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InuitionLabs•4/1/2025•60 min read
Veeva OpenData: High-Quality HCP and HCO Data for Life Sciences

Veeva OpenData: High-Quality HCP and HCO Data for Life Sciences

Introduction – What is Veeva OpenData?

Veeva OpenData is a cloud-based customer reference data solution tailored for the life sciences industry. In simple terms, it is a global database of healthcare professionals (HCPs) and healthcare organizations (HCOs) – covering doctors, clinicians, hospitals, clinics, and other key medical institutions that pharmaceutical companies interact with. This curated data includes critical details such as HCP names and titles, practice addresses, contact information (phone, fax, etc.), email addresses, specialties, affiliations (hospital or group memberships), and even compliance identifiers like license numbers and national provider IDs (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). By providing a single, up-to-date source of truth on HCPs and HCOs across more than 100 countries, Veeva OpenData plays a foundational role in many pharma companies’ commercial and medical operations (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva).

In the life sciences sector, having accurate and comprehensive customer data is crucial. Sales representatives need the right contact details and specialties to engage physicians; medical affairs teams must identify key opinion leaders across regions; and compliance teams require validated identifiers for regulatory reporting. Veeva OpenData’s role is to meet these needs by delivering high-quality, ready-to-use HCP/HCO data. It aims to eliminate the data silos and poor data quality that have historically plagued pharma customer databases. Instead of each company manually compiling and cleaning lists of doctors or relying on disparate data vendors, OpenData offers a single source of reliable customer data maintained by Veeva’s expert data stewards. As a result, companies can improve field productivity and customer engagement by trusting that their target HCP lists are accurate and complete (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva) (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva).

Who Is Veeva OpenData Designed For?

Veeva OpenData is designed to support a range of teams and professionals within pharmaceutical and biotech organizations, especially those involved in commercial and medical operations. Key users and stakeholders include:

  • Pharmaceutical Field Sales Teams: Sales representatives and territory managers use OpenData to get up-to-date information on doctors and healthcare facilities in their region. This helps them find new prescribers, plan their sales calls, and ensure they always have current addresses, phone numbers, and other details on hand. Field reps benefit from integrated data within their CRM, which makes it easy to pull up HCP profiles and even discover additional potential customers in real time (Link). For example, reps at Nestle HealthScience reported being more productive and gaining better insight into field interactions when armed with Veeva OpenData in their CRM (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva).

  • Commercial Operations and Marketing Teams: These headquarters teams (often in sales operations or marketing operations) leverage OpenData for segmentation and targeting, territory planning, and multichannel marketing efforts. They rely on the comprehensive dataset to identify the right HCPs for new product launches or campaigns. Because OpenData covers a “universe” of HCPs (not just existing contacts in the CRM), commercial teams can quickly pinpoint new prescribers to target in a given therapy area or geography. One biopharma case study noted that “having unlimited access to the OpenData universe allows us to more easily find all the doctors we want to target”, even those outside traditional specialty lists (Link) (Link). Marketing teams also use OpenData’s email addresses and digital contact info for outreach in approved, compliant ways (e.g. sending emails via Veeva CRM’s Approved Email tool).

  • Medical Affairs and MSLs: Medical Science Liaisons and other medical affairs professionals engage Key Opinion Leaders and specialists. They need accurate profiles of HCPs (such as specialists in rare diseases or clinical trial investigators) across regions. OpenData provides these profiles and the affiliations of HCPs (for example, which hospitals or institutions they are connected to), helping MSLs identify and track relationships with influential physicians. Because OpenData is global, MSLs in different countries can access consistent data on the same HCPs – useful for coordinating scientific engagements internationally.

  • Data Management and IT Teams: Many pharma companies have data stewardship or IT teams responsible for customer data quality (often managing a Master Data Management (MDM) system). For these teams, Veeva OpenData drastically reduces the manual effort of data cleaning and integration. OpenData can feed directly into the company’s CRM or MDM, so the data team no longer needs to manually merge duplicate records or constantly update addresses – Veeva’s stewards handle those tasks. At Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, for instance, integrating OpenData with their Veeva CRM and Veeva Network (MDM) meant “data flows straight into our CRM, which removes a lot of the worry and effort involved in data mapping” (Link). With OpenData’s managed data governance and quick updates, Alnylam’s data change requests were resolved in an average of four hours, giving their data team confidence in a “solid customer data foundation” (Link).

  • Compliance and Regulatory Teams: Pharmaceutical compliance officers and transparency reporting teams are also key beneficiaries. OpenData includes compliance data to help ensure that field activities stay within regulatory boundaries. For example, it provides real-time validated license information and NPI (National Provider Identifier) data for HCPs, indicating who is allowed to receive drug samples or details based on state/federal laws (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). It flags if a doctor has opted out or if they appear on exclusion lists (such as OIG or DEA registries), which helps reps “engage with confidence” and avoid violations (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). Moreover, OpenData assigns each HCP a single global identifier, which is crucial for aggregate spend transparency – compliance teams can accurately track and report all interactions and payments to an HCP across borders using that unique ID (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). In practice, this means easier Sunshine Act reporting and compliance with international transparency regulations, as all HCP data is harmonized and up to date.

In short, Veeva OpenData is used across sales, marketing, medical, data management, and compliance functions. It’s a backbone service that ensures everyone in the organization – from a field rep preparing for a call, to a data analyst running a targeting report, to a compliance manager auditing HCP engagements – is working from the same high-quality dataset of customers. This cross-functional utility is by design: OpenData was built to break down silos and serve as a shared customer data foundation for the entire life sciences enterprise (Link).

How Veeva OpenData Works: Data Coverage, Quality, and Delivery

Veeva OpenData operates as a continuously updated, curated source of HCP and HCO information, delivered as a subscription service to pharma companies. Understanding how it works involves looking at its extensive data coverage, the quality assurance processes behind it, the global accessibility of the data, and how the data reaches end users in real time.

  • Global Data Coverage: One of the core strengths of OpenData is its breadth of coverage across geographies and healthcare entities. As of the mid-2020s, Veeva OpenData spans 100+ countries worldwide, with deep datasets in each region (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). This includes major markets like the United States (where OpenData contains over 12 million HCP and HCO records just in the U.S. database (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva)) as well as Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and beyond. Each HCP record typically captures professional details such as name, degrees, specialty (e.g. cardiologist, oncologist), practice or hospital addresses, phone/fax, and often an email if available. HCO records cover institutions (hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, etc.) with their addresses, facility type, and linkages to HCPs (affiliations). Crucially, Veeva OpenData also maps affiliations between HCPs and HCOs – for example, which doctors practice at which hospital or are members of which medical group – giving a more complete view of the healthcare ecosystem around each professional (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). All of this is considered “customer reference data”, meaning it’s the foundational info needed to identify and contact customers (in this case, HCPs/HCOs) for sales and marketing purposes.

  • Data Quality Assurance and Stewardship: High-quality data doesn’t happen by accident – Veeva backs OpenData with robust quality assurance processes and a large team of data stewards. Globally, Veeva has on the order of 1,500+ data stewards dedicated to maintaining OpenData records (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). These stewards use hundreds of authoritative sources (such as government license registries, hospital directories, professional board listings, etc.) to continually verify and update the database (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). When any data point changes – for example, a physician moves to a new clinic or a hospital opens a new department – Veeva’s team proactively updates the record so that subscribers get the change quickly. In fact, Veeva emphasizes “continuous quality updates” in OpenData, meaning customers receive timely, ongoing data refreshes without having to wait for infrequent bulk updates (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). If a pharmaceutical company’s user notices a discrepancy or missing info, they can submit a Data Change Request (DCR) directly from within Veeva CRM; these requests go straight to Veeva’s data steward team (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). Impressively, OpenData DCRs are often resolved within hours – Veeva reports a global average turnaround under 5 hours for data change requests, compared to an industry norm of 10+ days (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). In the U.S., 99% of DCRs are processed within 3 days (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva), ensuring that corrections or additions are quickly reflected. This combination of proactive updates and rapid-response corrections means OpenData always reflects the latest real-world information. As one customer put it, Veeva’s investment in data quality and stewardship “truly shows” in the speed and accuracy of updates (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva).

  • Unified Global IDs and Cross-Border Data: A notable aspect of how OpenData is structured is the use of unique identifiers for each HCP and HCO, which persist globally. For example, a given physician will have one Veeva OpenData ID that links all their information, even if they practice in multiple locations or move countries. This global identifier allows cross-border data access and visibility – a company can track interactions with the same HCP across different country affiliates, which is important for global compliance and coordination (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva) (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). OpenData’s data model is harmonized so that an HCP record in one country can be matched to the same person in another country’s dataset through the global ID. From a practical standpoint, this means headquarters teams can get a consolidated view of HCP engagement worldwide, and local teams can access data for visiting HCPs from other regions when needed (subject to privacy and compliance rules). Veeva OpenData also integrates with Veeva’s master data management solution (previously called Veeva Network) for those who use it, so that all local and global records are synced in a single customer master. In the words of one commercial IT lead, adopting Vault CRM with OpenData globally creates a “harmonized customer data” foundation for all regions (Bayer Commits to Veeva Vault CRM and Veeva OpenData Globally | Veeva) (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva).

  • Real-Time Data Access and Updates: Veeva OpenData is designed to deliver data to end users in real time or near-real time, rather than through infrequent dumps. This is achieved through tight integration with Veeva’s applications and the introduction of tools like OpenData Explorer and OpenData API. Veeva OpenData can be provisioned to customers in multiple ways: directly integrated into Veeva CRM, fed into Veeva Network (MDM), accessed via an API for other systems, or delivered as data files for batch loading (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). Most commonly, companies integrate OpenData with Veeva CRM so that when a sales rep looks up a doctor in CRM, they are seeing the latest OpenData version of that profile. If new HCP records are needed (e.g., a rep finds a new physician in their territory), they can search and download additional HCP records in real time from the OpenData universe into their CRM with just a few clicks (Link). This real-time search and add capability (enabled by OpenData’s CRM integration) makes field teams more agile – Alnylam’s field users noted they could “easily search, find, and download additional records in real time” within their familiar CRM interface (Link).

    In 2020, Veeva also launched OpenData Explorer, a web-based portal that headquarters staff can use to directly query the OpenData database online (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). This portal gives authorized users (like a compliance manager or data steward at the pharma company) the ability to log in and view all available HCP/HCO data, even outside of the CRM system. OpenData Explorer provides on-demand, self-serve access to approximately 16 million HCP and HCO profiles (as of its launch across 34 countries) in real time (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). This means teams can quickly check if a new doctor is already in the data universe or verify details of an HCP without waiting for an update cycle.

    Underlying these user-facing tools is the Veeva OpenData API, which Veeva provides so that companies can integrate OpenData into any third-party systems or custom applications they have. The OpenData API allows automatic syncing of the customer data into non-Veeva CRM systems, data warehouses, analytics tools, or compliance systems (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). For example, a company could use the API to pull updated HCP lists into a data lake or to integrate with a third-party CRM. The open API is part of Veeva’s “open approach” to reference data – it gives customers flexibility to use their data wherever needed, without vendor-imposed restrictions (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva) (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). This is a significant shift from the past, when legacy data providers often had strict third-party agreements limiting how companies could use or share the HCP data. Veeva explicitly aimed to eliminate those historical restrictions; as the general manager of OpenData noted, “for decades life sciences companies have been forced to deal with burdensome third-party agreements that restrict how they can use their data… Our open approach is eliminating the data restrictions”, allowing customers to leverage OpenData freely across their tools and teams (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). In practical terms, a pharma company that licenses Veeva OpenData can use that data in Veeva CRM, in another CRM if needed, in marketing automation platforms, or any internal system – without additional fees or legal barriers. This open usage model, combined with real-time integration options, ensures that OpenData truly delivers data when and where the business needs it.

Key Features of Veeva OpenData

Veeva OpenData offers a rich set of features that make it more than just a static list of names. Below are some of the key features and capabilities that define OpenData and differentiate it as a life sciences customer data solution:

Comprehensive HCP and HCO Profiles

At its core, OpenData provides comprehensive profiles for millions of HCPs and HCOs. Each profile aggregates a variety of data points that commercial teams need, all in one place (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva):

  • Professional & Demographic Details: For HCPs, this includes full name (with prefixes/suffixes, degrees), specialty and sub-specialty, medical credentials (MD, DO, NP, etc.), and any professional identifiers (like state license numbers, NPI in the U.S., or ME number). For HCOs, it covers institution type (hospital, private practice, pharmacy, etc.), departments, and parent organizations if applicable.

  • Contact Information: OpenData records list practice or office addresses (often multiple if the HCP practices at several locations), phone numbers, and fax numbers. Addresses are kept standardized and validated. Having the correct address is vital for sales reps planning visits or sample drop-offs.

  • Digital Contact Data (Email): A major value-add in recent years is OpenData Email, which provides verified email addresses for HCPs. Veeva has amassed more than 1.5 million permissioned HCP email addresses globally (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data), spanning virtually all prescriber types and specialties. These emails are continually verified and have high deliverability (around 95% deliverability rate) (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data). The inclusion of email allows companies to extend their reach to “low-see or no-see” physicians (doctors who restrict or limit in-person rep visits) via compliant digital channels (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data). OpenData Email is available to all teams (sales, marketing, medical) with no per-use charges – companies can “buy once and leverage across sales, marketing, and medical communications” (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data) as part of a multichannel engagement strategy. By enriching the traditional customer data with digital contacts, OpenData helps pharma adapt to the increasing importance of email and remote engagement.

  • Affiliations and Hierarchies: Each HCP is linked to the HCOs they are affiliated with (e.g., the hospitals or clinics where they practice, or medical group memberships). Similarly, HCOs can have parent-child relationships (like a health system containing multiple hospitals). OpenData captures these hierarchies, which is critical for account-based strategies and understanding the influence networks. For instance, a sales strategy might target not just an individual physician but also the institution they are affiliated with. OpenData’s affiliation data allows users to see, for example, all cardiologists affiliated with a certain hospital, or all sites under a given healthcare network.

  • Compliance Identifiers: OpenData profiles include key identifiers needed for compliance and reporting. In the U.S., this means the NPI (National Provider Identifier) for HCPs and organizations, and any state license or registration numbers relevant to pharmaceutical sales (for instance, a state medical license number which might be needed to log a sample drop). In other countries, similar identifiers (like registration IDs, tax IDs, etc.) are included as available. These data points feed directly into compliance processes – e.g., checking that an HCP has a valid license before a rep provides a sample, or using the NPI to aggregate spend data for Sunshine Act reporting (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva) (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). OpenData’s Compliance Data add-on ensures that these fields are up-to-date and that any HCP restrictions (like if an HCP has opted out of detailing or is on an exclusion list) are noted (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva).

By providing this breadth of information in each record, Veeva OpenData allows users to have a 360-degree view of each customer. Instead of piecing together info from multiple sources, pharma teams can rely on OpenData as the one-stop source for all relevant HCP/HCO details – from a doctor’s specialty and contact info to their affiliations and license status. This comprehensive data can be used throughout the organization, meaning everyone sees the same profile for a given physician, which improves consistency and decision-making.

High Data Quality and Stewardship Services

Quality is a standout feature of Veeva OpenData. Unlike raw data dumps that require heavy cleaning, OpenData is delivered as ready-to-use, quality-assured data. Veeva’s data stewardship service underpins this:

  • Proactive Data Maintenance: Veeva’s team of over 1,500 data stewards (data specialists) works daily to keep the data current (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). They monitor hundreds of sources – such as medical board updates, government registries, postal changes, and customer feedback – to catch changes in HCP/HCO information (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). For example, if a new hospital opens or a physician retires and surrenders their license, Veeva can update OpenData accordingly, often before a pharma company even notices the change. This proactive approach means subscribers spend far less time on manual data clean-up.

  • Fast Data Change Request (DCR) Handling: When a user does find missing or incorrect information (inevitable in any large dataset), Veeva provides an integrated DCR process. Through Veeva CRM (or Network), the user can flag the issue and submit a request for correction. These requests are turned around extremely quickly – often within one business day or even just hours (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva) (Link). Veeva has highlighted that its stewards validate and process DCRs in a matter of hours, compared to an industry average of over a week (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). In one real-world example, during a quarter at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, data change requests via OpenData were resolved in ~4 hours on average (Link). This responsiveness ensures that any gaps the field identifies are promptly closed, and the correction then propagates to all users (so everyone benefits from one person’s request).

  • Data Governance and Consistency: Veeva OpenData also provides a governed approach to customer data. For companies that use Veeva Network (the master data management system), OpenData acts as the mastered source feeding into Network (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data) (Boomi Connectors: Quick, Reliable Integrations). Network ensures that if there are multiple records for the same entity, they’re merged and de-duplicated. Even for those not using Network, OpenData itself applies unique IDs and duplicate checks. This means when OpenData feeds your CRM, you get de-duplicated records and a consistent data model. The format of fields (address structure, country-specific formats, etc.) is standardized, making integration and reporting easier. Essentially, Veeva is doing the heavy lifting of data governance as a service, so pharma data teams can focus less on maintenance and more on deriving insights from the data.

  • Ongoing Quality Metrics: OpenData’s quality is also evident in measurable outcomes. For instance, the deliverability of OpenData Email addresses is nearly 95%, indicating rigorous email verification to reduce bounces (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data). Additionally, 99% of U.S. data change requests are completed within 72 hours (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva), and globally most within 24 hours (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). By keeping such high standards, OpenData helps companies maintain compliance (e.g., using correct addresses for sampling under PDMA rules) and efficiency (reps aren’t wasting time on dead leads or bad contacts). As one commercial operations VP summarized, “It’s an asset we leverage cross-functionally every day” – emphasizing that the data’s reliability makes it valuable across sales, marketing, and operations teams (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva).

Seamless Integration with Veeva CRM (and Other Veeva Products)

A key feature of OpenData is its tight integration with Veeva’s Commercial Cloud, especially Veeva CRM. Veeva CRM (now evolving into Vault CRM) is widely used by pharma sales forces as their daily tool for managing calls and contacts. OpenData is built to plug directly into that CRM:

  • In-CRM Reference Data Access: When using Veeva CRM, reps get seamless access to OpenData records within their workflow (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). The integration is native – OpenData essentially populates the CRM’s customer database. For the reps, this feels like having a magically well-maintained address book. They can search for any HCP and, if that HCP isn’t already in their local list, simply pull it in from OpenData (if their user permissions allow). Andrew (the field tech lead at Alnylam) noted, “the difference between OpenData and other solutions is that it is fully embedded into our CRM, and it is more intuitive to use… Our field users can easily search, find, and download additional records in real time” (Link). This means no awkward exporting/importing of data – it’s all one system from the user’s perspective.

  • Consistent Experience Across Devices: Veeva CRM (including Vault CRM) operates across iPad, mobile, and web. OpenData integration works across all those, enabling reps in the field on an iPad to get updated info just as easily as someone in the office. The user experience is optimized and familiar, since reps see the data within Veeva CRM’s interface and even in context of their CRM dashboards (like MyInsights dashboards reflecting territory data) (Link). By eliminating the friction of switching systems or dealing with external spreadsheets, the integration boosts adoption – reps actually use the data because it’s right where they need it.

  • Integration with Other Veeva Vault Applications: Beyond CRM, OpenData connects with other parts of Veeva’s ecosystem. For example, Veeva Approved Email (the module for sending compliant emails) directly utilizes OpenData Email addresses, letting reps send emails to verified contacts and automatically tracking opt-outs or bounces in the system (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data). Veeva Events Management (for organizing HCP events) can use OpenData to select and invite the right specialists. Veeva Align (territory alignment and targeting tool) works hand-in-hand with OpenData to allocate HCP targets to reps based on up-to-date universe data. Essentially, any Veeva application that touches customer data is pre-connected to OpenData. This integration goes even further with Vault CRM’s platform – Veeva indicates that OpenData is “seamlessly integrated within Vault CRM” by design (Supercharge Your CRM with Veeva OpenData | Veeva). So as Veeva moves its CRM fully onto the Vault Platform, the data integration is part of the core platform capabilities.

  • Better Together – OpenData and Veeva Network (MDM): Many companies use Veeva Network as their master data hub for customer data. OpenData and Network are complementary: OpenData supplies the high-quality reference data, and Network manages the customer data lifecycle within the company (merging records from different sources, managing custom attributes, etc.) (Better Together – Veeva OpenData and Network). Veeva provides out-of-the-box connectors between OpenData and Network. This means, for instance, that whenever OpenData has an update, it can automatically sync into the Network master, which in turn syncs to CRM. Pre-built integration exists for Veeva CRM as well – effectively, if you have Veeva CRM and subscribe to OpenData, Veeva does the initial load and ongoing sync of the data for you. As one customer described it, “the integration of OpenData with Veeva CRM is seamless and very easy to manage”, with data flowing straight into CRM without the company needing to do complicated data mapping or ETL processes (Link). This is a huge benefit for IT teams, as they can deploy OpenData quickly and be confident it will work with their Veeva software stack out-of-the-box.

  • API and Third-Party Connectivity: While integration with Veeva products is a given, OpenData also offers connectors to other systems via its OpenData API. For organizations using a non-Veeva CRM or an external data warehouse, the API makes integration feasible without manual file loads. Additionally, Veeva has partnerships and pre-built connectors in the industry (for example, integration tools like Mulesoft or Dell Boomi have connectors for Veeva data endpoints (Boomi Connectors: Quick, Reliable Integrations)). This allows companies to, say, sync OpenData with an Oracle or SAP system, or connect it to a compliance system like SAP Concur for spend tracking (Veeva Network Connector - SAP Concur App Center). The bottom line is that OpenData isn’t a closed garden – it’s designed to fit into a heterogeneous IT environment, albeit with special advantages when used with Veeva’s own suite.

Compliance and Regulatory Support Features

In highly regulated environments, data isn’t just about sales – it’s also about staying compliant. Veeva OpenData includes features specifically aimed at helping pharma companies comply with industry regulations and internal policies:

  • Verified License and Eligibility Data: OpenData provides up-to-date license verification for HCPs, which is crucial for activities like drug sampling. Pharmaceutical sales reps in many countries (especially the U.S.) must verify that a doctor holds a valid license and is allowed to receive samples of prescription drugs (per PDMA regulations). OpenData includes the license status and details for HCPs and flags any that are not sample-eligible. This helps enforce sampling protocols by ensuring reps only distribute samples to qualified HCPs (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). It also incorporates state-specific rules; for example, some states have additional restrictions or require checking if an HCP is in a no-call list – these can be managed through data and rules in the CRM leveraging OpenData Compliance Data.

  • NPI and Specialty Checks for Detailing: When reps detail a product, especially one with a restricted indication, it’s important they call on the right specialty (to avoid off-label promotion risk). OpenData’s data includes each HCP’s specialty and subspecialty, tied to their NPI. This allows the system (or the rep) to verify that a doctor’s specialty matches the product’s target. For instance, if a product is only to be detailed to oncologists, OpenData can help filter or flag any HCP not identified as an oncologist. This feature helps companies adhere to Corporate Integrity Agreements and internal compliance rules by minimizing off-label promotional risk (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). OpenData Compliance Data even surfaces credentials (MD, DO, NP, PA, etc.) so reps can immediately see if, say, a nurse practitioner is in their list and whether that aligns with their call plan (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva).

  • Exclusion and Sanction Screening: Veeva’s compliance dataset cross-references lists such as the OIG Exclusion List, DEA controlled substance license status, FDA debarment list, and other government sanction lists (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). If an HCP is on a do-not-call list or has lost prescribing privileges (e.g., a DEA registration revoked), OpenData can reflect that. By having these indicators built into the data, companies can automatically prevent interactions that would be inappropriate or illegal. This minimizes risk and ensures reps “engage with confidence” knowing the HCPs they call on are vetted (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva).

  • Spend Transparency and Aggregate Spend Tracking: Each HCP and HCO in OpenData carries a unique ID (and mapping to identifiers like NPI or national IDs). This greatly simplifies the tracking of all expenditures and engagements with that HCP across the organization. OpenData enables cross-border tracking as well – if a U.S. doctor attends an event in Europe and gets a meal there, the European affiliate and U.S. affiliate can both log activities against the same HCP ID, making it easy to roll up the data. Veeva specifically notes that with OpenData, companies gain “visibility into cross-border activity and [can] reconcile aggregate spend” efficiently (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva) (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). OpenData’s consistent data allows generating accurate compliance reports (like Sunshine Act submissions or EFPIA disclosures) without having to manually match HCP identities. The data model supports one global view, so compliance teams can see total spend on an HCP across countries, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

  • Privacy and Consent Management: While not explicitly a feature of OpenData itself, Veeva’s ecosystem with OpenData helps manage consents and communication preferences. For example, if an HCP opts out of marketing emails, that status can be captured in Veeva CRM and respected when using OpenData Email for campaigns (OpenData provides the contact, and Veeva CRM’s Approved Email module handles the consent logic). Additionally, Veeva’s open approach to data usage comes with guidance to ensure companies remain compliant with data privacy laws when moving data across borders or into different systems. Having a trusted vendor-managed source also means Veeva is handling much of the compliance around data sourcing (GDPR compliance, etc.), giving clients peace of mind that the data was collected and is used in a compliant manner.

In summary, the compliance-oriented features of OpenData transform it from a pure sales tool into a compliance safety net. They ensure that as users leverage the data for commercial activity, built-in checks and rich metadata keep those activities within legal and ethical boundaries (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva) (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). This dual benefit – driving sales effectiveness while upholding compliance – is a key reason many pharma companies choose OpenData as their reference data provider.

Multichannel and Cross-Platform Connectivity

Modern pharma engagement is omnichannel – sales reps, MSLs, emails, virtual meetings, events, etc. Veeva OpenData is built to support multichannel engagement by making the data accessible and usable across all these channels:

  • HCP Email and Digital Channel Integration: As mentioned, OpenData provides a vast repository of HCP emails through its OpenData Email offering (1.5+ million verified emails) (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data). These emails can be used in email marketing campaigns, rep-triggered emails, or even for inviting HCPs to webinars and events. Because OpenData Email comes with unrestricted use rights, companies can utilize these addresses in any system – for instance, load them into a marketing automation platform or use them in their own approved email tool (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data). Many pharma companies have found this useful for expanding their reach. A Takeda executive noted that having OpenData emails significantly helped their campaign strategy by “allowing us to reach specific targets that previously weren’t in our database” (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data). In other words, OpenData opened up a new channel (email) to connect with hard-to-reach HCPs. And since the emails are integrated into Veeva CRM’s Approved Email, reps can send personalized, compliant emails with confidence in deliverability (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data) (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data).

  • No Channel or Platform Restrictions: The “Open” in OpenData also refers to the freedom to use the data across platforms. Once a company has OpenData, they can feed it into their CRM (Veeva or non-Veeva), data warehouse, or analytical tools. If a company uses a business intelligence platform to analyze target coverage, they can import OpenData to see the full market potential. If they have a call center CRM, they could integrate OpenData to equip medical info reps with the same HCP data. Veeva even introduced an open API explicitly to make third-party integrations easier, letting companies leverage the data “where they need it” without any friction (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). This cross-platform connectivity extends to partner systems as well. For example, if a pharma company works with a contract sales organization or an agency (partners), they can share OpenData with them under the Veeva partner agreements, avoiding additional data purchase costs (Link) (Link). Alnylam, in its case study, mentioned using a tool called DataMatcher to easily match third-party data with OpenData, significantly simplifying data exchange with partners – what used to take a week took only hours (Link) (Link).

  • Multichannel Activity Tracking: With consistent data across channels, companies can better track and coordinate interactions. For instance, an HCP might receive an email (tracked via OpenData email data in CRM), attend a virtual event (logged in an events system using OpenData IDs), and have an in-person visit – all of these can be tied together because they use the same underlying customer data. This provides a unified customer journey view. It also enables advanced strategies like identifying which channels a given HCP prefers (if an HCP is “no-see” in person but engages via email, that insight is captured).

  • Cross-Border Collaboration: In cases where commercial teams collaborate internationally – say, a global account management approach for large organizations or when medical affairs coordinates KOL engagement across regions – OpenData’s global nature allows seamless hand-offs. An HCP identified in one country is recognizable in another’s system via the same ID, facilitating cross-border communication and strategy. Veeva’s OpenData Explorer (the web portal) specifically gives global headquarters the ability to view all active HCPs and HCOs in real time across all OpenData regions (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). This means someone in a regional or global role can get full visibility into the customer universe in each market without needing separate tools.

  • Simple, Predictable Licensing: While not a feature in the technical sense, it’s worth noting as part of OpenData’s multichannel strength that Veeva offers the data on a simplified enterprise license. Companies typically pay a flat subscription for a country or region dataset (or an enterprise deal for global data), and then they can use that data as widely as needed internally. There are no per-email or per-use charges. This is different from older models where using data in multiple systems or channels might incur extra costs. Veeva’s approach encourages broad use – for example, using OpenData emails in both CRM and an external marketing tool doesn’t double the cost. This predictable model allows organizations to plan multichannel campaigns freely, knowing their data spend is fixed. In fact, Alnylam cited “having unlimited access to the OpenData universe” for all users and systems as a key reason they chose the enterprise license – it avoided siloed data purchases and made budgeting easier (Link).

In essence, Veeva OpenData was built not just for the traditional rep model, but for the omnichannel, global engagement model that pharma companies are adopting. Its features ensure that whether an interaction is happening face-to-face, via email, or in a report in the home office, the same high-quality data underpins it. By connecting data across channels and platforms, OpenData helps teams execute coordinated and compliant customer engagement strategies.

Benefits of Veeva OpenData for Pharma Teams

The features described above translate into tangible benefits for various stakeholders in a pharmaceutical organization. Below, we outline the key benefits of Veeva OpenData, grouped by the teams that realize them:

Benefits for Field Teams (Sales Reps, MSLs, Territory Managers)

  • Improved Productivity and Efficiency: Sales representatives and MSLs spend less time on administrative tasks like finding addresses or updating contact lists, and more time engaging with HCPs. With OpenData integrated in CRM, reps no longer need to manually enter new doctor information or correct outdated data – it’s all provided and maintained. As a result, they can focus on strategic activities (e.g., planning the next meeting or tailoring their conversation). Nestlé HealthScience, for example, noted that OpenData “enables our reps to be more productive” and provides the field insights needed to understand what’s happening in their territories (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). When every rep in the field has instant access to the latest customer info (even offline on their iPad CRM app), they operate more efficiently with fewer delays or data errors.

  • Better Targeting and More Coverage: Field teams can identify and reach more relevant HCPs with OpenData. Because the data includes a broad universe of HCPs (not just those you already know), reps can discover new physicians or specialists in their territory they might have missed. This is particularly beneficial when launching a new product or indication – reps can quickly pull in all doctors in the relevant specialty or treatment area from OpenData. In the case of Alnylam’s rare disease products, having unlimited OpenData access meant they could find “all the doctors we want to target, especially [those] not always belonging to a specific specialty” (Link), which is crucial in rare conditions where relevant prescribers might be in various specialties. Field teams can thus expand their reach (including via email for no-see HCPs) and ensure no key physician is left untended. Takeda’s commercial team echoed this when using OpenData Email – they could reach specific targets that were previously not in their internal database, opening new lines of communication (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data).

  • Accurate and Timely Information at the Point of Engagement: Nothing undermines a rep’s credibility more than using outdated information (like addressing a doctor by the wrong title or going to an old office). With OpenData, reps are confident they have the latest details – if a physician recently moved clinics, that address change will likely have flowed into their CRM before their next visit. And if not, they can request a fix and get it quickly. The data quality and quick updates mean fewer unpleasant surprises for field users. One field team lead noted that with OpenData embedded in CRM, reps get “instant access” to the data they need, and even custom territory dashboards are automatically populated with current data (Link). This situational awareness helps reps prepare better for calls and tailor their approach based on accurate profiles (for instance, knowing a doctor’s specialty focus or seeing affiliated HCOs which might influence the discussion).

  • Seamless Multichannel Follow-ups: Field teams today engage via multiple channels (in-person, email, remote meetings). OpenData equips them for this by providing emails and ensuring compliant use. A rep can have a call and then send a follow-up email with approved content directly, all within one system and using verified contact info. Because deliverability is high, reps see their emails actually reaching inboxes, which encourages them to use the channel more. This leads to higher engagement rates with HCPs over time. Moreover, since OpenData data is shareable, if a rep works with a medical science liaison on an account, both have the same view of the HCP’s info, which improves coordination.

In summary, for field personnel, Veeva OpenData means “better calls with less prep.” They have more customers to call on (expanded list), less grunt work in maintaining data, and more confidence that their info is accurate. All this drives more effective HCP engagement, ultimately supporting better sales results.

Benefits for Data Management and Commercial Operations Teams

  • Single Source of Truth & 360-Degree View: Commercial operations and data teams benefit enormously from having a single, authoritative source of customer data. Instead of juggling multiple datasets (maybe one from a legacy vendor for one country, another for another country, plus internal lists), they can rely on Veeva OpenData as the unified source. This harmonized data leads to a true 360-degree view of each customer. Alnylam’s integrated solution combined OpenData with their MDM and data lake to achieve a high level of data maturity and a robust 360 customer view (Link). For the data team, it means no more stitching together spreadsheets from different sources or worrying about one system having different info than another. All systems (CRM, analytics, etc.) draw from the same OpenData feed, so consistency is ensured.

  • Reduced Data Maintenance Burden: Traditionally, maintaining HCP data is labor-intensive – requiring constant merging, cleansing, and updating by in-house staff or costly services. OpenData essentially outsources this burden to Veeva’s data stewardship team. Data managers no longer need to manually cleanse address data or research physician credentials; Veeva handles these updates and pushes them to the company. The ability to submit a DCR and have it resolved often the same day is like having an extended data steward team on call. Less time is spent firefighting data quality issues, and fewer internal resources are needed for routine data maintenance. Additionally, OpenData’s integration means less IT overhead for data loading and mapping. As noted, the seamless CRM integration “removes a lot of the worry and effort involved in data mapping”, simplifying the IT workflow (Link). This can translate into cost savings (less need for data vendors or cleaning projects) and frees up the data team to focus on more value-added analytics and insights.

  • Faster, Informed Decision-Making: With easy access to comprehensive data, commercial ops teams can do better analysis and make decisions faster. Need to size a market or decide on sales force expansion? They can quickly run a query on OpenData to see how many target HCPs exist in a new region or specialty. For example, Alnylam’s team mentioned they could “run a report and not only quantify the size of a given target group but also identify key cities and hospitals where the HCPs are located”, information critical for territory design (Link). This kind of analysis, which might have taken weeks of data gathering pre-OpenData, can be done in hours. Similarly, when planning a product launch, ops teams can use OpenData to fast-track building the target universe. Biogen’s commercial data lead noted that with OpenData they can “fast-track new customer universe builds to support product launches and acquisitions,” crediting Veeva’s data quality and stewardship for enabling this speed (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). The result is greater agility in commercial strategy – companies can respond to opportunities or changes (like a new indication approval) quickly because they have the data at their fingertips.

  • Simplified Compliance and Reporting: Although primarily a compliance benefit, having clean, unified data also makes the data team’s job easier when it comes to supporting compliance and reporting needs. Preparing aggregate spend reports or aligning datasets from different systems is simpler when everything is linked by the OpenData IDs and consistent reference data. The data team doesn’t need to manually reconcile multiple provider IDs or correct misalignments in titles or addresses that could cause reporting errors. This reduces the risk of compliance slip-ups due to data discrepancies and means fewer last-minute scrambles to clean data for a report. It also aids in analytics – any analysis of call activity, marketing reach, etc., is more accurate because the underlying customer data is reliable.

  • Cost Efficiency and Vendor Consolidation: OpenData can also bring cost benefits by consolidating data needs. Instead of buying HCP lists from different providers for different purposes (one for sales, one for marketing, etc.), companies get a comprehensive dataset under one license. Alnylam pointed out the benefit of avoiding “siloed data purchases” and having simplified data budgeting through an enterprise license (Link). Over time, this can mean significant savings and easier vendor management. Also, because OpenData is integrated into Veeva CRM (which many pharma companies already use), the incremental cost and effort is often less than bringing in a separate third-party data source and integrating it from scratch.

Benefits for Compliance and Regulatory Teams

  • Ensured Rep Compliance in the Field: With OpenData’s compliance features, companies have built-in safeguards that reps will only call on appropriate, eligible HCPs. Sampling compliance is a prime example – OpenData provides the list of sample-eligible prescribers (valid license, not exceeding limits, etc.) by verifying data against PDMA and state requirements (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). This means that when a rep logs a sample in CRM, the system can check OpenData to confirm the HCP is allowed to receive it, preventing violations. The compliance team can be confident that rules are enforced systematically. One listed benefit of OpenData Compliance Data is precisely to “access verified HCP NPI and sample eligibility data for compliance with state and local regulations” (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva) – effectively automating what might otherwise be a manual or error-prone compliance check.

  • Reduced Off-label Risk: By having up-to-date specialty information and being able to restrict or flag certain specialties, OpenData helps ensure promotions stay on-label. If a drug is only approved for cardiologists to prescribe, OpenData can help filter targets so that marketing and sales focus on cardiologists (identified by specialty in the data) and not, say, general practitioners who might treat the condition off-label. This minimizes off-label promotion risk, and if a compliance team has a Corporate Integrity Agreement to uphold, they can set business rules in the CRM using OpenData fields to enforce appropriate targeting (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). In effect, the data serves as a guide rail for reps – by detailing the specialty and credentials, it encourages compliant behavior naturally.

  • Transparency and Accurate Reporting: Compliance teams responsible for transparency reporting (Sunshine Act in the US, EFPIA in Europe, etc.) benefit from OpenData’s unique identifiers and global approach. All transfers of value and interactions logged in systems tied to OpenData will reference consistent HCP and HCO identifiers. At reporting time, aggregate spend reports can be generated accurately without missing data. The OpenData system even helps trace cross-border engagements, which can be a tricky area (e.g., a U.S. doctor attending an international conference and receiving a meal – whose system logs it?). With OpenData, because that doctor is known globally, the spend can be attributed properly no matter where it occurred, allowing for a complete roll-up (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). This kind of transparency is increasingly important as companies adopt global HCP engagement strategies. By using OpenData, compliance teams have the data alignment needed to produce reports that regulators trust and that pass audits. In addition, having accurate HCO affiliations from OpenData means spend can be aggregated by organization if needed (e.g., “how much did we spend at Hospital X across all their affiliated doctors?”), which some compliance regimes require.

  • Audit Readiness and Documentation: Every piece of data in OpenData comes from a documented source and is maintained by Veeva with audit trails of changes. If a compliance audit occurs, the company can demonstrate that their HCP data came from a reputable source and was kept current. For example, if asked how they verified a certain doctor’s license status on a given date, they can rely on Veeva’s processes (which likely pulled from a state medical board on a regular schedule). This can be easier than defending internally maintained data quality. Moreover, the ability to retrieve historical snapshots or evidence of DCRs means there’s an audit trail of how data was corrected when issues were found, showing a proactive compliance stance.

  • Global Compliance Coordination: For multinational companies, coordinating compliance across affiliates is challenging if each affiliate uses different data sources. By standardizing on OpenData globally (as companies like Bayer have done, committing to OpenData as the standard for customer data worldwide (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva)), the compliance organization can ensure every country is using vetted data. This simplifies global policy enforcement – rules about who is a valid target or how to report an HCP are easier to implement when everyone is using the same definitions and IDs. It also means if an issue is discovered (say an HCP should have been excluded), once it’s updated in OpenData, that update propagates to all affiliates quickly, closing compliance gaps universally.

In essence, for compliance teams, Veeva OpenData acts as a risk-reduction tool. It bakes compliance considerations right into the data layer, making it easier for field and ops teams to “do the right thing” and for compliance officers to sleep at night. By trusting OpenData, companies can be confident they are engaging only with appropriate healthcare professionals and capturing the needed information for transparency – and they have a partner (Veeva) continuously monitoring data changes that might affect compliance.

Real-World Use Cases and Examples

Many life sciences companies, from emerging biotechs to Big Pharma, have adopted Veeva OpenData to improve their commercial operations. As of 2024, over 250 pharmaceutical companies (including top 20 pharma like Bayer, Pfizer, and others) trust Veeva OpenData as their customer data source (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). Here are a few real-world scenarios and case studies that illustrate how OpenData is used and the impact it has:

  • Launching a New Specialty Drug (Case: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals): Alnylam, a fast-growing biotech focused on rare diseases, needed to identify a broad yet niche range of HCPs for its innovative therapies. They implemented Veeva OpenData along with Veeva CRM and Network to build a solid data foundation. The result was a fully integrated customer view that empowered both their field teams and analytics. According to Alnylam’s CRM lead, having OpenData embedded in CRM made it intuitive for reps to find and download new HCP records in real time, greatly aiding their ability to rapidly target a broader HCP audience for a new product (Link) (Link). They experienced firsthand the advantage of unlimited data access – “having unlimited access to the OpenData universe allows us to more easily find all the doctors we want to target”, even beyond the obvious specialties (Link). This was crucial in rare diseases where relevant prescribers might be spread across different fields. By eliminating data silos and providing actionable data in the reps’ workflow, Alnylam improved its speed to market and engagement quality. Additionally, the trust in data (with DCRs resolved in ~4 hours) gave them confidence to rely on the system completely (Link). This case exemplifies how a company can leverage OpenData to accelerate launch efforts, ensuring that as soon as a drug is approved, the team knows exactly which physicians to educate about it, without wasting time on data gathering.

  • Global Data Standardization (Case: Bayer): Bayer, a top 20 pharma company, decided to standardize on Veeva OpenData as part of a move to the next-generation Veeva Vault CRM platform. By committing to OpenData globally, Bayer is establishing a connected software and data foundation for its future commercial operations (Bayer Commits to Veeva Vault CRM and Veeva OpenData Globally | Veeva). Practically, this means Bayer’s teams in different countries will all be working off the same global HCP/HCO dataset, facilitating cross-country coordination and consistent metrics. In a press statement, Bayer’s Global Head of Commercial IT highlighted that Vault CRM combined with Veeva OpenData is essential for “driving more precise and effective customer engagement in every region and therapeutic area” (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). This underscores the value seen in aligning on one data standard – it brings precision (targeting the right customers with the right info) and effectiveness (engaging them in the best way) at a global scale. The Bayer example shows a large organization aiming for harmonized customer data to support both global strategy and local execution, using OpenData as the linchpin.

  • Enhancing Field Insights and Territory Management (Case: Nestlé HealthScience): Nestlé HealthScience, which operates in the nutrition and medical products space, uses OpenData to power its field insights. Their Global CRM Manager reported that “Veeva OpenData enables our reps to be more productive, providing us with interaction insights that we need to better understand what is happening in the field.” (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). This suggests that by having complete and accurate customer data, Nestlé’s field team can log and analyze their interactions more effectively. For instance, they can see which types of HCPs they’re reaching and which they aren’t (perhaps informing adjustments in targeting), and sales managers can get a clearer picture of field activity coverage because they trust the underlying customer data. In effect, OpenData helps them connect the dots between sales calls and outcomes by ensuring the “denominator” (the list of possible customers and their details) is solid. This is a real-world illustration of improved field intelligence thanks to better data.

  • Scaling Commercial Operations for a Growing Pharma (Case: Shield Therapeutics): Shield Therapeutics, a smaller pharmaceutical company, leveraged OpenData as they built out their commercial operations. Their VP of Commercial Operations noted that they were confident OpenData would support their growing team with “high quality HCP/HCO data”, and indeed they consider it an asset used cross-functionally every day (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). For a company that is scaling up, having OpenData means they don’t have to worry about assembling a customer master from scratch or dealing with quality issues that could distract them from selling. The data scales with them – as they enter new regions or hire more reps, the data for those territories is ready to go. This use case demonstrates how even emerging pharmas can “plug in” OpenData to jumpstart commercial activities, essentially outsourcing the heavy lifting of data prep while they focus on strategy and execution.

  • Ensuring Compliance and Quality (Case: Biogen): Biogen, a large biotech, provided a testimonial about using OpenData to fast-track building new customer universes for launches and acquisitions, emphasizing that “the investment that Veeva has put into data quality and stewardship truly shows.” (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva). In practice, Biogen likely used OpenData when they were launching a new drug or integrating a new portfolio (perhaps through acquisition) to quickly assemble the target list of HCPs. By relying on Veeva’s continuously updated data, they saved time and ensured accuracy from the outset. Biogen’s mention of Veeva’s data quality investment suggests they see OpenData as higher quality than what they could achieve on their own or with previous providers, validating the decision to use OpenData for mission-critical launch planning. It also highlights a compliance angle – product launches and acquisitions often come with intense scrutiny (did you reach all the right physicians? did you avoid inappropriate targets? etc.), and having a thoroughly vetted dataset gives stakeholders confidence during those high-stakes moments.

  • Omnichannel Campaign Success (General Example): Several companies have used OpenData to bolster their digital campaigns. With the surge in digital engagement, having access to HCP emails and being able to use them freely is a big advantage. A large pharma reported that after incorporating OpenData Email into their multichannel marketing, they saw improved email open rates and could reach many previously unreachable HCPs, leading to a richer engagement funnel (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data). Another outcome is higher data consistency between sales and marketing – when a marketing automation platform and the sales CRM draw from the same OpenData, if an HCP opts out or changes info, both channels update together. This consistency was historically hard to achieve but is solved by a unified data source. The Takeda quote above demonstrates how even innovation and analytics teams appreciate the contribution of OpenData to strategy, by expanding reachable audience and providing confidence in targeting.

In all these cases, a common thread is that Veeva OpenData helped companies execute faster, with greater confidence in their data, and often with newfound capabilities (either reaching more people or coordinating better across teams). Importantly, these benefits were achieved without the companies needing to invest heavily in data infrastructure themselves – they tapped into Veeva’s “data factory” and services.

Another trend is that companies pairing OpenData with Veeva CRM or the broader Veeva Commercial Cloud see a compounded benefit. The integration and single-platform experience amplify the value of each component, leading to testimonies like “I believe Veeva OpenData combined with Veeva CRM is the best solution in the market” (OpenData Compliance Data | Veeva) from a Commercial Excellence lead, or “high quality, reliable data is readily accessible to our teams, available where they need it most – right in Veeva CRM” from a general manager at an affiliate (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data).

Even without naming competitors, it’s clear that the industry has recognized a shift: by moving to OpenData, pharma companies escape the old limitations of customer data and unlock a more agile, data-driven way of working. As a Veeva white paper phrased it, it provides “a single source of customer data to optimize engagement”, which is becoming a new gold standard in launch excellence and commercial operations (Veeva OpenData Email | Comprehensive, High-Quality HCP Email Data).

Conclusion

Veeva OpenData has emerged as a pivotal solution for pharmaceutical and biotech companies looking to improve how they manage and utilize customer data. In an industry where knowing your customer – the healthcare professionals and organizations – is paramount, OpenData delivers a powerful combination of accuracy, comprehensiveness, and ease of use. It addresses the core needs of various stakeholders: giving sales reps and MSLs the information they need at their fingertips, enabling commercial ops to strategize with complete data, supporting compliance with built-in safeguards, and ultimately helping the whole organization engage the right customers more effectively.

By offering curated HCP/HCO data with global reach and keeping it current through rigorous stewardship, Veeva OpenData removes the age-old pain points of stale lists and fragmented data sources. Its integration capabilities – especially the seamless plug-in to Veeva CRM and the availability of APIs – mean that this high-quality data can flow wherever it’s needed, fitting into existing workflows rather than creating new ones. Additionally, the open licensing approach gives companies the freedom to deploy the data across teams and tools without worrying about incremental costs or restrictions (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva) (New Veeva OpenData Explorer Provides Online Access to Real-time HCP, HCO, Affiliation, and Compliance Data | Veeva). This is particularly beneficial in today’s omnichannel world, where consistent customer data needs to inform every channel of engagement.

For pharma professionals, especially those in commercial and technical roles, adopting OpenData translates into concrete improvements: faster launch preparations, more agile territory adjustments, deeper insights from analytics, and assurance that compliance requirements are met by design. The use cases from industry peers – whether it’s a biotech expanding its reach or a pharma giant harmonizing data globally – provide compelling evidence of these benefits in action. Moreover, the fact that hundreds of life sciences companies (from niche biotechs to Big Pharma) have trusted OpenData shows its credibility in the field (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva).

In summary, Veeva OpenData serves as an enabler of “commercial agility”, to borrow Veeva’s own phrase (Veeva OpenData | Pharmaceutical Customer Reference Data | Veeva). It empowers pharmaceutical sales, marketing, and medical teams to be more agile and precise in customer engagement by ensuring the underlying data is accurate, complete, and readily accessible. In a time when data-driven decision making is a key differentiator for success, having a solution like OpenData can be a strategic advantage. It allows pharma companies to concentrate on strategy and execution – such as crafting the right message for the right physician – rather than getting bogged down by the mechanics of data management. And as the healthcare landscape evolves, with more digital engagement and global collaboration, the value of a robust, integrated customer data platform will only continue to grow.

Sources:

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