Managed Patch Management – Best Practices and Why MSPs are the Smart Choice

If you’re not in the know, software can appear as an optical illusion. When you start up an application, you see a slick logo and an attractive user interface that looks so well put together.

Under the surface, though, most applications are more like an assemblage of code blocks that invariably contain functional irregularities and security vulnerabilities. That’s why virtually all software makers issue “patches” to fix these problems on a regular basis. Microsoft, for example, has “Patch Tuesdays,” when it releases fixes to its system software.

Staying on top of patching is an important aspect of maintaining a robust cyber defense. Unpatched operating systems (OSs) and application software expose digital assets to cyber risk. Therefore, it’s essential to devise and execute a consistent patch management procedure​.

The question is, should you handle software patch management​ by yourself or work with a service provider who offers managed patch management? This article explores the advantages of working with an outside managed services provider (MSP) who can deliver patch management as a service​ (PMaaS). It discusses how patch management services work, along with some best practices for success.

What is Patch Management?

Patch management is an IT or cybersecurity process that includes identifying and deploying patches for software, especially operating system (OS) software like Windows and Linux. Patch management services can also include hypervisor and network patching support.

A patch comprises code that fixes a problem in the software, such as a vulnerability. The patch is a limited software reinstallation that replaces the bug or vulnerability with fresh, non-vulnerable code. Patches also fix functional issues, like a software bug that causes a program to crash.

Software makers create patches when they, or users, notice a security or functional problem in their software. Alternatively, researchers or open-source communities may identify a software vulnerability and report it to Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE), maintained by the MITRE corporation, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Software vulnerabilities are known by CVE identifiers.

For example, CVE-2024-20697 refers to a Windows remote code execution vulnerability that affects Libarchive software. A patch is now available to address this vulnerability.

Why Patch Management is Important

It’s hard to overstate the importance of patch management. Patching is an essential activity for cybersecurity and IT reliability, as unpatched vulnerabilities create risk exposure.

To this effect, Ivanti revealed that 52% of IT professional see software vulnerabilities as a critical threat, second highest after ransomware attacks. For this reason, a patch management program ensures that such vulnerabilities will be remediated.

A thorough, timely patch management program positively affects the following areas of IT:

• Security—Vulnerability patch management​ reduces cyber risk exposure. It makes it less likely that malicious actors will be able to exploit vulnerabilities to breach systems, steal data, or disrupt operations.
• System Uptime—Unpatched software may crash unexpectedly. Patch management keeps software running and supports high levels of system Uptime.
• System performance—Patching can positively affect system performance. Software may contain bugs that cause functional problems, such as conflicts between systems. Patches can fix these problems.
• Regulatory compliance—Many compliance frameworks mandate that software be patched, and audits may seek to confirm the existence of a patch program and check its practices and activities.
• Feature improvements—Patches sometimes go beyond bugs and vulnerabilities, offering updates to features and functions.

9 In-House Patch Management Challenges

Should your organization execute on its patch management strategy? Many IT organizations have patch management teams that use tools like (the now deprecated) Microsoft’s Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), which enables admins to manage and distribute Windows updates, or Microsoft Endpoint  Configuration Manager (MECM), which handles software and OS deployment and configurations. Or they use third-party patch management like Automox.

However, in-house patch management comes with its share of challenges. A lot can go wrong in the process, potentially affecting production systems. Here are nine of the more pressing issues.

1. Volume and Complexity of Patches

With a thorough and robust patch management plan, you’re going to be handling a high volume of patches, some of which are complex to install.

It takes resources to keep track of all the patches submitted by vendors and understand what they do and which systems they affect.

2. Compliance

Regulations may mandate patching and reporting on the state of patching. Regulatory audits may check on patch management as part of this process, too.

An in-house patch management program has to meet these requirements if the organization wants to maintain compliance. This means specialized reporting and audit tooling, as well as people’s time.

3. Prioritizing Patches Based on Risk

Not all patches deserve the same priority for deployment. Some are absolutely critical and require immediate attention. Others are relatively insignificant and can effectively be ignored for the long term.

The best practice is to prioritize patches by risk. A vulnerability that exposes your organization to serious risk merits the most attention and fastest action. The risk assessment process takes knowledge and time, two areas that may be in short supply with an in-house team.

4. Testing and Compatibility

It is highly recommended to test patches before installing them. This is easier said than done, however, because proper testing requires setting up an exact replica of the production environment, which is difficult to install and can be costly.

Testing matters, though, due to potential compatibility issues. Patches can “break” systems, especially when your ecosystem has integrations that can be disrupted by changes in OS software.

5. IT Staff Resource Limitations

Patch management needs a qualified and, at times, large team of employees. In big enterprises, you may find entire teams dedicated to server patching, Windows patching, Linux patching and so forth, highlighting the importance of this process.

Even in these conditions, large teams face resource limitations, struggling to keep up with the pace of patch management. If they are deploying patches manually, the resource constraints will become even more pronounced. Automated patch management tools can help, but it is not always viable.

Furthermore, organizations frequently limit the downtime available for patching to be during unsociable hours, for example Sunday 1am through to 4am. With a true 24/7 workforce, this can be handled by those working on shift patterns. Yet for smaller IT teams that will have to rely on on-call staff or overtime outside of normal hours, this can cause dissatisfaction within the team.

6. Downtime Risk

Patching takes systems offline, so the patch process will result in some inevitable downtime. Ideally, this won’t last long, but even with testing, patches can sometimes cause unexpected outages.

This is why many organizations install patches at slow times, like early on Sunday mornings. The process can be risky because there’s always the potential for unexpected, disastrous disruption or outages in data centers.

7. Visibility and Control

Effective patch management requires complete awareness of endpoints and the state of patching across the IT estate. Without visibility into which endpoints need patches, patching will be incomplete and potentially disruptive.

An in-house patch management should have a system in place for visibility and control over patching, which could be a strain on the IT team.

8. Third-Party Applications and IoT

Third-party applications, i.e., software that is not OS or firmware, need patching, too. For example, Adobe released patches recently for CVE-2024-30311, a vulnerability that is, according to NIST, “an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory.” By exploiting unpatched versions of Adobe Reader, an attacker “could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization).” It can be difficult to keep up with the pace and volume of third-party patches.

Cloud patch management is another consideration. This refers to patching cloud-based systems hosted on infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS). This is part of the “shared responsibility model” agreed upon when signing up for IaaS or PaaS.

The internet of things (IoT) presents a patching challenge due to the number and variety of devices that may need patches. A factory with sensors and cameras, for example, may contain thousands of devices, each of which has an embedded OS subject to patching. Keeping track of those devices and the states of their patches takes an automated solution.

9. Remote Workforce

Devices used by people working remotely also require patching. It can be difficult to track which remote work devices are fully patched, especially if their connections to the network are intermittent.

As these nine issues suggest, handling patch management in-house takes a commitment of time, people, and resources that not every organization can afford. Or, if they can afford it, is it the best use of resources? Directing the same people to business-facing IT initiatives may be more strategically advantageous.

What is Managed Patch Management?

Managed Patch Management is when a third-party organization, usually a Managed Service Provider, carries out patching services. The tasks can vary in scope, but most include the MSP handling patch planning, risk prioritization, testing, and deployment, with a focus on managed OS patching.

The service may also offer patch remediation, which occurs when a patch itself has a problem that needs to be corrected, and some provide patch governance as well. The net effect is to offer patching as a service or PMaaS, typically through specialized patch management solutions.

MSP patch management​ can appear to automate the patch management procedure as it is taken from the in-house teams. While it also provides the visibility and reporting required for compliance and internal reporting to key stakeholders.

Top 5 Benefits of Patch Management as a Service

Outsourcing patch management delivers a range of benefits compared to handling the process in-house. Here are five benefits of PMaaS that are worth noting:

1. Better IT Staff Productivity

Turning over the labor-intensive patch management process to an MSP frees your team members to do work that benefits the business and can reduce the amount of out-of-hours work required. They become more productive, with the time to execute digital transformation projects and other tasks that benefit customers and employees.

2. Improved Security Posture

PMaaS should improve organizational security posture by patching systems for security according to the correct risk prioritization. When you also consider that MSPs often include comprehensive EOC or outsourced NOC services within their offerings, security is monitored continually.

Companies will therefore be less exposed to the risks posed by having unpatched vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit.

3. Improved Uptime

Thoroughly patched systems and reduced alert fatigue lead into fewer unplanned outages. When using a reputable IT infrastructure Managed Service Provider, a dedicated team will monitor and remediate patching 24/7, significantly reducing the chance that the environment is susceptible to attacks.

For this reason, using PMaaS should improve infrastructure Uptime.

4. Complete Regulatory Compliance

The MSP will handle the patch management to a standard required by regulations. They will also be able to guide businesses and their IT teams through compliance audits related to patching and report patching status to relevant stakeholders.

When you consider that the in-house team would not have to handle this previously time-consuming workload, this is a considerable benefit of utilizing a Managed Service Provider.

5. Greater Control Over Costs

Though every company is different, PMaaS will likely cost less than having a team of in-house people handle the process. However, even if the cost is similar or higher, the advantage of PMaaS is having greater control over costs.

With fixed vendor budgets, you will know what you’re paying for versus in-house costs, which can be variable with overtime and recruiting costs, among other unpredictable cost factors.

6 Managed Patch Management Best Practices

The benefits of partnering with an MSP for patch management are clear. However, an optimal course of action should be taken to ensure the patching program is carried out effectively and securely.

The following six best practices are to be followed, to realize ideal security and IT outcomes.

1. Establish Clear, Agreed-Upon Patch Management Policies

It’s helpful to establish clear patch management policies​ that you and the MSP agree upon before embarking on PMaaS. These policies might cover issues like whether all patches must be tested before deployment, how risk prioritization will work, or even times of day when patching will occur.

Policies might also define the time horizon for patching, such as “all critical security patches shall be applied within 30 days of the vendor’s release of the patch.”

Setting a defined framework ensures that patches are applied promptly and appropriately, and no vulnerabilities go unnoticed.

2. Collaborate on Developing a Patch Management Strategy

A PMaaS engagement should develop from a patch management strategy. For example, the strategy might be to prioritize OS security patches above all others. Until those patches are applied, no other patches will be deployed.

This might be called a “security first” patch management approach. In contrast, you might employ a “performance first” or “Uptime first” strategy.

A lot will depend on organizational protocols, and establishing this with the MSP will ensure priorities are met.

3. Follow a Documented Patch Management Process

Both the business and the partnered Managed Service Provider must work from a documented patch management process. That way, there will be less room for errors and misunderstandings. A suggested process is as follows:

• Creating a full and current inventory of production systems—Know what OSs are running, locations, and system owners.
• Assembling a parallel inventory of patches—With potentially hundreds of patches being downloaded, tested, and deployed at any given time, only an organized inventory and monitoring process can prevent errors and omissions that negatively affect security posture.
• Standardizing systems and OSs to the same version type whenever possible—This step will simplify and speed up the patching process.
• Matching vulnerabilities against your inventory—This is the first step in determining the priority of patch installation.
• Classifying risk and assessing risk levels—Focus on the highest-impact vulnerabilities first.
• Testing patches—The best approach is to try the patch on a sample of systems in a lab environment. Even if the lab can’t reproduce the production systems perfectly, this process will reveal compatibility issues before they can cause problems outside the lab.
• Applying patches—Automate wherever possible. Automation can make a huge difference in the efficacy and resource efficiency of a patch management program. Toolsets for patch automation often include features for monitoring and reporting, which further improve the program’s effectiveness.

4. Track Progress and Report Results

Patch management occurs within the context of IT and security organizations, yet stakeholders will want to know how the process is going. Regular auditing and reporting serve this need.

They also let the patch management team understand how they’re doing. Auditing and reporting are also necessary for proving regulatory compliance.

5. Keep Patch Management Services Centralized

Patch management can be overwhelming, so it makes sense to keep the activity contained in a centralized management process, ideally tracked and implemented through automated patch management tools managed by the MSP. This approach reduces the chance of human error and enables efficiency in the process.

6. Create a Culture of Patching Accountability

The patch management team and PMaaS vendor should have accountability for their work. This might take the form of reporting to senior managers or establishing targets for patching execution. The main idea is to instill the notion that patching is critical, and that the patch management program takes responsibility for their work.

Managed Patching Services from Park Place Technologies

Planning and installing patching updates to your environment, be it OS, hypervisor or network patching can be time-consuming. Not to mention the distraction caused, meaning other business priorities are dropped, it’s easy to see why in-house teams can struggle with patch updates.

Take the burden away from your IT team and partner with a reliable patch management service provider in Park Place Technologies for all your patching needs. Via our IT infrastructure managed services, our enterprise operations center supports all major OS and virtual platforms including VMware, Microsoft and Linux – no matter your device, we have you covered.

Contact Park Place Technologies today, to learn how our managed patch services can keep your systems protected, enforce Uptime and keep you focused on the most important organizational initiatives.

The below graphic shows our patch management process, from proactive monitoring to resolution and continued management.