With the surge in cyber threats, businesses are under immense pressure to keep their systems up-to-date and secure. Efficient and effective patch management is crucial. However, traditional patching methods are often slow, manual, and inefficient.
A staggering 77% of organizations report that their patch deployment takes over two weeks to deploy across their organization, according to our 2023 Ponemon study. This tedious process exposes businesses to unnecessary risks and vulnerabilities. Additionally, the study indicates that 44% of these organizations lack a cohesive patch deployment strategy, relying instead on ad hoc schedules. This approach leads to inconsistent and unreliable patch management thus yielding greater risk to the organization.
Traditional Patching Approach Limitations
Traditional patching products often employ a one-size-fits-all strategy, which lacks the flexibility needed for the diverse landscape of software applications. This approach fails to consider the unique characteristics and requirements of organizations and the different software they utilize.
Not every application is created equally, and their nuances demand special handling. For instance, one organization might use a specific piece of financial software that relies on a particular version of another application. Other organizations may operate software that is critical to business continuity, where deploying new versions necessitates stringent control, or security-conscious environments may require prioritizing and expediting updates to address exploitable vulnerabilities.
In a standardized model, these nuances are not automatically addressed, leading to the need for manual intervention and administration, which is both time-consuming and prone to errors. This is where adaptable automation comes into play, offering an autonomous solution that can be tailored to the needs and requirements of the business.
Automation Accelerates Patch Deployment
Automation is the key to accelerating patch deployment and reducing workloads. However, the technology should be flexible enough to adapt to the organization's unique requirements, rather than forcing processes to conform to rigid software constraints. OneSite Patch revolutionizes this process by enabling the creation of distinct patching strategies for different applications. This innovative approach allows each group of applications to be modeled independently, complete with their own set of approvers, notification groups, and unique rollout methods.
Real-World Application and Flexibility
Consider the following scenarios:
- Approvals: The responsibility for approving an update for a particular software doesn't lie with the IT department but with another team, such as design, finance, or operations. OneSite Patch accommodates this by allowing these approval responsibilities to be accurately modeled within the system. This capability is especially beneficial in complex organizational structures where decision-making is decentralized.
- Disruption: Organizations wish to minimize disruption caused by frequent software updates during business hours. OneSite Patch can schedule all non-critical software to be grouped and deployed during designated periods, such as after hours, or weekends. For organizations with 24/7 operations, they can be staggered to ensure there is zero downtime for critical systems. This strategic scheduling ensures that updates are done in a consolidated manner, reducing the frequency of disruptions, and maintaining a stable environment.
- Notifications: Enterprises use a range of applications, some of which are critical for business operations, and others aren’t. OneSite Patch allows the IT team to set up different notifications and notification methods for different applications. Administrators can be notified in advance about impending updates, allowing them to prepare and ensure continuity. Less critical software updates are performed with minimal notification, reducing unnecessary interruptions.
- Critical Infrastructure: Many companies have critical infrastructure, the nature of which can vary by industry. It could be ATMs in finance, point of sale devices in retail, air traffic control systems in aviation, or in many cases just standard high availability services such as SQL cluster nodes, or Domain controllers. OneSite Patch allows specific rollout processes to be created that handle these devices safely but autonomously. An example of this is patching and rebooting one node of a SQL cluster and then waiting for the service to be available before patching the next node. This strategic approach ensures continuous operation of critical infrastructure while keeping the systems up-to-date and secure without manual effort.
Streamlining the Patch Management Process
The Patching Strategy feature in OneSite Patch consolidates all these functionalities into one manageable entity. Once a strategy is configured, integrating other applications becomes effortless. Simply adding a new application to an existing strategy automatically applies all the predetermined settings, such as notifications, approvals, and rollout plans. This means that whenever a vendor releases an update for that software, it automatically adheres to these tailored processes.
The Dual Benefits of Autonomy and Customization
This approach offers a significant advantage: it combines the autonomy of automated updates with the flexibility and customization necessary for enterprises with complex requirements. By doing so, OneSite Patch not only simplifies the patch management process but also ensures that each application is updated in a manner that aligns with the specific operational, security, and compliance needs of the organization.
Conclusion
OneSite Patch's ability to create tailored patching strategies represents a significant leap forward in patch management. It acknowledges and addresses the unique demands of different software applications within an enterprise, providing a solution that is both automated and finely tuned to specific organizational needs. This not only enhances security and compliance but also streamlines the patch management process, freeing up valuable resources and reducing the potential for error inherent in manual processes. With OneSite Patch, enterprises can confidently navigate the complexities of software updates, ensuring that each application is managed efficiently and effectively, following specific requirements and the broader goals of the organization.
Adaptable patching automation with OneSite Patch saves time, increases patching velocity, and conserves resources. IT teams benefit from reduced time spent on software packaging, configuring deployments, testing, obtaining approvals, and rolling out software.
Furthermore, as the automated processes are tailored to the organization's needs, there's less time spent troubleshooting, rolling back unwanted patches, and monitoring compliance. Ultimately, OneSite Patch enables organizations to achieve a more secure, efficient, and reliable patch management process, tailored to their unique business requirements and processes.
