Investing in security? It’s not helping you fix what matters faster

Automation and structured collaboration have a strong, positive influence on the efficiency of vulnerability management, according to Seemplicity.

However, manual processes, unstructured workflows, and excessive noise from vulnerability scanning tools continue to slow remediation efforts, leading to delays and security risks. Despite advancements in automation, a significant portion of vulnerability management remains manual, increasing operational inefficiencies and contributing to alert fatigue.

“This year’s data makes it clear that security teams aren’t short on tools or talent – they’re short on time, clarity, and alignment,” said Yoran Sirkis, CEO of Seemplicity. “Security teams are trying to move fast, but they’re held back by fragmented processes, inefficient collaboration, and a lack of actionable insights. To close the remediation gap and reduce security risk, organizations need structured prioritization, stronger alignment across teams, and automation that goes beyond the basics.”

Organizations will need to prioritize their investments

86% of organizations are increasing their security spending in 2025, yet 30% cite budget limitations as their biggest barrier to adopting additional solutions. The findings suggest that organizations will need to prioritize their investments and focus on long-term, layered defense over short-term fixes.

Among the most prioritized investments, Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) leads the list, with 52% of organizations budgeting for it, followed closely by Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) and Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM), both at 45%.

While 61% of organizations still measure success by the number of vulnerabilities resolved, more strategic metrics like fewer breaches (54%) and mean time to remediation (49%) are gaining traction.

When it comes to managing vulnerabilities, organizations continue to struggle with making security findings actionable. The biggest challenge is translating findings into clear, actionable steps for development and operations teams (41%), closely followed by poor collaboration between security and development teams (40%).

Fewer than 1 in 5 organizations use structured prioritization models, even though nearly all rank them among the most effective, highlighting a gap between intention and execution. These findings indicate that while mindsets are shifting, many organizations have yet to operationalize more risk-focused approaches.

Remediation timelines remain a challenge

With 91% of organizations reporting delays and 1 in 5 taking four or more days to fix critical vulnerabilities, organizations must focus on streamlining workflows and improving coordination across teams to keep pace with growing risks.

Although 85% of organizations believe their cross-team collaboration is strong, many still rely on manual task assignment or self-assignment – contributing to the communication issues most often cited as the cause of remediation delays. These findings suggest that perceived collaboration strength often masks deeper structural issues that must be addressed to drive real efficiency.

Beyond collaboration issues, manual processes (19%) and lack of resources (18%) were cited as the second and third biggest causes of remediation delays.

17% of organizations cite ineffective communication channels as their biggest barrier to collaboration, but this number rises to 31% among organizations that already struggle with collaboration. Conversely, for those with strong collaboration, only 15% see a lack of effective communication channels as a major barrier.

Progress in automation and AI adoption

Although adoption of automation is widespread and AI-driven remediation planning is gaining momentum, nearly 40% say more than half of their vulnerability management process is manual. This suggests that many teams have yet to make the full shift toward intelligent, scalable remediation operations.

When asked which aspect of vulnerability management would most benefit from AI integration, 30% of organizations pointed to automated remediation, making it the top-ranked use case – up from third place in 2024. The increase from 22% to 30% year-over-year signals a growing recognition that AI can help move beyond just identifying vulnerabilities to actually improving remediation workflows and execution.

Another area gaining traction is AI-powered remediation planning, which has increased from 10% in 2024 to 16% in 2025. Looking ahead, 88% of organizations plan to increase their AI investments over the next five years, up from 85% in 2024.