Welcome!
Fifteen years ago, before I started working with content management systems, I was a frustrated author with a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology and a penchant for art and archaeology. I’d left my job as the Director of Marketing for a small, allied health book publisher in Philadelphia and decided that I needed to do something new and different – Information Technology. Fresh from IT consultant boot camp, I waited anxiously for my first assignment. At last, the phone call came. I was going to work for Jantzen. I explained to my friends and family that I was going to support IT systems for a manufacturer of leotards and swimsuits. Boy, was I wrong.
The Jantzen from the phone call was actually J&J Innovative Medicine, part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. So, I traded my visions of spandex and tights for that of drug development and regulatory submissions. I quickly got to work building one of the very first electronic life sciences submission systems. Back then, there was no configurable workflow, search had more to do with Blueberry filters than it did with Google, and the idea of accessing documents from the web was just that– an idea. Over the years, I’ve watched the rise of configurable document management platforms, the development of process specific life sciences applications, and the movement of these applications to the web. I’ve seen the evolution of regulations, the implementation of the eCTD standard, the rapid influx of digital promotional materials and the impact of increasing collaboration and emerging markets.
Which brings me to today. The life sciences world of 1995 and the life sciences world of 2011 are very different places. Companies need to collaborate more quickly and effectively than ever. They must work globally if they hope to take advantage of emerging markets in countries like China and Brazil. And they need to adapt rapidly to changing regulatory environments. On top of all of this, today’s economic environment means that organizations have to be smarter with their spending. Combine these factors with the fact that most document management technologies, at their core, are 15 to 20 years old and that most users are frustrated with the function, flexibility, and performance of their systems, and you have a perfect catalyst for change.
Enter the cloud. Yes, you have all heard about it. Everyone has seen the Microsoft commercials with moms editing photos and restaurant-goers downloading files while drinking wine and eating spaghetti. But the cloud offers more than the ability for a family to view video files together. The cloud, when combined with true, multi-tenant Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), presents us with a rare opportunity – to change the face of regulated content management. What if I could implement a system for 5 people as cost effectively as I could for 50,000? What if I could provide access to my affiliates and external partners in minutes and not hours, days, or weeks? What if I could access the latest and greatest capabilities without 18 – 36 month upgrade cycles? And what if I didn’t have to worry about servers, maintenance, upgrades, or support? What if I could just worry about my business? What if?
When I joined Veeva last year, it was to make these things as possible for regulated content management as they are for life sciences CRM today. I had seen firsthand how existing content management software continued to fall short, how the users’ needs were subordinated to the limitations of the software, and how even the best systems still required money to buy hardware, software, validation services, and support. It was time for a change.
And so, today, I am proud to announce Veeva Vault. Vault has been designed from the ground up not only to take advantage of the cloud model, but to delight and empower end users everywhere. With Vault, we will provide better capabilities, faster access, and more pervasive collaboration to life sciences companies of all sizes. The Vault Blog will focus not only on sharing new Vault information, but on discussing all things life sciences content management related. So check back often, subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.
Welcome to a new kind of content management. Welcome to Vault.