Patch management services are becoming increasingly popular as the cybersecurity threat level increases and the number of patches grows. The good news is that there are a number of vendors out there that offer patch management as a service.
Their main selling point is that these services eliminate the need for on-premises infrastructure as well as the time and attention of internal IT personnel. By outsourcing patch management, organizations free up resources for mission-critical tasks.
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Why Avoid Existing Patch Management Systems?
Faced with thousands of new vulnerabilities a year and the difficulty of identifying which assets and systems are vulnerable, it makes sense for IT security teams to automate and outsource patch and vulnerability management as much as possible. can.
While patch management is traditionally an on-premise deployment, patch management as a service provides simplicity by offering the service through the cloud. These service providers offer automated patch management tools that eliminate the manual fatigue associated with patching. Those who retain the function internally can tie internal IT resources to a function that is better offloaded.
Also Read: Is Vulnerabilities Patch Management as a Service the Answer?
How to Choose a Patch Management Service Provider
Patch management service providers offer a variety of different services. Some provide concentrated patching of operating systems (OS) and applications. Others include vulnerability scanning, remediation, and mobile device management (MDM). Others are bundling their patching modules into more comprehensive security offerings that include threat monitoring and more. Choose a vendor that provides what you need. Don’t overbuy.
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Top Patch Management Service Providers
eSecurity Planet Many different patch management service providers were reviewed in compiling this list. Here are 10 of the best, from basic patch management tools to more comprehensive solutions that include patch management services.
Quest Patch Management as a Service
Quest’s Patch Management as a Service manages the cyclical patching process to allow IT to focus on other business activities. The company also specializes in managed delivery of virtualized cloud infrastructure to streamline the IT environment, strengthen security, and reduce IT capital expenditures.
Key Differences
- Patch automation and compliance
- Centralized control and virtualization support
- Distributed and remote patching as well as third-party application patching
- Broad platform support
- Integrated solutions for backup, replication, and recovery from the cloud using Veeam or other platforms
- Deploying and maintaining backup as a service (BaaS), disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS), and Microsoft 365 Backup from the cloud
Syxsense Active Manage
Syxsense offers a managed version of its patch management product that includes 24-hour coverage and compliance reporting. Its patch management team deployed 100 million patches by 2021. There are also managed versions that add services such as vulnerability management and MDM.
Key Differences
- Scans and identifies top patches for the customer’s environment
- Performs tests within the customer’s environment on their respective test systems
- Provides planning during onboarding with documented patching service coverage
- Patches are deployed on an agreed schedule
- Zero-day patches are deployed within seven business days
- Performs patch supersedence to install only the latest patches in a bundled patch release
- Provides a patch rollback in case the patch is buggy
- Offers technology to send software and patches across the wire once, using peer-to-peer within the network for local distribution
Automox
Automox has a strong partnership with CrowdStrike, helping it expand from pure patching to include endpoint hardening as well as support for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Key Differences
- Continuous connectivity for local, cloud-hosted, and remote endpoints
- Automatic continuous patching of OS and third-party applications
- Automox Worklets for creating custom tasks using scripts on any managed device
- Serverless configuration management for all managed devices
- Patching, configuration, and deployment are performed automatically
- Individual permissions for users and groups
- Strong integration with CrowdStrike
See also Top EDR Solutions
Ivanti
Ivanti Neurons for patch management is part of a larger selection of tools, but it can be used on its own. It can prioritize and patch vulnerabilities based on active risk exposure, patch reliability, and device compliance.
Key Differences
- Uses threat intelligence and context to enable prioritized remediation
- Uses a risk-rating system instead of relying on CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) scores
- Enables discovery of and visibility across all endpoints in the environment
- Distributes tested patches to thousands of machines in minutes
- Prioritize remediation based on adversarial risk
- Achieve faster service-level agreements (SLAs) with patch reliability and trending insight
Foresite Cybersecurity
Foresite’s Patch Management as a Service offering automates patch management to reduce risk and increase security. It provides a picture of security risks by identifying non-compliant systems and reducing time-to-patch.
Key Differences
- Keeps all systems, operating systems, and third-party applications up to date with the latest software and security patches
- Works in diverse environments including Linux, Unix, Mac, Windows, and endpoints
- Can be deployed with or without an agent
- Provides automatic and continuous patching
- Provides offline patching for disconnected environments
SecPod SanerNow
SecPod SanerNow Patch Management is a tool designed to automate patching. From discovery to deployment, it handles all aspects of patching Windows, Mac, and Linux as well as third-party applications. Its pre-tested patches are made available within 24 hours of release by the vendor.
Key Differences
- Configures end-to-end workflows for automatic patching and deploying patches faster
- Makes patch scanning a continuous process
- Creates a test environment and tests new patches to verify compatibility
- Deploy patches to globally distributed devices from a centralized cloud patch management solution
- Rollback to the last stable version is supported
- Patches are reviewed and prioritized based on severity level
- Corrects misconfigurations and achieves compliance with regulatory standards
NinjaOne
Formerly NinjaRMM, NinjaOne can patch endpoints based on time to deploy or based on different categories. Patching is combined with remote control, scripting, and antivirus as part of a larger suite.
Key Differences
- Patch Windows, Mac, and Linux devices
- Patch 140+ third-party applications
- Control granular patch configuration options
- Automate patch scanning, approval, and deployment
- Track and report patch compliance
- Patch through the cloud or an on-site WSUS server
ServiceNow ITSM
ServiceNow ITSM is more than just a patch management service. This includes incident management, problem management, and change management. In fact, it is actually a full-fledged IT service management (ITSM) platform that puts patch management as a service as an additional element.
Because of this, it’s unlikely that anyone will buy it just for patch management. More likely, they’ll look to ITSM and discover they don’t even need to buy a patch management tool, because it’s included.
Key Differences
- Restore services faster with intelligent routing and built-in collaboration
- Identifies root causes of issues and proactively prevents future disruptions
- Accelerates change at the speed of DevOps by automating approvals while maintaining control
- Creates a holistic view of an organization’s IT estate to help make accurate decisions quickly
- Connects disparate tools and data across the organization and integrates with all other point solutions and legacy systems, so users can quickly generate value
Kaseya VSA
Kaseya VSA is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool focused on the managed service provider (MSP) market. It includes comprehensive IT management, IT automation, and security features as well as automated software patch management and vulnerability management. This one is probably overkill for patching unless the entire suite is required.
Key Differences
- Resolves IT incidents and automates common IT processes, including software deployment and patch management
- Standardize IT processes with policy-based automation
- Sets schedules for scanning or patching inventory and defines management processes for specific machine groups
- All assets are discovered and tracked
- Rejects a specific patch or blocks a specific update on a subset of machines, overriding the default patch classification
- Includes access control via two-factor authentication, management of backups, and antivirus and anti-malware from a single interface
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus
Patch Manager Plus offers automated patch deployment for Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints, plus patching support for 950+ third-party updates to 850+ third-party that application.
Key Differences
- Scans endpoints for missing patches
- Patches are tested before deployment to minimize security risks
- Automate patch deployment to OSes and third-party applications
- Audits and reports for visibility and control
- Deploys patches to desktops, laptops, servers, roaming devices, and virtual machines from a single interface
- Provides a large repository of patches for common applications such as Adobe, Java, WinRAR, and more
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