Pathlock's 2025 Report Highlights Governance Gaps in Cloud Migration, Affecting Nearly 40% of Organizations

Pathlock's 2025 Digital Transformation and Access Risk Report

In a recent study, Pathlock has unveiled striking insights into the challenges organizations face during cloud migration. The 2025 Digital Transformation and Access Risk Report highlights that nearly 40% of enterprises have encountered security or compliance incidents directly linked to governance shortcomings. This comprehensive report draws upon feedback from 620 leaders in IT, compliance, and security across various sectors, including manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare.

As organizations seek to modernize essential business functions like finance and procurement, the findings depict a concerning reality: a significant number still employ outdated manual processes for governance, creating vulnerabilities amid the transition to hybrid systems. Interestingly, while many areas like HR have fully migrated to the cloud, vital functions such as supply chain management still lag behind, raising urgent concerns regarding oversight and risk management.

Key Challenges Uncovered

The Pathlock report outlines specific areas where organizations struggle:
1. Slow GRC Planning: Only 7% of polled organizations updated their Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) controls prior to migration. More troubling is that more than half did not incorporate GRC strategies from the project's inception.
2. Automated Governance Gaps: A staggering 70% of organizations still lack automation for critical governance tasks such as access risk analysis and user access reviews (UARs), significantly increasing their exposure to risk.
3. Delays in Access Revocation: It was reported that 51% of firms take over 24 hours to revoke access after an employee's termination, exacerbating potential security breaches.
4. Escalating Insider Threats: The findings reveal a 23% incidence of insider-related security incidents during or post-cloud migration, highlighting the urgent need for robust governance frameworks.

The Crucial Need for Governance

As organizations grapple with intense regulatory pressures stemming from laws like SOX and GDPR, the report makes it clear that governance should not be an afterthought but a core component of any digital transformation strategy. "It’s been nearly 25 years since SOX, yet compliance is still often sidelined during significant transformational efforts,” asserts Susan Stapleton, a GRC Expert at Pathlock. The path to digital integration must prioritize governance to mitigate risks effectively.

In a call to action, Chris Radkowski, another GRC Expert at Pathlock, emphasizes that treating GRC as a facilitator rather than a hindrance can lead to countless benefits, including resilience, cost reduction, and minimized compliance-related risks. Pathlock advocates that organizations must integrate governance strategies from the beginning to avoid costly revisions later.

Conclusion

The report serves as a wake-up call for organizations aiming to transition to cloud infrastructures: the integral role of GRC in facilitating smooth digital transformations cannot be understated. To dive deeper into the findings and recommendations, organizations are encouraged to download the full report from Pathlock’s official site. As the landscape of enterprise governance continues to evolve, having sound strategies in place will not only safeguard against compliance failures but also propel businesses toward success.