4 Reasons Your Business Shouldn’t Ignore Patches and Updates
Get the most out of your IT investments
It’s widely known that cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in business software and operating systems to access corporate IT networks. This unauthorized access to sensitive business information can result in significant financial losses, lawsuits and damage to your company’s reputation.
Although rigorous testing goes into software development before a product launch, many vulnerabilities are exposed only after large-scale adoption in real-world scenarios. Software development companies are well aware of this reality and work diligently to fix software defects before cybercriminals can identify and exploit the loopholes.
To address these concerns, software companies release updates, also known as patches, designed to improve security, performance and usability. Despite the many benefits to updating business software on a regular basis, organizations often run outdated and vulnerable IT systems that just work or appear to work well enough.
Installing updates to a many computers and devices tends to be a time- and effort-consuming process, especially if the software is installed on local hard drives and not delivered as a cloud service. Regardless, policies at some businesses require approval from multiple departments and managers; and extensive in-house testing and planning before the update is rolled out.
Installing software patches and updates as soon as they are available is a smart business decision. Consider these benefits:
Superior security: Businesses can deploy sophisticated security solutions to defend against major cyberattacks, but unpatched software still gives cybercriminals access to the corporate network. By installing software updates, organizations can ensure the latest available fixes of all known vulnerabilities are applied.
Performance boost: Rapid technological innovation allows the IT industry to offer significant performance improvements with periodic software updates. Moore’s law—often circulated in IT and computing circles—says that processor speeds and overall processing power will double every two years. Since regular updates are usually available for free, businesses can leverage the performance advantages to save time with faster computing processes and yield workforce productivity.
High user adoption: IT solutions for businesses are designed to achieve superior user experience and adoption. User preferences and business requirements, however, evolve on an ongoing basis. Software companies are, therefore, compelled to incorporate user feedback to advance product development in the direction of these evolving preferences. The resulting improvements are available as patches, and organizations that regularly update their IT solutions see high adoption rates among employees.
Access latest features and functionality: Enhancements such as new features and functionalities are designed to match changing business requirements and maximize the potential of an existing product. In addition, these updates allow organizations to establish a technology-driven approach to address challenges associated with business growth and development. As a result, business organizations can maximize returns on their technology investments.
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