The enterprise software landscape is experiencing a fundamental shift as organizations move from simply consuming AI to actively creating intelligent solutions tailored to their specific business needs. Workday Build emerges as a game-changing response to this transformation, offering enterprises the tools to become AI innovators rather than passive AI consumers.
This new developer platform represents more than just another set of development tools—it’s a comprehensive ecosystem that unlocks the potential of Workday’s structured HR and Financial data, enabling organizations to build intelligent solutions directly within their existing Workday environment. With enterprise-grade AI agents, seamless integration capabilities, and access to Workday’s annual transactions, the platform promises to accelerate innovation across HR and finance processes.
What is Workday Build?
Workday Build is a comprehensive developer platform launched by Workday that fundamentally transforms how organizations approach enterprise AI development. Rather than remaining passive consumers of pre-built AI solutions, the platform empowers customers and partners to become active creators of business-specific AI agents and applications tailored to their unique operational requirements.
The platform leverages Workday’s position as one of the leading enterprise data platforms, providing developers with direct access to clean, structured people and financial data generated from a multitude of annual transactions. This foundation enables the creation of context-rich solutions that deliver deeper insights into HR and Finance operations than ever before possible.
Designed specifically for building solutions in the HR and Finance domains, Workday Build provides access to the company’s applications, data, and AI capabilities while maintaining the trust and security that Workday customers expect from enterprise-grade platforms. The platform addresses industry needs by enabling organizations to customize their Workday environments according to their specific business processes and complex workflows.
Expected to be available in the first half of 2026, with early adopter customers gaining access through specialized programs beginning earlier, Workday Build represents a strategic investment in the future of work. The platform positions itself as an AI-first open platform that enables organizations to deliver AI innovations faster while maintaining the security and compliance standards required in enterprise environments.
Core Platform Components
Workday Build’s architecture rests on four fundamental pillars that work together to create a unified ecosystem for enterprise AI development. Each component addresses specific aspects of the development lifecycle, from initial creation to final deployment and ongoing management.
The platform’s design philosophy centers on providing developers with everything they need to build apps and intelligent solutions without requiring extensive integration or external tools. This single-developer platform approach eliminates the traditional complexity of enterprise AI development while maintaining the robust capabilities needed for mission-critical applications.
Workday Flowise Agent Builder
The Workday Flowise Agent Builder stands as the cornerstone low-code tool for designing, deploying, and managing custom AI agents within the Workday ecosystem. Built on the foundation of the acquired Flowise platform, this component brings proven open-source agent development capabilities directly into the Workday environment.
This visual, drag-and-drop interface enables both technical developers and business users to create sophisticated AI agents without extensive programming knowledge. The Agent Builder enables seamless integration of AI agents with Workday data sources, allowing organizations to manage them directly within their existing security and governance frameworks.
The platform supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), providing secure, seamless data access via MCP-compliant APIs. This integration ensures that AI agents can access Workday’s rich people and financial data while maintaining the highest standards of data security and compliance.
Integration with Workday Extend Professional provides enterprise-grade capabilities for AI agent management, including version control, deployment pipelines, and comprehensive monitoring tools. This combination enables organizations to manage custom AI agents at scale while maintaining the operational excellence required in enterprise environments.
Workday Data Cloud
The Workday Data Cloud component provides zero-copy access to data lakes, warehouses, applications, and BI tools via support for open standards such as Iceberg and JDBC. This approach eliminates the traditional data movement bottlenecks that often slow enterprise AI initiatives while ensuring real-time access to the most current information.
The platform’s architecture enables organizations to connect AI apps and agents directly to live Workday data without compromising security or performance. Support for industry-standard protocols ensures compatibility with existing data infrastructure while providing the flexibility needed for future expansion.
Advanced analytics capabilities integrate seamlessly with existing Workday Prism Analytics installations, enhancing productivity and enabling organizations to generate deeper insights from their existing data investments. The zero-copy approach means that data remains within Workday’s secure environment while still being accessible to AI applications and analytics tools.
Workday Marketplace
The Workday Marketplace serves as a comprehensive distribution platform featuring over 100 partners offering vetted, purpose-built AI applications and agents specifically designed for HR and Finance use cases. This curated ecosystem ensures that organizations can access high-quality solutions that meet enterprise standards for security, compliance, and performance.
The marketplace operates on Workday’s Built on Workday program, enabling developers to become official partners and distribute their solutions through the official marketplace. This approach creates a sustainable ecosystem where innovation can flourish while maintaining quality standards that enterprise customers require.
Partner programs within the marketplace provide comprehensive support for solution providers, including technical resources, certification processes, and go-to-market assistance. The Workday Agent Partner Network currently connects 50+ technology companies building AI agents that integrate seamlessly with Workday’s agent system, creating a rich ecosystem of specialized solutions.
AI Development Tools and Capabilities
Workday Flowise Agent Builder
Beyond its basic agent-creation capabilities, the Workday AI Agent Builder provides sophisticated workflow management and integration features that enable the implementation of complex business logic. The visual interface abstracts away much of the complexity traditionally associated with AI agent development while preserving the flexibility needed for sophisticated use cases.
The platform’s integration with Workday Orchestrate enables cross-platform process automation via MCP-compliant APIs, enabling AI agents to trigger and participate in complex business processes spanning multiple systems. This capability is particularly valuable for organizations looking to automate end-to-end workflows that involve both human and AI participants.
Advanced debugging and monitoring capabilities ensure that organizations can maintain visibility into AI agent performance and behavior. These tools provide the operational insights needed to optimize performance, troubleshoot issues, and ensure that AI agents continue to deliver value over time.
Developer Productivity Tools
The platform includes Developer Copilot, which boosts productivity through automated code generation and best-practice recommendations. This AI-powered assistant helps developers write better code faster while ensuring adherence to Workday development standards and security requirements.
The unified developer experience combines Workday Extend for building agents, apps, and orchestrations within a single, cohesive environment. This integration eliminates the context-switching and tool-management overhead that traditionally slows enterprise development projects.
A dedicated developer site provides comprehensive documentation, APIs, and community forums, creating a one-stop resource for all development needs. The Agent Gateway provides MCP-compliant APIs for seamless AI agent connectivity, enabling developers to focus on business logic rather than integration complexity.
Marketplace and Partnership Ecosystem
The marketplace and partnership ecosystem represent one of Workday Build’s most significant innovations, creating a sustainable economy around enterprise AI development. The Built on Workday program provides a clear pathway for developers to become partners and distribute solutions through the official marketplace.
The Workday Agent Partner Network connects technology companies building AI agents that integrate with Workday’s agent system of record. This network ensures that AI agents developed by different partners can work together seamlessly, creating compound value for enterprise customers.
The partnership ecosystem extends beyond simple solution distribution, providing comprehensive support for partner success, including technical resources, marketing assistance, and business development support. This holistic approach ensures that the ecosystem continues to grow and evolve to meet emerging enterprise needs.
Integration and Data Access
Workday Build’s integration capabilities represent a fundamental advancement in how enterprise systems can share and leverage data for AI applications. The platform’s zero-copy access to Workday data eliminates traditional data-movement bottlenecks while maintaining the highest security standards.
Support for open standards, including Iceberg for analytics and JDBC for live data access, ensures compatibility with existing enterprise data infrastructure. This standards-based approach enables organizations to integrate Workday Build solutions into their existing technology stack without significant architectural changes.
Expanded REST and GraphQL APIs provide comprehensive platform connectivity, enabling developers to access virtually any aspect of the Workday environment programmatically. These APIs support both real-time and batch operations, providing the flexibility needed for a wide range of AI applications.
Integration with Workday Orchestrate enables sophisticated cross-platform process automation, enabling AI agents to participate in complex business processes spanning multiple systems. This capability is particularly valuable for organizations looking to create seamless, automated workflows that improve operational efficiency.
Partner with Our Experts
Surety Systems offers comprehensive consulting services for every phase of your Workday project, from initial requirements gathering and solution design to custom application development, testing, and deployment.
Our senior-level Workday consultants bring unparalleled expertise to ensure your Workday solution is strategically aligned with your unique business processes, maximizing your platform investment and empowering your organization to adopt new functionalities with confidence.
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For more information about our Workday consulting services or to get started on a project with our team, contact us today.
