Global company Workday has announced the official launch of its operations in the United Arab Emirates and the opening of a new office in Dubai to support organizations in human resources, financial, and IT management. The launch coincided with the release of an extensive study revealing that 90% of employees in the country rely weekly on artificial intelligence solutions.
- Opening of the regional headquarters in Dubai and expanding local leadership
- AI survey results and work hours saved
- Importance of human oversight and challenges of correcting outputs
- Redirecting productivity gains toward empowering talent
- Executive leadership vision and the UAE’s position in global growth
- About Workday and its future statements
- Frequently asked questions
Opening of the regional headquarters in Dubai and expanding local leadership
Workday, listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “WDAY” and a leading global enterprise platform powered by cloud and AI technologies for human resources, finance, and IT management, announced the official launch of its operations in the United Arab Emirates on October 1, 2026. This launch reflects the company’s long-term commitment to the promising UAE market alongside the accelerating pace of smart solution adoption across various business sectors in the country.
This qualitative expansion is anchored by the opening of a new, advanced operational office in Dubai, the provision of dedicated operations to serve regional clients, and the expansion of the regional leadership team. This vital platform provides the company with a direct communication channel with its local clients and partners, helping it attract top human talent to support institutional systems in modernizing their digital infrastructure and managing change with high efficiency, in alignment with the goals of the UAE national digital transformation agenda.
Workday hosted a select group of senior officials and business leaders to celebrate the opening of its new headquarters in Dubai, led by Angelique de Vries-Schiereck, president of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and Zakaria Haltout, vice president for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa.
AI survey results and work hours saved
Concurrently with the announcement of its operations, the company unveiled qualitative research findings from its recent report titled “Beyond Productivity: Measuring the True Value of AI in the United Arab Emirates.” The report highlights the methodology used by organizations to assess the impact of smart technologies, emphasizing that the benefit is not limited to saving time but extends to generating broader strategic value for individuals and businesses alike.
The survey study showed that the adoption of artificial intelligence in UAE work environments has reached highly critical levels of maturity; 90% of participating employees confirmed using AI tools at least once a week, including 58% who rely on them multiple times a week, while 18% use them continuously every workday. Employees explained that relying on these applications allows them to save an average of 3.6 work hours weekly, while more than half of managers and CEOs in the country reported regular weekly use of smart tools in managing strategic tasks.
Importance of human oversight and challenges of correcting outputs
Despite the rapid pace of adoption, the study warned that maximizing the latent potential of artificial intelligence depends fundamentally on direct human oversight, building trust, and continuous training. The data showed that employees spend an average of 3.4 hours a week reviewing, auditing, and editing inaccurate texts and outputs generated by smart systems, proving that human intervention remains an indispensable pillar for quality control, preventing institutional errors, and standardizing regulatory frameworks.
Redirecting productivity gains toward empowering talent
The study recorded an encouraging strategic shift in the mindset of institutional leaders in the UAE; the vast majority chose to reinvest returns and productivity gains into developing their human talent rather than limiting the objective to direct financial cost reduction. The figures are as follows:
First, 33% of companies leverage algorithmic efficiency to successfully handle double workloads and tasks without needing to increase headcount. Second, 32% of organizations allocate their AI-generated savings to fund specialized training programs, upskilling employees, and retraining them to face the future. Third, 32% of organizations direct their efforts toward enhancing work environment flexibility, supporting employee well-being, and easing daily work pressures. Fourth, only 24% of organizations reported that cost reduction is the primary goal of AI savings. Fifth, only 0.2% of participants stated that the technology did not yield any tangible time or cost savings.
Executive leadership vision and the UAE’s position in global growth
Angelique de Vries-Schiereck stated that the UAE constitutes a critically important strategic growth market for Workday, given that its national institutions are driving digital transformations among the most ambitious internationally. She added that large, regulated enterprises need flexible technology tools that ensure accelerated transformation and innovation while adhering to the highest standards of governance, integrity, and rigorous institutional oversight.
For his part, Zakaria Haltout stated that organizations across the UAE have already moved from exploratory experimentation to daily practical implementation of artificial intelligence solutions. He emphasized that Workday focuses on helping organizations integrate AI into the actual operational context of businesses accurately, while providing the controls necessary to manage operations and empower teams to launch with complete confidence.
About Workday and its future statements
Workday is a globally leading platform trusted by more than 11,500 organizations and businesses worldwide, including over 65% of Fortune 500 companies. The company goes beyond the concept of a simple virtual assistant to offer specialized intelligent agents that execute complex workflows with extreme precision. The company confirms in its regulatory statements that its future plans are always subject to technological evolution requirements and general economic conditions customary in the global cloud technology sector.
Frequently asked questions
Question: What are the primary enterprise services provided by Workday to the business sector?
Answer: Workday provides an AI-powered cloud platform for human resources, financial management, and enterprise IT operations.
Question: How many hours do employees save weekly using AI in the UAE according to the company report?
Answer: The report showed that employees save an average of 3.6 hours weekly, while spending 3.4 hours reviewing and correcting outputs to ensure quality.
Question: Where did Workday open its new headquarters to monitor its operations?
Answer: The company opened its new operational office in Dubai to expand its dedicated regional operations in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East region.
