Enterprises take Workday beyond human capital management, bring AI deployments into production, ISG Provider Lens® report says
Enterprises in the U.S. are expanding their use of Workday, transforming it from a human resources system of record into a platform that supports financial, operational and workforce agility, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® Workday Ecosystem report for the U.S. finds that Workday adoption has reached a new stage of maturity as enterprises apply the platform to more functions. Organizations are using Workday to modernize finance, implement data-driven strategies and enhance employee experiences. With these changes, they are positioning Workday as a core element of long-term enterprise transformation.
"U.S. enterprises are investing in Workday as a flexible foundation for financial visibility, workforce transformation and innovation," said Stacey Cadigan, partner, ISG Human Capital Management and Enterprise Transformation. "This evolution is turning Workday into a central platform for managing people and money."
Transformations of Workday driven by financial management needs are accelerating across U.S. organizations, the report says. Companies are replacing legacy financial systems with Workday Financial Management to gain real-time insights and improve planning and analysis. This embeds Workday deeper into strategic decision-making and may elevate the role of the CFO in modernization initiatives.
U.S. enterprises are beginning to take AI use within Workday from experimentation to practical application, the report says. Organizations are using AI and machine learning to automate workflows, streamline talent acquisition and make operations forecasts. Agentic AI is a growing part of this trend, with agents being designed to perform multistep tasks such as candidate sourcing and scheduling, reducing administrative workloads. Workday AI initiatives are creating immense demand for services to help companies implement AI features and ensure their data is clean and structured to ensure reliability.
Companies are also shifting from rigid, job-based roles to skills-based talent strategies and using Workday features to transform their approach, the report says. For example, Workday Skills Cloud is being used to map current capabilities, predict future needs and build internal marketplaces. Organizations are changing workforce practices to improve agility, close skills gaps and enhance retention. Through Workday's consumer-grade engagement features, companies are offering employees more personalized digital journeys.
Workday's evolution from a closed, monolithic application to an open, extensible ecosystem has given enterprises more flexibility, the report says. Tools such as Workday Extend and the Workday Marketplace allow organizations to build customized solutions and access a wide range of services. A growing number and growing diversity of service providers has emerged to help enterprises use Workplace in new ways. This adaptability accelerates innovation and supports long-term transformations in many industries.
"Workday has built a powerful ecosystem that can adapt to a wide range of enterprise needs," said Ashwin Gaidhani, analyst, ISG Provider Lens Research, and lead author of the report. "Companies are partnering with service providers to reshape their Workday deployments as their business priorities evolve."
The report also explores other trends in the U.S. Workday ecosystem, including the expansion of Workday's influence into the strategic core of enterprise leadership and the emergence of different market positionings by global system integrators, boutique firms and providers focused on software innovation.
For more insights into challenges relevant to the U.S. Workday ecosystem, and ISG's advice for addressing them, see the ISG Provider Lens® Focal Points briefing here.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® Workday Ecosystem report for the U.S. evaluates 30 providers across four quadrants: Transformation Services, Deployment and Integration Services, Performance and Optimization Services and Innovation on Workday.
The report names Accenture, Cognizant, Deloitte, Huron, Invisors, KPMG, PwC, Strada and TopBloc as Leaders in all four quadrants. It names IBM as a Leader in three quadrants. Hexaware and Kainos are named as Leaders in two quadrants each, and Mercer is named as a Leader in one quadrant.
In addition, Kainos is recognized as a Rising Star — a company with a "promising portfolio" and "high future potential" by ISG's definition — in two quadrants. CrossVue and DXC Technology are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant each.
In the area of customer experience, Invisor is named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2025 among Workday ecosystem providers. Invisor earned the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG's Voice of the Customer survey, part of the ISG Star of Excellence™ program, the premier quality recognition for the technology and business services industry.
Customized versions of the report are available Invisors and PwC.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® Workday Ecosystem report for the U.S. is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.
About ISG Provider Lens® Research
The ISG Provider Lens® Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.
About ISG
ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
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