Patch management best practices for small IT teams

Unpatched software is one of the most common ways attackers get in, and a bad update is one of the most common ways a Monday morning goes wrong. Good patch management balances the two: get updates out quickly and predictably, without letting a broken one hit every machine at once.

1. Know what you have

You can't patch what you can't see. Keep an up-to-date inventory of every computer and server, its operating system and its installed software. An RMM agent does this automatically.

2. Group machines by risk and role

Servers, executives' laptops, shared front-desk PCs and developer machines have different tolerances for downtime. Put them in groups so each group can follow its own schedule.

3. Use a soak period

Wait a few days before installing brand new updates on most machines, so problems reported by others surface first. Three days is a common default for workstations. Skip preview or optional releases entirely unless you need a specific fix.

4. Pilot first

Let a small pilot group (IT's own machines are ideal) install updates before everyone else. If nothing breaks, the rest of the fleet follows.

5. Patch inside maintenance windows

Schedule installs for times nobody is working, such as Saturday at 2 AM for workstations, and a separate night for servers. Make sure updates only install inside the window.

6. Don't forget third-party applications

Browsers, PDF readers, runtimes and collaboration tools are attacked as often as the operating system. Patch them on the same schedule, and keep a short list of apps you deliberately leave alone.

7. Handle reboots deliberately

Many updates don't take effect until a reboot. Track machines that are waiting for one, and schedule reboots rather than relying on users.

8. Treat exceptions as temporary

Sometimes an update has to be deferred because it breaks a line-of-business app. Record why, set a date to revisit it, and don't let deferrals become permanent.

9. Measure compliance as one number

Track the share of machines with nothing left to install, per operating system. A single number makes it obvious when things slip and easy to report upward.

10. Automate the follow-up

Use automation to install critical patches on machines that fall behind, reboot if needed, check again, and only alert a person if it still failed.

A simple starting schedule

Doing this in Optanik

Optanik's patch management covers Windows, macOS and Linux and common third-party apps, with group policies, soak days, maintenance windows, allow/defer/ignore per update, a compliance grade and scheduled Patch Compliance reports. The written patching guide walks through it with the video.