More on Microsoft's new Patch Management Strategy

Well, on the heels of my post last week on Microsoft working on a new patch management system, NetworkWorld Fusion has a more rounded report discussing how Microsoft is going to revamp patch management software.

Should be interesting to see in the next 6 months. My only worry is if Microsoft does automated updates without our consent. I do not trust Microsoft's patch strategy right now. It is common for it to fail, components to not install correctly, and the install to break other software that is working fine.

I would rather see a mechanism to automate installs on machines I wish to allow so I can test it in a "clean room" before rolling it to the production systems. Once I am ready, a single command could then push the msi to all machines on the network by group, allowing me to do a staged deployment.

I won't hold my breath on such a strategy. But it would be nice. If Microsoft screws it up in the next 6 months maybe I will have to do some market research and survey a large group of corporations and see if this would fly as a 3rd party product. Who knows.