When talking about managed service providers everyone wants to talk about the newest security products and response SLAs, but one of the most important things your MSP can do for you is to keep your computers and servers up to date.
Before we get into why it's vitally important to patch your machines, some of you might be wondering what exactly "patching" is. A patch is a set of changes to a computer or piece of software designed to update, fix, or improve it. Most often, we talk about patching in regards to its role in cybersecurity.
The three reasons to stay ahead of patching are as follows:
Address a specific bug or flaw
Improve an OS or application’s general stability
Fix a security vulnerability
In essence, workstation patching is no different than updating your iPhone. It's essentially the same thing! That said, the most important reason to keep your machines fully patched and up to date is vulnerability concerns.
Companies like Microsoft and Apple have armies of people that stay fully informed on the latest cybersecurity vulnerabilities and create updates for their operating systems to prevent bad guys from being able to use known entry methods to compromise your machines! How cool is that? You literally have some of the best and brightest minds in the world working around the clock to help keep you safe. However, the sad thing about this is that most small businesses aren't doing it.
Our best advice to you is to bug your IT provider until they can answer the question, "Are our machines fully up to date?" If they can't answer that question with a resounding YES, then you should hit us up. We'd be happy to help!
Need IT support? Let us take care of your tech, so you can do what you do best!
Contact us to learn more!
S1 Technology is a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that provides a security-first approach to a full range of managed IT services and support for small to mid-sized businesses.