There was once a time when businesses used a single operating system across their organization. Everyone used a Mac or a PC, and it was rare to see any variation there. Those days are no more, as the rise of remote and hybrid work, BYOD environments, and a greater variety of operating systems has transformed work environments.
Now, most organizations support Windows and macOS devices. However, managing updates across those systems can be challenging, as they use different tools, patch schedules, and reporting systems.
So, how can you unify patch management for Windows and macOS devices? Let's explore the challenges of cross-platform patching and how Splashtop AEM's real-time automation makes it easy to manage patches across endpoints and operating systems.
Why Cross-Platform Patching Is Difficult
Cross-platform patching can be a challenge for companies that aren't prepared. However, every endpoint must remain fully up to date, regardless of operating system; a single unpatched device can leave an entire network exposed and vulnerable to cyberattack.
Despite the importance of patching, managing patches across operating systems is fraught with obstacles. Common challenges for cross-platform patching include:
Different update mechanisms: Different operating systems use different, incompatible tools for their updates. Windows relies on Windows Update or WSUS, whereas macOS uses Apple Software Update and MDM frameworks.
Third-party apps: In addition to patching operating systems, IT agents need to ensure third-party apps on each endpoint are also updated. Windows and macOS require patching for non-OS software, such as browsers, productivity tools, and collaboration apps.
Inconsistent visibility: Maintaining visibility into patch statuses helps ensure a complete and proper patch rollout, but without a tool to provide visibility, IT teams can struggle to track updates separately. This makes compliance reporting painful and can result in human error.
Remote devices: Maintaining patch compliance is essential for remote and hybrid workforces as well, but without a proper patch management solution, the risk of missed patches and disconnected endpoints can increase significantly.
Traditional Patch Management Tools Fall Short
While patch management tools improve the ease and efficiency of patching, traditional tools still aren't quite right for cross-platform patching or remote environments.
For instance, RMMs and OS-native tools typically support only a single platform, so users need manual workarounds to use them across platforms. Other solutions, like Intune and Jamf, work well for the ecosystems they're designed for but may lack the unified visibility and automation required for truly efficient patch management.
As a result, many organizations use several tools. However, not only is this a more expensive workaround that requires multiple investments, but it also leads to further problems, such as redundant workflows, slow patch deployment, and increased management overhead.
Instead, IT teams need a single, real-time patch automation system that works across operating systems. Solutions like that can ensure swift patching across Windows, macOS, and more without requiring additional investment or management.
Unified Patch Management with Splashtop AEM
When you want a robust, powerful solution that can detect, deploy, and manage patches across operating systems, Splashtop AEM (Autonomous Endpoint Management) is what you need. Splashtop AEM is a cross-platform solution built for hybrid environments that enables IT teams and administrators to manage multiple remote endpoints, regardless of operating system.
Splashtop AEM is designed to make endpoint management fast and efficient across all endpoints, including real-time patch management, patch status visibility, and automating updates for operating systems and third-party applications. This enables IT teams to manage and support remote devices across the network and to meet their IT compliance requirements with up-to-date security.
Splashtop AEM includes:
Real-Time OS Patching: Instantly detect, test, and deploy updates across endpoints, regardless of the operating system.
Third-Party App Coverage: Patch automation includes updates for third-party apps like Chrome, Zoom, Adobe, and more across platforms.
Policy-Based Automation: Administrators can create and enforce rules, setting policies by OS, CVE severity, or device group.
Single Dashboard: Splashtop AEM's user-friendly dashboard provides unified visibility across all managed devices, regardless of OS.
Lightweight Agent: Splashtop AEM is built to be intuitive and lightweight, simplifying deployment without an extensive RMM infrastructure.
How Splashtop AEM Handles Windows and macOS Updates
You might be wondering: "How does Splashtop AEM manage updates across operating systems?" While the specifics vary between Windows and macOS, Splashtop AEM makes it easy to automate patch management regardless of OS.
For Windows, Splashtop AEM automates patching for Windows OS and Microsoft apps, detecting and deploying updates in real-time. This provides more immediate patching than solutions like Intune, ensuring critical updates roll out as quickly as possible. Additionally, Splashtop AEM provides per-device compliance and version tracking, so you can ensure each endpoint is up to date and secure.
Splashtop AEM automates macOS and third-party application updates with the same real-time patching workflow used across platforms. Splashtop AEM provides the same speed, visibility, and compliance reporting for macOS devices as it does for Windows devices, ensuring every endpoint receives the same prompt updates and insights.
Feature | Windows | MacOS |
Real-Time OS Patching | ✅ | ✅ |
Third-Party App Patching | ✅ | ✅ |
Policy Automation | ✅ | ✅ |
CVE Prioritization | ✅ | ✅ |
Unified Reporting | ✅ | ✅ |
Step-by-Step: Simplifying Cross-Platform Patch Automation
If you want to automate and simplify cross-platform patching, it's simple to do so. You can automate patch management across each of your endpoints by following a few quick steps:
Install the Splashtop AEM agents on each of your endpoints (Windows and macOS).
Create patching policies based on your policies and needs; these will apply to mixed OS device groups.
Enable CVE-based prioritization for high-severity vulnerabilities to ensure vital patches are installed promptly.
Monitor patch status via Splashtop AEM's unified dashboard, which provides an overview of each endpoint's status.
Generate compliance reports for all devices with a single click.
That's all it takes to ensure patches are promptly and properly deployed across all your endpoints, with full visibility regardless of OS and reports for IT compliance.
Security and Compliance Advantages
Patches are essential for cybersecurity and IT compliance, as they provide key security updates and address newly discovered vulnerabilities. As such, most industry and government security regulations require devices to remain fully patched and patches to be deployed promptly.
Splashtop AEM helps companies meet their cybersecurity requirements by ensuring consistent patching and reducing the mean time to remediation (MTTR) across operating systems. As it automatically keeps endpoints up to date, it prevents devices from becoming forgotten and unpatched and helps avoid missing updates, thus preventing compliance drift.
As a result, Splashtop AEM supports zero-trust initiatives by keeping devices patched and reducing exploitable vulnerabilities. Additionally, Splashtop AEM provides complete visibility into endpoints and patch statuses, thus helping companies meet their security regulatory standards, including ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI, and HIPAA compliance.
Real-World Impact
When a business starts using cross-platform patching with Splashtop AEM, the impact is clear. Benefits of real-time, automated patch management include:
Faster and easier patch deployment across platforms.
100% unified visibility into patch compliance.
IT teams can work more efficiently and reduce their manual workload.
Cost savings from consolidating patch management into a single solution.
Improved security and regulatory compliance.
In short: IT teams can gain control over their endpoint patches, maintain security, ensure compliance, and reduce complexity, all with a single solution.
One Console for Every Endpoint
Managing patches doesn't have to be complex, even with multiple platforms and operating systems. With Splashtop AEM, you can deliver real-time, unified patch management across all your endpoints, regardless of OS.
Splashtop AEM provides security, management, and insights into all of your endpoints, helping IT teams support remote devices with ease. With it, you can reduce the number of tools you need to manage, maintain strong security, and quickly deploy patches as soon as they're available.
Splashtop AEM gives IT teams the tools and technology they need to monitor endpoints, proactively address issues, and reduce their workloads, including:
Automated patching for OS and supported third-party applications..
AI-powered CVE-based vulnerability insights.
Enforceable, customizable policy frameworks.
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 for the ease of use, security, and flexibility that Splashtop AEM provides? Try Splashtop AEM today with a free trial and simplify cross-platform patching.
