For IT managers and SysAdmins, maintaining their networks in the “early days” was straightforward. Windows was the dominate, and in many cases exclusive, OS for both servers and workstations. Mac and Linux were outliers that could be patched manually, while Windows was patched with WSUS or a pricey on premise patching solution. Cloud and hybrid environments had not yet become a thing, and the idea of employees working from home and abroad wasn’t even a consideration. It was a simpler time.
Fast forward to today’s modern networks. Nearly everyone has a mix of Linux, Mac, and Windows operating systems, and then there are mobile OS’s and a proliferation of 3rd party software applications. In addition to the various types of systems that need to be patched, more of your infrastructure is moving to the cloud and employees are accessing the network remotely almost as often as they are on it in the office. Internal firewalls and antivirus are not enough to protect the security of your infrastructure.
IT Managers need to maintain several operating systems when their expertise may have previously been just with Windows, and an important aspect of that maintenance is patching. Patching a single operating system can be time-consuming in and of itself, especially if it is done manually. Typically there are multiple versions of the operating system running within the environment. Adding new unfamiliar operating systems and 3rd party applications to the patching equation adds time, resources, and in many cases, additional costs. The need for a patching solution for a mixed environment has never been greater.
Automated patching solutions reduce the time and resources required to patch and increase your patching confidence. Unfortunately, many automated patch management solutions do not work across all three operating systems. These solutions emerged when Windows was the only system most SysAdmins were concerned with, and many were built to improve on the functionality of WSUS without expanding to Mac, Linux, or 3rd party software. This often meant that IT departments utilized one patching tool for Windows, a separate solution or a manual process for Mac and Linux, and a manual process for 3rd party software. This lead to inaccurate record keeping and missed patches.
Some enterprise solutions have started to patch mixed environments, but they tend to be expensive and often need additional support to configure. Legacy on-premise systems also require dedicated servers and ongoing maintenance. Since environments consisting of Windows, Mac, and Linux are now found in businesses of all sizes, it’s clear a more affordable patching solution for mixed environments is needed. SysAdmins must be confident in their ability to patch all devices and applications through one, easy-to-manage system.
Automox is a patch automation system that was built to work in mixed environments. Through a cloud-native agent, Automox automatically checks for and applies patches to Mac, Windows, and Linux systems as well as 3rd party software applications. The automation is under the users control and can be set to automatically patch, or integrate into an existing patch management workflow.
Automox provides complete infrastructure visibility so that no device or system goes unpatched. Automox also provides detailed reporting on all three systems, ensuring that IT Managers can quickly view what patches have been applied to each endpoint. If patches fail or a device isn’t connected when the patch is deployed, alerts are sent so they can be assessed. The solution is priced on a per endpoint basis, offering an enterprise level patching solution to companies of any size.
About Automox
Facing growing threats and a rapidly expanding attack surface, understaffed and alert-fatigued organizations need more efficient ways to eliminate their exposure to vulnerabilities. Automox is a modern cyber hygiene platform that closes the aperture of attack by more than 80% with just half the effort of traditional solutions.
Cloud-native and globally available, Automox enforces OS & third-party patch management, security configurations, and custom scripting across Windows, Mac, and Linux from a single intuitive console. IT and SecOps can quickly gain control and share visibility of on-prem, remote and virtual endpoints without the need to deploy costly infrastructure.
Experience modern, cloud-native management today with a 15-day free trial of Automox and start recapturing more than half the time you're currently spending on managing your attack surface. Automox dramatically reduces corporate risk while raising operational efficiency to deliver best-in-class security outcomes, faster and with fewer resources.
