U.S. Public Sector Migrates to Workday in Cloud Push

Workday starts to replace legacy workforce management as governments face new, pandemic-induced challenges, ISG Provider Lens™ report says

Migration to the cloud by the U.S. public sector, gaining momentum in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is helping to make Workday a core component of human capital management (HCM) strategies at a growing number of organizations, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Workday Ecosystem report for the U.S. Public Sector finds that the pandemic made state and local governments work harder to attract and retain employees even as economic disruptions often reduced revenue and budgets. These challenges have become a central reason to modernize IT systems that were already straining to meet growing demands for digitized constituent services.

“Many public agencies in the U.S. are going through both technology and staffing transitions at the same time,” said Nathan Frey, ISG partner, U.S. Public Sector. “Workday offers a forwarding-looking solution to support that transition, especially with help from experienced service providers.”

After relying for decades on outdated IT systems, which in many cases were developed in-house and required the knowledge of administrators now reaching retirement age, many governments and institutions are jumping ahead to cloud-based solutions, ISG says. In workforce management, this often means adopting Workday, which is gaining prominence in the public sector and higher education.

Workday offers a unified platform, for HCM and other functions, that can be relatively cost-efficient and easy to use if implemented effectively, the report says. Public sector organizations use different approaches to deploying and managing IT, with some relying more on internal resources and some on third parties, depending on budget practices and other factors. But with qualified Workday experts in short supply, many are engaging service providers for the skills required to implement the platform and get the most value from their investment.

“A successful Workday project requires both platform expertise and a realistic strategy designed for measurable results,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “Qualified providers will understand public sector objectives for service delivery and employee satisfaction and enable a Workday deployment that meets them.”

The report also examines other important steps in Workday adoption that providers can assist with, including ensuring employee engagement and aligning the vision of the whole organization on how to derive value from Workday.

For more insights on challenges faced by the U.S. public sector, along with advice on how to begin addressing them, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Workday Ecosystem report for the U.S. Public Sector evaluates the capabilities of 18 providers across three quadrants: Consulting and Strategy Services, Implementation and Integration Services, and Managed Services.

The report names Accenture, Collaborative Solutions, Deloitte, Guidehouse, KPMG and PwC as Leaders in all three quadrants. It names IBM as a Leader in two quadrants.

In addition, Avaap, Huron and Slalom are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.

A customized version of the report is available from Collaborative Solutions.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Workday Ecosystem report for the U.S. Public Sector is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 800 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221014005340/en/