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While patch management may not be the most exciting activity, it’s critical to ensuring the security of servers, applications, and operating systems. Managed service providers and IT pros who fail to stay on top of patching expose their clients’ IT environments to security breaches and possible downtime of systems, services, and applications.
For this reason, enterprise patch management is a top priority for all organizations and should be treated as such. However, it’s no news that patches can break the systems they are meant to secure.
To prevent such occurrences and safeguard the integrity of IT environments, let’s take a look at best practices for:
- applying patches
- scheduling patches
- managing patching activity.
Content Summary
Define Roles and Responsibilities
Regularly Update the Software and Hardware Inventory
Categorize Assets
Understand Patch Release Schedules and Plan Accordingly
Classify Patches
Use a Sandbox Environment to Test Patches
Never Do First-Day Patching
Use Patch Management Tools
Wrapping Up
