Workday Illuminate

Workday Illuminate, a “next-generation AI platform built on the world’s largest and cleanest HR and finance dataset,” introduced in September of 2024, is at the center of Workday’s AI strategy (investor.workday.com). Each Illuminate model is designed for easy customer adoption and feeds on the billions of business transactions flowing through the system each year. The result is a powerful AI tool that enables greater data access and enhanced decision-making.

At Workday Rising 2025, Workday released a number of AI Agents to further round out the Illuminate portfolio in HR, Finance, and Industry. The focus has been to continue to empower customers within the Workday platform and make it easier for businesses to adapt to changing markets. Through a more pinpointed approach to AI, customers can simply do more to realize the value of their investment, an approach being taken by many large-scale ERP vendors. This release offered a number of new agents across various industries, departments, and specific functions.

HR Agents

• Business Process Copilot Agent
• Case Agent
• Document Intelligence for Contingent Labor Agent
• Employee Sentiment Agent
• Job Architecture Agent
• Performance Agent

Financial Agents

• Cost & Profitability Agent
• Financial Close Agent
• Financial Test Agent

Industry Agents

• Academic Requirements Agent
• Student Administration Agent

Specialized Agents

• Contract Intelligence Agent
• Frontline Agent
• Financial Audit Agent
• Payroll Agent
• Planning Agent

Workday announced these agents will be generally available in 2026.

Updates to Workday Partnerships and the Workday Ecosystem

Workday has not only been investing heavily in product development, but also in the broader Workday ecosystem. This was evident as a stream of relationship-based announcements were made at Workday Rising 2025.

Workday to acquire Sana

Sana, founded in 2016, is “a leading AI company building the next generation of enterprise knowledge tools.” (newsroom.workday.com). At Workday Rising 2025, Workday announced movement on the acquisition through its definitive agreement with Sana. 
We have entered a new age of AI where real innovation is going to come when companies collaborate and combine their skillsets to deliver value. In this case, Workday and Sana will work together to enhance both of their offerings and elevate the employee experience. Sana’s capabilities will offer Workday customers another intuitive way to interact with their software solutions, deploying agents who can locate the data they need and apply it to streamline day-to-day tasks. Sana also adds a level of anticipation, where agents will identify areas for improvement, deliver insights, and act as project assistants.

Sana Learn is another unique offering coming in the acquisition, enabling customers to accelerate training through course generation and personalize tutoring opportunities. These tools keep employees engaged in their training and transform how learning is done across businesses.

Sana will benefit from the acquisition with access to Workday’s Agent System of Record (ASOR), where customers can safely develop and maintain their own AI agents in the Workday platform.

Workday and Microsoft's AI Collaboration

Aligned with Workday’s acquisition of Sana, Workday and Microsoft announced a new partnership built on the integration of Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio (Microsoft Entra Agent ID) with Workday Agent System of Record (ASOR). 
The future of AI is all about connectivity. Workday and Microsoft are building that future through their collaboration. By integrating the systems, customers can build AI solutions, specifically agents, on Microsoft’s platform and feel confident in those solutions operating securely across systems. Agents are assigned a “verified identity and business context” to allow a system for maintaining and tracking all agents in a system (newsroom.workday.com).

As AI agents become more sophisticated and intertwined in how we do business, solutions like this will become increasingly important for maintaining control.  

Growth in Workday's AI agent partner network

Workday’s ecosystem continues to expand as over “15 Workday Ventures portfolio companies have signed on to the Workday Agent Partner Network—joining a growing ecosystem of partners building AI agents that will connect with the Workday Agent System of Record” (newsroom.workday.com). While this may seem to be a minor announcement among the news pouring in at Workday Rising, it has major implications for the future of Workday AI.

Partners will be able to securely connect their AI agents with ASOR and ensure they are “enterprise-ready.” Once developed and evaluated, solutions will be available on the Workday Marketplace, streamlining AI adoption among Workday customers.  

Brand New Workday Solutions

Introducing Workday Data Cloud

Workday also announced innovation from the ground up, introducing Workday Data Cloud, “a new data layer that will help organizations unlock the strategic value of their HR and finance data by connecting it to their existing analytics platforms and operational systems” (newsroom.workday.com). Essentially, Workday Data Cloud works in collaboration with Databricks, Salesforce, and Snowflake to deliver a zero-copy integration between systems, allowing them to continue to operate in the applications they already use and harness the power of their Workday deployment.  

Introducing Workday Build

Developers weren’t forgotten in the Workday Rising 2025 announcements with the launch of Workday Build, “a new developer platform that gives customers and partners the power to create, share, and scale AI-powered solutions directly in Workday” (newsroom.workday.com). Further empowering Workday customers, Workday Flowise Agent Builder will be released within Workday Build as a low-code option for developing AI agents.

Workday’s goal is to accelerate time to value within its platform by putting the power back in the hands of the customer. Those who wish to develop and deploy their own AI solutions can do so with confidence on Workday’s platform. However, this is not limited to just AI agents. Tools within Workday Built also enable Workday customers to develop applications alongside AI to get the most from their Workday instance.

Updates to Workday GO and Why They Matter to the Mid-Market

Workday has been focused on pulling its solutions down-market, notably through its SMB focused software product, Workday GO. Major updates to Workday GO have continued at Workday Rising, which includes innovative utilization of AI. 
Workday seeks to simplify software implementations through packaged functionality and preconfigured solutions, giving midmarket clients access to Workday solutions previously reserved for larger enterprises. And the creation of these solutions is being made possible through the rapid development of AI.

Workday GO is focused solely on providing prebuilt packages for HR and Finance. In the HR package, customers find functionality for HCM, benefits, payroll, talent, and more. On the Finance side, customers can implement the basics they need, including the General Ledger, expenses, close and consolidation, financial reporting, and more (https://blog.workday.com).

AI at the core of Workday go

Workday GO has at its core Workday Illuminate, its AI platform, that businesses can leverage to “future-proof” their ERP strategy. Workday Illuminate was released in September 2024, utilizing Workday’s vast dataset to quickly scale AI models and help customers achieve greater time to value.

It was no surprise this release rolled in on the wave of AI announcements across the ERP market, capitalizing on transformative technology. Workday is developing AI as a human companion to improve employee productivity. Thanks to AI, Workday GO is able to constantly learn and develop paths for quick deployment and future enhancements.

As the platform gathers more data from past and ongoing ERP implementations, it can adapt and develop preconfigured solutions for rapid deployment. Additionally, by creating a unified platform, Workday is ensuring clients have a holistic view of their business. That connectivity will fuel the development and effectiveness of future AI agents. 

"42% faster time-to-value with Workday launch"

Workday Launch is a methodology comprised of previously successful ERP deployments. By applying a prescribed approach to implementation using lessons, configurations, and pre-built integrations from other clients, new customers can realize value faster. Similar approaches have been packaged together for a streamlined approach based on your requirements and industry best practices. 
While this relatively “cookie-cutter approach” doesn’t work for every unique business, it is a major step in the right direction. A quick hit approach to implementation puts the proper framework in place; however, significant configurations will still need to be made in order to meet unique business requirements.

Once a customer reaches go-live, the Workday Explore program kicks in and is designed to help customers get the most out of their instance of Workday. Essentially, customers are assigned to a “support group” upon completing their implementation with similar peers. From there, customers leverage Workday’s library of webinars and access to the Workday Community space to seek advice from colleagues. These resources enable customers to learn and deploy more in Workday over time.

What does this really mean for customers?

The promise of faster, more successful implementations is enticing, and while the reality of rapid ERP implementations is just on the horizon, we are only beginning to see what the evolving technology can do.

Over time, we expect Workday’s approach to evolve with more data access and help more customers find success with Workday GO. We will see even more from this release as more is announced, with general availability launching September 20th, 2025, and a preview period beginning August 16th, 2025.

And while Workday GO is certainly a crucial step towards the next era of ERP, you will still need to weigh your options and do your due diligence, always. If Workday has not had a similar experience with a similar client, they likely won’t have a Workday GO model for your business. And if you have requirements beyond the HR and Finance capabilities offered by Workday GO, it probably still isn’t right for you.

People-centric organizations will receive the most value from Workday GO’s model because that is the foundation of what Workday does, with a vast, global HR dataset. Product-based businesses, however, will likely need to look elsewhere for the right fit.

Conclusion

ERP Advisors Group will watch as these new advancements unfold and report to audiences who may be considering Workday. As Workday invests in new deployment models, AI, and other innovative solutions, customers and prospects alike will be able to explore new ways to receive value from their ERP systems in less time. Considering a new technology strategy? Schedule a consultation today!