The increasing demand for up-to-date operating system (OS) applications is one of the major factors contributing to the surge in the demand for patch management solutions across the world. Since the last few years, businesses have been suffering huge losses, primarily due to the soaring number of malware attacks, which has significantly propelled the adoption of patch management solutions, consisting of enhanced features, security updates, compatibility updates, and bug fixes, in order to protect the systems from such attacks, get timely updates for the OS/applications, and ensure efficient functioning of the systems.

The other major factor pushing the adoption of patch management solutions is the increasing vulnerability in the software. The severity of this vulnerability can be determined by analyzing its impact on the integrity and confidentiality of data and the complexity of attacks. Moreover, the rising internet connectivity has increased the vulnerability of business systems to cyber-attacks. Due to these factors, the global patch management market generated revenue of $535.4 million in 2019, and it is predicted to reach a value of $3,245.6 million by 2030, at a 17.8% CAGR during 2020–2030 (forecast period).

Patch management solutions are widely employed in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), information technology (IT) & telecom, government, healthcare, education, and retail sectors. Amongst these, the BFSI sector is expected to record the fastest growth in the demand for these solutions during the forecast period, which is mainly attributed to the fact that the companies operating in the sector have to adhere to strict guidelines and regulations. The burgeoning need for improved security systems is also a major factor responsible for the increasing adoption of patch management solutions in this sector.

The biggest rage presently being witnessed in the patch management market is the shifting focus toward automated business processes, throughout the world. Businesses are increasingly switching over to automated processes in order to improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and reduce operational costs. Moreover, automation removes the requirement for manual patch installation, enables the implementation of missing patches through automated workflows, and enhances system insights, thereby increasing the efficiency of the security management process.

Geographically, North America registered the highest adoption of patch management solutions in 2019, and this trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. In North America, the U.S is expected to record more-significant growth in the demand for patch management solutions, which is mainly ascribed to the increasing number of cyber-attacks and the presence of major providers of these solutions in the country, such as Oracle Corporation, Micro Focus International PLC, Microsoft Corporation, Qualys Inc., Ivanti Inc., and HPE Company.

Hence, it can be undoubtedly said that owing to the rising prevalence of cyber-attacks, the mushrooming need for advanced security systems and solutions, and the increasing requirement for updated applications, the demand for patch management solutions will observe huge increase in the coming years.