{"id":31652,"date":"2022-04-21T10:46:22","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T09:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/?p=31652"},"modified":"2022-06-14T15:15:21","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T14:15:21","slug":"windows-autopatch-will-msps-still-need-patch-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/es\/blog\/windows-autopatch-will-msps-still-need-patch-management","title":{"rendered":"Windows Autopatch: Will MSPs Still Need a Patch Management Solution?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On April 5, 2022, Microsoft announced their new Windows Autopatch<\/a> feature to take the burden of patching off the shoulders of overwhelmed IT departments. With a planned released date of July 2022, it\u2019s worth getting educated about this new service from Microsoft and what its potential impacts on the MSP ecosystem will be. Spoiler alert: It\u2019s not that big of a deal. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is Windows Autopatch?<\/span><\/h2>\n

You would be forgiven for asking \u201cIsn\u2019t Autopatch just Auto Update with a price tag?\u201d The key differences are control, scheduling, offloading of management, and patch auditing. Windows Autopatch will be a service available from Microsoft to keep Windows and Office software up-to-date on any enrolled endpoints. <\/span><\/p>\n

Windows Autopatch will leverage Microsoft secret sauce to place enrolled devices in dynamically created testing rings: Test, First, Fast, and Broad Rings. A small number of endpoints will be in the Test Ring with more devices being added to each subsequent ring until every device is assigned. You\u2019ll be able to manually move devices into different rings as necessary. Updates will then be applied starting with the Test Ring, allowing enough time for patches to be applied and metrics measured before moving on to the next ring. Security and quality updates will be rolled out more quickly than feature updates, with feature updates being deferred for up to 30 days between rings. This should all sound very familiar to most MSPs. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are also familiar functions like pausing updates, deferring updates, and uninstalling patches that might be causing issues. These have long been standard in most third-party patching solutions that exist. N‑able\u2019s Patch Management<\/span><\/a> has had these features for many years. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the biggest benefits of Window Autopatch is offloading the responsibility of patching systems to a third-party for overburdened IT departments. For MSPs though, that would be like hiring another MSP to handle patching for you clients. Not that you can\u2019t do that, but it might not be the best business decision. <\/span><\/p>\n

What are the prerequisites for Windows Autopatch? <\/span><\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s the real showstopper for the use of Windows Autopatch for MSPs. The prerequisites for its use are rather high and most MSP clients are unlikely to reach the thresholds.<\/span><\/p>\n