News about Workday

Workday office building | Workday and Groundswell take US federal agency to the cloud

Workday Names Sarah Kennedy Ellis Chief Marketing Officer

Workday has named former Google Cloud marketing leader Sarah Kennedy Ellis chief marketing officer, putting her in charge of global marketing and communications as the company expands its enterprise AI positioning.

Street and protected bike path in downtown Akron, Ohio, where the city is modernizing legacy ERP systems with Workday.

ERP Strategy and Planning

Workday Adds 100+ State and Local Government Customers as Agencies Replace Legacy ERP

Workday says more than 100 state and local governments selected its platform in two years, as agencies replace aging ERP systems and consolidate HR, finance, and payroll. Akron and Georgia show how that modernization can reduce manual work, standardize processes, and create a foundation for AI agents.

Aerial view of Canberra’s government precinct, Australia, with the city and surrounding hills in the distance

ERP Strategy and Planning

Australian Infrastructure Department Taps Accenture to Replace SAP with Workday, ServiceNow

Australia’s Infrastructure Department is replacing SAP ECC6 with Workday and ServiceNow under a $38.8 million Accenture deal. The move shows how the approaching end of ECC6 mainstream maintenance can become an opportunity to reconsider the incumbent ERP rather than automatically move to S/4HANA.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

KPMG and Pathlock Are Targeting the Control Gaps Behind AI-Driven ERP Modernization

Pathlock and KPMG are targeting the access-risk layer behind ERP modernization, where AI agents, automation, elevated privileges, and transaction controls are turning identity governance into an audit-readiness priority.

Systems Administration

Australia’s Home Affairs Starts the Clock on a 2030 SAP ECC6 Replacement

Australia's Department of Home Affairs is initiating a project to replace its SAP ECC6 enterprise resource planning system by December 2030, engaging consultancy Next Apex to assist in assessing its current systems and future needs amidst a broader movement towards modular ERP selection across public agencies.

image of Workday office surrounded by blue skies | Compa

Analytics and AI

Workday Research Shows Why AI Alone Is Not Fixing Busywork

New Workday research shows that disconnected systems continue to consume employee time, while organizations embedding AI directly into core workflows are realizing significantly stronger productivity gains and higher user confidence.

Cloud Platform and Technology

Higher Education’s Cloud ERP Shift Is Stuck on the Student System

Higher education’s cloud ERP transition is not stalled by lack of interest. It is slowed by the student system, where Workday’s cloud momentum and Oracle’s PeopleSoft runway create very different modernization paths.

Human Capital Management

Workday Turns to HR Path to Reach More SMBs in Ireland and Scotland

Workday has appointed HR Path as an authorized value-added reseller for the UK and Ireland, enhancing its partner-driven market approach for small and medium-sized businesses while providing customers with a streamlined relationship for their HR and finance system needs.

Enterprise AI sprawl and invisible AI governance concept

ERP Strategy and Planning

Workday Says AI Agents Belong Closer to the Systems They Could Break

Workday is drawing a clear line in the enterprise AI agent debate: for high-stakes workflows in HR, payroll, and finance, the safest place for AI inference and orchestration is inside the system of record, not on neutral third-party platforms. Through its controlled openness model—open APIs and MCP for developers, proprietary governance within Workday—the company argues that context, business logic, and security controls are a competitive moat that cannot be safely externalized.

Analytics and AI

Gatekeeping Enterprise AI? Workday Redraws the Build-vs-Buy Line for AI Agents

Workday’s DevCon 2026 announcements show how enterprise AI agent strategy is moving beyond build-versus-buy and toward governed access to HR, finance, business process, and audit controls.

Application Development and Integration

Can AI Break the ERP Change-Order Cycle? Tessera Labs Just Raised $60M to Try

Tessera Labs’ $60 million funding round puts a spotlight on AI-native ERP modernization, raising a new question for CIOs: how much of the migration, data, code, and documentation work that once required large consulting teams can now be automated without weakening governance?

Human Capital Management

Workday Is Testing How Much Enterprise AI Should Be Allowed to Do

Workday’s Q1 results showed agent adoption momentum. The follow-up question is whether Sana, Microsoft 365 Copilot, the Agent System of Record, and federal HR automation can prove that enterprise agents can act inside governed workflows without eroding control.

Analytics and AI

Anthropic’s Fable 5 Release Renewed Pressure on Enterprise Software Stocks, Valuations

On June 9, enterprise software stocks like Workday, Oracle, and Palantir Technologies saw declines of around 3% due to renewed investor concerns following Anthropic's launch of Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5, which hinted at AI's potential to disrupt traditional software subscription models and raised questions about the sustainability of pricing in an increasingly AI-driven landscape.

Analytics and AI

Google Cloud Adds NTT DATA to Gemini Enterprise Delivery Push

Google Cloud is enhancing its Gemini Enterprise partner strategy through an expanded collaboration with NTT DATA to facilitate the deployment of enterprise AI solutions, aiming to create a dedicated practice that supports 5,000 certified experts and the development of 500 AI agents to effectively transform business operations.

Analytics and AI

Google Cloud Partnerships: Gemini Enterprise Pushed Deeper into Workday and IBM Delivery

Google Cloud is advancing Gemini Enterprise into enterprise AI through expanded partnerships with Workday and IBM, focusing on integrating HR and finance agents into workflows and enhancing delivery capacities with industry-specific solutions.

Analytics and AI

Workday’s AI Agent Push Started Showing Up in its Q1 Earnings Numbers

Workday's Q1 fiscal 2027 results demonstrated strong revenue growth and increasing adoption of AI agents, reassuring investors that AI can enhance rather than undermine subscription software economics.

Analytics and AI

Workday’s Moat Is Real—But AI Is Testing Its Limits

Two analysts offer diverging views on Workday's long-term viability, with Joe Schmidt suggesting that AI may erode the structural switching costs that currently protect it, while Josh Bersin argues that Workday's established frameworks position it favorably as AI evolves, highlighting a critical market shift towards architectural effectiveness in ERP and HCM systems.

Analytics and AI

Workday Advances ‘Lights-Out Finance’ Vision with Autonomous Financial Testing Tool

Workday is advancing its “lights-out finance” vision with an AI-driven Financial Test Suite that continuously detects fraud and anomalies before transactions are completed.

Analytics and AI

Is Workday CTO’s Exit to Anthropic Signaling Escalating AI Pressure on HCM Platforms?

Peter Bailis's shift from Workday to Anthropic underscores a talent migration trend from traditional enterprise software companies to AI-native platforms, reflecting a significant competitive landscape change in the industry.

Human Capital Management

Universities Accelerate ERP Transformations to Standardize Systems and Enable AI

Higher education institutions are rapidly modernizing their ERP systems, transitioning from heavily customized, fragmented infrastructures to standardized, integrated platforms that enhance operational efficiency and are better aligned with AI-driven capabilities, as exemplified by Central Michigan University’s move to a new system and UNLV’s expansion within an existing cloud platform.

Automation

Opkey Targets SaaS Release Bottleneck with AI-Driven ‘Release-to-Action’ Automation

Opkey has launched Release Advisor, an AI tool that automates the analysis of Oracle and Workday updates to streamline release decision-making, cutting analysis time by 60-80% and enabling faster certification of updates.

image of Workday building | Interview with Jim Stratton

Analytics and AI

Enterprise Apps as Systems of Action: Workday Pushing AI into Execution with Sana Launch

Workday has launched Sana, a unified AI interface that integrates directly into its HR and finance platform, enabling users to not only analyze but also execute tasks within governed workflows, thereby redefining enterprise AI adoption by embedding it in critical business processes.

Analytics and AI

Workday, Salesforce FY26 Q4 Earnings Show Growth, Scale, and Platform Competition

Recent fourth quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings from Workday and Salesforce highlight the significance of production-grade AI adoption and platform expansion in driving enterprise software growth.

Analytics and AI

Workday Names Co-Founder Aneel Bhusri CEO as Company Reorients Leadership for AI Era

Workday appointed co-founder Aneel Bhusri as CEO, succeeding Carl Eschenbach, to lead the company's next phase focused on leveraging AI within enterprise applications while maintaining operational discipline established during Eschenbach's tenure.

Vancouver skyline representing Canada’s growing enterprise technology and cloud investment market.

Human Capital Management

Workday to Invest CAD $1 Billion in Canada as Demand Grows for Compliant, AI-Enabled ERP

Workday plans a CAD $1 billion investment in Canada to expand talent, operations, and customer support as demand grows for compliant, AI-enabled ERP software.

Employee slumped in front of several computer monitors.

Business Process Management and Automation

Workday Research Finds AI Productivity Gains Are Lost to Rework

Workday research finds nearly 40% of AI productivity gains are lost to rework, as employees spend significant time correcting and verifying AI output, exposing gaps in how organizations measure and manage AI impact.

Human Capital Management

Workday Launches Paradox ATS for Faster Frontline Hiring

Workday's integration of the AI-driven Paradox Conversational Applicant Tracking System streamlines frontline hiring by enabling mobile-first applications, drastically reducing time-to-hire to an average of 3.5 days and automating up to 90% of hiring tasks.

Human Capital Management

Workday to Support US Tech Force in Building AI-Ready Federal Workforce

The company brings a skills-based approach to talent management through Workday Government Cloud, aligning with federal modernization efforts.

Human Capital Management

CloudRock Acquires SuccessDay to Offer Independent Alternative to Large System Integrators

CloudRock has acquired Dutch HR-IT firm SuccessDay, expanding its European footprint. The deal combines global ERP expertise with regional advisory and AMS, offering clients integrated support across Workday, Oracle, and SAP.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

Workday’s EU Sovereign Cloud to Support Compliance, AI Adoption

Workday announced its EU Sovereign Cloud, set for 2026 release, which enables European customers to utilize AI-driven HR and finance solutions while ensuring compliance with emerging data regulations.

Cloud Platform and Technology

Higher Education Races to Modernize ERP as Cloud, AI Pressures Intensify

Higher education institutions are rapidly upgrading ERP systems to embrace cloud flexibility and AI readiness, viewing modernization as essential due to budget constraints, enrollment dynamics, and the demand for streamlined digital experiences.