By Olivia Munro (pictured), Eze Castle Integration – From a personal perspective, there are a variety of reasons that individuals update applications on their personal devices (think mobile phone or iPad). For example, with Social Media applications drivers to update include new features, faster load times, and bug fixes. But from a business perspective, it is imperative to keep applications up to date on your devices.
Here’s our take on benefits of keeping applications up to date, why it’s crucial from a security perspective, and some of the potential risks of legacy applications.
BENEFITS:
Improved Performance
Similar to your personal devices, updating applications is crucial for optimal performance. Faster load times will allow you to access files and perform business functions with more efficiency. In addition to potential faster load times, outdated applications can crash often and require attention from your IT department. This uses valuable company resources that could be dedicated somewhere else.
Bug fixes
Oftentimes applications have bugs that can impact usage and performance. Perhaps the application quits unexpectedly, or there are graphical inconsistencies in the application. Software updates will fix any bugs in the application, which again, improves performance and increases efficiency.
New features
Perhaps one of the most valuable benefits of updating your applications from an end-user perspective are the new features that often accompany updates. New features can enhance the application and can potentially streamline your work, or even provide a function that you weren’t able to before, brining an added value to the workplace.
Security
Though new features may seem like the most valuable benefit for end-users, security is the leading reason for you to update your business applications. As we know, the threat landscape is constantly evolving, and that goes for attacks against your applications too. Legacy applications are more susceptible to cyber attacks. As previously mentioned, outdated applications may no longer be supported but your IT department, which makes them particularly vulnerable to cyber criminals. As with any outdated technology, these legacy applications are not always compatible with new environments, which is crucial for business growth and scalability.
When it comes to application security, the most effective way to secure sensitive information and systems is a consistent and thorough patch management program. A strong patch management service includes patch discovery, patch testing, then deploying patches across applications, servers and workstations.
In the end, installing updates is not only the most efficient and secure way to manage third-party applications, but also general best practices for businesses.
For more information on Eze Castle Integration’s Patch Management service, contact us here.