Key success factors for a future-ready data foundation

The pharmaceutical sector continues to undergo a significant transformation driven by macroeconomic forces such as escalating pricing pressures, new regulations, changes in global trade dynamics and public health initiatives. These pressures necessitate a rethink of traditional approaches to navigate a landscape demanding both cost-effectiveness and value-driven solutions. Despite remarkable scientific advancements, many pharma companies are struggling with shareholder returns, highlighting the need for broad and bold action. According to a PwC analysis, only a limited number of companies managed meaningful growth from 2018 to 2024. This finding emphasizes the need for industry-wide innovation.

Simultaneously, emerging technologies and digitalisation represent unparalleled opportunities for the industry. Key trends such technology advancements with AI, enhanced insights in human biology and patient-centricity demand a re-evaluation of business models. In this evolving landscape, the ability to implement go-to-market models that embrace technology will be crucial for driving innovation and sustaining growth, enabling deeper insights into the needs and preferences of consumers and patients.

The importance of MarTech (marketing technology) and, more specifically, customer relationship management (CRM) systems and robust data foundations is growing as the industry shifts towards customer-centred models and personalised medicine. Effective CRM systems manage comprehensive engagement, help streamline customer journeys and deliver personalised content. They allow organisations to build meaningful connections with healthcare professionals (HCPs), healthcare organisations (HCOs) and managed care organisations (MCOs), improving acquisition and retention.

A strong data foundation is simply needed for effective CRM implementation and scaling. It equips companies to turn data into actionable insights, helping them to adapt to evolving market dynamics. With solid data governance, effective master data management (MDM) and flexible data access, organisations can harness the full potential of CRM technologies to enhance patient experiences, reduce costs and build competitive advantages as the pharma market evolves.

Many pharmaceutical companies struggle to execute data-driven engagement strategies. This is effectively because their data is siloed across functions, including commercial, medical, production, R&D and support. This fragmentation leads to inconsistencies and missed opportunities. Added to this are new data challenges arising from the global approaches typically adopted by pharmaceutical companies, which often contrast with the more local models used in specific markets. Furthermore, unclear data ownership aggravates governance and quality issues, while outdated technologies limit scalability and real-time insights. Regulatory and privacy concerns further restrict access to meaningful data findings.

To overcome these challenges, pharma companies must move beyond basic data collection methods such as spreadsheets. They need to actively manage, structure and leverage data to create tangible business value. This requires a holistic approach, bringing together the four pillars of the POTI framework: processes, organisational culture, technology and information governance, to ensure that data management is effective and user-friendly.

While CRM systems play a fundamental role in the data-driven strategy of the pharmaceutical industry, they are just one component of a broader marketing technology (MarTech) strategy. A well-implemented CRM solution is more than just a collection tool. It is crucial for developing an effective data strategy in pharma. Modern CRM solutions have evolved significantly from the days of simple digital address books. Now, they are sophisticated platforms enabled by omnichannel strategies that integrate commercial, medical and market access data, enabling a unified customer view, personalisation and enhanced engagement with HCPs, patients and other stakeholders. To fully realise the potential of their CRM solution, companies must overcome several challenges:

1. Breaking down data silos: Pharma companies often collect data independently across teams such as sales, medical affairs and marketing. This can lead to inconsistencies. A unified CRM strategy can centralise data so that insights benefit the entire organisation.
2. Ensuring data quality and governance: Accurate, up-to-date data is crucial to avoid poor targeting and regulatory risks. Establishing a solid data governance framework will help with data ownership, validation and security.
3. Embracing advanced analytics: Modern CRMs use AI-driven analytics for personalised, omnichannel engagement. Predictive analytics helps anticipate HCP preferences, while AI insights optimise communication channels.
4. Regulatory compliance and privacy: Owing to the regulated nature of pharma, CRM systems must comply with GDPR, HIPAA and other regulations. This is where robust permission controls, audit trails and encryption come into play to ensure compliance and secure data access.
5. Technology as a strategic enabler: Outdated CRM solutions limit scalability and digital transformation. By investing in modern, cloud-based, AI-enhanced, API-driven solutions, pharma companies can enhance agility, integrate real-world evidence databases and more effectively scale strategies.

For CRMs to deliver real value, they must be part of a comprehensive data strategy that includes various key areas:

• Processes: Define clear workflows for data collection, validation and usage within the CRM.
• Organisation: Foster collaboration between commercial, medical and R&D teams.
• Technology: Invest in modern, interoperable CRM platforms that leverage AI and automation.
• Information governance: Implement strong data stewardship and compliance measures to maintain regulatory compliance.

By aligning CRM capabilities with the comprehensive framework, pharma companies can move beyond fragmented data management and embrace a truly data-driven, insight-led engagement model—ultimately improving patient outcomes and business performance.

Pharma companies often operate with fragmented data landscapes, using multiple CRM systems and various other applications across regions and business units. This decentralisation creates inconsistencies and limits the ability to form a unified HCP engagement strategy. Standardising data ingestion, transformation and governance across global operations ensures consistency, regulatory compliance and usability.

• Automated data quality and compliance checks: Implementing real-time data validation and privacy controls (e.g. consent tracking and regulatory reporting automation) ensures that all customer interactions comply with GDPR, HIPAA and local pharma regulations.
• Real-time event-driven architectures: Traditional batch data processing delays insights, preventing timely decision-making. By leveraging AI-driven, real-time data streaming, pharma companies can respond instantly to HCP behaviours, personalising engagement and improving medical education initiatives.

Effective data strategies require clear ownership and governance. In many pharma companies, it’s unclear whether data responsibility falls under IT, marketing or operations. This lack of clarity results in inefficiencies and missed opportunities. 

Without well-defined governance structures, pharma companies miss opportunities to improve engagement and operational efficiency.

• Data stewardship and governance councils: Establishing cross-functional data ownership models ensures accountability and compliance with industry regulations.
• Data literacy and self-service analytics: Investing in training programmes that empower commercial, medical and market access teams to interpret and act on data insights reduces reliance on IT and accelerates decision-making.

Choosing the right technology stack is critical to ensure seamless customer engagement and regulatory compliance in pharma.

• Cloud-based CRM solutions: Pharma-specific CRMs provide HCP engagement tracking, regulatory compliance tools and AI-powered insights that help streamline commercial and medical interactions.
• AI and automation for personalisation: Predictive analytics can enhance salesforce effectiveness, while AI-driven content recommendations can personalise HCP interactions based on preferences and past behaviours.
• Omnichannel integration: Integrating CRM systems with medical information portals, email campaigns, rep-triggered content and telemedicine platforms ensures a consistent and personalised HCP experience.

High-quality, well-structured data is essential for compliance, engagement and strategic decision-making in pharma.

• Data governance and compliance: Implementing data privacy safeguards, audit trails and role-based access control ensures adherence to pharma regulations while maintaining data integrity and security.
• Customer data platforms (CDPs) and data lakes: Consolidating HCP interaction data from commercial, medical and real-world evidence (RWE) sources creates a 360-degree customer view, enabling more targeted, evidence-based engagement strategies.
• Master data management (MDM): Integrating a CRM with a master data management (MDM) platform provides a unified view of customer data by integrating and cleansing information from various sources. This enhances CRM capabilities, enabling personalised experiences and informed decision-making based on high-quality data.
• Third-party data enrichment: Integrating prescription trends, patient-level insights and healthcare market analytics into CRM systems provides deeper market intelligence for pharma teams.

By aligning processes, organisation, technology, and information, pharma companies can transform data into actionable insights, optimise HCP and patient engagement, and improve commercial and medical outcomes. The integration of real-time data processing, AI-driven analytics and pharma-compliant CRM solutions positions companies to proactively respond to market changes while ensuring compliance and customer-centricity.

In today’s fast-changing pharmaceutical landscape, CRM systems must evolve beyond their traditional roles to support omnichannel engagement, real-time insights and regulatory compliance. A future-ready CRM acts as a centralised hub integrating commercial, medical and market access data to optimise interactions with HCPs. To turn this vision into reality, pharma companies should focus on five key success factors:

1. Data integration and interoperability: Next-generation CRMs must unify data from various sources to provide a 360-degree view of HCPs and patients. This means connecting data from ERP systems, electronic health records (EHRs), regulatory databases and third-party platforms. Utilising APIs and cloud technology will enable real-time data synchronisation.
2. Data quality and governance: The effectiveness of any CRM depends on the quality of the data it processes. Automated validation tools, strict role-based access controls and master data management are essential to maintain data integrity. Prioritising proper data governance ensures compliance with important pharma regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which is crucial for building trust with stakeholders.
3. AI-driven insights: AI is transforming how we engage with customers. By leveraging AI and machine learning, pharma companies can gain actionable insights that lead to more personalised interactions. Tools for predictive analytics and content recommendations make it possible to anticipate preferences, paving the way for smarter communication strategies.
4. Real-time data processing: In a world where timing is everything, moving away from traditional batch processing to real-time data handling is essential. AI-powered alerts and integration with IoT devices allow proactive responses to HCP interactions and swiftly changing market conditions.
5. Omnichannel and compliance-first approach: Consistency and compliance are paramount across all channels. By implementing unified tracking and automated consent management, and at the same time ensuring that data encryption is in place, companies can maintain transparent and secure engagements, reinforcing their role as a trustworthy partner.

By focusing on these success factors, CRM systems can drive better engagement and create a competitive advantage in the pharmaceutical landscape.

A Swiss pharma company recently completed a multi-year, worldwide data-led transformation of its commercial backbone. The objective was to build a unified data platform to capture data on multiple touchpoints throughout their customer’s journey, provide end- to-end visibility and insights for decision-making and ultimately enable the client’s path to ‘personalized medicine’. At its core, a single platform was deployed, unifying applications across countries, along with the introduction of a data lake. Several dashboards and AI-led insights were integrated into the platform to provide the sales teams with customer profiling, segmentation and next-best action suggestions personalised to their HCPs and key opinion leaders (KOLs). For improved customer data quality, competitor insights and market access planning, data was augmented via several external sources of data. The standardisation of the operating model for updating, maintaining and syncing customer data has enabled data quality to be upheld and ensured the long-term sustainability of the solution.

A future-ready CRM is no longer just a repository for customer interactions: it’s a dynamic, integrated platform that encourages meaningful interactions with HCPs, patients and other stakeholders. 

To unlock the full potential of the CRM, pharma companies must create a solid data foundation that is scalable, compliant and insight-driven. 

Without this foundation, even the most advanced CRM may fall short. By investing in the right data ecosystems and embracing AI technologies, pharma companies can drive engagement that ultimately enhances patient outcomes. In today’s competitive environment, this approach is essential for establishing industry leadership.

A company’s data isn’t just a resource. It’s a powerful tool that, when leveraged correctly, can drive impactful relationships. To build a solid data foundation for your future CRM, we suggest starting with some fundamental questions:

• How does the fragmentation of your CRM landscape look today?
• What governance guidelines exist today, and how do they integrate with the CRM landscape?
• Are you leveraging CRM data for advanced insights and state-of-the-art delivery of customer engagement?

If you’re ready to take the next steps in building a clear vision and direction for your future CRM and rework your data foundation, we invite you to reach out and discuss this with our experts. Together, we can develop a vision that aligns your customer data effectively, securely and with a focus on value creation. Contact us today to plan the next steps in your CRM transformation journey and turn challenges into opportunities.