A new research report from Information Services Group (ISG) indicates that U.
S. enterprises are increasingly using Workday as a core platform for financial, operational, and workforce agility, moving beyond its traditional role as a human resources system of record. The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® Workday Ecosystem report for the U.
S. finds that Workday adoption has matured, with organizations applying the platform to a broader range of functions including finance modernization, data-driven strategies, and enhanced employee experiences, positioning it as a key component of long-term enterprise transformation.
Stacey Cadigan, partner at ISG Human Capital Management and Enterprise Transformation, commented, “U.
S. enterprises are investing in Workday as a flexible foundation for financial visibility, workforce transformation and innovation. This evolution is turning Workday into a central platform for managing people and money.”
The report highlights an acceleration in Workday transformations driven by financial management needs across U.
S. organizations. Companies are replacing legacy financial systems with Workday Financial Management to gain real-time insights and improve planning and analysis, thereby embedding Workday deeper into strategic decision-making and potentially elevating the CFO’s role in modernization.
Furthermore, U.
S. enterprises are transitioning from experimenting with AI within Workday to practical application. Organizations are leveraging AI and machine learning to automate workflows, streamline talent acquisition, and forecast operations. Agentic AI is an emerging aspect, with agents designed to perform multi-step tasks like candidate sourcing and scheduling, which helps reduce administrative workloads. These Workday AI initiatives are generating substantial demand for services that assist companies in implementing AI features and ensuring data cleanliness and structure for reliability.
Companies are also shifting from rigid, job-based roles to skills-based talent strategies, utilizing Workday features such as Workday Skills Cloud to map current capabilities, predict future needs, and establish internal marketplaces. Organizations are modifying workforce practices to improve agility, close skills gaps, and enhance retention. Through Workday’s consumer-grade engagement features, employees are offered more personalized digital journeys.
Workday’s evolution from a closed, monolithic application to an open, extensible ecosystem has provided enterprises with greater flexibility, according to the report. Tools like Workday Extend and the Workday Marketplace enable organizations to build customized solutions and access a diverse range of services. This adaptability fosters innovation and supports long-term transformations across numerous industries, also leading to a growing number and diversity of service providers.
Ashwin Gaidhani, analyst at ISG Provider Lens Research and lead author of the report, stated, “Workday has built a powerful ecosystem that can adapt to a wide range of enterprise needs. Companies are partnering with service providers to reshape their Workday deployments as their business priorities evolve.”
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 identifies Accenture, Cognizant, Deloitte, Huron, Invisors, KPMG, PwC, Strada, and TopBloc as Leaders in all four quadrants. IBM is named a Leader in three quadrants, while Hexaware and Kainos are recognized as Leaders in two quadrants each, and Mercer in one quadrant.
In addition, Kainos is recognized as a Rising Star in two quadrants, defined by ISG as a company with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential.” CrossVue and DXC Technology are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant each. For customer experience, Invisors is distinguished as the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2025 among Workday ecosystem providers, achieving the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG’s Voice of the Customer survey, part of the ISG Star of Excellence™ program.
