Workday Named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software for Third Year in a Row

We're thrilled to announce that Workday is once again positioned as a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software. This is the third year in a row we've been recognized in this report, and we attribute this recognition to our commitment to empowering customers with the latest innovations and world-class planning capabilities.

With more than 6,500 customers, Workday Adaptive Planning helps businesses keep pace with our fast-changing world. Today, agility is a strategic imperative for organizations seeking sustained success as companies around the world are forced to adapt at breakneck speed. Yet many financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams are still stuck with old-world, disconnected planning, limited insights due to complex and fragile environments, data silos, and time-consuming manual processes.

The challenge is magnified when every function or department relies on its own model or spreadsheets that are disconnected from the corporate plan and require hours or days to send out, have business managers make edits, and then readjust the model. These inefficiencies dilute the transformational potential a modern, scalable planning solution can bring to the business and leave little time for the thoughtful analysis decision-makers need to mitigate risk and seize new opportunities. In addition, dated planning systems cannot capitalize on the continuous advancements of AI technology entering the market.

Forever Forward

Our deep investment in AI technology positions Workday as a world-class enterprise planning platform that adapts to the requirements of today's organizations.

At Workday Rising, our flagship customer event in September, we announced Workday Illuminate, the next generation of Workday AI. Our vision for Workday Illuminate is to prepare organizations for tomorrow with AI-accelerated processes, AI assistance, and AI-powered agents. Currently more than 1,000 customers actively use Workday Illuminate within Workday Adaptive Planning to collaborate seamlessly, plan continuously, and adapt quickly.

And our innovation continues with the new Workday Assistant in Workday Adaptive Planning. Workday Assistant makes it easy to quickly surface data, uncover contextually relevant insights, and get recommended actions through written prompts and queries powered by Gen AI.

Workday also delivers intelligent variance analysis, a new experience that transforms planning and analysis with AI-generated commentary and guidance. It brings together key analysis and insights personalized and generated by AI, automatically identifying key trends and drivers-all within a personalized experience tailored to the user and task at hand.

Here are some other unique aspects about Workday Adaptive Planning that we believe helped us in this Gartner recognition.

Elastic Hypercube Technology

The Workday next-generation, in-memory architectural engine for Workday Adaptive Planning was designed from the ground up to address the growing demands on businesses as they model more complicated scenarios and support greater input from functional areas across their organization.

Elastic Hypercube Technology boosts value by automatically adding memory and computing power when users need it. This enables fast response times for analytics, calculations, and data updates, ensuring that planning stakeholders companywide have the information they require. It also provides for virtually unlimited dimensions and versions to drive more complex planning, as well as scenario analytics.

Our vision for Workday Illuminate is to prepare organizations for tomorrow with AI-accelerated processes, AI assistance, and AI-powered agents.

Plan With Agility and Flexibility

The latest personal what-if scenario capabilities in Workday Adaptive Planning further ensure that businesses can adapt quickly to changes without compromising on functionality or ease of use. This adaptability means that organizations can pivot strategies as needed, accommodating everything from market disruptions to internal adjustments. A planning solution that is both agile and user-friendly empowers teams to implement changes efficiently, enhancing overall responsiveness and resilience.

Leverage Data-Driven Insights

Workday Adaptive Planning is a key part of the Workday platform that includes Workday Financial Management and Workday Human Capital Management. Its native dimensionality manages people and money-all in a single system, helping organizations yield richer insights so they can act quickly and with more confidence.

Our planning solution also works alongside other applications and data, easily integrating with any source system, whether it be an ERP, CRM, HR/Payroll, and more-as well as repositories like data warehouses and data lakes.

Connecting to any data source is key for generating accurate, data-driven insights. By integrating diverse datasets, strategic planners can gain a comprehensive view of the business landscape. This holistic approach to data analysis enables more informed decision-making and deeper insights into customer behavior, market trends, and operational efficiencies, supporting strategies that are grounded in empirical evidence rather than assumptions.

Next Steps

As a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Financial Planning Software, we have our sights set on where work is going-and how to guide our customers there. Our forward-looking vision and execution will continue to serve as the foundation for helping businesses act rapidly to changing conditions while anticipating future needs and being prepared for what's next.

^{Gartner Magic Quadrant for Financial Planning Software, Regina Crowder, Vaughan Archer, Matthew Mowrey, Michelle Carlsen, 18 November 2024}

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