Workday intros new blockchain powered credentialing technology

 The company also unveiled a slew of machine learning-based apps and features during its annual Workday Rising event in Orlando.

Workday held its Workday Rising user conference on Tuesday, where co-founder and CEO Aneel Bhusri and a parade of executives converged in Orlando to showcase the company's vision for the future and new products in the pipeline. Workday's key goal during the event seemed to center on telling customers that it can support their business during transformation.

"We are focused on innovation that adds value to you, our customer," Bhusri said during his keynote, noting the pivotal role machine learning will play in Workday's products and platforms going forward. Bhusri continued to call machine learning "the foundational and disruptive technology of the next five years."

As for the key announcements, Workday is introducing a blockchain based system for verifying worker credentials and identity called Workday Credentials. The system is meant to move credentials into the digital realm, enabling employers to issue credentials to workers, and verify and manage worker credentials instantly via blockchain. When a person shares a credential by applying for a job, the blockchain in Workday Credentials can verify that the credential is valid and hasn't been revoked. 

For its finance customers, Workday previewed a new application called Workday Accounting Center. Built on Workday's Prism Analytics, the app aims to help users manage operational data from multiple sources across the enterprise via a single point of control.

Workday is also using machine learning to automate traditionally labor-intensive finance processes. By connecting the dots between financial entities, the system learns the relationships between cost centers, spend categories, projects, regions and currencies.

Another new AI-based application is Workday People Experience, a platform designed to make work more personal and productive by helping employees find what they need in the hodgepodge of corporate business systems. The app curates the information, programs and tasks that workers use the most via machine learning, natural language processing, rich media and enterprise search. 

Similarly, the new Workday People Analytics app uses augmented analytics technology to help business leaders pinpoint the most critical trends in their organization, as well as an understanding of what is most likely driving those trends, and delivers the insights in  story form.

New features for Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) customers include the new Skills Insights feature and Talent Marketplace platform. The Skills Insights feature aims to help HR managers figure out what skills they have and what gaps exist within their organization. Meanwhile, Talent Marketplace offers workers more insight into internal mobility and employment opportunities within an organization. The platform will support internal gigs at launch, with future plans to incorporate internal job transfers and connect to external talent communities.

Workday is also hosting its financial analyst day on Tuesday. In the meantime, Bushri said during his keynote that Workday expects revenue of $3.95 billion for the fiscal year, up 27% year over year. Check back later for more financial updates.