Managed OS & App Updates | Apple MDM | Purple Computing
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SUPPORT FORM

What is OS & App Management and why is it Important?

App or Patch Management is the process of becoming aware of, and applying, the latest software updates to your Operating System (OS) and Applications (Apps) across your organisation’s devices.

The Operating System (OS) of your device, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or computer, is instrumental in keeping your device reliable and secure.

As with all software, your OS must respond to the latest online threats and adapt to the changing usage patterns of its users, so an OS will routinely be updated several times per year, with a combination of new features and security fixes. Similarly, the apps you use on your device will also receive similar, frequent updates. Commonly, these updates fix unreliable behaviour in the app, or respond to security loopholes in the application’s code.

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Issues with Keeping Operating Systems and Apps Updated

  1. Volume – For organisations with even a relatively small number of devices, each one will have an OS and the majority will have around 10 to 20 apps in regular use. Even with just 10 devices deployed, that might well be 200 potential update points to manage. If those apps are updated by their developers a modest estimate of 6 times per year, that’s as many as 1200 updates per year which need to be executed in an organisation of just 10 devices.
  2. Awareness and oversight – Without a tool to report on the software your devices have installed, or a set of policies to define which apps are allowed in your organisation, it is very laborious if not practically impossible to work out which apps need updating and which ones have done so automatically (or not).
  3. It’s not universal – Since many apps use their own bespoke update mechanism, there is no universal protocol for apps or operating systems to reliably send alerts about failed updates. Computer apps in particular can be installed in many different ways, some of which are better at automatically updating than others.

The Solution? Mobile Device Management (MDM)

apple devices

Routine Check-In

Your devices will routinely check-in with the MDM, which will ask them to report their current list of installed software and the version numbers.

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Automatically Updated

For software which is installed and managed using the MDM itself (typically as part of a Zero-Touch Setup environment), in most cases the MDM will automatically update the OS and its applications.

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Third Party Apps

Our MDM solution can apply updates not only to App Store apps, but also to a large and growing number of additional third party apps as well. The MDM system hosts the installers and will keep your devices up-to-date whenever a new release becomes available.

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Covering ALL Software

For software which cannot be directly managed by the MDM but is nonetheless distributed by the MDM, Purple will receive an alert for any new releases. Then, we will update the installer package within your MDM environment so that all devices receive the latest version of that app.

In Implementing the OS and application management system we will:

Agree a major OS version for all your devices
Set up an agreed maintenance window once per week when automatic OS updates will be attempted, then communicate this to your end users
Identify unmanaged apps and set up a proactive update notification protocol
Bring all device operating systems and apps up to date
Agree a frequency of patch management checks - The stricter compliance standards will require checks as often as every 2 weeks
Perform a manual check and provide a report at the desired frequency Where available, update and deploy the manually-managed installer packages
Remediate any failed automatic updates
Where available, update and deploy the manually-managed installer packages

Does our OS and App Patch Management service sound right for you?

If you are interested in OS and Application Patch Management for your business, contact one of our experienced IT support team today to discuss how we can help you.

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When we solve a support ticket, clients are given the choice of leaving good or bad feedback along with an optional comment. We post the 10 most recent comments here automatically and in real-time. You can view even more on our reviews page.

Date Name Comments
Sep 20th Lynn H great service as always. many thanks
Sep 14th Longcroft O Thanks so much Jack, all sorted.
Sep 14th Longcroft O Fantastic as usual, thank you Lochie.
Sep 14th Amanda H I hope the problem is solved. Sorry not to have been able to find another example of what went wrong. Definitely I can now get at the word document I was being blocked from. So, thanks for your prompt effective treatment!
Sep 13th Nigel B Very practical and quick advice that made resolving the issue very efficient
Sep 6th Alexandra O Very quick and solved the problem easily, thank you Jack.
Sep 5th Chris S another one solved....
Aug 23rd Adina I Brilliant, thank you very much!
Aug 23rd Catherine E Excellent
Aug 22nd Graham R Excellent, as always. Thanks very much!