Case Studies Global Server Patching for FORTUNE 100 Company

Global Server Patching for FORTUNE 100 Company

Overview

Our client, which is among the largest companies in the world, requested Concurrency’s assistance with a pressing need to improve its ability to quickly and comprehensively patch tens of thousands of Windows Server machines on an ongoing basis. The project scope included every Windows Server across all divisions and subsidiaries around the globe.

Solution

Originally, we were brought in to implement System Center Operations Manager and System Center Configuration Manager across our client’s collection of networks. Our client sought us out due to our experience working with these platforms in other deployments of the very largest scale among all Microsoft enterprise users worldwide. Other providers lacking that level of experience had not previously been successful working in our client’s environment.

What would have been a two-year rollout plan became compressed to just six months when our client was hit by two severe, global malware attacks. Given the severity of the situation, our client’s top executives—not only IT but also other top leaders—began a series of daily conference calls to address the status of server patching around the world.

In this high-intensity situation, we successfully led and implemented this global project to:

  • Build and deploy a custom framework for patching servers globally—with a goal of patching all tens of thousands of servers within 10 days of each patch release;
  • Through a custom onboarding program, enable various business units to maintain flexibility in their business processes while still ensuring that patching status rolled up to global dashboard reporting;
  • Handle patching for the small subset of servers that don’t patch automatically;
  • Provide global administrators with training to use the patching framework.

Concurrency’s project team included an architect, three engineers, two business analysts and a project manager. Much of the work happened onsite at two of our client’s key facilities, with additional work handled remotely.
In global modern datacenter project such as this one, in which intense security needs become a driving factor, moving fast is critical. We successfully managed the patching framework rollout in just six months.