What are the benefits of a centralized patching system?

Having a centralised patch deployment system means that you have the ability to deploy critical and security patches to all the devices that need them, without the need to have an engineer 'touch' every single device in the organisation. It should also give you the ability to understand the status of any patch deployments, reporting on systems that haven't yet installed them or experienced errors during installation.

Endpoint : Centralized patching system always helpful to patch large count of Endpoint Computers in any organizations by pushing updates, New roll-outs, global removal/uninstall, periodic/scheduled reboots. However internal announcement and awareness must be conducted as and when required prior to deployment. Network : It also benefits the Network devices patching/roll-out of latest firmware but this must be a monitored roll-out to avoid wider impact.

Centralising patch deployment has so many benefits, it's really a must-have requirement for an organisation big enough to have their own IT department or outsourced provider. Benefits are: - Timing: When you need to deploy a critical or security patch, it can be pushed out quickly. - Efficiency: A patch only needs to be downloaded and approved once. User interaction is only needed if the patch requires a reboot. - Resources: In a large environment, the patch can be downloaded from the internet once, and then distributed internally, saving bandwidth. - Reporting: Easier to produce reports on the deployment status, quickly. - Control: Patches can be scheduled for deployment at the least inconvenient times, reducing business impact.

- It is far too resource intensive to manually install patches on every single device that needs it. - Automation allows patches to be deployed remotely, quietly, consistently and reliably. - Certifications and standards usually require a level of reporting to understand status and risk exposure. Centralised deployment allows for this. - Minimum user interaction. Relying on users to deploy patches usually requires them to have administrator rights, and a desire to install patches quickly when asked to do so. - Users understand that patch deployment occurs centrally, therefore any other messages or requests they get from elsewhere should look suspicious.

Some of the key benefits of having a centralized patching system are: - Effective Risk Assessment and Management - Optimisation of time and resources - Could benefit considerably in your compliance monitoring - Insights and Reporting A robust patch management process is key to an effective cybersecurity posture.

Centralized patching must cover the deployment/roll-out not limited to LAN/VPN while it is critical patch. In some Organizations it is possible limitation that roll-out is limited to LAN/VPN, while enduser roaming device is still unpatch and connected to internet.

There aren't really many downsides to centralised patch deployment, but there are some scenarios that can make it difficult or impossible to fully implement. It's normally possible to implement it for 'most' devices in the organisation, but it's not unusual for there to be a percentage of devices that are difficult to patch automatically. Reasons may include: - Downtime of critical business applications - Legacy systems can be difficult to patch centrally - Compatibility of software installed on a system - Location of a system may be on a hard to reach part of the network - Coverage of all flavours of operating system and device type

Traditionally, centralised patching systems took the form of software update servers hosted within the network of the organisation. These are still used and necessary in many cases, but as more organisations invest in cloud services and their operating models are more distributed with remote working practices, it makes more sense for cloud services to manage the security configuration and patching of user devices. Internally hosted servers and systems will likely continue to be managed by an internal central patch management system. Choosing the right system depends on the organisation, the systems it uses, it's geographical distribution as well as certifications, standards, local and international regulations.

Conducting regular awareness and announcement if it is Endpoint patching, at times endpoint need to be rebooted while user is not ready/ignores to reboot.

A centralized patch management system significantly increases efficiency by reducing the time and resources needed to manage patches. Streamlining the deployment process reduces the time IT staff spend on manual updates. That time is then refocused on more critical tasks. Patches are applied more consistently and uniformly under a centralized system. This ensures every device is running the same version of the software prevent conflicts. You can also rapidly deploy patches reducing the window of opportunity for potential attackers. Finally, with all patch management tasks unified, it’s easier to provide comprehensive, accurate reports on the patch status of all devices within the network.

Two specifics that I have found helpful in the past are: - Establishing proper governance around patch management. Guidelines should be clear for patch management teams including risk management (security and business continuity), change management, testing, validation and rollback. - Some specific use cases like product testing, app testing which sometimes involve legacy OS to be used for testing, or any legacy frameworks should be identified, left out of automatic patch management and be individually dealt with or sandboxed.