Workday is strengthening its presence among US government agencies as states, local authorities and public-sector organizations seek to replace their legacy systems with unified cloud platforms. The vendor is particularly highlighting financial management, budget visibility and automation through artificial intelligence.
US government agencies are continuing their digital transformation. In a press release published on September 2, 2026, Workday announced that it had added more than 100 new customers among states, local authorities and public-sector organizations over the past two years.
Organizations that have recently selected the platform include the State of Delaware, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the New York State Unified Court System and several local authorities. Some of them have already deployed Workday in their operations.
Replacing systems that have become difficult to scale
For many government agencies, modernization addresses a longstanding issue: the coexistence of separate systems for human resources, payroll, time tracking and financial functions.
This fragmentation can make it more difficult to access information and slow down certain operations. Finance teams may in particular have to wait several days to obtain the data required for reporting, analysis or budget forecasting.
Workday aims to address this situation with a platform that brings together HR and finance functions. The goal is to centralize data and give employees, managers and finance leaders more direct access to the information they need.
Budget visibility at the heart of the transformation
Beyond administrative management, Workday emphasizes the benefits for finance teams. More readily available information should enable managers to monitor budgets more effectively, analyze trends and prepare their decisions.
The State of Georgia illustrates this approach. The deployment covers more than 200 agencies and over 70,000 employees. Workday says the platform should in particular make it possible to automate certain operations related to data entry and grant tracking.
The aim is also to reduce the time spent on administrative tasks so that teams can focus more on analysis, predictive modeling and budget forecasting.
Deployments focused on automation
The city of Akron, Ohio, is also among the organizations that have modernized their environment with Workday. The local authority was specifically seeking to replace a set of legacy systems that still relied on paper-based processes and multiple data entries.
Since moving to Workday, the city has been able to offer more self-service capabilities to employees and managers. Some Workday AI agents are also being used or tested through early access to answer common questions, contribute to payroll validation and facilitate the collection of information required for financial audits.
This development illustrates a broader trend: AI is beginning to be integrated directly into business processes rather than being used as a standalone technology.
Bell Gardens: a rapid move to the cloud
The city of Bell Gardens, California, is another example cited by Workday. After a decade on an aging platform, the municipality deployed Workday HCM and Workday Financials in five months.
For local authorities dealing with aging infrastructure, migration speed is becoming an important consideration. The goal is no longer simply to replace software, but to modernize processes while minimizing disruption to public services.
Toward more data-driven public-sector management
Through these various deployments, Workday is seeking to position its platform as a shared infrastructure for the HR and finance functions of government agencies.
This strategy comes as public-sector organizations face budget constraints, growing transparency requirements and increased demand for tools capable of providing data that can be used quickly.
source: Workday
