Editor’s Note: In September 2024, Microsoft officially announced the deprecation of WSUS. Specifically, they will no longer invest in new capabilities but will continue to preserve current functionality. We recommend using this guide as a starting point for finding a reliable WSUS replacement to maintain secure and up-to-date patching.
This guide covers the top three alternatives to WSUS. In doing your due diligence on the best patch management software for your business, you may have encountered Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and its WSUS patching. Unlike other software vendors that we have written about previously, WSUS patch management is a Microsoft program that allows your IT technicians to deploy the latest Windows products and updates on your client’s endpoints.
Thus, WSUS is essentially a built-in Microsoft program that helps your organization configure and automatically deploy patches to all Windows systems in your IT environment.
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Why look for a replacement with WSUS?
WSUS patching has a few limitations, including limited cross-platform support and time-consuming WSUS patch approvals. Given the ever-evolving IT landscape, it is crucial that your IT company can deploy automated patching policies easily and seamlessly so that you can focus on other high-value tasks and maintain your competitive advantage.
Thankfully, there’s this guide. We’ve done the research, looked at all the relevant data from leading review sites, and compiled everything into this comprehensive guide.
1. NinjaOne
NinjaOne, the #1 rated RMM and endpoint management solution on the market today, is known for its powerful patch management tool that helps you identify, evaluate, and deploy patches to any of your Windows, macOS, and Linux devices – all from a single pane of glass. Built for today’s IT teams, NinjaOne’s patch management automates every step of the patching process so you can spend 90% less time patching and more time on support and strategic projects.
5 reasons to choose NinjaOne over WSUS patch management
1. Easy to use
One of the main reasons users search for alternatives to WSUS is for better usability. NinjaOne helps you identify known vulnerabilities and deploy patches at scale across servers, workstations, and laptops to significantly reduce threat risks and keep your IT infrastructure healthy. Most importantly, these patches can be pre-emptively approved to prevent zero-day vulnerabilities.
2. Fast monitoring
As the top alternative to WSUS, NinjaOne improves patch compliance with 360-degree visibility from a powerful, intuitive patching dashboard. This allows your team to proactively monitor all your managed endpoints and patch hundreds of common business applications across multiple platforms at scale.
3. Helpdesk
Helpdesks are integral to any good patch management software. As the first line of contact for software or user-related concerns, your IT helpdesk needs to be fast, knowledgeable, and tailored to your specific needs. NinjaOne’s helpdesk software helps you become more efficient through its self-service portals, knowledge bases, and FAQs. Additionally, Ninja allows you to easily create and assign IT tickets for every incident.
4. Multi-OS support
NinjaOne is a great WSUS replacement because it offers multi-OS support in a centralized and actionable dashboard. NinjaOne patch management supports Windows, Mac, and Linux OS patching, and support for 200+ applications. It also supports flexible patching schedules to ensure all endpoints are patched.
5. Reporting
NinjaOne’s endpoint device reporting helps you create impactful reports that clearly depict the data you need to know. The best part? NinjaOne offers a variety of data section templates that you can filter by location, device, group, or timeframe to create your own customized report.
Strengths of NinjaOne
- Unified management. NinjaOne gives you a single pane of glass to monitor, manage, patch, and support all your endpoints. Because of this unified management, Ninja helps you replace 2.5 tools in new customer environments on average.
- Alerts and notifications. Operating on the principle of proactive IT management, NinjaOne uses real-time endpoint health and performance data to generate context-rich alerts through email, SMS, Slack, and other channels.
- Remediation tools. With Ninja, you can easily remediate patching and other device issues with its built-in remote terminal, registry editor, and remote access tools.
- Granular patch control. NinjaOne offers granular patch rejection and approval, allowing you to approve/reject /rollback after the fact to address any patching issues.
- Real-time vulnerability remediation. NinjaOne patch management supports both automated and ad-hoc scans and deployment, making it a superior replacement for WSUS. It also features native inclusion of CVE/CVSS to risk-based patching.
Customer story
Phil Collett, IT Director of Citrus Motors, loves how easy NinjaOne is to use. Having worked with multiple third-party vendors, he appreciates how easy everything is now with NinjaOne’s unified and automated patch management.
“I used WSUS for updates, LogMeIn for remediating remote endpoint issues, we had SolarWinds for managing endpoints as well as Spiceworks for our inventory needs. These legacy applications began having significant breaks and I wanted to slim down my tech stack to a single tool to save time and money,” said Collett. “Since using NinjaOne’s automatic reboot feature, we’ve reduced the number of helpdesk calls we get by 80%. When we do receive calls, NinjaOne’s remote access reduced our issue resolution time by 89%.”
Read more NinjaOne customer stories or check out NinjaOne reviews.
Pricing information
NinjaOne’s IT management software has no forced commitments and no hidden fees. You can request a free quote, schedule a 14-day free trial, or watch a demo.
Reviews
- 1,667 reviews (at the time of writing)
- 4.7 / 5 stars
- 233 reviews (at the time of writing)
- 4.8 / 5 stars
2. Automox
Automox is an endpoint management solution that offers third-party patch management across Windows, macOS, and Linux devices from a single console. Its cloud-based patch management solution gives IT departments full visibility into all the software installed across their IT network.
Its patch management tool automatically compiles a complete device and hardware inventory in one centralized tool to hasten patch management efforts and reduce an organization’s attack surface. This single-pane visibility also allows IT teams to remediate and patch security vulnerabilities and fix misconfigured systems within a single tool.
Pros
- Centralized tool. Automox’s unified dashboard makes patch management easier, as you can see all device information in one centralized tool.
- Suitable for diverse teams. Automox helps you patch and manage Windows, macOS, and Linux devices.
- Cloud-based console. Automox enables your IT team to easily deploy or remove any software application on any device from anywhere.
Cons
- Poor reboot scheduling. On occasion, Automox will not show if a machine has been scanned and is ready to accept patches if it’s waiting on reboots from the end user. This may necessitate manual reboots.
- Customized reporting. Automox could improve its customized reporting capabilities, particularly in generating reports using real-time information.
- Performance: Automox may sometimes slow down when scanning devices, especially if it is scanning multiple devices simultaneously.
See how Automox compares to NinjaOne or read a more in-depth analysis of Automox competitors.
3. Ivanti
Ivanti is an IT software company that offers a variety of IT tools for today’s workforce. It operates on the principle of “Everywhere Work” so that modern IT enterprises can thrive, even as their teams become more remote and distributed.
Ivanti simplifies and automates patch management for physical and virtual services in a centralized dashboard. Its patch management tool help security professional create a strong barrier to modern cyberattacks, including discovery, OS and application patch management, privilege management, and allowlisting.
Pros
- Single platform. Ivanti takes pride in providing its solutions from a single, centralized platform that offers greater visibility.
- User-friendly. Ivanti’s software solutions are easy to use and understand.
- Automated patch management. Ivanti leverages automation to make its patch management tool more efficient.
Cons
- Complex internal documentation. Ivanti could improve its internal documentation and resources so that IT technicians can easily locate essential information.
- Inconsistent patch reporting. Ivanti’s patch reporting can be erratic, with some users stating that their solution does not gather information in real-time.
- Performance issues. Ivanti may become slow when accessing devices through a VPN.
See how Ivanti compares to NinjaOne or read a more in-depth analysis of Ivanti alternatives.
The best alternatives to WSUS
WSUS was a robust patch management tool for Windows devices, but since the deprecation of WSUS, it may not provide you with the coverage and robustness to meet modern needs, especially as the IT landscape continues to evolve.
It would be wise to search for a WSUS replacement as soon as possible. Ideally, you should look for an alternative to WSUS that supports patch management not only for Windows devices but also for other operating systems and business applications. This way, you can be more confident that your system’s vulnerabilities are significantly reduced.
