Novell Delivers Automated Patch Management for Windows

To help companies manage the increasing number of patch notifications, Novell today announced the March 29 availability of Novell® ZENworks® Patch Management. Powered by market-leading technology from PatchLink Corporation, ZENworks Patch Management offers an automated patch management solution for Microsoft Windows* that provides tighter security patch controls for large enterprises and mid-sized businesses.

Novell ZENworks Patch Management helps organizations defend their network against intrusion without placing a large burden on IT administrators. Detailed information is provided on each patch so administrators can determine which patches are needed for their organization and which are the most critical to distribute. Automatic deployment then ensures companies have the latest protection on all of their systems, including servers, desktops and remote workstations or laptops.

Forrester Analyst David Friedlander notes that most companies have not taken adequate security precautions at the desktop level. He adds in his January 2004 report "Best Practices: Desktop Security" that companies that fail to address the security issues that affect distributed computing environments will see the cost of desktop security-incident management rise by 30 percent or more annually, as the number of attacks continue to increase through at least 2005.

Novell ZENworks Patch Management provides a complete solution that allows organizations to efficiently manage patches across all their systems. Key features include:

• Vulnerability detection to automatically assess patch management risks and report which patches and holes reside on each server, desktop and laptop in the network.
• Automated patch deployment to ensure action is taken before hacking, compliance or infringement issues damage the infrastructure.
• Greater network security with tighter security controls, quick-response features and remediation status reports, which help ensure data integrity, software compliance and system security at all times.

 

"We are pleased that Novell selected PatchLink's technology for its patch management functionality," said PatchLink Corporation CEO Sean Moshir. "This helps customers address their concern for providing and maintaining a secure and stable environment and is further evidence that our patching technology is becoming the industry standard."

Availability
Novell ZENworks Patch Management will be available March 29 for an annual subscription of $18 per device through Novell channel partners. Novell ZENworks Patch Management is part of the Novell Resource Management group and ZENworks product line. For more information, go to http://www.novell.com/products/zenworks or http://www.patchlink.com.