Workday, Inc.
| File:Workday logo.svg Workday logo | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | March 2005 |
| Founder | David Duffield, Aneel Bhusri |
| Headquarters | Pleasanton, California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Carl Eschenbach (CEO), Aneel Bhusri (Executive Chairman) |
| Products | Cloud solutions for financial management, human capital management, student information systems |
| Revenue | $7.26 billion (FY 2024) |
| $1.38 billion (FY 2024) | |
| Total assets | $16.5 billion (FY 2024) |
Number of employees | 23,800 (2025) |
| Website | www |
Workday, Inc. is a U.S.-based software firm delivering cloud solutions focused on financial management, human capital management, and student information systems. Established in 2005 by entrepreneur David Duffield, the founder and former CEO of the ERP pioneer PeopleSoft, alongside former PeopleSoft chief strategist Aneel Bhusri, Workday was created in the aftermath of Oracle’s acquisition of PeopleSoft.
The company became publicly traded in October 2012 through an initial public offering (IPO) that valued it at approximately $9.5 billion. Competing within the enterprise software sector, Workday’s main rivals include SAP SuccessFactors, Dayforce, UKG, and Oracle. Its corporate headquarters are located in Pleasanton, California, while it serves clients worldwide.
For fiscal year 2024, Workday reported revenues amounting to $7.26 billion, with a net profit of $1.38 billion and total assets reaching $16.5 billion. As of 2025, its workforce numbers around 23,800 employees. The executive leadership team features CEO Carl Eschenbach and executive chairman Aneel Bhusri.
In 2020, Fortune magazine ranked Workday fifth among its Top 100 Companies to Work For list, highlighting its positive organizational culture and high employee satisfaction.
2005–2015
Workday was established in March 2005 and officially launched in November 2006, initially financed by founder David Duffield alongside venture capital firm Greylock Partners. By December 2008, the company had moved its headquarters from Walnut Creek to Pleasanton, California, near Duffield’s former enterprise PeopleSoft.
On February 6, 2008, Workday enhanced its middleware technology by acquiring Cape Clear Software. That same year in May, it secured a significant contract with Flextronics to provide human capital management software services. Its client portfolio included prominent companies such as Aviva, Chiquita Brands, Fairchild Semiconductor, Rentokil Initial, Thomson Reuters, and Time Warner.
In April 2009, Workday raised $75 million during a funding round led by New Enterprise Associates with participation from Greylock Partners and CEO Dave Duffield. By October 2011, an additional $85 million was secured from investors including T. Rowe Price, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Janus Capital Group, and Bezos Expeditions—bringing total capital raised to $250 million. By early 2012, Workday supported over 310 customers ranging from mid-market firms to Fortune 500 enterprises.
Workday debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2012 under the ticker symbol WDAY. The IPO was priced at $28 per share but closed at $48.69 on its first trading day, resulting in a market capitalization close to $9.5 billion when factoring in unexercised stock options. The offering raised $637 million through the sale of 22.75 million Class A shares—marking the largest U.S. technology IPO since Facebook’s $16 billion offering earlier that year—and underscored strong investor confidence in Workday’s cloud-based business model.
2015–present
In 2016, Workday broadened its offerings by introducing a cloud-based student information system to complement its financial and human capital management products. Two years later in 2018, it acquired Stories.bi to bolster its analytics capabilities.
Co-founder Aneel Bhusri—who also held a partnership at Greylock Partners and had prior leadership experience at PeopleSoft—served as CEO. In 2020, Chano Fernandez was elevated to co-CEO alongside Bhusri. Dave Duffield remained chairman until April 2022 when Bhusri succeeded him in that role.
November 2021 saw Workday acquire VNDLY, a workforce management startup, for $510 million to enhance its external workforce solutions. Carl Eschenbach from Sequoia Capital joined as co-CEO in December 2022 and is slated to assume sole CEO responsibilities after March 2024 while Bhusri will transition to executive chairman.
In February 2025, amid a more cautious economic climate, Workday announced an 8.5% reduction in staff as part of efforts to increase investment in artificial intelligence technologies.
Adaptive Insights
Adaptive Insights, established in 2003 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, focused on delivering software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for enterprise budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. In August 2018, Workday acquired the company for $1.55 billion, subsequently rebranding it as Workday Adaptive Planning and incorporating it into Workday’s financial planning portfolio.
The company was co-founded by Robert S. Hull and Richard L. Dellinger and was among the pioneers of SaaS-based corporate performance management, offering an alternative to traditional spreadsheet and on-premises systems. Adaptive Insights collaborated with leading cloud ERP providers such as NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and Microsoft, maintaining a global presence through partnerships across Australia, Canada, Europe, India, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the United States.
Significant developments in the company’s history include the 2012 acquisition of myDIALS and securing $45 million in funding by 2013 with support from Salesforce.com. The firm rebranded as Adaptive Insights in 2014, appointed Citrix Chairman Tom Bogan as CEO in 2015, and raised $75 million from investors including Norwest Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.
By fiscal year 2018, Adaptive Insights had expanded its customer base to over 3,700 clients worldwide. After its integration into Workday later that year, the business continued to grow under the Workday name with an emphasis on advancing financial planning solutions for large enterprises.
Business model
Workday’s revenue model is subscription-based, recognizing income over the duration of multiyear contracts while incurring upfront costs upon new customer acquisitions. The company achieved a major financial milestone in fiscal year 2016 by exceeding $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time.
Corporate governance
Founders and senior executives Aneel Bhusri and Dave Duffield hold a combined 67% of Workday’s voting shares. Duffield’s ownership is valued at $3.4 billion, while Bhusri’s stake amounts to $1.3 billion. This concentrated ownership structure helps prevent hostile takeovers and ensures stable strategic leadership.
Product
Workday delivers cloud-based software solutions for financial management and human resources aimed at global enterprise clients. Its core offerings include:
- Comprehensive global workforce and recruitment management featuring real-time analytics.
- Financial management applications covering accounting, expense management, and planning.
- Employee self-service capabilities such as onboarding processes and time tracking.
In 2014, Workday enhanced its artificial intelligence capabilities by acquiring the startup Identified and integrating its Syman technology into the Insight Apps product suite. By 2017, under CEO Aneel Bhusri’s direction, Workday entered the Platform as a Service (PaaS) arena by opening its platform to developers and partners to create custom extensions and applications.
Continuing its AI investment strategy, Workday purchased SkipFlag in 2018 to improve machine learning through an AI knowledge base derived from internal communications data.
As of September 2022, Workday has launched 39 product updates while maintaining a biannual release cadence every March and September to foster ongoing innovation.
To support its worldwide operations and ensure scalability, Workday manages data centers located in the U.S. (Ashburn, Lithia Springs, Portland), Europe (Dublin, Amsterdam), alongside leveraging Amazon Web Services as its primary infrastructure provider.
Workday Adaptive Planning
Workday Adaptive Planning is a cloud-hosted financial planning platform designed to facilitate budgeting, forecasting, and reporting activities. As an integral component of Workday's enterprise software portfolio, it seamlessly connects with HR, finance, sales, and operations solutions to optimize planning workflows. The platform delivers capabilities in planning, consolidation, analytics, and reporting through its Business Planning Cloud. Utilizing a SaaS framework, it automates data aggregation and supports real-time collaboration across various systems.
Acquisitions
| Acquisition number | Acquired company | Acquisition date | Location | Specialty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Evisort | September 2024 | USA | Contract management via document intelligence |
| 18 | HiredScore | February 2024 | USA | AI-powered recruitment technologies |
| 17 | VNDLY | November 2021 | Ohio, USA | Management of contractors and external workforce |
| 16 | Zimit | September 2021 | Florida, USA | Software for quotation management |
| 15 | Peakon | March 2021 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Platform for employee engagement |
| 14 | Scout RFP | December 2019 | California, USA & Riga, Latvia | Procurement software solutions |
| 13 | TrustedKey | July 2019 | Washington, USA | Digital identity management services |
| 12 | Stories.bi | July 2018 | Prague, Czech Republic | Augmented analytics tools |
| 11 | Adaptive Insights | June 2018 | California, USA | Solutions for business planning |
| 10 | Rallyteam | June 2018 | California, USA | Talent agility platform |
| 9 | SkipFlag | January 2018 | California, USA | Artificial intelligence and machine learning |
| 8 | Pattern | August 2017 | California, USA | Collaborative team software |
| 7 | Platfora | July 2016 | California, USA | Data analytics platform |
| 6 | Zaption | June 2016 | California, USA | Content management solutions |
| 5 | Mediacore | October 2015 | British Columbia, Canada | Learning management systems |
| 4 | Upshot | July 2015 | California, USA | Talent management platforms |
| 3 | Gridcraft | April 2015 | Colorado, USA | Planning software applications |
| 2 | Identified | February 2014 | California, USA | Recruitment technology tools |
| 1 | CapeClear | February 2008 | Dublin, Ireland | Web services integration software |
Sponsorship
In May 2021, Workday entered into a sponsorship agreement with Formula One, becoming the regional enterprise partner for finance and human resources in the UK and Germany. This collaboration was extended and broadened in 2022 through a multiyear regional contract. Additionally, in March 2023, Workday secured a multiyear partnership with McLaren as an official sponsor, boosting its presence within the motorsport sector.
See also
External links
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- Software companies established in 2005
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