United Therapeutics' Best Practices for Upgrading from Zinc MAPS to Vault PromoMats

This video provides an in-depth look at the strategic decision-making and operational best practices employed by United Therapeutics during their migration from the legacy Zinc MAPS platform to Veeva Vault PromoMats. The primary impetus for this transition was regulatory compliance, driven by the company's compliance team who sought to be on the most current and future-proof platform available, recognizing that Zinc MAPS would eventually be phased out. United Therapeutics positioned itself as an early adopter to proactively manage this critical infrastructure shift, ensuring continuous adherence to industry standards for promotional material review and approval.

While compliance was the initial strategic driver, the migration unlocked significant operational and commercial benefits that were not originally anticipated. A key advantage identified is the integrated Digital Asset Management (DAM) system native to Vault PromoMats. This integration eliminates the need for United Therapeutics to rely on a separate, third-party cloud-based storage solution for managing digital assets, streamlining the content lifecycle and reducing system complexity. Furthermore, the move facilitates seamless integration with other existing Veeva channels already deployed within the organization, adding a new dimension of connectivity and workflow automation that was previously unattainable with the older Zinc platform.

The speaker emphasizes that the enhanced reporting capabilities within Veeva Vault PromoMats offer substantial added value compared to the limited reporting available in Zinc MAPS. These superior business intelligence tools allow for deeper insights into the content review process, cycle times, and asset utilization. Crucially, the success of the migration was tied not just to technical execution, but to meticulous planning, particularly concerning organizational readiness and communication.

The core advice centers on three critical preparatory phases essential for a smooth transition. These include ensuring all contractual and licensing agreements are finalized before any technical work begins; rigorously reviewing and finalizing all user settings and workflows to ensure they meet current and future business needs; and proactively educating the implementation team on the wider range of services and functionalities available within the comprehensive Veeva ecosystem, maximizing the return on investment in the new platform.

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Key Takeaways:

• Compliance as the Primary Migration Driver: The decision to move from Zinc MAPS to Veeva Vault PromoMats was fundamentally driven by the compliance team's mandate to operate on the latest regulatory platform, anticipating the eventual end-of-life for the legacy system. Proactive migration ensures long-term regulatory stability.
• Integrated DAM is a Major Operational Gain: A significant, non-compliance benefit of Vault PromoMats is its integrated Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, which replaces the need for separate, third-party cloud-based storage solutions, simplifying IT architecture and improving asset accessibility.
• Maximize Ecosystem Integration: The migration facilitates seamless integration with other existing Veeva channels already deployed across the enterprise. Organizations should leverage this capability to create end-to-end workflows that were previously impossible with non-integrated systems like Zinc MAPS.
• Prioritize Change Management Communications: Successful adoption hinges on robust change management. Organizations must meticulously plan communications to all new users, detailing planned changes, timelines, and promptly communicating any delays to maintain user support and buy-in throughout the process.
• Secure Contracts and Licenses Upfront: Before initiating any technical migration work, it is critical to finalize all necessary contractual elements, including the Scope of Works for the standard migration and securing all required user licenses. Completing this administrative work early prevents costly delays.
• Pre-Migration Workflow Validation: A crucial best practice is to thoroughly check and finalize all user settings and workflows before the migration begins. This ensures the new system is configured correctly to meet business requirements from day one, avoiding mid-migration adjustments.
• Leverage Enhanced Reporting Capabilities: Veeva Vault PromoMats offers superior reporting capabilities compared to Zinc MAPS. Implementation teams should focus on utilizing these advanced features to gain actionable business intelligence regarding content review cycles and commercial operations efficiency.
• Familiarize with the Broader Veeva Ecosystem: Implementation teams and stakeholders should familiarize themselves with the full range of services available within the Veeva platform, as it extends far beyond the functionalities offered by Zinc MAPS, allowing the organization to maximize its investment in the new technology.

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Tools/Resources Mentioned:

• Zinc MAPS: The legacy platform for promotional material review and approval that United Therapeutics migrated away from.
• Veeva Vault PromoMats: The target platform, a cloud-based application for managing the end-to-end promotional materials process, including Medical, Legal, and Regulatory (MLR) review, and Digital Asset Management (DAM).
• Veeva Channels: Refers to other applications within the Veeva ecosystem (e.g., Veeva CRM, Veeva Vault Clinical, etc.) that can integrate with PromoMats.

Key Concepts:

• Digital Asset Management (DAM): A system for organizing, storing, and retrieving rich media assets. The integration of DAM within Vault PromoMats is highlighted as a major benefit, simplifying asset governance within the regulated environment.
• Compliance Platform: Refers to software designed to manage regulated processes (like MLR review) and ensure adherence to standards set by bodies like the FDA and EMA. The migration was driven by the need to be on the "latest compliance platform."
• Scope of Works (SOW): A formal document detailing the work activities, deliverables, and timeline for the migration project, emphasized as needing to be finalized before the project commences.

Examples/Case Studies:

• United Therapeutics: The pharmaceutical/biotech company whose migration experience from Zinc MAPS to Veeva Vault PromoMats serves as the central case study, illustrating the strategic drivers (compliance) and operational benefits (integrated DAM, enhanced reporting) of the transition.