When the world’s top analysts agree on something, it’s worth paying attention.

Diligent has been named a Leader in the 2025 IDC MarketScape for worldwide GRC software — recognized for our unified, AI-powered platform and our role in shaping the future of governance. This recognition isn't an isolated moment. It's part of a broader pattern: a consistent message from across the market that we’re not following the evolution of GRC; we’re leading it. Here are just some recent examples:

Positioned Diligent as a Leader in the Forrester Wave for GRC

, spotlighting our strategic approach and evidence of real-world customer success.

Ranked Diligent #1 in Enterprise GRC Software

, based on peer reviews and top marks for usability, customer satisfaction, and depth.

Awarded Diligent Top Rated in Board Management

 for Diligent Boards and Top Rated in GRC for the Diligent One Platform.

Used Diligent data to power its Top Board Directors ranking

, reinforcing the credibility of our platform as the standard for global governance and board effectiveness evaluation.

This alignment across analysts, customers and the governance community doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when a platform consistently delivers.

Explore the full analysis in the 2025 IDC MarketScape. Download it 

There’s no shortage of GRC platforms claiming to “streamline governance” or “simplify compliance.” But in this report, IDC MarketScape’s evaluation goes deeper.

The IDC MarketScape recognized Diligent not just for what we offer today — a unified platform that connects governance, risk, compliance and audit — but for how we’re helping organizations lead with more clarity, more speed, and more confidence. It’s about giving leaders the visibility to act on what matters, when it matters. And doing it in a way that scales, whether you’re a global enterprise or a fast-moving board navigating complex risk.

The IDC MarketScape assessment highlights who’s delivering real impact — and who’s shaping what comes next. Diligent didn’t just meet the mark. We set it.

A platform that brings governance, risk, compliance and audit together

 — not as silos, but as a single, intelligent system that’s built for scale.

A system that gives leaders real-time visibility

 that adapts to the complexity of global organizations without adding friction.

 that’s not just about keeping up — but staying ahead.

IDC MarketScape’s evaluation affirms what our customers already know: Diligent delivers more than functionality, it delivers foresight.

AI that’s actually built for governance

AI is everywhere right now. But in governance, it can’t just be smart; it has to be responsible, transparent, and aligned with how real decisions get made.

That’s the lens we’ve applied to every AI capability we’ve built into the Diligent One Platform.

Features matter. But outcomes matter more.

It’s about helping leaders see what’s coming, not just what’s already happened.

It’s about automating the painful parts of compliance and reporting — so teams can focus on strategy, not spreadsheets.

It’s about surfacing risks early and giving boards and executives the confidence to act.

And most importantly, it’s about trust. 

Because if your AI can’t explain itself, it doesn’t belong in the boardroom.

More than a platform: A shift in what GRC can be

GRC has traditionally been treated as a back-office function. A necessary cost. A checkbox. But that’s changing — fast.

Today, governance is a strategic lever. Risk is a competitive differentiator. And compliance is a signal to your stakeholders that you’re serious about doing things right. By bringing together board governance, enterprise risk, audit, compliance, third-party oversight, ESG, and AI — all in one place — Diligent gives organizations the tools to move faster, think smarter, and lead with purpose.

Diligent is the only GRC platform that unifies:

Because in a world where the stakes are higher than ever, good governance isn’t just about staying out of trouble. It’s about staying ahead.

Being named a worldwide Leader by IDC is a big moment — but it’s not the whole story. What matters more is what that recognition reflects: a shift in how organizations think about governance, risk and compliance. Just ticking boxes isn't sufficient anymore. GRC is about visibility, agility, trust. It’s about giving leaders the tools to make smarter decisions, faster — and showing stakeholders that your organization is built to lead. That’s what Diligent is here for: to make sure your board, your GRC teams, and your technology are all moving in the same direction.

We’re proud of the recognition. But we’re even more focused on what comes next.

See how top GRC platforms stack up — and why Diligent was named a Leader in strategy, innovation, and execution.



Download the 2025 IDC MarketScape

The IDC's verdict: Diligent redefines fully integrated, AI-powered GRC

This article originally appeared in our July 3rd edition of the Diligent Minute Newsletter. For more insights like these, delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe

Board members have a lot on their minds right now. They currently rank the level of risk U.S. businesses face just below 7 on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), according to the latest 

 by Diligent Institute and Corporate Board Member. Top issues include supply chain and inflation/currency risk, geopolitical fluctuations and changes in the regulatory environment along with widespread concern about the economic risk of tariffs.

These issues add to an already-long list of evergreen threats to a company’s business and bottom line — like a product failure, cyber attack, executive scandal or high-profile lawsuit — along with the aftermath. Too often, a negative headline triggers customer flight, investor panic or both, causing a ripple effect of legal, business and reputational challenges.

With the threat of crisis escalating and evolving by the day, Megan Baier’s session at the 

 was perfectly timed. A partner with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, she shared tips and best practices for crisis management.

The steps shared reflect common sense: Identify the issue, mitigate it and manage the communications. But they’re deceptively difficult to execute well under pressure — which is why boards need to be crisis-ready long before a negative incident breaks out.

Here are five top takeaways shared at the Summit on making that happen.

Key players include legal, audit, PR/IR, and bankers. But don’t get too carried away. Smaller groups typically make faster decisions.

It’s also important to equip team members with clear roles, responsibilities and lines of reporting.

A pre-built playbook should cover likely scenarios and the latest best practices, along with guidelines for reporting, disclosures and getting the word out via social media and other channels.

According to the latest Corporate Director Index, nearly half (47%) of boards are engaging in scenario planning to navigate the current crisis environment. In my opinion, this number should be much higher.

 are an excellent way for crisis team members to master their roles, share feedback and build their muscle memory for an effective response — all in a low-stress environment where mistakes are still learning experiences.

Takeaway 4: Find the line between transparency and protection

When something negative happens, investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders want to know. Competitors, activists, and regulators seek this information as well — but for very different reasons.

For boards, this means conflicting pressures to announce bad news quickly versus waiting to gather more facts.

Also note that different crises trigger different legal obligations, such as:

State notification laws and SEC disclosure requirements for cybersecurity incidents

CPSC or FDA reporting for product safety issues

Restatement requirements for financial irregularities

Whistleblower complaints, insider trading investigations and issues related to stock prices in particular require careful coordination between communication and legal teams.

Each scenario requires tailored legal strategies alongside communications planning, she emphasized.

Finally, an important reminder to directors:

 is a board fiduciary duty, requiring enterprise-wide attention.

Are boards receiving regular reports from management about the risks departments are seeing and actions they’re taking to mitigate these issues?

Do board members know enough about the issues to ask the right questions — and are discussions being captured in board minutes for future reference and guidance?

Are committees receiving regular reports as well in their specialized areas like cybersecurity and audit?

Do committee charters clearly define who’s responsible for overseeing what, to avoid overlap and gaps?

The overarching takeaway is this: Knowing what to expect — and how to respond — when the unexpected happens can keep a board in good standing with investors, customers, regulators and more, even in a year when crisis feels more like business as usual.

Curious about how U.S. boards are navigating today’s business landscape? Delve deeper into the latest 

Want regular access to original research in the field of GRC? Bookmark our 

 for the latest surveys, podcasts and reports.

5 steps for getting crisis-ready right now 

A June poll of general and corporate counsel finds business risk increasing, with concerns primarily surrounding changing regulations and continued uncertainty.

Deregulation has often been deemed a positive for business, removing barriers to growth and facilitating reporting, but current efforts by the Trump administration to eliminate more regulations than it creates may not be having the desired effect on businesses.

’s Q2 Business Risk Index, finds changes in the regulatory environment the top business risk today, according to the 71 general counsel, corporate secretaries, compliance and legal officers polled.

Two-thirds (65 percent) of those participating in the survey selected “Changes in the regulatory environment” as what they perceive to be a top risk for their company today, putting it well ahead of the second—and most talked about—item on the list: tariffs.

The reason, explained Taras Lytovchenko, the chief legal and compliance officer at Trinetix, is the growing complexity of today’s regulatory landscape, citing “new state consumer-privacy statutes, the development of new data-governance, AI, tax and trade rules” as challenges for business.

Others agreed that the current administration’s “whipsawing policies and enforcement priorities,” as one legal chief put it, are impeding corporate strategies.

In contrast, when we asked board members the same question in our Q2 Director Confidence Index, the response was overwhelmingly focused on tariffs. Changes in the regulatory environment ranked much lower on the list, in fifth place, with fewer than a quarter of directors listing it as a top risk for their company.

Still, like GCs, board members also recognize the heightened risk in the current business environment. On a 1-10 scale where 1 is Negligible and 10 is Significant, directors rated it at 6.8 while GCs gave it a 7.4—up from 6.8 in Q1.

Many say it’s not necessarily the factors listed that represent the biggest risk but rather, the uncertainty behind them. “It's hard with the shifting landscape to know when/where the next directive or action might come from. A safe and steady line of business today might be the focus of a government action tomorrow,” said a chief legal officer participating in the poll.

This uncertainty is causing legal teams to exercise renewed caution when advising the C-Suite. The poll shows they are increasingly attending leadership meetings and having more frequent communication with senior management, including the board, particularly as it relates to the changing regulatory and legal environment—and how those changes will affect their company.

The survey found 41 percent of legal and compliance teams are making better use of AI tools for real-time data and risk analysis, though that use remains in early stages at this time. Most common use cases include contract reviews, research and analysis as well as document drafting.

Haily Kolberg, corporate counsel at A&D Mortgage, says that’s because the technology is still far from delivering on the value promised, mainly due to the risk of errors. “How do you build any trust in AI to be accurate? I don't think it saves time when I need to verify any information it provides since its summaries are not totally accurate or detailed enough to use.”

Michael Rodgers, GC at Redstone Federal Credit Union, agrees there needs to be more evidence of how AI technology can be used in a safe and compliant manner. He calls on peers to “expound on AI use cases” for legal and compliance teams to facilitate adoption.

“Despite the fact that 41% of GCs are recommending making better use of AI tools for risk management and oversight, these findings suggest that they are still just starting to tap into the technology,” says Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director at the Diligent Institute.“Nearly a third are not using it at all, and most are sticking to basics like contract review and legal research to boost efficiency. They’re not really using it yet to drive big innovation—it’s more about making everyday tasks faster, reflecting both the potential of AI and the careful way legal teams are easing in.”

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The IDC's verdict: Diligent redefines fully integrated, AI-powered GRC

5 steps for getting crisis-ready right now

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