Workday Rising Day 3: Microsoft collaboration & Agent System of Record
Workday staged its Workday Rising 2025 conference and exhibition to showcase its work to extend its human resources and finance platform, tools and services for the age of agentic AI – and the company did so in line with key technical partners and the go-to-market specialists the organisation works for across a variety of channels, levels and vertical markets.
The Computer Weekly Developer Network team was on hand to listen in and report throughout; this is what day three had to offer.
CMO Emma Chalwin kicked off the keynote by recapping the release of Workday’s key agents, Workday Build for creating agents and Workday Flowise Agent Builder, the low-code platform that is said to be usable to all users (regardless of technical experience)… and the Workday Data Cloud as a coalescing technology to provide all these services with what the company promises is a “vast pool” of data.
“AI is fundamentally reshaping how we work – and we can’t wait for you to experience it with us. No longer just about managing the human workforce, it’s about strategically integrating AI to reach new levels of human potential and drive real business value, elevating humans while also embracing the collaboration between people and machines,” said Chalwin, in a blog preview this event.
As part of the news reel for this show, we learned that Workday has announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to help organisations manage their people and Al agents across platforms.
Workday Agent System of Record (ASOR)
Users who build Al agents using Microsoft Azure Al Foundry and Copilot Studio will be able to register and manage them within the Workday Agent System of Record (ASOR).
This integration between Workday ASOR and Microsoft Entra Agent ID will is said to be able to help ensure every agent built on Microsoft agent building platforms has a verified identity and the right business context to operate safely and effectively across the business.
“As Al agents become a huge part of how we work, managing and securing them across different systems is a real challenge. Our commitment to an open ecosystem is about giving organizations the flexibility to build their fleet of Al agents on the platform of their choice,” said Gerrit Kazmaier, president of product and technology, Workday.
Kazmaier says that through this strategic partnership with Microsoft, the company is giving organisations one secure system to manage both their people and their Al agents – so they can focus on results, not complexity.
From Chaos to Control
Workday says Al agents are growing more prevalent and tracking their access, roles and value is crucial for any business. As agents become more autonomous and handle important work, organisations must manage their identities, permissions and define oversight. Without a centralised system, organisations will face fragmented operations, ineffective governance, greater security risks, and difficulty realizing the true value of their Al investments.
“Our partnership with Workday is a breakthrough in delivering the trust organizations need to adopt Al,” said Charles Lamanna, president, business and industry Copilot, Microsoft. “By seamlessly registering agents built with Copilot Studio and Azure Al Foundry into Workday’s Agent System of Record, we’re giving customers full visibility into their Al ecosystem. This integration equips leaders with actionable analytics to measure ROI, enforce governance, and ensure their Al agents are secure and delivering real value.”
This latest innovation between Workday and Microsoft will create a seamless and secure experience for building and managing Al agents across the enterprise, allowing customers to build and register agents across an open ecosystem.
Agent registration
Organisations that build Al agents using Microsoft Azure Al Foundry and Copilot Studio can then easily register and manage them within Workday ASOR. For example, a developer that builds an agent in Copilot Studio to streamline employee onboarding will be able to easily register it in Workday, so that it can be made available to the enterprise.
Teams will also be able to get insights to measure ROI i.e. business leaders can use the agent analytics within Workday ASOR to understand how Al agents are being used and the value they bring.
“These dashboards show how people and Al agents work together, helping companies measure their total value and return on investment. A leader can easily see which agents their team is using and then get detailed reports on agent usage, time saved, and improved productivity,” said the company.
The new integration between Workday and Microsoft’s agent systems will allow interoperability between different Al agents. For example, an employee could ask a Microsoft Employee Self-Service Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot to update career goals or submit a peer review.
The request would be handed off to the Workday agent inline, allowing the employee to complete the workflow in Workday agent without leaving Microsoft Employee Self-Service Agent. This will help deliver a unified, secure, and context-preserving experience in the flow of work.
