Atera Patch Management: features, key benefits & pricing

The need for strong patch management tools continues to increase as security risks rise. According to the Ponemon Institute, 60% of breach victims report that they were breached because a known vulnerability was not patched.

The best way to protect against breaches is to deploy patches frequently, which is what Atera’s patch management tool does. Patching is part of Atera’s all-in-one IT management platform and a key tool for helping users keep their devices secure.

To gain a better understanding of Atera’s patch management tool, this article reviews its key features, how it benefits MSPs and IT departments, pricing, and customer reviews. Keep on reading to find out more!

Note: While this article focuses on Atera’s patch management features, we also have a detailed Atera review that covers all features of the platform.

What is Atera’s patch management tool?

Atera’s patch management configuration

Atera’s patch management tool helps you to scan, identify, download, test, and deploy system patches. A key component of Atera’s patching tool is IT automation, which enables organizations to identify vulnerabilities and install patches within their networks automatically.

With Atera’s automated patch management tool, you can:

• Maintain up-to-date software, hardware, and operating systems
• Install Microsoft updates according to your preferences
• Ensure all available patches are applied
• Keep device drivers current

How does Atera’s patch management tool work?

There are three main phases to Atera’s automated patch management:

1. Checking for missing patches and vulnerabilities

Atera’s patching tool automatically scans your network to identify potential vulnerabilities and missing patches. It analyzes all connected devices across the network to look for potential vulnerabilities in the current software deployment that hackers could exploit.

Due to Atera’s IT automation capabilities, the patch management tool monitors your network 24/7 for any unnoticed threats. This eliminates the need for manual scanning and allows IT teams to focus on more important tasks.

2. Deployment of patches automatically

Once the vulnerabilities are identified, deploying patches is the next step. Atera’s patching tool allows you to set up predefined policies for automated patch deployment. The patches can be scheduled to be deployed at specific intervals, such as once or multiple times a day.

This ensures that critical updates are applied across your network without delay. The automated patching tool considers factors like criticality rates and peak usage times so there’s no disruption to daily operations.

3. Monitoring and verifying patch installations

Once software patches are deployed, Atera’s automated system monitors their impact and ensures successful deployment. This continuous monitoring helps confirm effective patch installation and examine overall system performance post-patching.

If a patch installation is incomplete or unsuccessful, Atera automatically alerts users. Users also get access to patch reports, which provide more insights into the patching activities.

Key features of Atera’s patch management tool

Below is an overview of the key features of Atera’s patch management tool:

For a more detailed review of Atera’s patch management features, keep on reading.

1. Patch management automation

IT automation ranked second among IT trends in organizations across North America and Europe in 2023. Unlike IT technicians, who do need to sleep, Atera’s automated patching tool monitors your devices 24/7 and addresses vulnerabilities in real time. 

The automated patching works across all devices and operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. To enable Atera’s automated patching, you can set up an IT automation profile.

Atera IT automation profile

One Capterra user mentions working 14-hour shifts with maintenance and patch management. After implementing Atera’s automated patch management, patching went from being a 24-hour job to looking at the report for an hour to make sure patches were installed successfully.

A Capterra review of Atera

In addition, Atera includes a patch approval feature that allows IT teams to review and configure updates before deployment. You can approve, postpone, or exclude patches across your devices, making the update process more tailored to your needs.

2. Windows patch management

Atera allows you to automatically scan, download, and deploy patches for Windows servers, automate update installations, and control patch approval and exclusion. It uses the Windows Update Agent (WUA) API to interact with Windows Update and identify available updates.

Atera’s Windows patching tool works through the Chocolatey integration, which is available to all new users. You can schedule Windows patches to be deployed monthly, weekly, daily, or multiple times daily.

3. Linux patch management

Linux devices are considered less prone to malware than others (debatable among experts), but they still require regular updates and security patches to protect against any looming threats.

Atera’s Linux patching tool automates batch processing of simultaneous updates on Linux-based systems, saving IT staff resources and time. The patching tool uses APT (Advanced Package Tool) for Linux agents to download and install OS updates.

Atera supports Ubuntu 18 and Debian 11 and above.

4. MacOS patch management

Similar to Linux, macOS has its unique set of challenges when it comes to patching. For this reason, macOS patch management tools, like Atera’s, are essential for managing macOS versions efficiently. Atera’s patching tool automates the process of updating Apple devices with security patches.

Atera installs and manages patches on Mac devices using the native macOS software update tool. The macOS patching feature works through Homebrew integration, available to new users by default.

5. Reporting and analytics

Atera’s patching reports provide granular information on your patching posture.

The three main patching reports are:

• Patch search and deploy report – highlights any missing patches on your devices and lets you install them right from the report.
• Patch status summary report – provides an overview of the status of your customer’s server and desktop patches. Includes sections like the top 10 most recent missing patches for servers and desktops.
• Patch automation feedback report – highlights any patches that didn’t work for one reason or another. This helps you make the necessary changes to either reconfigure patch settings or exclude problematic patches.

Advanced reporting also helps with regulatory compliance. Atera reports all activities related to patching and vulnerability scanning, which provides a solid base of data for any compliance checks.

6. Third-party integrations

Atera’s App Center helps you extend the functionality through different backup, security, MDM, billing, network monitoring, and accounting applications. The applications include Bitdefender, Cynet, Miradore, Domotz, IT-Glue, ScreenConnect, Zomentum, and more. 

For a full list of the integrations, check out Atera’s App Center page.

If your preferred software isn’t available in the App Center, Atera integrates with Zapier, which connects to an additional 7,000+ third-party applications.

7. Patching accompanied with other tools for IT management

Atera’s patching tool works alongside its other crucial tools, which are all important for IT management.

Here is a breakdown of Atera’s other key features:

• RMM: Atera RMM review highlights its ability to monitor your network activity in real-time and alert you to any looming issues.
• Remote access: If you need to access devices remotely for remote configuration, Atera’s remote access tool helps you to do that.
• Network discovery: Atera’s network discovery tool detects and lists all assets in your IT environment by scanning and monitoring workgroups and domain controllers.
• IT ticketing: Atera’s ticketing tool allows end-users to open tickets, track them, and access information in the knowledge base.
• PSA: Atera’s PSA allows MSPs to create client contracts and invoices, manage SLA policies, and track customer rates.
• AI: Atera Copilot helps technicians with real-time device troubleshooting, remote session summaries, script generation, and more.

Atera’s patch management tool for IT departments

Atera’s patch management tool benefits IT departments in many ways, such as preventing data breaches, increasing overall cybersecurity, and providing centralized access.

Here are all the benefits it brings to IT departments:

• Save on data breach costs. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach in 2024 was $4.88 million, a 10% increase from 2023. The number of data breaches worldwide has also been increasing. The best way to fight against data breaches is to use a patch management tool that keeps devices up-to-date with the latest patches.
• Reduce security vulnerabilities. Organizations that rely on manual patching leave significant gaps for hackers to exploit. According to Microsoft’s 2022 report, 68% of organizations that suffered ransomware attacks lacked effective patching processes or relied heavily on manual processes.
• Integrate with your existing tech stack. Atera offers strong third-party integrations so that IT departments can use it alongside their existing tools.
• Centralized monitoring. From a single dashboard, you can monitor your IT infrastructure’s health and performance and access patch reports that explain how your patch management processes are going.
• Built-in AI. Atera’s ActionAI™ assists IT departments in completing tasks 10X more efficiently. It assists with real-time device troubleshooting, patch management, scripting, creating knowledge base articles, and more.

Atera’s patch management tool for MSPs

Atera’s patch management tool is perfect for MSPs that manage dozens of client IT infrastructures and require an intuitive platform for that.

Here are the benefits Atera’s patching tool brings for MSPs:

• Advanced automation. MSPs deal with dozens of manual and repetitive tasks daily, which prevents them from focusing on more strategic tasks. Atera helps to minimize this through robust automation for patch management.
• Scale without incurring additional costs. Atera uses pay-per-technician pricing, which allows you to manage unlimited devices and patches without incurring additional costs. This makes it ideal for MSPs looking to scale cost-effectively. 
• Reporting and analytics. Atera’s reports and analytics help you track key patch management metrics, such as MTTD, MTTP, MTTR, internal vs. external exposure, and average vulnerability age. This helps to understand patching performance and continually improve cybersecurity efforts. 
• Manage multiple customer profiles. Atera makes it easy for MSPs to create multiple customer profiles. It’s easy to manage and deploy patches between them without having to switch between different user accounts.
• Maintain regulatory compliance. Although the regulations in each industry change constantly, they all require up-to-date system maintenance for all software applications. Atera provides concrete evidence that updates have been implemented through audit logs, reports, and real-time monitoring. 

Atera’s patch management tool customer reviews

Atera is one of the highest rated patch management tools among the top reviewing platforms, such as G2, Capterra, TrustRadious, GetApp, and so on. For example, on G2, Atera has over 700+ reviews with an average rating of 4.6 stars.

Customers mostly praise Atera’s patch management tool for its automation capabilities, the cost savings it brings, and its integration with other tools.
A G2 user mentioned he had never used any IT management tools before, and Atera was extremely easy to set up. He mentions using Atera’s 24/7 customer support, which always answers within a minute.

A G2 review of Atera

One Capterra user appreciates that whether you manage 5 or 5,000 endpoints/devices, the pricing remains the same. This makes pricing predictable, stable, and it’s easy to test out configuration on devices without incurring additional costs.

A Capterra review of Atera

A GetApp user mentions using Atera to bring network management in-house. This reduced their operating costs and increased efficiency in troubleshooting.

A GetApp review of Atera

Pricing and plans

The needs of MSPs and IT departments differ, which is why Atera offers tailored pricing plans for both.

Here is a detailed breakdown:

IT department pricing plans

Atera’s IT department pricing plans range from $149 to $219 per month and are the following:

• Professional ($149 per month, per technician): Includes automated patch management, reporting, 24/7 customer support, IT automation, and more.
• Expert ($189 per month, per technician): All of Professional, plus unlimited remote access, extended audit log, seven preset reports, and more.
• Master ($219 per month, per technician): All of Expert, plus customizable reports, data log, one year retention for audit log, and more.
• Enterprise (based on custom quotation): All of Master, plus stronger security, unlimited analytics, network scanning and monitoring, and more. 

MSP pricing plans

Atera’s MSP pricing plans range from $129 to $209 per month and are the following:

• Pro ($129 per month, per technician): Includes patch management, IT automation, reports, IT ticketing, contracts and invoicing, and more.
• Growth ($179 per month, per technician): All of Pro, plus advanced analytics, ability to chat with end users, extended audit log, accounting integrations, and more.
• Power ($209 per month, per technician): All of Growth, plus customizable analytics, data recovery, unlimited custom support addresses, and more.
• Enterprise (based on custom quotation): All of Power, plus tailored onboarding, single sign-on (SSO), private software repository, and more.

Unlike most patch management tools, Atera uses pay-per-technician pricing, where you can manage unlimited devices/endpoints and still pay a fixed fee. 

Patch management alongside all-in-one IT management

A major problem with today’s IT management tools is that they focus solely on patch management, leaving IT teams to juggle multiple platforms for other essential tasks.

Atera solves this by providing a unified platform for patching and all-in-one IT management. IT departments and MSPs get access to real-time threat detection and response, patch management, remote access, IT ticketing, and reporting. 

Plus, Atera’s tools are powered by ActionAI™, which boosts IT technicians’ efficiency by 10X and simplifies IT infrastructure management. If this sounds interesting and you want to try Atera for your IT team, you can do so with a 30-day free trial.