- Determining which systems may be affected
- Verifying which systems have been patched
- Patching new systems added to the network
- Patching systems that may become vulnerable after the initial patching process
- Coordinating patch installation between both the network administration and security administration staff
As companies expand their networks to include more desktops, laptops, and servers, patch management software helps to check the security by ensuring that new systems include all previously issued security patches. In the same respect, through the agent software, computers notify the manager of changes in installed software. The manager can then detect if there are patches that need to be sent out to that machine because of the new software, even though the patches have already been distributed to the other networked computers. Therefore, a computer user who may have recently upgraded to a new version of Outlook would be automatically secured with the patches associated with that Outlook version. One of the biggest challenges for software patch management vendors is the existing overlap of patch management between network management and security management. From a sales standpoint, the patch management vendors need to accurately find who in the organisation is responsible for ensuring software integrity. Patch management software has traditionally been focused on securing Microsoft software, however, vendors are continuing to expand to Linux, Unix, Mac OS, as well as, Adobe, Symantec, Sophos, WinZip, and others. The need for a system to manage software patches is being realised, as Microsoft's Windows NT/2000 operating system alone experienced 42 vulnerabilities in 2001, according to SecurityFocus. While Microsoft hopes to reduce the amount of needed patches through its Trustworthy Computing initiative, the need will not diminish. Vendors have come to market to fill the void in managing the many software patches, and are expected to experience healthy growth. Some of the more prominent players in this space include Patchlink, BigFix, and St. Bernard.
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