Patch Management vs Virtual Patching – TCO

PoCLAB Cost Studio

Patch vs Virtual Patching TCO

Inputs & Assumptions

Patch-only vs patch + virtual patching

Compare a traditional patch management model against a virtual patching approach (e.g., IPS/WAF) across your servers, including labor, downtime and control spend.

Scenario A: Patch-only

Scenario B: Patch + virtual patching

Modeled per server, not “sites”

Servers / workloads e.g. 1,000 servers

Time horizon (years) 3–7 typical

Patch-Only Model

Patch windows / server / year e.g. monthly = 12

Hours per patch window prep + execution

Downtime hours / patch window planned outage

Downtime cost / hour ($) lost productivity / revenue

Virtual Patching Controls

Virtual patch / server / month ($) IPS/WAF coverage per server

Virtual patching infra / year ($) controllers, hardware, etc.

Patch windows reduction with virtual patching (%) how many windows you avoid

Ops Cost (Shared)

Engineer cost / hour ($) for patching labor

5-Year TCO Comparison

Patch-only Labor + downtime

$0 / server / month

Patch + virtual patching Controls + reduced patching

$0 / server / month

Relative 5-Year TCO –

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Patch + virtual patching is neutral vs. patch-only in this model.

Adjust window counts, labor and virtual patch pricing to explore upside.

This calculator focuses on hard TCO (labor, downtime, controls). It does not model exploit likelihood or breach cost directly. Use it to frame virtual patching as a way to reduce patch load while maintaining coverage.