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Workday’s channel is transforming with a strategic focus on open ecosystem collaboration, AI-driven co-selling, and interoperability across cloud platforms like Google and AWS. In our prior article, Workday’s Channel Transformation — What You Need to Know, we examined these program changes and their implications. Now, we explore how Workday partners can outpace the market by activating practical, data-driven, and ecosystem-led tactics for 2026.
Key GTM opportunity areas for Workday partners
Workday’s new model demands agility, data fluency, and cross-vendor co-selling for growth.
Here is how top-performing partners are adapting:
Modernize sales motions for multi-cloud and AI
- Shift focus from single-stack deployments to multi-cloud, data-integrated offerings (leveraging the Google BigQuery and AWS partnerships).
- Activate the Workday AI Agent Partner Network to deliver agentic intelligence with compliance and transparency as table stakes (learn more here).
- Invest in an Ecosystem Revenue Platform (such as Crossbeam) for ongoing pipeline discovery, account mapping, and avoiding channel conflict.
Expand co-selling networks with Ecosystem Intelligence
- Map customer overlaps across your portfolio using Crossbeam or similar platforms; prioritize joint opportunities with high win propensity.
- Build trust by sharing pipeline signals and ecosystem-qualified leads (EQLs). According to Salesforce, 84% of sales professionals say partner selling has a bigger impact on revenue than a year ago.
- Leverage Crossbeam’s Salesforce and other CRM integrations for real-time deal collaboration.
- Launch campaigns that reference Workday’s open APIs and new developer resources.
Automate reporting, signals, and incentives for GTM velocity
- Use Crossbeam automation and AI features to score and route partner signals. 90% of companies implemented AI-driven GTM workflows in 2025.
- Attribute revenue based on partner influence, not just direct channel dollars.
- Align sales incentives with ecosystem KPIs (partner pipeline adds, EQL conversions, joint proposal submissions).
Upskill teams on Agentic AI and co-sell readiness
- Encourage teams to use Workday’s new Open Developer Network for rapid solution development.
- Train sellers on AI ethics, orchestration, and agent governance requirements.
- Leverage ecosystem leader guides (such as Crossbeam Academy) for practical enablement.
Crossbeam in the Workday GTM landscape
By mapping shared customers and partner overlaps, Crossbeam enables partners to uncover new co-sell routes, mitigate channel friction, and accelerate joint pipeline development. The Crossbeam case study highlights that partners using Crossbeam realized 350% larger deal sizes due to orchestrated signals and nearbound leads.
Mini-case: Driving AI revenue with ecosystem GTM
A global Workday system integrator (SI) identified a clear pattern across its shared enterprise customer base: many accounts were already standardizing on Google Cloud as their hyperscaler of choice. Recognizing an opportunity to align infrastructure, data, and AI initiatives, the SI partnered with Workday and Google Cloud to develop a joint, repeatable offering.
The resulting packaged accelerator combined secure, zero-copy data access from Workday Data Cloud into BigQuery with an agentic workflow purpose-built to operate within Workday’s Agent System of Record and Agent Partner Network governance model. This ensured customers could activate AI-driven use cases while maintaining enterprise-grade controls, compliance, and orchestration across agents.
The SI then brought the solution to market through coordinated co-selling motions with Workday and hyperscaler stakeholders, directly aligning with Workday’s broader strategy to elevate partner-led go-to-market as a top companywide priority.
This “better-together” ecosystem motion benefited from Workday’s accelerating channel momentum — where partners now drive more than 20% of net-new ACV, up from less than 3% just two years earlier — enabling the SI to evolve traditional implementation engagements into higher-value, multi-party expansion opportunities across shared accounts.
Quick-start checklist for channel leaders
To operationalize this playbook, partners should:
- Map your top 100 strategic accounts in Crossbeam and identify EQLs across your network
- Launch one co-marketing campaign leveraging AI Agent or data integration case studies
- Connect Crossbeam to Salesforce or HubSpot for ecosystem signal workflows
- Upskill GTM teams on Workday’s open APIs and compliance frameworks
- Set measurable EQL and partner-influenced deal targets in your Q1/Q2 plans
Ready to turn Ecosystem Intelligence into a competitive advantage? Sign up for Crossbeam for free and get a behind-the-scenes look at how top HR and finance players are winning with data-driven ecosystem strategies.
FAQ
- When do Workday’s new partner program updates take effect?
Most major changes — including the Agent Partner Network and open ecosystem developer resources — rolled out in Q4 2025; full support began in January 2026.
- What is the main impact on Workday channel partners?
Channel partners must now deliver, govern, and differentiate AI agent-based and multi-cloud solutions; success depends on co-selling, data integration, and ecosystem execution.
- What types of incentives drive performance in Workday’s ecosystem in 2026?
Partners see the highest ROI by aligning incentives to partner-influenced pipeline, EQLs, and co-created solution revenue, rather than just direct channel sales.
- How can Crossbeam help partners identify the best new opportunities?
Platforms like Crossbeam allow partners to spot overlapping high-propensity accounts, prioritize strategic joint pursuits, and reduce channel conflict by mapping real-time ecosystem data.
References
- Workday Expands Its Open Ecosystem with New Global Developer Network and Google BigQuery Partnership
- Best practices for co-selling with partners using nearbound
- How Crossbeam’s Ecosystem Team Turns Partner Signals Into 350% Bigger Deals in 2025
- AI-powered GTM: Insights from the State of Sales Enablement Report 2025
