Everest Group's 2026 report puts AI, global scale, and total workforce strategy at the center of the VMS conversation—and ranks Workday VNDLY at the front of the pack for the sixth year running.
Workday VNDLY has been named a Leader in Everest Group's Vendor Management System (VMS) PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2026—our sixth consecutive year in the top tier. Beyond our Leader positioning across Global, North America and EMEA segments, we are also recognized as a Star Performer in the Global cut of the assessment.
This top placement reflects a year of investment in AI and product innovation, global scale, and tighter integration across the Workday platform, anchored in our vision for a new work day—empowering organizations at a time when they are more reliant than ever on contingent workers.
With the contingent workforce projected to expand significantly in the years ahead, a VMS now needs to be part of the core architecture infrastructure—not a side system. Buyers want tighter vendor governance and compliance management, sharper financial controls, and a clear line into total workforce strategy.
Everest Group's annual assessment provides guidance to buyers by scoring providers on capability, vision, and customer value. The 2026 edition leans heavily on AI maturity and global readiness, two areas where buyers are increasingly making their selection calls.
For organizations evaluating a VMS, the report serves as a market map that defines who is leading today, who is investing for tomorrow, and where the technology is heading next.
With the contingent workforce projected to expand significantly in the years ahead, a VMS now needs to be part of the core architecture infrastructure.
Everest Group credited Workday VNDLY's high ranking on product velocity, customer satisfaction scores, and our strategic role inside a global workforce strategy. The platform now spans 130+ countries, 35+ language packs, and extensive currency coverage.
That scale matters when Workday VNDLY connects directly into the Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) Suite: the result is a single view of employees, contingent workers, and—increasingly—AI agents inside a unified system of record.
“Workday VNDLY continues to advance its total workforce management capabilities through platform innovation, deeper Workday integration, and targeted AI-driven investments,” says Krishna Charan, Vice President at Everest Group. “Capabilities such as Unified Worker Profile Management, a configurable Calculation Engine, expanded SOW lifecycle automation, and emerging AI agent-led experiences have contributed to Workday VNDLY’s recognition as a Leader and Star Performer in Everest Group’s 2026 Global Vendor Management System (VMS) PEAK Matrix® Assessment and strengthened its ability to support integrated workforce management at scale.”
The 2026 report singles out AI as a key differentiator separating Leaders from the rest of the pack. Even before introducing AI, Workday VNDLY's recruiting capabilities have driven massive impact—one healthcare customer already cut time-to-fill for contingent roles by 66%.
And this is only the beginning as we plan to roll out our Contingent Sourcing Agent this year. That kind of measurable lift is what buyers and analysts now expect from a modern VMS.
Workday VNDLY's recruiting capabilities have driven massive impact—one healthcare customer already cut time-to-fill for contingent roles by 66%.
Beyond industry recognition, a Leader placement is a powerful signal to our customers. It says the roadmap is funded, the product is shipping, and the partner is going to be there as the workforce shifts under everyone's feet.
“Before Workday VNDLY, our leaders were stuck in a complicated, double-approval process where invoices routinely bottlenecked and it could take 60 days from a time clock entry to vendor payment,” said Tim Peach, director, HRIS, Workforce Data & Analytics at UofL Health, a Louisville regional healthcare system. “With Workday VNDLY tightly integrated to Workday HCM, we cut that cycle time in half to 30 days or less, freed managers from low-value approvals, and dramatically improved both vendor and worker satisfaction—giving us the bandwidth to focus on strategic workforce planning instead of firefighting.”
For organizations building a total workforce strategy, that continuity matters. Workday VNDLY customers are managing global programs on the same platform their employees and finance teams already use—a unified strategy Workday also relies on for our own extended workforce spanning 30+ countries and $50+ million in spend under management.
The work doesn't stop with this recognition. Customer-driven enhancements, deeper AI innovation, and continued global expansion are actively rolling out throughout 2026.
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