CASE STUDY
the 10 teams that run those servers. Armed
with the asset inventory, Lovegrove offered
owners six options for scheduling patches.
They picked the option most appropriate
to the role the server and its apps played
in the organisation and that determined
the machine groups for Ivanti’s automated
patching treatment. Reporting levels were
also established, offering a central view
and reports on deployed patches, missing
patches and vulnerable machines.
Ivanti Patch offers flexible options to
fit the server’s purpose
Softcat estimates it has reduced patching
overhead by 70% while increasing patching
coverage. This includes third-party apps such
as Java, Adobe Flash and Reader, and browsers
such as Firefox, which are so often missed
in a server estate. For the company’s most
critical servers, Patch for Windows reduced the
patching window from 90 to under 18 days.
Lovegrove said: “It’s definitely a time saver.
Knowing this is in my back pocket, I can focus
on wider or more esoteric security issues,
instead of spending time fiddling around with
what should be a simple process.”
Adherence to the three KPIs has earned
Lovegrove’s team the confidence of Softcat
senior management.
the issue to the forefront of our network
and security efforts.” The solution needed to
achieve three goals: provided a complete software inventory and
immediately determined that 25 servers
were redundant and no longer in use.
1. Significantly reduce patching overhead
2. Decrease the patching cycle from 90 to
no more than 30 days
3. Automate as much of the process as
possible and provide proof that patching
had occurred For the remaining 175 servers, the next
stage was to assign server ownership within
With any automation, success lies in
the detailed preparation
Softcat ships thousands of Ivanti Patch for
Windows licenses to its customer base and
receives positive customer feedback. Given
the solution’s high regard, Softcat chose to
deploy it internally within 30 days of testing
it in the lab. Upon deployment, Patch for
Windows scanned the Softcat estate. This
www.intelligentcio.com
Lovegrove summarises his experience for
others facing patching overhead: “Ivanti
Patch for Windows isn’t just a more
comprehensive patching solution, it’s
an intelligent, granular solution that
offers the flexibility to specify patch
groups and categories and provides the
visibility needed to help ensure patches
get deployed.” n
IVANTI PATCH FOR WINDOWS ISN’T JUST
A MORE COMPREHENSIVE PATCHING
SOLUTION, IT’S AN INTELLIGENT,
GRANULAR SOLUTION THAT OFFERS
THE FLEXIBILITY TO SPECIFY PATCH
GROUPS AND CATEGORIES
INTELLIGENTCIO
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