Enterprise tech solutions don't fit neatly into silos anymore. With system convergence and AI agents, that's all changed.
Indeed, workflows are expanding beyond departments, and solutions are knitting together
As such, parts of the business that may never have worked with a platform like Workday, like CX functions, may consider becoming more familiar with such leading technologies.
Here's an example. Consider a customer service rep raising a query regarding their job benefits. In the future, they’ll likely interact with an AI agent that runs across into Workday to resolve their query.
As customer experience leaders collaborate with IT on these cross-department workflows, it’s fascinating to consider how leading tech brands, like Workday, are expanding their portfolios.
On that note, here are five of the biggest announcements from Workday Rising 2025, including product updates, a massive acquisition, and milestone partnerships.
1. Meet Workday’s New Illuminate Agents
Peter Bayless, Chief Technology Officer at Workday, gave key context to Workday’s product direction:
We’re shifting from the system of record for people and money to a system of action for people and money that understands their businesses, understands what they need, and helps them reimagine what work gets done.
As Workday becomes a “system of action for people and money,” its “Illuminate” AI agents will drive the action.
At Rising 2025, Workday announced three more AI agents to its Illuminate portfolio.
The first is a Case Agent that streamlines HR case management by reviewing cases, applying compliance context, and drafting responses.
Next is a Performance Review Agent. This gives managers a first draft of performance reviews, pulling in data from other systems.
Finally, a Financial Close Agent coordinates tasks, flags issues in real time, and reduces risk in the month-end close process.
The new agents bolster those already available on the Workday platform, as below.
Yet, as businesses deploy these agents and scale AI, managing the associated costs can be tricky. Recognizing this, Workday is introducing a new way for businesses to consume its AI: Flex Credits.
These credits come as part of Workday subscriptions, with the vendor promising no hidden fees or premium licenses.
Additionally, all the Credits are usable across any Workday AI agent or API. Meanwhile, customers can track their ROI "in a single dashboard."
2. Workday Unveils a New Developer Platform
Workday Extend is a low-/no-code app development solution on which over 1,400 customers - including Target, Netflix, and NASDAQ - have built over 3,000 apps.
Now, Workday is introducing Build, the next evolution of Extend.
“This isn't just another low-code platform,” said Mark Woollen, GVP of Partner Innovation at Workday. “It's a complete offering, and designed specifically with the intelligent enterprise in mind.”
That complete offering includes several new tools and features. These include:
- A FlowWise Agent Builder – A low-code tool to design, deploy, and manage AI agents.
- AI Developer Tools – These include generative AI copilot and an Agent Gateway to connect AI agents built on Workday with third-party agents.
- An Expanded Ecosystem – Here, Workday provides vetted partner solutions that address industry- and region-specific needs.
- A Global Community – A space for developers to learn, certify, and collaborate.
Interestingly, in a demo, Workday also showed how its AI agents could connect to third-party apps like Microsoft Teams or Slack to automate cross-department tasks and publish directly into the Workday system of record.
