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Veeva Updates: 26R1 Release Highlights
Veeva continues to deliver enhancements to its platform through three structured releases each year. It is critical for the administrators of Veeva solutions to review each new update to assess new capabilities, align priorities, and prepare their environments for any technical or functional changes.
fme’s specialists review each release in detail to identify changes that may impact our clients’ environments, and highlight new capabilities that can improve efficiency, compliance, and overall system performance. Here are summaries from past releases:
In this installment, we describe key highlights from the 26R1 Update to help you quickly understand the most relevant changes. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of changes; please visit Veeva’s site for the complete details and descriptions.
For a deeper analysis or to discuss how fme can support ongoing optimization of your Veeva environment, we invite you to download our service datasheets below and schedule a time to connect with our team.
Key Feature 1: Milestone Object Model
Staring in 26R1, milestones are no longer stored as a single field (milestone__v) but are managed as object records. The new object model is more scalable and aligns with Veeva’s overall data structure approach.
Each milestone (Approved, Effective, Submitted, etc.) is now tracked as its own entry instead of being grouped in one place, allowing users to view all milestones in a dedicated Milestones panel on the document. In addition, the 1,000-record limit within the milestone__v field has been removed.
This change can affect existing reports, integrations, or configurations that reference the milestone field, and administrators may need to make adjustments to reflect the new object.
How this can benefit customers
There are several benefits to these changes:
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- Multiple milestones can be stored and managed more clearly for each document and version within the version tree.
- The new structure makes it easier to understand the full lifecycle history of a document.
- Each milestone is now its own record that can be queried and analyzed significantly improving reporting on milestones.
- Admins can now filter, group, and report on milestones across documents more easily than before.
- This change also supports more complex use cases, such as tracking multiple milestone types or repeated events over time.
Key Feature 2: Doctype Triggers (Automation)
Prior to 26R1, actions required when a document was created, updated, or deleted were mostly a manual process with minimal automation available. The 26R1 release allows users to attach triggers with logic directly to documents so that when the trigger is fired, Vault instantly runs custom actions behind the scenes.
This feature can significantly reduce the amount of manual work users have to perform, reduce human error, make processes faster, and allow admins more opportunities to customize document behavior.
How this can benefit customers
One possible application of this new feature is to auto-populate specific fields when creating documents. For example, when a user is creating an SOP, triggers can auto-populate the product, region, and department within each unique SOP template ensuring accuracy and consistency.
In Veeva PromoMats (Promotional Materials), a newly created promotional piece can automatically link required objects, like products or specific campaigns, greatly accelerating content creation while also reducing compliance risk. A trigger can also be created to automatically assign a document for training when it becomes approved/effective.
Key Feature 3: Excel Copy/Paste
The reality of modern business ensures we will almost always work with spreadsheets, and prior to 26R1, users had to add each value manually. With the 26R1 release you will be able to copy a list of values from Excel and paste them directly into Vault instead of entering them one by one.
How this can benefit customers
This update eliminates repetitive, manual data entry saving time, minimizing copy/paste errors, and greatly accelerating the input of large lists of values. It is especially useful when working with multi-value fields, such as users, products, or countries. Instead of manually searching and selecting each value, you can paste an entire list in a single action. Vault automatically recognizes and matches the pasted values to existing records or picklist values.
Veeva Vault will automatically ignore duplicate values, preventing accidental double entries. If any values don’t match, Vault provides a summary so you can quickly identify and fix issues.
This makes bulk updates much faster without needing loaders or external scripts, and brings a more familiar, Excel-like experience into Vault to improve usability for everyday users. With this update, expect a significant reduction in manual errors and user frustration caused by repetitive manual data entry.
Key Feature 4: API Endpoint Deprecation
Not all changes are adding features. With the 26R1 update the “Retrieve All Documents” and “Retrieve all Binders” APIs are no longer supported. In the past, this was used to pull large sets of documents in one go causing heavy system load and slowing down Vault performance. Instead, users are now expected to use VQL (Vault Query Language) to retrieve only the data they need.
To prepare for this change, administrators should replace existing “Retrieve All Documents” and “Retrieve All Binders” API endpoints with VQL queries.
How this can benefit customers
Basing their decision on industry best practices for data access, Veeva made this shift to improve system performance and scalability, and to encourage more efficient, targeted data requests based on document type, specific dates, statuses, etc. rather than full data extracts.
fme’s dqMan has a Veeva Vault Edition that can be a great help in this change. It is a professional administration tool based on VQL and MDL, providing users with exclusive capabilities and a broad feature set to help manage Veeva Vault applications efficiently. Contact us to learn more.
How fme Can Support Your Veeva Updates
Veeva’s innovation-driven release cycles provide continual improvements, but also require ongoing operational responsibility. Releases occur on a fixed schedule, regardless of internal IT bandwidth or competing priorities, and certain changes are deployed automatically. Configuration shifts, deprecated settings, and legacy customizations can all affect how new functionality performs within a given environment.
fme provides tailored services to help clients evaluate, manage, and operationalize Veeva’s recurring release cycles. Below are two core offerings our clients rely on to keep their Veeva environments optimized and aligned with evolving business needs.
HealthCheckAssist: Gain Visibility and Control
HealthCheckAssist is a structured, low-burden assessment designed to provide actionable insights into your Veeva RIM environment. We evaluate how the system is configured and used, identify active risks and inefficiencies, and highlight opportunities for optimization.
Beyond diagnostics, we deliver a prioritization remediation roadmap clearly outlining the steps required to stabilize, streamline, and future-proof your environment. This enables your team to proactively prepare for upcoming releases, fully leverage new platform capabilities, and maintain a consistently release-ready experience.
Learn more about HealthCheckAssist now!
TechOps Support Services: Cost-effective Platform Management
Efficient and effective IT operations are vital for any company but are notoriously difficult to accurately predict and budget for, especially in multi-platform systems. Our TechOps Support Services provide the experience and resources needed to augment and support the needs of complex IT environments, balancing out the ebb and flow of support tasks, and adding extra knowledge and skill for integrated application management.
Our flexible, customizable model can incorporate administrative support and release management components to allow your organization to focus on your core business activities without the distractions of technical issues and system maintenance.
Our trained experts support many legacy and modern applications to ensure your critical systems remain stable and secure, giving them the attention they need while you focus on accomplishing your business goals.
Learn how fme can simplify your platform management with TechOps Support Services now!
About the Author
Matthew Peterson
Matthew Peterson is a highly skilled Veeva business analyst and migration specialist at fme, focused on helping clients understand how each Veeva update will impact their environments. With deep expertise in the intersection of technology, data, and regulated life sciences processes, Matthew ensures that clients not only stay current with platform changes but also align those changes with their strategic goals and operational priorities. His commitment to clarity and practical impact helps organizations maintain optimized, resilient Veeva implementations that support long-term success.
Meghan is the Vice President of Commercial Operations at fme and an expert in global digital transformation within the Life Sciences industry. She has deep Quality domain acumen along with demonstrated expertise in program governance and account management, consistently driving innovation and delivering measurable results. Meghan has been instrumental in guiding some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical device organizations on their digital journeys, ensuring success through strategic vision, cross-functional collaboration, and a deep commitment to the Life Sciences industry’s needs.
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