Patch Reliability Score: Make informed decisions about patch deployment with confidence

Every Patch Tuesday starts the same way: new patches become available, and administrators begin to ask themselves: Is it safe to apply this patch?

This answer rarely comes from a single source. Most administrators read the vendor’s knowledge base article, check for known issues, monitor community discussions and wait for early feedback on the deployment before rolling out the patch across the organisation. For business-critical systems, many also rely on pilot deployments to minimise the risk of unexpected problems.

It works, but it also means that you have to gather information before every operation.

This is exactly where the Patch Reliability Score comes into play.

What is a patch reliability score?

The Patch Reliability Score provides a reliability rating for each patch directly within Patch Manager Plus. Rather than starting every deployment decision by gathering information from multiple sources, administrators can use this score as an additional factor when deciding whether to deploy a patch immediately or carry out further validation.

The score is displayed alongside patches awaiting approval, ensuring that reliability information is available at the point when deployment decisions are made. Instead of switching between vendor advisories, community discussions and deployment feedback, administrators can check the score within the same workflow they already use to approve and deploy patches.

How does it work?

The Patch Reliability Score analyses real-world deployment telemetry using internet intelligence to assess the reliability of a patch.

No single source can tell you whether a patch is reliable. A vendor warning may not mention every issue, whilst an isolated community report does not necessarily mean that a patch is unsafe. The Patch Reliability Score brings these indicators together, so you don’t have to make that judgement based on a single source.

The score no longer changes once a patch has been released.

Reliability becomes apparent over time. A patch that appears flawless on the day of its release may start to show problems just a few days later, as more organisations begin to use it. The reverse is also true, meaning that initial concerns do not always turn into widespread problems. As more information becomes available, the score changes to reflect the situation.

How should administrators use the score?

The Patch Reliability Score is intended to support, not replace, deployment decisions.

A higher score suggests that the patch has demonstrated consistent behaviour based on the available information. A lower score is usually a sign that it is advisable to slow down, test it with a pilot group or wait until more feedback from deployment is available before rolling it out more widely.

For business-critical systems, organisations should continue to adhere to their existing testing, approval and change management processes.

Spend less time searching for patches

The Patch Reliability Score does not change the way administrators deploy patches. It does, however, change the way they prepare for deployment.

Instead of switching between vendor articles, community discussions and deployment feedback to work out whether a patch is ready, administrators can check this reliability indicator directly in Patch Manager Plus and make more informed deployment decisions.

Whether you’re deploying operating system updates or third-party application patches – the same reliability indicator is available if you’re already managing deployments.

You’ll still be the one making the decision; the Patch Reliability Score simply helps you work out where your attention is actually needed.