Thinking about moving your data from Salesforce to Veeva CRM? You’re not alone—lots of life sciences companies go this route for the industry-specific features. But let’s be real: data migration is never as simple as the sales pitch makes it sound. If you want to avoid data disasters and endless rework, you’ll need a clear plan, some skepticism, and a willingness to sweat the small stuff.
This guide is for admins, project managers, or anyone responsible for getting data from Salesforce into Veeva without losing their mind—or their data.
1. Understand the Differences Between Salesforce and Veeva CRM
Before you touch any data, get clear on what’s actually different between these two systems. Veeva CRM is built on Salesforce, but that doesn’t mean it works the same way.
Key differences to watch out for: - Data model: Veeva adds its own objects, custom fields, and validation. Don’t assume a 1:1 mapping. - Business rules: What’s optional in Salesforce might be required in Veeva (and vice versa). - Picklists and controlled vocabularies: Veeva often locks down lists or uses codes; Salesforce is usually more free-form. - Data volumes: Veeva sometimes has limits or recommendations that’ll catch you off guard if you have a ton of records.
Pro tip: Get sample data from Veeva’s sandbox and compare it to your Salesforce exports. Spot the mismatches early.
2. Map Out Your Data—And Be Ruthless
Don’t just “move everything.” That’s a recipe for bloated, broken data. Instead, take time to map what you actually need.
Steps:
- List out key objects (Accounts, Contacts, Activities, etc.) in both systems.
- Decide what’s truly needed. Old leads from 2015? Maybe not.
- Document field-by-field mappings. Note where transformations are needed (e.g., “Status” in Salesforce to “State” in Veeva).
- Call out gaps or conflicts. If Veeva doesn’t support a certain field or format, flag it.
What works:
A good spreadsheet mapping—shared and reviewed by both your Salesforce and Veeva admins—saves headaches later.
What doesn’t:
Relying on “we’ll figure it out later.” You won’t. You’ll just create a mess.
3. Clean Your Data Before (Not After) Migration
Bad data in = bad data out, no matter how slick your migration tool is.
Focus on: - Deduplication: Merge or remove duplicate accounts and contacts. - Standardization: Make sure addresses, phone numbers, and emails follow a consistent format. - Validation: Fill in missing required fields. Veeva is stricter about required data, so missing values will block loads. - Archive the junk: Old, irrelevant, or incomplete records? Archive or delete them before the move.
Ignore:
The urge to “just get it over with and clean up later.” Post-migration cleanup is 5x harder.
4. Choose Your Migration Tools Wisely
There’s no single “best” tool—what works depends on your data volume, complexity, and budget.
Popular options: - Veeva Data Loader: Free, simple, but can be slow for large jobs. - Salesforce Data Loader: Fine for exporting, but not importing to Veeva. - ETL Tools (Informatica, Talend, MuleSoft): Great for complex transformations; overkill for small jobs. - Custom scripts (Python, etc.): Flexible, but only if you have dev resources and time.
What works:
For most, a two-step process: Export from Salesforce (CSV or Data Loader), then import to Veeva with its Data Loader. For anything complicated—relationships, multi-object mappings, or high volumes—consider an ETL tool.
What doesn’t:
Trying to do everything manually unless your dataset is tiny. You’ll miss relationships and spend weeks troubleshooting.
5. Test With a Subset—Not in Production
Never migrate everything in one go. Always test with a subset first.
Best practice: - Pick a representative sample. Choose records with a mix of edge cases: missing fields, weird formats, all object types. - Load into a Veeva sandbox. Validate not just that the data loads, but that it works as expected (reports, workflows, etc.). - Get end-user feedback. Let real users poke around. They’ll spot issues you’d never think of.
What works:
Two or three rounds of testing with feedback between each. It’s slower, but it saves you when something strange happens with a real-world record.
What doesn’t:
Trusting tool vendors who say “it’ll be fine” if you skip testing. It won’t.
6. Nail Down Relationships and IDs
Salesforce and Veeva both rely on object relationships (think: Account → Contact), but the IDs change when you migrate.
How to handle: - Export all relevant IDs from Salesforce and keep a mapping file (old SFDC ID to new Veeva ID). - Load parent records first (e.g., Accounts before Contacts). - Update child records with new parent IDs after migration. - Watch out for lookups like custom objects or activity history—they can break if the relationships aren’t rebuilt.
What works:
Automating ID mapping with scripts or ETL tools. Manual tracking is a pain and easy to mess up.
What doesn’t:
Assuming Veeva will “figure out” relationships automatically. It won’t.
7. Validate Everything—Not Just the Record Count
Just because you loaded 10,000 records doesn’t mean the migration worked.
Check: - Record counts match between systems, but also… - Spot-check data quality: Randomly check records for accuracy. - Field-level correctness: Are picklists, emails, and dates formatted right? - Relationships: Are contacts linked to the right accounts? - Workflows/reports: Do key business processes work, or did things break?
Pro tip:
Build some validation reports before you migrate. Compare before and after to catch silent failures.
8. Plan for the Cutover—And Have a Rollback Plan
The actual switch-over should be scripted and boring. No “fingers crossed” moments.
To do: - Schedule downtime if needed; communicate early and often with users. - Freeze Salesforce data before migration so you’re not chasing changes. - Snapshot everything. Back up both systems so you can roll back if needed. - Have a rollback plan. Know exactly how you’d revert if the migration fails.
What works:
A detailed runbook and dry runs so you know exactly what happens when.
What doesn’t:
Winging it. That’s how you end up working all weekend.
9. Don’t Ignore Change Management
Migrating the data is technical, but the real pain comes from users and business processes.
Advice: - Train users on Veeva before go-live. - Update documentation. - Have support ready for that first week—expect lots of “hey, where did this go?” questions.
What works:
Over-communicating. People hate surprises.
10. Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don't let perfect be the enemy of done. Migrate what you need, validate, then improve in small steps.
- Start with core objects and required fields.
- Add more detail or complexity after you know the basics work.
- Iterate based on user feedback and real-world needs.
Wrapping Up
Data migration isn’t magic, and it’s never just “drag and drop.” The biggest wins come from planning, ruthless cleanup, and testing more than you think you need. Keep your migration small and focused, learn as you go, and don’t be afraid to cut scope if things get hairy. Simple migrations are successful migrations.
If you mess something up, don’t panic—fix it, learn, and move on. That’s how the pros do it.