When two former partners suddenly become competitors, a battle of giants often ensues. This is exactly what's happening right now between Salesforce and Veeva Systems – two giants vying for dominance in the lucrative pharmaceutical software market.

Salesforce, globally known for its CRM software, has announced that it has poached over 40 customers from Veeva – including one of the top 3 pharmaceutical manufacturers. These customers will now rely on Salesforce's brand new life sciences software, which is set to debut in September. Jeff Amann, Salesforce Vice President for Industry-Specific Software, is optimistic: "Many customers didn't want to leave when Veeva ended the partnership – they came to us.

Veeva: From Partner to Rival

Veeva, a fixture in the pharmaceutical industry for years, had traditionally built its CRM products on the Salesforce platform. However, in 2022, Veeva decided to break this tie and go its own way. With over 80% market share and customers like GSK and Novo Nordisk, the company seemed unbeatable. Yet, this strategic decoupling opened up a new opportunity for Salesforce: entering the pharmaceutical market with its own offering.

For Veeva, this is not an easy situation. The company's stock fell by 4.7% when the news of Salesforce's customer gains became public. But Paul Shawah, Veeva's Executive Vice President, remains unfazed: "We expect to retain the vast majority of our customers.

Salesforce: Full Steam Ahead into the Pharma Business

Why is Salesforce diving so aggressively into the pharmaceutical sector?

The strategy is clear: Salesforce wants to snatch Veeva customers and establish itself as the new standard solution. Particularly explosive: One of Veeva's top 20 customers, a global pharmaceutical giant, has already announced the switch to Salesforce.

Veevas Konter: "We are the professionals

But Veeva is not easily pushed into the defensive. CEO Peter Gassner emphasizes his company's expertise: "We have been optimizing our software specifically for the pharmaceutical industry for almost two decades." Moreover, Shawah argues that Salesforce has not yet been able to present a functional solution – and even if it did, it would be "significantly more expensive.

Veeva is currently working on rebuilding its CRM software independently from Salesforce and expanding it with additional features such as patient management. The message to the customers: Why switch when we already have the best solutions?

Who Will Win the Pharma Throne?

The duel between Salesforce and Veeva promises to remain exciting. On one side, a rising challenger impresses with technology and marketing power. On the other side, an established industry leader relies on decades of expertise and deep customer trust.