and additional integration overhead.

Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud: Strengths and Trade-Offs

What it does exceptionally well:

Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud is built on the same platform many pharma and medtech companies already use for service, commerce, analytics, and integration. It reuses existing Salesforce skills, security models, sandbox strategies, and AppExchange components, which can dramatically lower the learning curve and operational risk.

The platform benefits from Salesforce's heavy investment in AI (Einstein, Agentforce), Data Cloud, MuleSoft integration, and Tableau analytics – all of which are increasingly central to modern commercial operations.

Several top biopharma organizations have publicly chosen Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud over Vault CRM, signaling that the market is genuinely split and both options have enterprise-grade backing.

Where complexity emerges:

• Some highly specialized pharma workflows – such as speaker program lifecycle management, advanced consent models, or tightly coupled PV reporting – may require more configuration or third-party ISV solutions than they would on Veeva's verticalized platform.
• Industry-specific accelerators and templates are still maturing, though Salesforce has partnered with several top-tier SIs (including Customertimes) to build pharma-ready components for field force automation, HCP engagement, and medical affairs.

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3. The Real Question: What Operating Model Do You Need for the Next Decade?

Choosing a CRM platform is not a vendor selection exercise. It's an enterprise architecture and talent strategy decision that will shape your commercial capabilities through 2035.

Four Dimensions to Evaluate Beyond Feature Lists

Data and Integration Strategy

How will your organization unify first-party data – HCP interactions, consent, omnichannel engagement history, clinical trial site relationships, patient services touchpoints – across CRM, marketing automation, data warehouses, and real-world evidence platforms?

If Salesforce Data Cloud or MuleSoft already powers parts of this architecture, extending that foundation to Life Sciences Cloud may reduce complexity and cost. If Veeva Vault is already your system of record for medical and regulatory content, consolidating commercial operations there may simplify governance.

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Regulatory and Validation Posture

Both platforms support GxP validation, 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, and global data privacy requirements. The question is not "Can it be validated?" but rather "How does this platform fit into our quality management system, change control processes, and audit readiness?"

Organizations with mature Salesforce validation frameworks can extend those to Life Sciences Cloud. Organizations with deep Veeva validation expertise can apply it to Vault CRM. The cost and risk lie in switching paradigms, not in the platforms themselves.

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Talent and Ecosystem

Where does your in-house capability sit today? Do you have Salesforce admins, developers, and architects already supporting service, commerce, or other business units? Or is your team trained and certified primarily in Veeva products?

What does the partner ecosystem look like for pharma-specific needs: sample management, incentive compensation, medical inquiry routing, event management, consent orchestration, and MLR workflow?

Salesforce has a broader SI and ISV ecosystem overall; Veeva has a more concentrated, life-sciences-specialized partner base. The right answer depends on your talent strategy and risk tolerance.

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AI and Omnichannel Roadmap

Both vendors are investing heavily in AI. But the practical questions are:

• How will you deploy validated AI for call planning, next-best-action, content recommendations, and medical inquiry triage?
• How will you unify omnichannel engagement data (face-to-face, approved email, virtual meetings, web behavior, patient support programs) into a single customer view?
• How will your CRM platform integrate with patient-level analytics, real-world evidence, and commercial effectiveness measurement?

Any target platform must plug into your AI and data strategy from day one, not bolt it on later as an afterthought.

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4. A Neutral Five-Step Migration Playbook

Regardless of which platform you choose, the organizations that execute this transition successfully follow a similar pattern.

1. Portfolio Assessment and Risk Mapping

Begin with a clear inventory:

• All regions, brands, and business units currently on Veeva CRM (Salesforce)
• Custom objects, fields, Visualforce pages, Apex code, and Lightning components
• Integrations: CLM (Veeva Approved Email, Vault PromoMats), sample ordering, events, medical inquiries, patient services, data warehouses, incentive compensation
• Data volumes, quality, and lineage (especially HCP/HCO master data)
• Compliance and validation artifacts (IQ/OQ/PQ, change control records, audit trails)

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Rate each part by:

• Business criticality (revenue impact, regulatory risk)
• Technical complexity (custom code, integrations, data transformations)
• Organizational readiness (training requirements, change resistance)

This assessment typically surfaces 20–30% of functionality that can be retired or simplified, which reduces migration scope and long-term technical debt.

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2. Platform Fit Analysis (Vault vs. Salesforce)

Run structured workshops with stakeholders from commercial, medical, IT, compliance, and data governance to evaluate both options against the same criteria:

• Global template vs. local flexibility: How much regional variation do you need to support?
• Data and analytics roadmap: Where are you headed with unified customer data, real-world evidence, and omnichannel measurement?
• Integration with existing enterprise platforms: ERP, MDM, marketing automation, service, data lake – especially where Salesforce or other vendors are already embedded
• Talent and partner ecosystem: Can you hire, train, and retain the skills you'll need?
• Total cost of ownership: Licensing, implementation, validation, ongoing operations, and opportunity cost

The outcome should be a recommendation with clear rationale, not just a feature comparison spreadsheet.

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3. Design the Target Commercial Architecture

Don't just plan the CRM migration. Define how your entire commercial technology stack will interact in the new world:

• Field force automation: Mobile apps, offline capability, sample accountability
• Content and channel orchestration: CLM, approved email, virtual engagement, web personalization
• Medical affairs: Medical inquiry management, speaker programs, congress and publications
• Patient services: Hub programs, co-pay support, adherence tracking
• Analytics and measurement: Dashboards, commercial effectiveness, omnichannel attribution

This is where pharma-ready accelerators – pre-built components for order management, sample tracking, consent workflows, and HCP engagement – become critical. Organizations that start from scratch spend 12–18 months longer than those that leverage proven templates.

In our work with global life sciences organizations, we've seen the most success when teams treat this as a commercial operating model redesign, not just a technical lift-and-shift.

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4. Phased Migration Roadmap (2026–2030)

Group affiliates, brands, or business units into migration waves based on:

• Pilot markets: Smaller, less complex, with strong local champions
• Fast followers: Medium complexity, high strategic value
• Late adopters: Largest, most complex, or most risk-averse markets

Build in dual-running and coexistence scenarios. It's likely that some markets will move to the new platform in 2026, while others wait until 2028 or 2029. During that period, you'll need:

• Consistent global reporting across both platforms
• Unified data governance and master data management
• Shared training and change management frameworks
• Clear escalation and support models

The most successful programs we've supported have dedicated executive sponsors, funded transformation offices, and committed SI partnerships that span the full program lifecycle – not just individual project phases.

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5. Change, Training, and Measurement

The most common failure mode in large CRM programs is treating them as IT projects rather than commercial transformations.

What good looks like:

• Field teams are involved in design sprints, not just shown a finished product
• Training is role-based and scenario-driven, not just "here's how to log a call"
• Success metrics focus on outcomes: HCP engagement quality, cycle time, omnichannel mix, rep productivity – not just "system uptime" or "user adoption"
• Feedback loops are built in: regular pulse surveys, office hours, and iterative refinement based on real-world use

Change management is not a post-launch checklist. It's the foundation of the entire program.

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5. Governance and "No-Regrets" Moves for 2026

Even if you're not ready to choose a platform, there are steps every leadership team can take now that will pay off regardless of direction.

Stand Up a Cross-Functional Steering Committee

Include representatives from:

• Commercial operations and sales enablement
• Medical affairs and pharmacovigilance
• IT and enterprise architecture
• Compliance, privacy, and quality
• Data governance and analytics

This group should own the platform decision, migration roadmap, and ongoing governance – not delegate it to IT alone.

Clean and Rationalize Data Now

Start deduplicating, harmonizing, and documenting your HCP/HCO master data. Map integration touchpoints. Identify orphaned records and retired workflows.

This work is valuable regardless of which platform you pick, and it's far easier to do before you're under migration time pressure.

Document Critical Customizations and Workarounds

Many organizations have years of undocumented Apex code, Visualforce pages, process builder flows, and manual workarounds. Catalog them. Understand what problem each one solved.

Some of these will become standard features in your target platform. Others will need to be re-imagined or retired. Either way, knowing what you have is the first step to knowing what you need.

Pilot AI-Enabled Use Cases Within Your Current Ecosystem

Where validation and compliance allow, start experimenting with AI-powered call planning, content recommendations, or predictive analytics within your existing Veeva CRM environment.

The goal is not to build production-grade AI on a sunset platform. It's to teach your teams how to work with AI – how to prompt it, trust it, validate it, and measure its impact – well before the big migration.

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6. How to Choose the Right Partner for This Journey

The Veeva-Salesforce split is not just a technology migration. It's a once-in-a-decade opportunity to modernize your commercial operating model, unify your data strategy, and position your organization for the AI-enabled, omnichannel future of life sciences engagement.

The organizations that will win this decade won't be the ones that waited until 2029 to start planning. They'll be the ones that treated this transition as a strategic transformation – and surrounded themselves with partners who've already walked this road.

What to look for in a systems integrator:

• Deep understanding of both Salesforce and the broader life sciences ecosystem: regulatory requirements, validation frameworks, GxP compliance, and pharma-specific workflows (sample management, consent, medical affairs, PV)
• Experience running complex, multi-region migrations: not just technical delivery, but global program governance, change management, and commercial stakeholder alignment
• Pharma-ready accelerators and templates: pre-built components for field force automation, HCP engagement, sample accountability, and consent management – not just blank Salesforce orgs or generic consulting
• AI and data strategy expertise: practical experience deploying validated AI, unifying omnichannel data, and measuring commercial effectiveness in life sciences

Whether you ultimately move toward Veeva Vault CRM, Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud, or a hybrid estate, the critical decision you face in 2025 is not which platform – it's how you'll orchestrate the transformation, who will guide it, and how you'll measure success.

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