Kaseya VSA: Software Management vs. Patch Management

Kaseya Logo

What are the Software and Patch Management Modules?

As an MSP, you know that endpoint patching is one of the most important functions that your RMM can provide. Keeping your endpoints up to date increases security and client satisfaction. Kaseya VSA provides two main ways to accomplish this goal: Patch Management, and the newer Software Management modules. Below you will find a brief overview of each, along with their main differences.

Patch Management

The Patch Management Module in Kaseya is the tried-and-true patching solution and has been around for as long as the VSA itself has. This module will be eventually sunset by Kaseya, but not for a few more years, at least. The Patch Management console uses it’s own Kaseya-developed patching engine to deploy patches (and the native OS engine to scan for them)

Software Management

The software management module is the newer of the two available patching methods. It supports a wider range of endpoints, and is generally more compatible than it’s older sibling. Software management uses the endpoint’s native patching engine to scan and deploy patches. It also supports native 3rd party patching (with a separately purchase license).

Which solution should I choose?

It’s an interesting choice, and one that should be considered carefully. There are pros and cons to each module to be considered. These are listed below, for each module.

Patch management Pros & Cons:

Pros

Cons
  • More mature software, with better support and documentation.
  • Will be sunset in favor of Software management in the coming years, meaning a migration will eventually be necessary.
  • Considered by the community to be more stable than Software management (i.e. less bugs)
  • No further development aside from security patching
  • 3rd party application patching not natively supported. Non-Windows Operating Systems not supported.

Software Management Pros & Cons:

Pros

Cons
  • Highly compatible with multiple endpoint types. Software management supports Mac, Linux, and Windows.
  • Less “mature,” While well documented by Kaseya, less forum and support documentation exists online. Support team is less experienced with Software Management than it’s predecessor.
  • More explicit configuration options to separate scans and deployment, overrides, and more.
  • Migrating from Patch Management to Software Management can be difficult. While there is a tool for this within the VSA, it’s not perfect.

Basically, it depends on your end-goal. If your environment contains a mix of endpoints of different operating system, if you need 3rd party application update support, or if you want to avoid the migration later, go with Software management. If you prefer the stability of a tried-and-true product, and most of the endpoints that you need to patch are Windows, definitely choose Patch management. We do recommend that you apply a single solution to your entire VSA.

I still need more help!

Still stuck on deciding which of these two solutions are best for your organization? We know that making the perfect choice for your clients can be tough, and we can help. ProVal Technologies helps MSPs like you complete difficult implementations every day. Give us a call and see how we can help you!

Dan Hicks

Dan Hicks

Dan Hicks is a DevOps Engineer at ProVal Technologies with a diverse background in the industry. He has over 10 years of technical support experience, 5 years of experience as an MSP technician, and previously owned a PC repair business. Dan holds an Associate's degree in Applied Sciences in Information Technology. With a combination of technical know-how, hands-on experience, and a passion for technology, Dan is a valuable asset to ProVal Technologies.

Categories

Get in touch today for MSP NOC Services

Contact Us

ProVal Technologies, Inc

498 Palm Springs Drive, Ste. 130
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701
United States
Phone: 407-588-0101

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube
SOC 2 Certified Logo
Form CTA

©2023 ProVal Technologies, Inc All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy – Disclaimer

Kaseya VSA: Software Management vs. Patch Management

Kaseya Logo

I truly view ProVal as a partner and extension of my team, not as one of my vendors

When our NOC Manager left last fall we wanted to replace the position with an outsourced NOC to reduce headcount, and bring in an expert to both Labtech and our backup solutions. Bringing in ProVal Technologies was one of the best decisions we made last year and has paid for itself.During our first few monthly recurring Labtech admin meetings the ProVal team discovered incorrect settings and policies that were not applying correctly in our Labtech server. Things that we thought were automated and working were not. For example, there were multiple scripts and policies running but set to do nothing such as disk cleanup scripts. Cisco Umbrella was not configured correctly. Server alerting was not set right and the list went on.The backup team sends daily and weekly reports and updates that reduce my technicians time that we used to spend on backup or antivirus tickets that took forever and were tedious.ProVal also brings in great insights to our business and really cares about our success. They will frequently mention to me in meetings what new scripts they can import to make us more efficient or will schedule upgrades to our backups, Labtech, etc so I don’t have to worry. I truly view ProVal as a partner and extension of my team not as one of my vendors.

Chris-Warnick-Headshot
Chris Warnick
Vision Computer Solutions
Northville, MI

They will quickly become an extension of your team and your ROI will reflect the results

We have been a long time user of Labtech and had tried for many years to manage the product internally with no real success at the level we needed to make our solutions more efficient for our customers. Once we hired Vikram and his team at ProVal, it solved all our pain points with the product and we really felt like we were leveraging the tool as it was designed. If this sounds like you and it’s keeping you up at night, then you need these guys. They will quickly become an extension of your team and your ROI will reflect the results.

Bryan-Wolff-Headshot
Bryan Wolff
CEO, Wolff Logics LT Managed & Admin Services
Cedar Park, Texas

They work well, fast and on budget

We met Vikram from ProVal Tech at Gary Pica’s Shnizzfest a year ago. Vikram explained the advantage of having trained, certified personnel take care of our recent Automate implementation. Even though we had taken an implementation package from ConnectWise to start up the program, we felt many custom configurations we needed for our business were lacking. We hired ProVal Tech after Automate was installed to help us with this task. From sales to technicians everyone was professional and knowledgeable. Onboarding was simple, and well documented. Tools on the web were supplied while we did the work, and they allowed us to track what was done, and see the improvements in the environment. It was easy to reach any of the team members, for any concern or question – all answered with courtesy and smile. Once the work was finished, we were given some training and explanations, add to that documentation, about the work and the scripts and features added to the program. We have been happily working with Automate since then. We can only recommend this efficient team of people for any work into Automate: they work well, fast and on budget.

Ben-Prevost-Headshot
Ben Prevost
FarWeb IT
Sherbrooke, Canada