Workday launches government subsidiary

Workday, the web-based human capital software company, has created a wholly owned subsidiary forced on the U.S. government.

The Workday Government unit centralizes all public sector work and allows the company to tailor operations to meet the unique needs of government agencies, according to a blog post written by General Manager Lynn Martin.

“The U.S. government is facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize its aging infrastructure and Workday continues to deepen its commitment to investing in and supporting this transformation,” Martin wrote.

The company touts the benefit of its cloud-based platform such as improved user experience, more security, artificial intelligence modernization, cloud scalability and innovation, and configuration instead of customization.

Workday supports the human capital needs of 60% of Fortune 500 companies and 70% of the top 50 of those companies, Martin said. The departments of Energy and Defense also use Workday.

“It is our belief that the U.S. government deserves the same level of transformation,” she said.

The company also was picked by the Office of Personnel Management to provide a governmentwide platform for human capital management. But OPM pulled back the no-bid contract within days after systems integrators and others complained about the lack of competition for the award.

OPM is under pressure to meet White House demands to restructure the federal workforce and implement merit-based hiring reforms.

Martin’s blog does not say whether the company will pursue opportunities directly with federal customers, if it will work through systems integrators, or if the strategy encompasses elements of both.

A company spokesman said: "We will continue to support the government in the manner they choose.”