Guest Contributor
Trending

What Is Patch Management & How Can it Help Your Biz?

By | Maggie Bloom | Freelance Writer

Ways to protect your software

Managing patches consists of the process of distributing and applying software updates. The updates are essential because they correct errors that are in the software.

Some of the key areas you will need patches are in the operating systems and applications. If there is any vulnerability, found a patch will fix it. By this, assets found near you are not prone to exploitation. Managing patches has several benefits to an organization or business.

Why Managing Your Patches Is Important

There are many key reasons why you will need to manage your patches. It includes:

It is a form of security- Managing patches can correct vulnerabilities on either your software or applications. The software or applications might be prone to issues such as cyber-attacks. By managing patches, your organization receives protection from such risks.

Ensuring your software is up-to-date. Managing patches ensures your software and applications are up-to-date. This will prevent any issues from arising.

It will help in adhering to the set compliance standards. There is an increase in cybercrimes. Many organizations need to have some level of compliance, which is set by a regulatory body. This is possible through managing patches.

Patches perform other functions besides bug fixes. You can also use the patches to find a good product in the market.

Ways It Will Benefit Your Business

By getting a patch program for your business, you get an assurance of some benefits. These include:

You will have a secure environment for your business. Managing patches helps in reducing the number of risks that are in your environment. This will help prevent your business from experiencing any security breaches.

Provides customer satisfaction- The safety measures will help your business sell the right commodity if your customers are using technology. If you have an online market, the technology needs to work out. Managing patches helps in fixing software issues. This will ensure the systems are working.

You will not incur any fines- If your business is not meeting the compliance standards, you will get a fine. To prevent this, you can use patches to ensure you follow the standards.

Allows product innovation- You can use patches to add new things in technology, such as features and functions. This will help the organization with methods to use in your software innovations. No issues will arise from it.

Essential Steps in Managing Patches

It would not be appropriate to install new patches without consideration. It would be best to use a strategy and put in place the patches using a detailed process.

The essential steps are:

Get an updated version of the inventory of the production systems-This can be after some weeks or a month. It will help you know the assets found in your ecosystem. Asset management should have caution. This will help you know about some important aspects. Examples are the operating systems and version types with their locations and owners.

Come up with a plan to standardize systems and operating systems to a similar type of version. This can be challenging for you, but it will make patching fast and easier. You can standardize your assets to a small number that you can manage. By this, you will make the remediation process fast because you will get new patches. You will save time.

Draft a list of all security controls within your organization. You should track your security system. This will help you know how much protection they are offering your assets.

Compare the vulnerabilities and the inventory you have. Your vulnerability management tool enables you to know which assets are in your ecosystem. By that, you can know the amount of risk facing your business. You can give priority to essential assets that are at risk.

You need to test the patches using a sample of assets. The patches should not cause any complication in your assets when they are under stress. You can track the progress you are making to make sure the patch is efficient.

You can get your patch management service from a firm. An example is Syxsense, which enables you to patch everything in your organization. They have the best feature updates and provide proof of compliance.

To be safe from cyber-crimes, you need to get patches. You will protect your business and allow it to expand.

 

Show More

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button