I've been looking for opportunities to innovate for more than 40 years, having always been captivated by each new generation of technology and the gains it can bring to business—from the mainframe through client-server and now to SaaS and the Cloud. I've founded five companies in my career, and it's no secret that Workday is likely my last—and it also feels like the best. For one simple reason: We're clearly saving our customers time and money.
I’ve been looking for opportunities to innovate for more than 40 years, having always been captivated by each new generation of technology and the gains it can bring to business—from the mainframe through client-server and now to SaaS and the Cloud. I’ve founded five companies in my career, and it’s no secret that Workday is likely my last—and it also feels like the best. For one simple reason: We’re clearly saving our customers time and money.
Over the years, my companies have given customers new processing models, modern GUIs (remember when we used that term?), and more accessible functionality. But with Workday, the savings we’re enabling is so tangible—up to 50 percent savings over legacy solutions for some companies. Workday’s flexible architecture and mobile UI work in every customer’s favor—no matter their global location. Integrations actually function properly and help companies standardize. Our SaaS solutions bring innovation and welcome change to more “traditional” companies like McKee Foods, Workday customer #7. And the pace of how quickly our customers are going live and leveraging innovation is something I never imagined in the business software world. Complex updates, outrageous maintenance fees, and lifeless, disparate, impractical systems are concerns of the past.
Within Workday itself, more of the best. We just celebrated five full years in business, and I count myself extremely lucky to be working with such talented people, many of them handpicked for their genius and judgment. Our team, which today numbers close to 500, has delivered 10 updates in 5 years. In that time, we’ve supported 150 HCM customers (including 20 on Payroll), and 15 Financials customers. We steer clear of ivory tower attitudes and are proud and protective of our company culture. People at Workday care profoundly about each other, our customers, their individual jobs, and Workday’s mission. Plus, as you may know, we love to let loose and have a little fun, which is supremely important to me.
So it seems the lessons of 40+ years and five companies have brought me to a crowning glory of sorts. That’s not to say Workday is perfect and finished, as we have endless exciting plans ahead and are always looking for ways to improve. But to be leading with modern technology and perceptibly helping our customers in conclusive, practical ways, I believe we’re once again changing the game with another new generation of innovation. Thank you for trusting in us.
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