Iris Software is an IT and technology company based in Chennai, India, with 15 years in the industry. Its IT infrastructure team manages over 1,400 endpoints across Windows laptops, desktops, and other devices, spanning both on-premises and cloud environments.
Business challenges
Remote endpoints outside the corporate network were the hardest to keep patched.
Before Patch Manager Plus, Iris Software handled patching entirely through manual processes. In practice, that meant IT staff logging into individual machines to check what patches were available, identifying which endpoints were behind, and coordinating deployment one system at a time.
When a machine was not connected to the internal network, there was no reliable way to check its patch status or push updates to it. Employees working from home or using company laptops off-site could go for extended periods without receiving critical patches, and the team had no automated way to flag or follow up on those gaps.
Manual tracking across OS patches and third-party application updates across 1,400 endpoints.
Windows OS patches and third-party application updates required separate attention. Tracking which machines needed what, across which applications, and coordinating deployment across 1,400 endpoints without centralized visibility or automation meant the process was slow and prone to gaps. When critical or zero-day vulnerabilities were disclosed, the team had limited ability to respond quickly across the full estate.
No reboot scheduling controls or centralized audit trail for GDPR and ISO 27001 reviews.
Without scheduling controls, reboots following patch installation could not be managed around the working patterns of a remote-first workforce. There was also no centralized audit trail to provide evidence of patch compliance for GDPR and ISO 27001 reviews, which required manual effort to pull together from across the environment.
Evaluating the market
Before selecting Patch Manager Plus, the team evaluated Microsoft WSUS. After comparing both options against the requirements of a distributed, hybrid cloud environment with remote endpoints and third-party patching needs, they chose Patch Manager Plus based on the following factors:
| Decision factor | What it meant for Iris Software |
|---|---|
| Automated patch management | Replaced manual identification and deployment of patches across 1,400 Windows and Azure endpoints with automated workflows. |
| Patch compliance and audit readiness | Centralized audit reports and deployment history to support GDPR and ISO 27001 compliance reviews. |
| Minimal user disruption | Reboot scheduling, user notifications before reboots, and flexible deployment policies keep patching from disrupting work. |
| Ease of use and deployment | Streamlined workflow for the IT infrastructure team to operate across a distributed, hybrid cloud environment. |
| Centralized visibility and reporting | A single console showing patch compliance and missing updates across all endpoints, including remote systems. |
| Scalability across distributed endpoints | Agent-based deployments reach remote endpoints over the internet without requiring VPN or corporate network connectivity. |
The Patch Manager Plus solution
With Patch Manager Plus deployed across its endpoint estate, Iris Software replaced its manual, per-machine patching process with a centralized, automated platform covering Windows, third-party applications, remote endpoints, scheduling controls, and compliance reporting.
Automated patch deployment and third-party patching
Automated patch deployment handles the identification and deployment of Windows OS patches and third-party application updates across all managed endpoints without requiring IT staff to work through machines individually. Third-party patching extends coverage beyond the operating system to the applications running on each device, which WSUS could not address. The team can customize deployment policies to control exactly how and when patches are applied across different endpoint types.
Agent-based patching for remote endpoints
The agent-based approach of Patch Manager Plus works well for Iris Software's distributed workforce. Automated deployment policies and regular compliance reports identify machines that are still missing patches so the team can follow up on them, keeping remote endpoints from falling behind in the patching cycle.
"For remote and WFH machines, the agent-based approach allows us to deploy patches even when endpoints are outside the corporate network, as long as they are connected to the internet. Automated deployment policies and regular compliance reports help us identify machines that are missing patches and follow up on them, so remote users and developer endpoints don't get left behind in the patching cycle."
- Vignesh Suresh Kumar, IT Infrastructure Engineer, Iris Software
Reboot scheduling and user notifications
Scheduling reboots and alerting users with notifications before reboots are features that are specifically important to Iris Software's operations. For a workforce that includes developers running active sessions and remote staff with varying working patterns, the ability to schedule reboots at a planned time and notify users in advance makes patching predictable rather than disruptive.
Options for filtering servers give the team additional control over which systems are included in each deployment cycle.
Compliance reporting and audit readiness for GDPR and ISO 27001
Patch Manager Plus gives the team a clear record of patch status and deployment history across all endpoints. For critical and zero-day vulnerabilities, the team can identify affected systems quickly, prioritize the required patches, and deploy them to reduce the window of exposure. Audit reports provide the evidence needed for GDPR and ISO 27001 compliance reviews, covering patching SLAs and demonstrating that overdue or critical updates have been addressed within remediation timelines.
Results and impact
Since deploying Patch Manager Plus, Iris Software has moved from manual, per-machine patching to a centralized, automated process across its distributed estate:
| Challenges before | Outcomes after |
|---|---|
| Manual identification and deployment of patches one system at a time. | Automated patch deployment and third-party patching across 1,400 Windows and Azure Virtual Desktop endpoints. |
| Remote and WFH endpoints falling behind without reliable patch status or push capability. | Agent-based deployments reach endpoints over the internet; compliance reports flag machines missing patches for follow-up. |
| Separate, manual tracking for OS patches and third-party application updates. | Single platform covers Windows OS and third-party applications with customizable deployment policies. |
| Limited ability to respond quickly to critical or zero-day vulnerabilities. | Affected systems are identified quickly, patches prioritized, and deployed to reduce exposure windows. |
| Unmanaged reboots disrupting a remote-first workforce. | Reboot scheduling and user notifications keep patching predictable and non-disruptive. |
| Manual evidence gathering for GDPR and ISO 27001 compliance reviews. | Centralized audit reports and deployment history support compliance reviews without manual assembly. |
The biggest operational gain from Patch Manager Plus at Iris Software has been the reduction in time spent on repetitive patching tasks. Identifying missing patches, coordinating deployment across 1,400 endpoints, and checking compliance across the environment all required direct manual involvement from the IT team. Automation has taken the bulk of that work off the team's hands, freeing time for higher-value security and infrastructure work.
Patching consistency has improved across the full estate, particularly for remote and WFH endpoints that previously fell through the gaps of the manual process. Compliance reporting is available without manual evidence gathering, and the team can respond to critical vulnerabilities and zero-day disclosures faster than before.
"Patch Manager Plus has reduced the manual effort involved in identifying missing patches, testing and deploying updates, and checking compliance across endpoints. Automation has allowed the team to spend less time on repetitive patching activities and more time on other IT and security tasks, while the reporting gives us quicker visibility into compliance gaps."
- Vignesh Suresh Kumar, IT Infrastructure Engineer, Iris Software
Looking ahead
Iris Software now has a reliable, scalable patch management foundation with ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus. Automated deployment, agent-based remote patching, third-party application coverage, reboot scheduling, and centralized compliance reporting all run from a single platform across its endpoints.
As the organization grows and its distributed environment expands, Patch Manager Plus gives the team the capacity to maintain the same patching consistency and compliance posture without the manual effort scaling with the endpoint count. Remote endpoints are patched on schedule, critical vulnerabilities are remediated faster, and compliance evidence for GDPR and ISO 27001 is always current and available on demand.
Features
Automated patch deployment
Agent-based remote patching
Compliance reporting
Results
- 1,400 Windows laptops, desktops, and Azure Virtual Desktops managed with automated patch workflows.
- Remote and WFH endpoints patched over the internet via agent-based deployment.
- Third-party application patching and reboot scheduling with user notifications.
- GDPR and ISO 27001 audit-ready reports from a single console.
