Choosing Salesforce or Veeva Isn’t the Decision—How You Approach It Is

This article follows our July 2024 POV, “Mastering the Transition: The CRM Rivalries Reshaping Healthcare.” You can read the original piece here. This update reflects the current CRM landscape as of September 2025, incorporating new developments, client feedback, and platform updates across Veeva and Salesforce.

When Veeva and Salesforce officially parted ways in 2022, it triggered a wave of planning across the life sciences industry. Today, both platforms are evolving rapidly, and choosing a CRM is no longer just an IT decision. It reflects your organization’s AI strategy, commercial model, and overall readiness.

At Klick, we view this shift as a pivotal opportunity for life sciences organizations to move beyond like-for-like migration and embrace true digital transformation. It’s a moment to rethink workflows, modernize data strategies, empower field teams, and unlock new value through AI-driven capabilities.

How often does the opportunity arise to replatform and modernize commercial operations? Instead of defaulting to familiar paths, organizations can use this moment as a strategic starting point for phased evolution aligned to business goals and technical capabilities.

Change is never easy, but going in uninformed is worse. That’s why we’ve compiled the latest on Veeva and Salesforce to help you consider what to assess when evaluating your options.

Required Shift vs. Optional Change

Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud retains the familiar Salesforce platform core while layering in a modernized architecture optimized for AI, data integration, and field engagement. Designed around a reimagined iPad experience (GA October 2025), it integrates Agentforce AI, Data Cloud, and Tableau Next to deliver a unified, action-oriented toolset. Rather than adapting existing workflows, this model encourages organizations to reevaluate how they operate in the field, manage data, and support reps with real-time insights and automation.

Veeva Vault CRM is a newly replatformed application that combines the familiarity of Veeva CRM’s front-end experience with an updated architecture and enhanced capabilities designed for long-term evolution. The iPad experience remains consistent for field users, and the suite is modular and flexible. Robust migration tools and frameworks facilitate the replication of existing workflows, laying the foundation for future-ready enhancements, including embedded AI capabilities. 

For many organizations, this transition represents an opportunity to evolve, not just change platforms, by rethinking legacy processes and enabling greater long-term value. Regardless of whether an organization chooses Salesforce or Veeva, success depends on treating migration as part of a broader roadmap and not a one-time cutover. Both platforms are evolving rapidly, with capabilities that will continue to mature well beyond initial go-lives.

Veeva offers a more proven path through its connected ecosystem, including Vault PromoMats, Vault MedComms, Nitro, Network, and OpenData, as well as many other solutions, making it familiar and reliable for many teams. However, transformative capabilities such as embedded AI and Campaign Manager are still maturing and will need to evolve to support advanced segmentation, journey orchestration, and omnichannel personalization.

Vault CRM goes beyond feature parity with its predecessor, offering enhanced capabilities and a modernized architecture built for long-term evolution. Early adopters must be clear on their intent: Are they aiming for evolution or simply maintaining the status quo? Choosing the latter may mean missing a key moment for change.

To be fair, Salesforce is not without its risks. Its AI features are mature, and its field engagement app is visionary, but it can be a major leap for organizations that aren’t ready for a significant change. Limited room exists for gradual adaptation, and those without a strong data foundation or change readiness may struggle. By contrast, Veeva brings the strength of a connected ecosystem that many organizations already rely on. Reinvention with Salesforce can be powerful, but it requires a higher level of organizational readiness and a willingness to bridge functional differences.

AI Strategies: An Updated Look at Diverging Philosophies

AI has remained a central battleground for CRM platforms since it emerged as a strategic priority last year. Veeva and Salesforce are each advancing from different starting points.

Salesforce’s AI is already live and built into the Life Sciences Cloud. Agentforce supports predictive recommendations, conversational interactions, visit planning assistance, and dynamic territory insights. Tools such as smart summaries, dynamic call recovery, in-call voice-to-text logging with compliance checks, and next-best customer insights are planned to be available from day one when Life Sciences Cloud launches in October 2025. The underlying AI infrastructure is in place and embedded into the Life Sciences Cloud platform.

Veeva has embedded agentic AI capabilities directly into the Vault platform, supported by a new framework of AI agents designed specifically for life sciences. These agents are built into Veeva applications such as CRM and PromoMats to deliver real-time support for engagement planning, compliant content use, voice-based interactions, and automated insights. This includes features such as hands-free data capture, voice control, and compliant free text—all developed to streamline user workflows and enhance productivity within highly regulated environments. These capabilities are rolling out as part of Veeva’s broader AI vision, with continued evolution planned across commercial and medical use cases.

Platform Progression and Architectural Trade-Offs: From Expansion to Experience

A few key themes have emerged as Salesforce and Veeva evolve their CRM platforms.

Field Experience and Functional Maturity

The Salesforce and Veeva iPad experiences reflect their broader platform philosophies. Salesforce is reimagining the rep workflow around AI, while Veeva is providing users with a proven and familiar experience while layering on additional capabilities, including AI-powered enhancements.

Below is a simplified feature-to-feature comparison to help clarify the evolving experience for field teams. While not an exhaustive list, it focuses on key operational areas and reflects publicly available information as of today.

Experience in the Field: Adoption Paths Taking Shape

Salesforce is launching its redesigned, iPad-first CRM in October 2025. Built around agentic AI, the new app combines features like Smart Summaries, Smart Search, and embedded Life Sciences Cloud Apps in a fast, offline-friendly interface. Stories, a podcast-style AI feature, will follow in February 2026. Reps will get real-time suggestions, appointment recovery, and voice-to-text call logging with compliance checks. The app syncs four times faster than before and includes embedded analytics powered by Tableau Next. Pfizer and Takeda are among the early partners helping shape the platform.

As of August 2025, Veeva Vault CRM is live in over 100 organizations, with over 100 committed to making the switch. Clients such as GSK, Shinobi, and UCB are adopting tools like Service Center, Align, and Campaign Manager as part of their Vault CRM implementations. The iPad experience is already live and remains familiar, supporting a smooth transition for field teams with minimal disruption. AI-powered enhancements—such as hands-free interaction and compliant free text entry through embedded agents—are expected in December 2025.

Expansion Into Patient CRM

Salesforce brings historical strength in patient services, encompassing case management, prior authorization workflows, and coordination with specialty pharmacies. These capabilities have been the core of the Salesforce platform for years and support how many life sciences organizations enable access and reimbursement processes. 

Veeva has launched its Patient CRM in August 2025, extending the Vault ecosystem with HIPAA-compliant workflows and FRM tools.

Crossing Into New Territory

While some remain skeptical that Salesforce can replicate Veeva’s established rep workflows, it’s worth remembering that it began as a CRM platform for field sales—giving it foundational experience in supporting rep-facing teams. 

Meanwhile, Veeva is moving towards patient engagement, where Salesforce has long had a presence. Both platforms are now expanding into each other's territory and will need to build trust and demonstrate credibility in these less familiar domains.

Architectural Models and AI Implications

Salesforce’s modular model connects CRM, Data Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Tableau via APIs, offering flexibility but requiring tighter integration oversight.

Veeva’s unified platform connects sales, marketing, and medical on a single platform. A shared database and customer record enable seamless collaboration, stronger customer centricity, and a more effective field force.

In the age of agentic AI, proximity between data, action, and interface will matter. A unified stack may streamline AI orchestration, while modular environments require stronger coordination to achieve the same real-time outcomes.

A Notable Open Question: Regulated Content Lifecycle Integration

Veeva’s PromoMats integrates approved content directly into the CRM, supporting version control, expiry, compliance tagging, and seamless use in rep workflows. While Salesforce has stated that Life Sciences Cloud will include eDetailing and intelligent content features, it hasn’t yet explained how it will handle the full content lifecycle, such as document storage, metadata synchronization, versioning, and MLR workflows. 

This raises questions about potential process gaps for organizations trying to replicate current workflows with PromoMats or similar tools. It’s an area to watch as features and integrations continue to develop.

The Critical Step: Assessment Comes First

Assessment is where CRM strategy takes shape. More than a technical inventory, it’s an opportunity to align business priorities, identify transformation opportunities, and define a clear roadmap for migration.

Whether considering Veeva or Salesforce, conducting a structured assessment helps you:

Platform-side planning is a key input. Veeva projects may involve both Veeva Professional Services and a System Integrator (SI) partner, particularly in medium- to high-complexity scenarios. Salesforce engagements typically involve a single SI, but capacity and timing vary widely. Booking these partners too late could limit your ability to choose when or how you go live.

Looking ahead, October 2025 represents a critical milestone. Salesforce’s Life Sciences Cloud will launch, focusing on HCP engagement, while Veeva continues to advance its next wave of innovation. Patient CRM has already been released, and embedded AI agents are expected to follow in December 2025. This period will provide the first meaningful opportunity to evaluate both platforms side by side in the field and finalize long-term decisions with greater confidence.

Early Migration Watch-Outs: What We’re Starting to See

As you prepare to make a decision, keep these key considerations in mind:

Updated Migration Timelines: What to Plan Based on Size and Complexity

Choosing when to migrate depends on both internal readiness and partner availability. The following chart provides guidance on aligning migration planning based on organizational complexity and the intended go-live year.

These planning windows are indicative and based on Klick’s experience. They offer a directional view, not a fixed rule. However, they underscore a critical truth: if you wait too long to start planning your migration journey, your go-live date may no longer be your choice.

The CRM Decision is a Strategic Proxy

This moment is about more than software. It’s about who you want to be as a commercial organization.

CRM migration reflects how organizations view their ability to adapt and evolve. From Klick’s perspective, Salesforce is providing a new and exciting offering but still has a lot to prove in the market, while Veeva is delivering a familiar and proven user experience with exciting enhancements. The question for leadership is not just which platform to adopt but how to intentionally use this moment to advance their commercial model.

The split between Veeva and Salesforce marks a meaningful return to platform competition. Vault CRM has built strong early momentum, with nine of the top 20 biopharma companies committed, over 100 customers live, and 20 migrations completed. Meanwhile, Salesforce reports that more than 80 life sciences companies have selected Life Sciences Cloud, including three of the top 20 biopharmas.

Competition creates momentum, and it will be interesting to see how both platforms continue to evolve. The good news is that this new competitive landscape is already driving innovation, accelerating adoption, and challenging legacy thinking—all of which benefit the industry, customers, healthcare professionals, and ultimately, patients.

Klick Health is the world’s largest independent commercialization partner for life sciences and a leading full-service pharma marketing partner, serving as agency of record for leading pharma, biotech, and healthcare brands. Klick’s specialized offerings are rooted in deep medical and scientific understanding, including market insights, award-winning creative, and proprietary AI and data models to craft impactful brand narratives and seamless customer journeys. Backed by nearly 250 medical experts and advanced healthcare analytics, Klick delivers integrated marketing strategy and communications, from new product launch strategy to MLR review with real-world evidence, helping brands thrive in today’s complex healthcare landscape. Learn more at Klick.com.