Ease-of-use and low-cost make PatchControl the preferred choice for enterprises needing protection and functionality beyond Microsoft`s Software Update Services.Fremont, CA (PRWEB) September 7, 2004 -- Everdream Corporation, the leader in managed desktop IT services, today announced that over 200 companies have signed up for PatchControl since its release in April 2004. PatchControl is innovative software that adds functionality currently unavailable from Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS). For approximately $1 per system annually, PatchControl provides easily accessible patch status reporting, remote policy management, and deployment log information. Enterprise IT administrators are today faced with increasing demands to quickly distribute patches that will maintain the security and integrity of a large number of desktop and mobile systems. PatchControl responds to these demands by enabling IT managers to implement patch management solutions on the fly, eliminating business interruptions that can occur when manually inspecting, installing and activating patches PC by PC. PatchControl provides IT administrators with: An immediate report indicating which their systems have, or do not have, critical patches installed. The ability to set automatic update policies on an individual PCs or groups of PCs globally from a remote, central location. These policies determine when patches are to be applied to specific systems, and the manner in which they are deployed. The ability to understand and resolve patch and download failures by centrally analyzing Automatic Update logs. Lightening-fast deployment, by utilizing Everdreams hosted infrastructure that includes hosted SUS servers. A versatile inventory of all hardware and software on the network.Patch management is a costly problem, especially for medium and large organizations. Gartner estimates it costs $300,000 a year to manually deploy patches to 1,000 servers. And, until now, IT managers have been spending as much as $20 per system for other centralized management solutions. "Weve already experienced a near instantaneous return on our PatchControl investment," said William Benoist, Desktop Services Manager for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Company. "The productivity of our IT team has spiked, and the likelihood of disruption to our business caused by security breaches and virus attacks is significantly reduced. With more than 30 offices nationwide, we expected installation of PatchControl to be a lengthy and involved process. Instead, we discovered that we were able to install PatchControl with unprecedented rapidity."Today, Microsoft SUS is the most widely used patch distribution mechanism for Windows systems. Everdream PatchControl integrates seamlessly with SUS, offering additional visibility and administrative capabilities. Everdream PatchControl is a hosted software solution, eliminating the need for dedicated server resources, complex installation, and application management by the administrator. The administrator accesses PatchControls intuitive interface through a secure Internet connection.We have not yet deployed our SUS server due to key shortcomings in patching and reporting functions, said Kerry Miller, Network Engineer for First Victoria National Bank. Within minutes of running a silent installation of PatchControl, we had a complete inventory of our machines including which patches had applied. It was also non-invasive as we did the installation through login scripts and the users weren`t affected at all. All this for a very reasonable price and we don`t have to manage the SUS server.Many PatchControl customers have taken advantage of additional robust functionality, such as pre-install patch testing and post-install rollback, by subscribing to Everdream`s full Patch Management solution. As part of Everdreams Desktop Management Services Suite, Patch Management offers additional options including IT asset management, software distribution, software license tracking, anti-virus protection, online backup, and a 24x7 live help desk. Everdreams customer satisfaction ratings are unparalleled in the industry, consistently averaging over 95%.New clients to Everdream span vertical markets including financial services, government agencies, real estate, high technology, consulting services, education, automotive, food services and the insurance industries.About EverdreamEverdream Corporation is the leading provider of hosted desktop management services that protect, manage and support the enterprise IT infrastructure. Since 1998, Everdreams award winning service and patented technology has provided businesses with an easy-to-implement, cost-effective alternative for managing IT operations. Through the innovative web-based Control Center, companies receive customized and turn-key services including asset management, virus protection, data backup and restore, software updates and maintenance, patch management and help desk services that enable the IT professional to maximize asset utilization, improve IT support decisions and increase service levels while dramatically reducing costs. With operational facilities in Fremont, California and Charlotte, North Carolina, Everdream provides services to a wide range of enterprises including FedEx Corporation, Premier Inc, CarrAmerica, Salesforce.com and Sonic Automotive in over sixty countries across the globe. Everdream can be reached at http://everdream.com or 888.307.7299.Everdream is a registered trademark of Everdream Corporation. All other products and company names herein may be trademarks of their respected owners. Annual PatchControl licenses start at $499 for up to 500 systems. Reasonable restrictions apply. Gartner reference from: "Patch Management is a Fast Growing Market" by Norma Schroder, Ronni Colville and Mark Nicolett, May 30, 2003.
