How much can inefficient patching really cost you? Just ask the Aberdeen Group

Patching costs a ton, regardless of whether you measure the costs in terms of time, lost productivity, or hard costs. Even worse is the cost of bad patching (or god forbid) not patching at all. But all of this money that you spend or even risk more or less represents budget that you could be using for more strategic projects. In a recent report, the Aberdeen Group outlines the real costs of not paying enough attention to patching. But the good news is that they go on to recommend strategies for taking control of patching to avoid all kinds of negative impact.

Saving money is good, right? Or, according to the Aberdeen Group, it can be downright virtuous. Aptly named The Virtues of Virtual Patching, this new report calculates the costs of ignoring or just not being smart about your patching practices. But the analyst firm also gives you hope. The report outlines alternatives to endless “Patch Tuesday” workarounds, testing and unplanned downtime.  It’s not enough to just patch, which is just common sense. You need to be smarter about how you do it. In other words, success is not only a function of whether a company patches, but also a function of how.

But the big news is how much the wrong approach to patching may cost you. Based on Aberdeen’s research, the average total cost of a security incident was $130K; while incidents that involved loss or exposure of sensitive data saw the average total cost per incident was as much as $640K. They also calculate the financial impact of lost revenue and lost productivity. Check out the report to see how much you jeopardize by not patching fast or smart enough. You’ll also see more statistics on how the industry is fairing when it comes to patch management.

Strategies for minimizing the costs and risks of patching? You’re in luck. The Aberdeen Group touts the advantages of virtual patching. With a strong virtual patching solution in place, you’ll be able to start sooner, buy more time, and finish faster.

Trend Micro has outlined the issues you’ll face patching in virtual environments where agentless capabilities can save you even more. Learn more on our virtual patching solutions web page, and let us know in the comments below: Are your patching costs on par with Aberdeen’s findings? How are you managing your virtual patching efforts?