My name is Carla Hidalgo, Technical Consultant at SuccessDay, and after more than nine years working with Workday, I can’t deny how excited I was to attend Workday Rising for the very first time. I finally had the chance to meet clients I had only seen through a screen, reconnect with former colleagues I had worked with offshore, and even speak with prominent Workday leaders I previously only knew from articles.
After nearly a decade of helping organisations design, build and optimise their Workday environments, walking into the 2025 EMEA conference felt like a milestone in my career. Together with my colleagues, I had the opportunity to experience the opening keynote live, presented by Workday’s CEO Carl Eschenbach. And unsurprisingly, one topic dominated every conversation, demo and roadmap: AI. It was everywhere, not as a trend, but as a fundamental part of Workday’s long-term vision.
In this blog, I want to share the key AI announcements from Rising EMEA 2025 and explain how they differ from one another. “AI” today can mean many things, and Workday introduced several concepts that are powerful but easy to mix up.
1. Workday Data Cloud: The Foundation of AI
Workday emphasised a clear message: enterprise AI cannot exist without clean, connected and governed data. That is the role of Workday Data Cloud.
What it is
A unified, real-time, zero-copy data layer that allows organisations to combine Workday data with external sources such as Salesforce, Snowflake and Google BigQuery — without heavy ETL work.
Why it matters
Data Cloud acts as the foundation for AI models, analytics, planning, forecasting and workforce intelligence.
How it differs from other AI components
- It does not perform tasks.
- It does not automate workflows.
- It simply provides the trusted data layer that AI agents, insights and analytics rely on.
In short: Data Cloud is the engine room powering everything AI.
2. AI Agents & The Agent System of Record: AI That Acts
One of the biggest themes this year was Workday’s vision for AI agents: intelligent processes that do more than generate insights. They execute work. During Rising, Workday showcased examples such as:
- reconciling finance data,
- screening candidates,
- triaging cases,
- analysing documents and triggering workflows.
To support this, Workday is introducing the Agent System of Record (ASOR). A governance layer that tracks:
- what each agent can do,
- who owns it,
- what data it can access,
- how it performs and complies with regulation.
How it differs
- AI agents perform actions
- Data Cloud provides data
- ASOR governs and controls agents
This marks one of Workday’s biggest steps toward “AI doing the work” across both HR and Finance.
3. Workday Build + Global Developer Network: AI You Can Create
Another standout announcement was the expansion of Workday Build and the introduction of the Global Developer Network.
What it is
A set of tools, resources and communities enabling developers, partners and customers to:
- build custom applications,
- create their own AI-powered agents,
- design extensions on top of Workday.
- Workday highlighted a future where organisations no longer only consume AI, but also create AI-enabled solutions tailored to their processes.
How it differs
- AI agents provide out-of-the-box automation
- Build focuses on extensibility
- It offers a secure developer toolbox for the AI era
4. EU Sovereign Cloud: AI with European Compliance
Because Rising took place in EMEA, one announcement received a particularly strong reaction: the EU Sovereign Cloud.
What it is
A cloud environment that allows EU organisations to use Workday’s AI capabilities within full EU data residency and regulatory requirements.
Why it matters
Highly regulated industries — such as government, healthcare and financial services — can finally adopt Workday’s advanced AI features without compliance concerns.
How it differs
- It is not a feature, but an infrastructure and compliance layer
- It ensures that Data Cloud, AI agents and Build applications operate within strict EU rules
- It enables customers who previously had to limit certain capabilities
5. Partner Ecosystem & Integrations: AI Beyond Workday
Workday also extended its partnerships with:
- Microsoft (Copilot and Azure AI Foundry),
- Google (BigQuery),
- and several AI agent platforms.
This reflects an important reality: AI will never exist within a single system. It must work across the enterprise.
How it differs
- It is not Workday-native functionality
- It focuses on interoperability and connection
- It strengthens Workday’s AI strategy by integrating external technologies
Together, these elements shape Workday’s AI strategy: A unified data foundation + secure governance + intelligent agents + extensibility across an open ecosystem.
What Rising Showed Me
Workday Rising EMEA 2025 made one thing clear: we are entering a new era of enterprise applications. AI is no longer a feature. It is becoming the foundation of how HR and Finance systems will operate.
Workday’s message wasn’t “AI is coming.” It was: AI is here — and Workday is building the ecosystem that will support it for the next decade.
As a consultant, it is exciting to see how these innovations will transform the HR and Finance landscapes of our customers. And after experiencing my first Rising, one thing is certain: it definitely won’t be my last.
