Impiricus reposted this
When I posted recently about the Veeva vs Salesforce debate now that the two pharma CRM companies are breaking up, I got over 150 responses. Many hit on a common theme: Why just the two power-players when there are billions of dollars on the line? The answer reveals a lot about the pharma industry. Sadly, we are known more for being safe than for speedy innovation and risk taking. First, a reminder of the big decision facing pharma companies: Veeva is a cloud CRM service built on top of Salesforce that caters to life sciences companies, and the two have been partners since 2007 and dominate the market. But they are set to split in September 2025 and have already started competing, and pharma and other life science brands will have to choose. Veeva has 47 of the top 50 pharma brands worldwide as customers and topped $2 billion in annual revenue as a niche life science business, while Salesforce is far bigger and controls the overall CRM market with a 22% market share. In a normal market, the idea of a two-horse race wouldn’t make sense; you’d have Coke and Pepsi but you’d also have Dr. Pepper, Sprite, ginger ale, root beer, etc. That philosophy doesn’t really apply in pharma in most cases. It’s easy to see why: We are in a tightly-regulated industry with a lot more than money on the line. Many of our decisions affect the health of human lives - though certainly picking a cloud CRM offering has lower stakes than deciding which X-ray machine to pick. There will always be competition in business, and we will see more firms pop up to try and offer a “third way” in this split. I don’t want to count them out or diminish what they are doing. But they face long odds. One analysis found 128 competitors to Veeva who had a combined $737 million in funding raised - a drop in the bucket compared to Veeva’s $30 billion market cap. And Salesforce’s value is 8x Veeva’s. Some have or will be bought out by larger companies like Oracle, which will help them get on a closer playing field. I’d expect as the deadline to pick a new CRM draws near over the next 15 months or so that companies will sit back and watch which option the big firms choose, and then fall in line behind them. The old cliche “Nobody gets fired for buying IBM” is true in business as a whole, and doubly true in pharma.
As someone who's spent most of their career in and around the pharma CRM space and is now with one of those third way alternatives it's hard not to be a bit despondent at the thought of hundreds of the world's smartest companies simply opting for the status quo. The shortcomings of a rep-centric model are so at-odds with the demands of healthcare ecosystems and go to market models that need AI at their core, the ability to connect and synthesise datasets and a range of operational capabilities that go far beyond HCP engagement. What's heartening are the deep and wide-ranging conversations we're having almost every day with the firms - large and small - who are being engaged to help companies with their CRM/CEP succession planning. Strategic imperatives help to identify what they should be putting to the front of their requirements but also to lay bare the gaps and shortcomings of today's incumbents. All that glitters isn't gold - big promises have been made that have already been tarnished and raised plenty of eyebrows. What we can't afford is to have our expectations held down by vendors. We need to aim high and ask big without outlandish pricing or restrictions on data or partnering. #timeforbetterisnow
It's all going to go down to costs and we the Pharma Industry would love to see a price war between the 2 :-)
you mention Oracle... could be a dark horse to emerge. Right now, companies are under the impression they need to adopt Veeva/SF to stay sharp. What about the inherent security risks of multi-tenancy? "Oracle CRM On Demand Single-Tenant Enterprise Edition gives companies an additional option for adhering to regulatory constraints. Since each Single-Tenant Enterprise Edition customer receives its own dedicated Oracle CRM On Demand database, each organization's information is stored separately from other organizations." (Direct from Oracle's website) Though SF aggressively funds continuous white hat operatives, Single-Tenant databases are simply the better option.
Good Summary, Sandy Donaldson. Most big players will play safe by staying with Veeva. Or they go with Salesforce, mostly because of the APIs and integrations, some also because of SFMC. But we see a lot of discussion at mid-size and small life science companies. Exeevo because it deeply integrates into MS/Office/365 but also for smaller but mature CRM pharma solutions like Ysura, Pharmakon and others. While you mention Oracle. Whats you opinion on Oracle Health? I never heard or saw it at a client. Does it play or will it play a role?
Salesforce does not have a very good track record of building vertical-specific solutions. Best option for competing with Veeva is for someone to come in and scoop up all the smaller players and build a viable alternative. And that includes a reasonable MLR workflows and a powerful DAM. There is much more to competing with Veeva than CRM. We’re talking about a 20 billion lifesciences cloud monopoly, of which CRM is a small part.
While competition will always exist, Veeva’s specialized focus, proven track record, and deep integration within the pharma industry make it a formidable choice. As companies deliberate on their CRM options, Veeva’s alignment with the specific needs of life sciences ensures it remains a strong contender in this high-stakes decision.
Here Salesforce and IQVIA cooperation may split the pie in different proportions.
My first encounter with Veeva was in 2012. Product was heavily dependent dealing with limitations of Salesforce UI and backend. It changed during years. Veeva ditched a lot hard coded (S-controls, Java script…etc) elements ans modernised architecture. Products like Veeva Valut ditched Salesforce whatsoever. In my later encounters in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 I saw Salesforce increasingly competing with Veeeva. Leading to really strange environments where half the firm runs Veeva and other on heavily customised custom built Salesforce. It’s really ironic because Veeva was 1st ever Salesforce AppExchange ecosystem IPO and laid foundation for companies like Vlocity. But of course - now Veeva stands on cross road they either has to fully 1) embrace multi cloud, not having another “big daddy” like Salesforce in past, OR, 2) join forces with someone like Oracle, which undoubtedly thanks Cerner could be great fit.
CEO & Co-Founder of Impiricus | Accelerating Digital Pharma
3wSources: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sandydonaldson_one-of-the-biggest-decisions-facing-pharma-activity-7188916633690681345-oUvM/ https://tracxn.com/d/companies/veeva-systems/__5xshedd24VAykfsB2qvWGRjxAlkme6iGOlFelCHS8KU/competitors