PAM 
Implementing a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution is an important step toward protecting your organization’s most sensitive data and systems. When executed correctly, PAM helps enforce
7 min read
Published on June 13, 2025
Implementing a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution is essential to securing an organization’s most sensitive data. However, IT teams often face challenges in effectively deploying a PAM solution that satisfies both security and compliance requirements. Common challenges include complex integration with existing systems, scalability limitations and poor user experience.
Continue reading to learn more about the challenges organizations face when implementing PAM and how to overcome them.
Why companies struggle with PAM implementation
According to Keeper Security’s Insight Report on PAM Deployment, 56% of surveyed IT teams reported they attempted to deploy their organization’s PAM solution, but 92% of those recipients did not fully implement it due to its complexity. Companies often struggle to implement PAM because of challenges like resistance to change, integration issues and a lack of a clear strategy.
The top 5 challenges of implementing PAM
The top five challenges of implementing PAM include a lack of a clear strategy, end-user resistance, integration difficulties, scalability limitations and poor user experience.
1. No clear PAM strategy or roadmap
Organizations often begin deploying a PAM solution without fully understanding their privileged access needs. This lack of planning can result in misaligned priorities, leading to a PAM solution that doesn’t align with broader security objectives. Many organizations skip key steps such as identifying all privileged accounts, conducting access discovery and performing risk analysis. Without assessing the current state of the organization, it’s impossible to identify security vulnerabilities, which makes it difficult to develop an effective PAM roadmap or evaluate the solution’s success after deployment.
This lack of preparation has serious consequences. According to ConductorOne’s Identity Security Outlook Report, 77% of organizations experienced cyber attacks in 2024 due to overprivileged users and improper access. A strong PAM strategy with phased implementation is essential for minimizing the risk of data breaches and privilege misuse.
2. End-user resistance and stakeholder pushback
A common challenge during PAM implementation is pushback from employees who find PAM tools confusing or restrictive to their daily tasks. When access controls are viewed as obstacles instead of assets, end-users may look for workarounds, defeating the core purpose of implementing PAM in the first place. Based on ConductorOne’s Identity Security Outlook Report, 38% of organizations claim their employees are resistant to change when implementing access management solutions.
Resistance can also come from executives and other stakeholders, especially if PAM is implemented without clear communication or support. These challenges highlight the need for a strong PAM strategy focused on educating users about PAM’s value and how it protects an organization’s sensitive data.
3. Difficult integration with legacy systems
Integrating PAM solutions with legacy systems is one of the most challenging technical aspects of implementation. According to Keeper Security’s Insight Report on Privileged Access Management Complexity, 87% of respondents said they preferred using a PAM solution that is easier to deploy and manage.
Legacy systems may lack the necessary Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), making it difficult to integrate a centralized PAM solution. These integration challenges can significantly delay deployment and introduce new security vulnerabilities. To address this, organizations must proactively evaluate compatibility with legacy systems and prioritize integration with critical systems to minimize operational disruptions.
4. Scalability limitations
As organizations grow, their PAM solutions must scale with them. However, many PAM solutions struggle to scale effectively across hybrid or multi-cloud environments, resulting in inconsistent policy enforcement and performance issues. Reflecting this, 82% of respondents to Keeper Security’s Insight Report on Cloud-Based Privileged Access Management stated that they would prefer to move their on-premises PAM solution to the cloud. This highlights the need for a more scalable, flexible PAM solution that can adapt to complex infrastructures. With the number of privileged users and accounts rising, organizations need a PAM solution that can seamlessly integrate across on-prem, hybrid and cloud environments without increasing the workload of IT teams.
5. Negative user experience
Implementing PAM can be significantly hindered by a poor user experience. When a solution is perceived as intrusive or overly complex, users are more likely to resist adopting it or to bypass security controls, inherently jeopardizing organizational security. According to Keeper Security’s Privileged Access Management Survey Report, 68% of surveyed IT managers said their current PAM solution is too complicated or has unnecessary features. This highlights how usability challenges stop many organizations from adopting a strong PAM solution.
Common user complaints about PAM tools include outdated interfaces, overly complex authentication processes and delays in access approvals that slow down crucial workflows. These issues accumulate over time, frustrating end users, reducing productivity and straining relationships between employees and IT teams. If a PAM solution is perceived as a burden instead of a supportive tool, it risks being ignored or misused.
How to overcome PAM implementation challenges
Here are five ways organizations can overcome common PAM implementation challenges.
Start with discovery and risk mapping
Overcoming PAM implementation challenges begins with gaining full visibility into privileged accounts, access points and critical systems. Organizations can start by conducting a discovery phase to identify all privileged accounts, access points and critical systems that require advanced protection with a PAM solution. Using discovery tools, organizations can perform a comprehensive risk assessment to prioritize high-risk areas. This step ensures that the PAM strategy is tailored to the organization’s specific security and compliance needs.
Get support from all levels
Since a PAM solution affects more than just IT and security teams, it’s essential for organizations to receive support from executive leadership and end users for successful implementation. Organizations should involve stakeholders early, explain the value of adopting a PAM solution to protect sensitive information with a zero-trust security framework and ensure users’ needs are considered during deployment.
Choose a flexible, scalable PAM solution
Whether for an on-prem, hybrid or cloud-based infrastructure, organizations should choose a PAM solution that can adapt to their environment. A scalable PAM solution should grow with an organization and integrate easily with existing systems to avoid costly and time-consuming reconfigurations in the future. The benefits of adopting a flexible PAM solution include managing an increase in privileged accounts, reducing the risk of insider threats and streamlining operational efficiency.
Use automation for onboarding, offboarding and auditing
Modern PAM solutions can be configured to automate routine tasks such as account provisioning, password rotation and handling access requests. Automating these processes reduces the burden on IT teams while improving overall security. It enables faster onboarding and offboarding through predefined workflows and dynamic access policies, and it ensures audit readiness with detailed audit trails and consistent policy enforcement.
Provide thorough user training
A PAM solution is only effective if users understand how to use it. That’s why organizations must offer user-friendly training that covers both the technical and practical aspects of PAM. Training should emphasize how PAM not only enhances security but also improves productivity by streamlining access and reducing manual tasks. Positioning PAM as a supportive tool – not just for compliance purposes – can help reduce user resistance and promote a smoother adoption of PAM across daily workflows.
How KeeperPAM simplifies PAM implementation
KeeperPAM® eliminates many of the common challenges that slow down PAM implementation by offering fast deployment, seamless integration and effective automation – all within a zero-trust, zero-knowledge framework. Here’s how it helps organizations implement PAM more effectively:
- Fast, flexible deployment: KeeperPAM supports on-prem, hybrid and cloud environments using an agentless gateway with outbound-only communication – no Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or firewall updates required.
- Seamless integration: Works with Active Directory, Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and DevOps tools (CI/CD, secrets management) without disrupting existing workflows.
- Intuitive interface: The unified Keeper Vault simplifies credential management and privileged session access for both admins and end users.
- Built-in automation, session recording and policy enforcement: With KeeperPAM, you can automate password rotation, Just-in-Time (JIT) access and secrets management, helping organizations enforce the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) with minimal manual oversight. Session activity is recorded, and administrators can enforce granular policies to restrict actions.
- Comprehensive audit logs and real-time reporting: With KeeperPAM, organizations gain full visibility into all privileged activity through detailed audit logs and real-time alerts. KeeperPAM’s zero-knowledge architecture ensures all sensitive data remains private and protected with end-to-end encryption.
Navigate PAM challenges with confidence
PAM is a key part of enhancing an organization’s security, but its success depends on proactive planning, employee support and a user-friendly experience. By investing in user training and selecting a scalable PAM solution, organizations can overcome the common challenges of PAM implementation and build a more secure way of accessing sensitive data. KeeperPAM is built to simplify every step of PAM implementation across on-prem, hybrid and cloud environments.
Request a demo of KeeperPAM today to deploy a modern PAM solution that integrates seamlessly with your existing infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
Why is implementing PAM important?
Implementing Privileged Access Management (PAM) is important for organizations to protect their most sensitive data and critical systems. PAM helps organizations prevent unauthorized access by monitoring and securing the use of privileged accounts, which are often viewed as valuable targets by cybercriminals. Without a PAM solution, organizations become more vulnerable to data breaches, privilege abuse and compliance failures.
How long does it take to implement a PAM solution?
The timeline for Privileged Access Management (PAM) implementation varies depending on an organization’s size and complexity. For small to mid-sized organizations, deploying a traditional PAM solution may take a couple of weeks; for larger enterprises with legacy systems, deployment may take several months. However, KeeperPAM significantly expedites the implementation process with its fully cloud-native, agentless architecture. Unlike legacy PAM solutions that require major infrastructure changes, KeeperPAM can be deployed quickly through Keeper Gateway without VPNs, firewall configurations or endpoint agents.
What makes a PAM solution user-friendly?
A user-friendly Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution should offer a modern interface with an intuitive design, streamlined authentication and detailed audit logs. It should also simplify daily tasks – such as requesting privileged access and managing login credentials – without requiring extensive training.
