Veeva Systems licensing is the set of commercial constructs under which Veeva sells cloud software and data to life sciences companies. Its portfolio is built on the Vault Platform, which Veeva describes as supporting 50+ applications across R&D and commercial work.[2] Veeva’s website terms say that “the contractual terms applicable to Veeva’s products and services are governed solely by the written agreements under which they are provided to its customers”.[1] Veeva publishes no customer agreement and no price list in the sources used here, so a licence position can only be completed from the signed order form and agreement. What Veeva’s help pages do document is how users, applications, sandboxes and data are counted, and these rules are the subject of this article and its four companions.
Editions
Veeva does not use Standard or Enterprise edition names across the platform. It sells applications and product families, and the public documentation names the following groups of licensable items.
| Group | What the public pages show | Deeper article |
|---|---|---|
| Vault applications | Quality, QualityOne, RIM, RegulatoryOne, Safety, Medical, Commercial, Vault CRM and Veeva Claims use a user-based licensing model with application licensing[3] | Vault license types and application licensing |
| Vault CRM | A Core license, add-on application licenses, and country-based user tiers[5] | Vault CRM and Veeva CRM licensing |
| Data products | OpenData by region, OpenData Email, HCP Access licensed by region, Link, Compass[9][10] | Veeva data products licensing |
| Veeva AI and platform services | Veeva AI licensed at the Vault level; Direct Data API included in Vault Platform[7][8] | Veeva AI, Direct Data API and Vault limits |
Catalog rows: Vault Platform supports 50+ applications; Product terms are in the written customer agreements.
Metrics
Veeva’s help pages describe these counted constructs.
- Users by license type. Vault includes Full User, Read-only User, External User, Portal User, Site User and Learner license types.[3] Catalog rows: Vault Full User license; Vault Read-only User license; Vault External User license; Vault Portal, Site and Learner licenses.
- Application licenses. In a multi-application Vault, a user has a license value for each application, so a user assigned to three applications uses three application licenses.[3] Catalog row: Vault application license.
- Vault CRM user tiers. Vault CRM licenses are categorised into geographical tiers according to the user’s primary work country.[5] Catalog row: Vault CRM user license (country tier).
- Sandboxes. Customers are entitled to four Small, two Medium and one Full sandbox Vault per production Vault.[6] Catalog row: Sandbox Vault entitlement.
- Data size. A size class is assigned to each Vault from its object records and document versions.[16] Catalog row: Vault size classification.
- AI tokens and API calls. Admins can set a 30-day LLM token usage alert limit, and the Vault API throttles calls above a burst limit within a five-minute window.[14][15] Catalog rows: Vault AI LLM tokens (30-day limit); Vault API burst limit.
Counting and floors
- System accounts are free of charge in the count. System-owned users and System Managed Users, including agent users, are not included in license counts.[3][4] A raw export of the User object will therefore overstate licensed users unless these records are excluded. Catalog rows: System managed and system-owned users; System-owned users are not counted; System managed users are not counted.
- License type and application licenses interact. Vault sets the user’s License Type from the most permissive application license value, so a user with one Full application license and one Read-only application license is treated as Full.[3] Catalog row: License type follows the most permissive application license.
- Vault CRM needs one Vault Owner. Every CRM Vault requires at least one Full User assigned to the Vault Owner security profile.[5]
- No public minimums. The sources do not state a minimum user count, a minimum spend or a term length for any Vault application.
Virtualization and partitioning
Vault is a hosted service, so no hypervisor rules apply. The partitioning units are the Vault, which is the licensed container for an application, and the domain, which groups Vaults and sandbox Vaults. Veeva provides one sandbox domain and one production domain, and an additional domain for testing domain-level settings.[6] For Vault CRM, a customer with several CRM Vaults specifies at purchase how many users are allocated to each Vault.[5]
Cloud and BYOL
All Veeva applications described here are delivered as cloud services, and no bring-your-own-licence programme appears in the public documentation. One exception to the user-based model is AI: Veeva announced that Veeva AI would be licensed at the Vault level with a subscription fee, and that customers could use a Veeva-supplied LLM or configure a customer-specific LLM.[7] The Direct Data API is included in Vault Platform for no additional license fee.[8]
Programs
- Sandbox entitlement. The four Small, two Medium and one Full sandbox allowance per production Vault, with additional sandboxes available by an add-on order with Veeva’s finance team.[6] Catalog row: Sandbox Vault entitlement program.
- Veeva CRM to Vault CRM migration. Vault CRM became the go-forward solution for all new customers on 2024-04-01, with most existing customers expected to migrate in the 2026 to 2029 timeframe.[11][12] Catalog row: Veeva CRM to Vault CRM migration.
- OpenData Email enterprise license. Veeva promotes an OpenData Email ELA with unlimited email data use across business units and campaigns.[17] Catalog row: OpenData Email enterprise license (ELA).
- Certification licences. The PromoMats Review and Approval Certification issues per-user licences to agency users that last 12 months and do not renew automatically.[13] Catalog row: Veeva PromoMats certification user licenses.
Out of scope
This article does not cover Veeva’s securities filings, partner programs, professional services or implementation contracts, or customer-specific order forms. It does not cover pricing, because none is published by Veeva. Third-party commentary on Veeva price levels is not used. The litigation between Veeva and IQVIA over third-party access to licensed data is covered in IQVIA v. Veeva Systems.