Although most large software vendors have worked hard to improve the release and distribution of their patches, patching still creates a lot of work for IT administrators.

Many organizations struggle to patch their systems at the rate that new vulnerabilities are discovered, and it can be a stressful time waiting for a maintenance window to install a critical security patch. On top of that, if IT staff and time are in short supply, it becomes nearly impossible to review, test and install official patch updates without leaving systems at risk in the intervening period.

The solution to this patch management dilemma may lie in what's known as