CRO Migrates 1 Million Records in Just 20 Weeks to Veeva

A Contract Research Organization (CRO) with therapeutic expertise in complex diseases was born from the merger of several companies, each with its own clinical operations systems. As a result, the CRO sought to migrate its existing Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) and payment documents and data into its new Veeva Vault CTMS and Veeva Vault Payments platforms. With a tight timeline and numerous systems to manage, the CRO partnered with Daelight Solutions to streamline migration processes.

Over time, the CRO’s existing CTMS expanded organically without a structured plan in place. This growth led to various teams within the organization utilizing the system differently, often resorting to variable free text for data input. Consequently, this resulted in a lack of standardization and consistency across the platform, leading to challenges in data management and quality control.

In response to these complexities, the CRO sought to simplify its operations and ultimately provide a more unified experience for its study teams and sponsor partners. Therefore, the CRO decided to migrate its CTMS to Veeva Vault CTMS, a cloud-based platform designed to streamline and optimize clinical trial processes.

The CRO also had payment data that needed to be migrated to Veeva Vault Payments, a specialized solution designed to streamline and automate the complex process of managing financial transactions related to clinical trials. Both migrations needed to be completed in 20 weeks.

Daelight was brought on to lead the migrations to Veeva Vault CTMS and Veeva Vault Payments. This included source and target mapping, migration strategy and planning, project management, validation, and testing.

Study Challenges & Daelight’s Solutions

1. Veeva Vault Clinical Suite Not Yet Implemented

The project presented a formidable challenge due to its emphasis on integrating a Veeva Vault CTMS system that was still in the process of being implemented. This meant that the platform was not fully operational or optimized for use at the outset of the migration process, adding layers of complexity to the endeavor.

Given the substantial disparities between the legacy system and the new Veeva Vault CTMS, a significant portion of the specifications required extensive value mapping, intricate transformation rules, and data enrichment procedures. Additionally, establishing migration rules for a system rife with inconsistencies within the data introduced a high frequency of exceptions, complicating the migration process further.

As a result of these challenges, Daelight’s team meticulously planned and executed the migration to ensure a seamless transition of data and workflows, all while accommodating the ongoing development and configuration of the Veeva Vault CTMS. Throughout the migration project, Daelight fostered close collaboration with the CRO and Veeva to understand the future state process design thoroughly. This collaborative effort enabled them to develop specifications capable of handling the intricacies of the data sets and ensuring that the data was primed to support the client’s new operational paradigms.

2. Testing Strategy Difficulties

The abundance of maps, rules, and data enrichment introduced complexities in devising a robust testing strategy for the Veeva Vault CTMS migration project. Numerous specifications governing data transformation and enrichment made ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the migrated data a significant challenge. Given the sheer volume and intricacy of the mapping rules and data enrichment procedures, manual validation processes were time-consuming and prone to errors.

To address this challenge, Daelight’s migration experts turned to the Daelight Comparison Tool as a critical component of their testing strategy. This specialized software enabled automated comparison of the source data with the transformed data, streamlining the validation process significantly. By leveraging the tool’s capabilities, the team could systematically verify that the data migrated to the Veeva Vault CTMS accurately reflected the intended transformations and enrichments specified in the mapping rules.

The Daelight Comparison Tool instilled a heightened level of confidence in the accuracy of the mapping process. By providing detailed insights into data transformations and highlighting any discrepancies, the tool helped validate the integrity of the migration process, surpassing the capabilities of manual comparison alone.

3. Data Obstacles for Veeva Vault Payments

The CRO’s payment data required significant transformation and data enrichment to leverage the new Veeva Vault Payments system’s core functionality. Payment data, with its diverse formats, structures, and sources, often poses complexities that demand specialized expertise to navigate effectively.

Daelight’s expertise in data modeling proved instrumental in tackling this challenge. With a profound understanding of the intricacies of data structures, relationships, and attributes, Daelight’s team was uniquely positioned to undertake the task where other vendors might have struggled. Their deep understanding of the underlying data model of both the legacy system and the Veeva Vault Payments system enabled them to devise comprehensive strategies for transforming and enriching the payment data to align with the requirements and functionalities of the new system.

4. Compressed Timeline

The CRO faced a stringent deadline, requiring the migrations to be completed within a condensed window of 20 weeks. This tight timeframe posed significant hurdles, particularly due to the intricate nature of tasks such as implementing value maps, conducting data enrichment, and thoroughly understanding the intricacies of the data involved. Each of these processes demanded meticulous attention to detail and thorough analysis, consuming valuable time and resources.

Recognizing the compressed timeframe and the complexity of the migrations, Daelight swiftly responded by bolstering their team with additional personnel. By augmenting its workforce, Daelight aimed to enhance its capacity to handle the complexity and scale of the project effectively. The infusion of fresh talent brought diverse skills and expertise to the table, enabling the team to distribute tasks efficiently, expedite decision-making processes, and mitigate potential bottlenecks.

5. Too Many Challenges to Address Simultaneously

The timeline, system implementations, and the desire to consolidate multiple systems presented a multifaceted challenge for the CRO to tackle simultaneously. Each aspect demanded careful attention and coordination to ensure successful outcomes without compromising efficiency or effectiveness.

Daelight consultants collaborated closely with the CRO team to devise a strategic approach to address these challenges. Together, they orchestrated a staged effort to achieve step-wise success and deliver ongoing value-add throughout the process. As a result, the teams were able to advance the CRO’s mission and objectives.

Results

Daelight’s success in delivering the migrations on time and within budget marked a significant milestone for the CRO, enabling them to align with critical IT system retirement timelines while simultaneously enhancing their business processes. Overall, Daelight migrated 1,055,371 records, moved 42 objects, developed 55 value maps, and created 13 enrichment sheets.

The timely completion of the migration project was instrumental in facilitating a seamless transition to more modern and sustainable systems, ultimately sparing the CRO from incurring expensive upgrade fees associated with outdated infrastructure.

Beyond the migration project itself, the enduring partnership between Daelight and the CRO continues to thrive, with both parties leveraging their respective strengths to drive innovation, efficiency, and success. By working together as trusted partners, Daelight and the CRO are able to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and achieve shared objectives, setting the stage for continued collaboration and growth in the future.