Enterprises of all sizes nowadays choose MSPs (Managed Services Providers) to handle their patch management externally. By offloading this workload to third-party vendors, companies not only save time from maintaining these functions themselves but also ensure that their systems are always secure. Our Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution includes a patch management feature, which eliminates the burden of the whole IT exercise from your core team and saves your business money from outsourcing more than one IT service at a time.

Patching Explained

 

Patches are also what people know as updates to applications and operating systems. Typically, they get released by the developers or the manufacturers that own the license to your software and hardware equipment. The patching procedure would normally include routine repair of bugs that occur to those systems and fixing the vulnerabilities, which may pose a security risk to the client. Oftentimes, patching is also performed as a step towards future upgrades and improvements. That paints a small picture about the functions of patching, which are many, varied, and of utmost importance for the optimal performance of your hardware and software IT systems!

If you were a standard user that does not deploy their desktop from the cloud, you would get consistent notifications to remind you that there are new system updates for configuration. Companies that have IT teams in-house usually have the responsibility to control and install these updates as soon as they come in place.

Patch management without a provider

 

Consider the case of a small-sized business that works remotely and provides a large fleet of company PCs to their employees with pre-configured software. In this instance, the business would need a dedicated IT team to look after every individual user system and their patch status. That typically gets done manually, in which case the IT admin will need to implement the new upgrades and fixtures physically by gaining access to the hardware, user network, software, and their whole interface.

Now, if that was a large company with hundreds to thousands of employees, the process would be very lengthy and risky. A systemic approach to patching is then needed to make sure that all systems are operating at maximum efficiency at all times. Manual patch management for big businesses may take weeks or months, which is why this approach is not very effective in this particular instance. It makes more sense for bigger enterprises to automate this entire process, which requires significant expertise, coordination, and time resources from those core teams. Even then, if patch management is not implemented correctly or in time, the corporation risks leaving big security gaps in their systems, which could seriously jeopardize their information and business credentials overall. 

Patch management on the cloud

 

Businesses that choose to offload their whole desktop environment to the data center of a third-party provider such as we-IT use complementary patch management with their deployment. This means that IT teams externally are working round the clock to ensure that every new code change from software vendors is installed timely on the desktop applications at the time of release. 

Patch management on the cloud gives the provider full control over the entire process thus enabling your mobile workers with the IT capabilities they need to operate with their desktop environments safely and efficiently. With our DaaS solution, you will leverage your remote operations by making your systems more secure and functional across the entire organization. By managing your patches over the cloud, you also ensure that there are no loopholes in security since all your systems reside in a centralized location and all upgrades are implemented for every end user without an exception.

The difference between patch management on the cloud and on-premises

 

If you are considering deploying your own virtual desktop infrastructure, rather than using DaaS offered by a third-party vendor, your patch management approach should be one of your primary considerations before making the move! A comprehensive patch solution for on-premises infrastructure would normally incur a big added cost to your existing expenses. This is why you need to consider your budget and capabilities if you are set and stoned about managing the whole system with the recurrent upgrades on your own. A cloud-based approach such as DaaS, on the other hand, saves you the hassle and gives you a highly secure and available desktop environment for all of your employees 24/7.

If you have any questions regarding our patch management approach and you want to inquire more information, do not hesitate to contact us!