Why has Workday, a leading SaaS company with $7.3Bn in annual revenue and a staggering $21Bn revenue backlog, made đ Partner Transformation its top priority? What was behind this pivot, and how is it shaping Workday's success?
Upon Carl Eschenbach becoming its co-CEO in December 2022, Workday reshaped its approach to partnerships in an effort to unlock growth.
Previously the companyâs ecosystem playbook was centered on collaborating with 19.5K service consultants who deliver Workday products to customers. Now the company emphasizes a joint go-to-market and co-selling with partners, including hyperscalers like Amazon Web Services (AWS).
đ This shift contributed to a profitable FY24, reversing a previous $222M loss in FY23, amid continued momentum from customer wins and the company's international expansion.
In FY24, Workday reported a revenue of $7.26Bn, marking a 17% YoY growth. Over the past year, Workday's stock has rebounded from its post-pandemic slump to reach new highs, showing a sustained growth.
đ¤ Looking back at FY24, Carl Eschenbach, its CEO, underscores partners among the main drivers of Workday progress:
âOver the course of the last year, we've made key investments across our leadership team, go-to-market and partner ecosystem, and our platform, positioning us to drive enduring growth in FY '25 and beyond.â
Highlighting this strategic partner momentum, he shared,
âour ecosystemâŚnow includes more than 200 partners that have been onboarded to refer new sales leads and co-sell with us. We launched this pilot program last May, and we've seen momentum building throughout the year with a nice uptick in Q4 partner-driven pipeline generationâŚ. the partners are really starting to bring us new opportunities and we're leveraging them for co-innovation.â
Letâs look at key aspects of Workdayâs partner transformation and GTM strategy.
đ Redefining Partnership Strategy
Since its founding in 2005, Workday has been offering SaaS and solutions for human capital management, financial management, and ERP. Its software helps companies organize and manage their employee data (including payroll, benefits), financials, and other aspects of operations.
It stands out for its ease of use, quick implementation, real-time reporting, and continuous innovations, which now include AI-driven tools.
In 2023 Workday recognized the significant untapped potential in joint go-to-market strategies with partners.
At that time Workdayâs partners sourced less than 3% and influenced less than 25% of their Annual Contract Value (ACV), lagging behind the industry standards for SaaS companies at Workdayâs level of maturity.
Responding to this realization, Workday initiated a comprehensive partner transformation program in May 2023. The goal was to enhance collaboration with partners through co-selling and referrals, setting the following targets...
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