Unlocking Veeva Value: Services, Migrations, and Strategic Shifts in 2025

This video provides an in-depth exploration of the evolving landscape of Veeva services, migrations, and strategic shifts anticipated in 2025, drawing insights from Everest Group's upcoming Veeva Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment. The discussion, led by Everest Group experts Durga Ambati, Rohit K, and Chunky Satija, highlights how life sciences companies are expanding their use of Veeva across clinical, regulatory, quality, and commercial functions, intensifying the demand for specialized service providers. The session delves into critical trends such as the shift from module-based to platform-based Veeva implementations, the changing role of service providers, and the cautious yet impactful integration of Generative AI (GenAI) into Veeva operations.

A central theme of the discussion is the significant shift from siloed, module-based Veeva implementations to integrated, platform-level programs. Enterprises are increasingly seeking connected workflows, shared data, and unified reporting across various Veeva Vaults (e.g., quality, safety, RIM rolled out together). This transition presents complexities for delivery, demanding cross-functional teams, advanced validation frameworks, and robust governance models that understand both process and technology. The analysts emphasize that this platformization, particularly in R&D, is happening faster than previously anticipated, with some organizations already pursuing end-to-end platform visions.

The video further explores the evolution of service provider strategies, moving beyond traditional execution-focused models to value-linked and outcome-based services. Providers are now expected to commit to specific business outcomes, such as reducing change request backlogs or improving submission cycle times, often reflected in incentive-based pricing and continuous improvement mandates. The discussion also covers the growing importance of "cross-cloud maturity," where successful providers build credibility across the entire Veeva value chain, linking disparate functions like safety with labeling or CRM with content operations. The role of accelerators, particularly GenAI-powered tools for testing, migration, and content operations, is highlighted as a new currency of credibility, moving from mere slide-deck concepts to embedded core services. While GenAI buzz is significant, actual production-level adoption remains cautious, focusing on specific, value-adding use cases like AI-assisted call planning, validation bots, and content autotagging.

Key Takeaways:

• Veeva Services Market Expansion: The Veeva services market has seen substantial growth, with the number of evaluated service providers for the PEAK Matrix increasing from 15 in 2021 to over 35 in 2025, indicating intense competition and specialized demand.
• Shift to Platform-Based Implementations: Enterprises are moving from individual module implementations to integrated, platform-level Veeva programs, aiming for connected workflows, shared data, and unified reporting across functions like clinical, regulatory, safety, and quality. This requires a holistic approach to delivery, validation, and governance.
• Evolution of Service Provider Engagement: The focus is shifting from traditional execution-focused delivery to value-linked and outcome-based services. Clients now expect providers to commit to tangible business outcomes, such as reducing change request backlogs or improving submission cycle times, often tied to incentive-based pricing.
• Cross-Cloud Maturity is Critical: Successful service providers are building credibility across the entire Veeva value chain, demonstrating expertise in linking various Veeva Clouds and modules (e.g., safety with labeling, regulatory with quality, CRM with content operations) to enable seamless lifecycle alignment.
• Accelerators as a Credibility Currency: Tools and accelerators, including GenAI testing bots, auto-migration utilities, and compliant assistants, are becoming front and center in provider offerings, moving beyond conceptual slides to being bundled into core services and demonstrating maturity.
• Winning Characteristics for Service Partners: Key factors for winning and retaining clients include ensuring continuity of talent pool throughout long-standing engagements, demonstrating agility and flexibility in addressing compliance risks or urgent go-live activities, and providing strategic insights that help pharma companies stay ahead of market trends.
• Specialist vs. Global System Integrators: Boutique specialists excel in high-compliance, tightly scoped work (e.g., Vault Safety build, CRM rebuild) due to their deep domain expertise and nimble approach. Global SIs are preferred for multi-country rollouts, complex integrated landscapes (Veeva + Salesforce + SAP), and large-scale program management, offering broader scale and geographical coverage. Hybrid sourcing models are also gaining traction.
• Significant Market Size: The overall addressable market for Veeva services is estimated to be over $1 billion, with consulting and custom app development growing significantly, now accounting for 30-35% of the total pie.
• GenAI Adoption is Cautious but Growing: While there's significant buzz around GenAI, its adoption in Veeva services is moving from pilots to cautious production-level use cases. Examples include AI-assisted call planning and coaching in CRM, summarizing SOP impacts, drafting validation scripts, and speeding up quarterly release cycles in Vault.
• GenAI is Not Yet a "Checkbox": GenAI capabilities are not yet a primary "checkbox" in RFPs for platforms. Enterprises prioritize strong tech architecture and customizability, though providers demonstrating real GenAI delivery stories and working automation in production are gaining attention and credibility.
• Future of CRM as a System of Engagement: The CRM landscape is evolving from a mere system of record to a system of engagement. Service partners will play a critical role in helping enterprises define their future CRM expectations and navigate platform options like Veeva CRM and Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud.
• Safety Vault as a Strategic Gateway: Implementations of Safety Vault are emerging as an anchor point for expanding into broader regulatory domains (quality, regulatory, medical affairs), making it a crucial entry point for service providers on the development cloud side.
• Accountability for Outcomes: Providers are increasingly being held accountable for tangible business metrics, with analytics dashboards embedded into delivery to track KPIs like change request velocity and user adoption, and pricing models incorporating tangible impact.
• Shifting Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape between Veeva and Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud is becoming more level, with current estimates suggesting a split of approximately 55-60% for Veeva and 35-40% for Salesforce, a significant shift from Veeva's past dominance.

Tools/Resources Mentioned:

• Everest Group's Veeva Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025: An upcoming research report evaluating 35+ service providers in the Veeva ecosystem.
• Accenture's GenAI Engine: Mentioned for automating validation matrices and test documentation, designed for quarterly Vault releases.
• Dakoma's Good Practices Compliant Assistant: A tool that drafts audit reports, retrieves SOPs, and connects directly into Veeva workflows.

Key Concepts:

• Platformization: The strategic shift from implementing individual software modules to deploying integrated, end-to-end platforms that connect various business functions and data.
• Value-Linked Services: Service contracts where a portion of the fees or incentives are tied to the achievement of specific, measurable business outcomes and KPIs, rather than just effort or time.
• Cross-Cloud Maturity: A service provider's ability to deliver integrated solutions and expertise across multiple Veeva Clouds (e.g., Commercial Cloud, R&D Cloud) and their respective modules, ensuring seamless data flow and process alignment.
• Accelerators: Pre-built tools, templates, methodologies, or software components (often AI-powered) designed to speed up implementation, testing, migration, or other service delivery aspects, enhancing efficiency and quality.
• Outcome Ownership: The principle where service providers take responsibility not just for delivering a service, but for the ultimate business results and improvements achieved by the client.
• Hybrid Sourcing: A strategy where enterprises engage different types of service providers (e.g., boutique specialists for niche expertise, large global SIs for scale) for different phases or aspects of a project to leverage their respective strengths.