Novi, the cyber security and proactive IT provider, today announces that it is launching Novi PatchGuard, a new vulnerability and patch management service. Novi PatchGuard enables Novi’s customers to automate the patch management process and reduces risk by keeping systems up-to-date and secure against malware and cyber security breaches. The new service is forecast to generate €750,000 in revenue in the next 24 months. It will be available to businesses both in Ireland and internationally.
Ransomware and associated threats are causing real problems for Irish organisations, leading to an average financial cost of €107,210 per attack and in some cases, serious reputational damage. Global ransomware damage costs are predicted to exceed $11.5 billion annually by 2019, with businesses coming under attack by ransomware every 14 seconds. As the threat landscape continues to evolve and the number of threats increases, companies are struggling to effectively identify vulnerabilities on an ongoing basis. The Novi PatchGuard service will help businesses to meet this challenge head-on. Novi PatchGuard will secure devices by streamlining the patching process, routinely identifying vulnerabilities and applying patches.

Novi has invested €110,000 to develop and bring the new service to market, bringing to €330,000 the amount that it has invested in launching new services in the past year. Novi’s specialist team of highly trained cyber security professionals will deliver the service from the company’s advanced Proactive Service Centre in Naas, Co. Kildare. Novi PatchGuard is managed via a centralised, cloud-based dashboard that provides real-time visibility into known vulnerabilities and missing patches across all devices. Comprehensive scanning functionality reports on patches that have been installed and identifies any that are missing. The service then automatically applies patches to all devices on a schedule, including to remote laptops and devices once they come online. This saves Novi’s customers time and effort and allows them to focus on growing their businesses.
George O’Dowd, managing director, Novi, said: “Ransomware has increased both in frequency and its potential to cause damage and companies now need to make sure to implement the necessary measures to protect their data. Failure to do so could result not only in significant financial harm, but also irreparably damage the organisation’s reputation.

“Novi PatchGuard will help IT administrators move away from the tedious task of manual patching, and embrace the advantages that automated patching offers, including comprehensive scanning for patch status on every single device and faster rollout of patches for commonly exploited vulnerabilities such as the Wannacry ransomware strain.
Together with Novi’s other service offerings such as our off-site data recovery service AirGap, Novi PatchGuard will enable our customers to effectively defend against cybercriminals and prevent malware from accessing their data and systems.”