A qualified managed services provider can help organizations eliminate a common source of threats by ensuring that security patches are applied promptly.
Patch management plays a critical role in minimizing cybersecurity risk. However, implementing a patch management strategy is not as easy as it might seem.
For many years, the job chiefly involved manually installing whatever updates Microsoft issued on its monthly “Patch Tuesday.” However, that approach is falling short as computer systems have become more complex and security threats more sophisticated.
The patch management process has also become more complicated due to the distributed nature of today’s workforce and the growing number of shadow IT applications. It was difficult enough to patch fleets of company-managed systems. Now IT teams must contend with an array of employee-owned devices, any of which could host unpatched software that puts the entire IT environment at risk.
The 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report found that exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities was the initial access vector for 20 percent of all security incidents, a 34 percent increase. This trend emphasizes the critical need for organizations to accelerate their patch management processes, shrink the time between vulnerability disclosure and remediation, and maintain greater visibility into vulnerable systems.
Complex Process
There’s no single source that tracks all software patches, but the growing number of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) gives a good indication of the escalating pace of security patches. More than 40,000 CVEs were published in 2024, a 38 percent increase from the previous year. One estimate found that the average computer needs approximately 76 patches annually from 22 different software vendors. This number is likely higher today due to the recent increase in vulnerabilities.
The relationship between patches and vulnerabilities is far more complex than most people think. Sometimes patches address a single vulnerability. Other times, they may fix multiple vulnerabilities — but only on some platforms. Sometimes there are overlapping vulnerabilities that require multiple patches, or updates that must be applied before the patch is installed.
Vendors don’t make it easy to understand these issues, either. Patches are frequently released with little documentation about the problems they’re fixing, why they’re fixing them, or how the patch might affect other systems and applications.
Organization Is Key
Because patches don’t always work in every environment, there are times when installation does more harm than good. It is not uncommon for a patch to fix one issue only to break another. Patches often require testing to work out the bugs and potential incompatibilities. Patches that are rolled out across the network without proper testing can create compatibility issues that cause significant downtime.
Prioritization is another important but often ignored element of good patch management. When patches are released, hackers will often try to reverse engineer them to identify the vulnerability they are designed to fix. This highlights the need to deal with critical patches in an organized fashion, ensuring they are tested for compatibility and implemented quickly to deflect a possible uptick in attacks.
However, a recent Ponemon Institute survey found that it takes 77 percent of organizations a week or more to coordinate the application of just one patch across all devices. More than 90 percent are looking to automate some elements of the patch management process, but automation is not a silver bullet. It doesn’t prioritize patches or provide much insight into the organization’s overall risk exposure.
Leave It to the Experts
Companies that rely on a technician to manually install patches on an ad hoc basis are setting themselves up for oversights that can lead to a security breach. Given the complexity and consequences involved, organizations are typically better off engaging a managed services provider (MSP) with the manpower, tools and experience to handle patch management.
A qualified MSP has a team of professionals who take responsibility for managing patches and installing them on a timely basis. The MSP will fully test new patches before deployment, and utilize specialized queries to identify all networked machines that require updates. The MSP will then prioritize and schedule patch deployments according to each organization’s specific business requirements.
Many organizations have become overwhelmed by the variety and volume of patches being issued. However, studies show that lapses in patch deployment open the door to network attacks and costly downtime. A managed services approach can help organizations minimize the risk of a security breach without compromising network performance or employee productivity.
