For many organizations, User Access Reviews are still managed using spreadsheets, email chains, and manual follow-ups. The process often works well enough to satisfy audit requirements, but it creates a significant administrative burden on IT teams and application owners. As organizations grow and application portfolios expand, the effort required to maintain access governance grows alongside them. The question is no longer whether access reviews are necessary.
The real question is whether highly skilled IT professionals should spend their time managing spreadsheets instead of improving security and supporting the business.
The Reality of User Access Reviews
Our organization currently performs User Access Reviews across both business and support applications.
This includes:
- 20 applications reviewed quarterly
- 50 applications / portals reviewed annually
- Applications are used by Sales, Operations, HR, Finance, Communication, and IT
- Multiple application owners and reviewers participating in each cycle
This results in approximately 130 access review campaigns every year.
The process itself is familiar to many organizations:
- Export user access data
- Format and distribute spreadsheets
- Coordinate reviewers
- Follow up on outstanding actions
- Consolidate responses
- Prepare audit evidence
While the process achieves its objective, it creates significant manual effort and makes scaling increasingly difficult.
When Compliance Becomes Administration
Access reviews are intended to reduce risk and improve governance. Yet in many organizations, most of the effort is spent on administration rather than governance.
IT teams often find themselves acting as:
- Spreadsheet administrators
- Email coordinators
- Reminder managers
- Report consolidators
- Audit evidence collectors
The actual business objective, validating that users have appropriate access, becomes only a small part of the overall effort.
As review volumes increase, this model becomes harder to sustain.
Moving to an Automated Access Review Process
A dedicated User Access Review platform changes the focus completely.
Instead of managing spreadsheets and email chains, organizations can automate:
- Review creation
- Reviewer assignments
- Notifications and reminders
- Escalations
- Audit trail generation
- Compliance reporting
Application owners continue to make access decisions, but the administration of the process is significantly reduced.
The result is a review process that is easier to manage, easier to audit, and considerably more scalable.
The Biggest Transformation: The Role of IT
One of the most important changes is not the technology itself. It is the changing role of IT. Before automation, IT spends much of its time coordinating review activities.
After automation, IT can focus on higher-value activities such as:
- Improving access governance
- Identifying excessive permissions
- Supporting remediation efforts
- Strengthening security controls
- Driving Identity Governance initiatives
- Supporting Zero Trust programs
Instead of acting as process administrators, IT teams become governance advisors and security partners. This is where the real business value starts to emerge.
The Business Benefits
The move from manual reviews to an automated platform generates benefits across multiple areas.
1. Increased Efficiency
Based on our review volumes:
- Approximately 520 hours are currently spent on annual review administration
- Automation could reduce effort to approximately 130 hours
- Annual savings are estimated at 390 hours
This allows skilled employees to focus on activities that create greater value for the organization.
2. Better Compliance
A structured review process helps ensure:
- Reviews are completed on time
- Evidence is collected consistently
- Responsibilities are clearly defined
- Audit requirements are easier to satisfy
3. Improved Security
Regular and efficient access reviews help identify:
- Dormant accounts
- Excessive permissions
- Role changes requiring access updates
- Access that should be removed
This strengthens the organization’s overall security posture and reduces risk.
Building a Foundation for the Future
User Access Reviews are often viewed as a compliance activity. In reality, they are one of the building blocks of modern Identity Governance.
By modernizing the review process today, organizations create a foundation for future capabilities such as:
- Role-based access management
- Automated joiner-mover-leaver processes
- Segregation of Duties controls
- Identity Governance and Administration (IGA)
- Zero Trust security initiatives
The value extends far beyond a single audit cycle.
Conclusion
The goal of User Access Reviews is not to manage spreadsheets. The goal is to ensure that the right people have the right access at the right time. By replacing manual processes with an automated review platform, organizations can reduce administrative effort, strengthen compliance, improve security, and allow IT teams to focus on governance rather than administration.
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