Why Patch Tuesday Preparation Matters
On the second Tuesday of every month, Microsoft releases new patches and updates. This event, called Patch Tuesday, can put pressure on IT teams, who suddenly need to update multiple endpoints across the company with each new update released that month.
However, the real problem behind this rush isn’t due to the patch volume. Rather, it’s all a matter of preparation. IT teams know what Patch Tuesday is and should know what to expect, yet far too few prepare in advance.
If you find yourself rushing to install updates every Patch Tuesday, it doesn’t have to be a challenge. With a bit of planning and preparation with a focus on visibility, prioritization, and execution, Patch Tuesday can become a routine activity, rather than a reactive rush.
Let’s explore.
What Typically Goes Wrong on Patch Tuesday
When you tell an IT agent that Patch Tuesday is approaching, do they shudder with nervous anticipation? Patch Tuesday can be prone to problems if an IT team is unprepared, including:
1. No Clear Inventory of Affected Devices
Patch Tuesday can include updates for a wide range of Microsoft operating systems and applications, so without a clear, accessible inventory, IT teams can struggle to figure out what needs to be updated and identify impacted endpoints
2. Patching Starts Too Late
If the patches come out on Tuesday, when should they be installed? All too often, teams wait until release day to start planning, and the need for manual reviews and approvals can further delay patching. They need patch management and automation tools to deploy updates as quickly as possible.Using an endpoint management solution like Splashtop AEM, verify that your patching policies and automation rules are active.
3. Third-Party Updates Are Overlooked
Patch Tuesday focuses on updates for Microsoft operating systems and applications, but very few businesses rely entirely on Microsoft products. Third-party apps can’t be overlooked; letting them become outdated exposes vulnerabilities and creates additional risks.
4. Limited Time to Prioritize Risk
When multiple new patches are released, how do you prioritize them? Patch Tuesday often includes numerous updates with no context, making it unclear which are minor feature improvements and which are critical security patches. IT teams must be able to identify which patches are the most important, so they can prioritize and schedule accordingly and minimize their exposure to high-risk vulnerabilities.
What Being “Prepared” for Patch Tuesday Actually Means
Patch Tuesday should never take an IT team by surprise. It’s a monthly event on a set schedule, so preparing for it is relatively simple. Of course, what exactly “being prepared” means can vary by person.
Being prepared for Patch Tuesday typically means:
Knowing exactly which devices and software will be impacted by the updates.
Understanding which vulnerabilities matter most and should be prioritized.
Having patch management and automation prepared before patches are released.
Being able to deploy updates quickly and without manual effort.
Having visibility into your endpoints to confirm patches are successfully installed.
Going into Patch Tuesday with this knowledge and tools at the ready will make it easier to prioritize patches, identify devices that need updates, and deploy them across your endpoints. As a result, the patch deployment is faster, more efficient, and less disruptive across the company.
How to Prepare in the Days Leading Up to Patch Tuesday
When Patch Tuesday is approaching, it’s time to start preparing. You can ensure you’re ready to deploy the updates across your endpoints by following a few simple steps:
Review your device inventory and operating systems to identify the endpoints affected by the updates.
Identify critical software and third-party applications in your environment that may also require patches.
Using an endpoint management solution like Splashtop AEM, verify that your patching policies and automation rules are active so critical updates can deploy immediately when they are released.
Validate that your endpoints are checking in and reporting correctly on that platform.
Be sure to clearly communicate expectations to your team to ensure you meet your Patch Tuesday response timelines. This will help ensure patches are deployed efficiently across your endpoints, in line with your company’s prioritization rules and policies.
How Splashtop AEM Helps Teams Prepare for Patch Tuesday
When you want to seamlessly deploy patches across remote endpoints, you need an endpoint management solution that can automatically detect, deploy, and validate patches as soon as they’re released. Splashtop AEM (Autonomous Endpoint Management) is one such solution, providing businesses with the automation and remote management capabilities they need to streamline patch management.
Splashtop AEM provides:
1. Real-Time Visibility Into Devices and Software
Splashtop AEM’s real-time hardware and software inventory provides up-to-date insights into each of your endpoints, including OS version, patch status, and ownership. With this visibility, IT agents can quickly identify which devices will be affected by the latest patches, reducing guesswork and enabling faster scoping for a more efficient deployment process.
2. Policy-Based Automation Ready Before Release Day
IT administrators can set custom automation rules and patching policies on Splashtop AEM, including rules that trigger based on schedules, events, or endpoint attributes for specific teams and departments. Once these rules are set, Splashtop AEM can automatically deploy patches per your policy as soon as they’re available, rather than requiring IT agents to manually prioritize and deploy them. As a result, you’ll be prepared for Patch Tuesday well in advance, rather than trying to prioritize patches at the last minute.
3. Coverage for OS and Third-Party Patching
Many patching solutions focus only on operating systems, but few businesses use the same OS across all endpoints. Additionally, third-party apps frequently require updates and patches, and leaving them unpatched leaves devices vulnerable. Splashtop AEM, on the other hand, works across operating systems and includes patching for third-party apps, ensuring thorough patching across endpoints and broader patch readiness.
What to Do on Patch Tuesday Itself
When Patch Tuesday begins, you don’t need to stumble through the process and try to deploy everything at once. It’s easy to prepare for a smooth patch deployment by following a few simple steps:
Review the released patches and severity information (Splashtop publishes Patch Tuesday summary blogs for each release on the day of).
Identify the most critical and exploitable vulnerabilities first by factoring in severity, exploitability, and public disclosure signals.
Use a solution with automated patch management, such as Splashtop AEM, to deploy patches across endpoints.
Monitor patch progress across endpoints in real time.
If any patches fail to install correctly, Splashtop AEM’s dashboard provides visibility into each endpoint, enabling you to quickly identify and address failures. This helps ensure a smooth, complete rollout across all endpoints, including remote devices.
How to Validate Patch Success After Deployment
Once a patch is deployed across your endpoints, it’s important to verify it was successfully installed. There’s always a chance that an error occurred during deployment, so validation is important to ensure security and IT compliance.
Once you’re done deploying new patches, be sure to take a few quick steps to confirm:
Confirm patches were installed successfully across devices using a solution that provides real-time visibility into your endpoints, like Splashtop AEM.
Identify endpoints that missed updates so you can reinstall them properly.
Review reports for compliance and audit purposes to demonstrate patch and security compliance.
Schedule follow-up remediation for any endpoints that still need patching.
Common Patch Tuesday Preparation Mistakes to Avoid
With all that said, there are many mistakes that IT teams can and do make during Patch Tuesday. While these common mistakes are understandable, they can create inefficiencies and slow down patch deployment, so it’s important to watch out for them.
Common mistakes include:
Waiting until release day to assess impact: Patch Tuesdays are predictable; businesses should know in advance what patches they can expect. This enables organizations to assess the impact in advance, rather than trying to figure it out after patches are released.
Treating all patches as equal priority: Patch Tuesday releases can range from critical security updates to minor performance improvements. It’s important to identify the most critical patches and prioritize them so the necessary updates are installed first.
Ignoring third-party application updates: Even if your business primarily uses Windows devices, Patch Tuesday doesn’t cover everything. Third-party applications aren’t included in Patch Tuesday updates, so it’s important to use a patch management solution that can detect and deploy app updates alongside Patch Tuesday releases.
Relying on manual tracking or spreadsheets: Patch deployment tracking is important for ensuring full security and IT compliance, but manual or spreadsheet-based methods are prone to human error and time-intensive. Instead, use a platform that can automatically track your patch status across endpoints to ensure complete coverage.
Failing to verify patch completion: Errors can occasionally prevent a patch from deploying properly. In these cases, verifying complete patch deployment is essential for both security and audit purposes.
Turning Patch Tuesday Into a Routine Process with Splashtop AEM
Patch Tuesdays are only problems if you’re unprepared. With the right visibility, prioritization, and automation, you can efficiently roll out patches across your endpoints as they’re released, ensuring smooth deployment and up-to-date cybersecurity.
When you want secure, seamless, and efficient patch management, Splashtop AEM has you covered. Splashtop AEM enables businesses and IT teams to automatically detect, download, prioritize, and deploy patches across distributed endpoint environments, keeping devices up to date and secure.
Splashtop AEM provides IT teams with the tools and technology they need to monitor endpoints, proactively address issues, and reduce their workload. This includes:
Automated patching for OS, third-party, and custom apps.
CVE-based vulnerability insights with AI-assisted prioritization.
Customizable policy frameworks that can be enforced throughout your network.
Hardware and software inventory tracking and management across all endpoints.
Alerts and remediation to automatically resolve issues before they become problems.
Background actions to access tools like task managers and device managers without interrupting users.
Ready to make Patch Tuesday another easy day? Get started with a free trial of Splashtop AEM and make monthly patching predictable:
