AI – not just another wave of technology

According to PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey, 97% of CEOs have taken steps to change how they create, deliver and capture value over the past five years—highlighting the increasing importance of leveraging digital tools for long-term resilience. But success, however, doesn’t always require a complete technological overhaul; it can come from simply adopting the right solutions to remain competitive and adaptable. For medium enterprises (MEs), remaining relevant and agile often requires a smart approach to modernizing finance and HR systems. It is not about radical change—it’s about strategic and well-timed technology decisions to help drive long-term value.

In March 2025, PwC held its Workday Tomorrow event in Frankfurt. IDC Analyst Bo Lykkegaard attended as a speaker and commented on some key highlights in a blog, titled Taking the Big Leap, after the event. 

The IDC blog states, ‘The atmosphere crackled with knowledge-sharing and plans as the 50 attending HRIT leaders and professionals discussed how to leverage AI in terms of people processes.’

In the analyst’s view, ‘As a Workday customer, you can gradually switch on the AI capabilities embedded in the functional areas to which you have subscribed. IDC, however, recommends that customers launch their AI journey with less complex use cases (e.g., “GenAI job description”) that can be switched on and tested for fit with your HRIT teams.’

PwC’s Built to Scale services with Workday methodology is designed to help emerging enterprises modernize finance and human resources (HR) with industry leading practices and AI-driven solutions. It supports growing businesses to keep pace with evolving demands by helping streamline operations, increase efficiency and leverage automation without unnecessary costs. Beyond implementing new technology, it also enables organizations to build long-term stability and adaptability.

The IDC blog ‘Taking a big leap’ goes on to say, ‘Workday’s partnership with a major partner like PwC goes far beyond the traditional applications vendor + global systems integrator setup. As a key partner, PwC has a large number of certified consultants in the various Workday solutions and cloud tools, co-sells the solutions with Workday, and markets services capabilities at Workday events.’ 

It also mentioned that, ‘Today, however, PwC sells its own branded solutions, certified by Workday and built natively on the Workday Extend platform. Furthermore, these PwC solutions are sold on the Workday Marketplace. PwC co-markets and co-brands events with Workday, and Workday involves PwC in its multiyear product road maps.’

As a final note, the blog comments on the fact that ‘AI is not just another wave of technology to manage and roll out. It has massive transformational potential. It will permeate the business world whether we like it or not.’

Silvia Dornieden, Partner, EMEA Workday Alliance leader, PwC Germany said, 'At PwC, we continuously invest in AI-driven solutions to help businesses navigate complexity, drive efficiency, and stay ahead in an ever-evolving market. Our Built to Scale services with Workday accelerate modernization—enabling organizations to move from planning to execution faster than traditional approaches. With advanced configuration tools and automation, businesses gain a competitive edge that goes beyond deployment—enhancing workforce planning, streamlining financial operations, and strengthening compliance to support long-term success in a digital-first world.'

Click here to read the IDC Blog - Taking the Big Leap