Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Qualys Patch Management both compete in the software updates and patch management category. Qualys Patch Management has the upper hand due to its comprehensive features and broader support despite its higher cost.
Features: WSUS offers robust reporting, ease of managing updates within a Microsoft environment, and cost-effectiveness. Qualys Patch Management provides superior automation, broader OS support, and extensive vulnerability management capabilities.
Room for Improvement: WSUS could benefit from an improved update process, more intuitive configuration options, and enhanced automation features. Qualys users suggest more flexible integration options, faster technical support, and streamlined UI for managing patches.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WSUS is praised for straightforward deployment in Windows-centric IT environments, though it has mixed reviews on customer support. Qualys has a more involved setup due to its extensive features but receives higher marks for ongoing customer service.
Pricing and ROI: WSUS is regarded as cost-efficient for existing Microsoft shops with favorable ROI. Qualys, while more expensive, justifies its cost through high user satisfaction and comprehensive patch management benefits, leading to strong ROI for complex, multi-OS environments.
With Qualys, we can save around 70 percent of time and between 30 to 40 percent of money.
We have a 50 percent return on investment due to reduced operational complexity and increased efficiency in patching and detection.
We have achieved significant time savings of 90 percent, primarily due to comprehensive oversight and visibility of security issues.
The support team is experienced and responsive.
Qualys' technical support has been excellent.
We have been provided with clear escalation points of contact, ensuring timely responses and resolution for any issues.
It scales efficiently across different machines globally, ensuring patches are deployed smoothly.
Qualys Patch Management is a globally scalable product, easily handling increasing workloads and users.
They introduce new modules as needed, making Patch Management highly scalable.
I would rate the stability of Qualys Patch Management nine point five out of ten.
The stability of Qualys Patch Management is impeccable.
Overall, it is reliable.
There is a limitation where Qualys may not always offer solutions for remediation, particularly for end-of-life or end-of-service applications.
Collaborating with various vendors to provide new patches would be beneficial.
This could include specifying whether the failure is related to a file download error, network interruption, application crash, or installer error based on the operating system.
We get many more features at the same price as other solutions such as Microsoft SCCM.
The pricing is reasonable and less expensive than the previous tool.
We found it costly compared to other vendors.
We leverage this functionality to deploy scripts that adjust registry values, effectively patching vulnerabilities and enhancing the security of our machines.
We have been able to apply workarounds for zero-day vulnerabilities efficiently.
It provides insight into the organization's security posture and keeps databases updated with new CVEs.
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is a patch management tool that simplifies the administrator’s task of deploying the latest Microsoft updates. Administrators use WSUS to manage the distribution of updates released through Microsoft Update to computers in their network.
WSUS has features you can use to manage and distribute updates from a management console. The WSUS server can also be a source of updates to other servers within the organization, acting as an upstream server.
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Use Cases
The four main use cases that WSUS adds value to businesses are:
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Features
This built-in server includes the following features:
Requirements
In order to be able to use WSUS to manage and deploy updates, it is important to use a supported WSUS version, such as:
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Benefits
Different Types of WSUS Deployments
Qualys Patch Management optimizes patching and vulnerability remediation through automation and intelligence insights, accelerating the process by 43% and improving patch rates by 90%. Its integration with CMDB and ITSM tools speeds up ticket closures by 60%, effectively reducing the attack surface while freeing IT and security resources. This cloud-based solution bridges the IT-security gap, making it essential for cybersecurity.
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