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Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Valuable Features

NN
Nadeem Nasir
IT Manager at Handi Quilter, Inc.

I have not ever purchased a Microsoft Windows Server through the AWS Marketplace. When I'm buying a server, I buy a license, and if I need a server license, I buy it online. I buy OEM, rather than deal with the nightmare that is AWS.

The current server operating systems are the backbone of our entire network. Obviously, you split between cloud and on-premise, but everything on-premise is running on Windows servers.

I have utilized the automatic update for approval feature.

It has not helped with compliance, but it has helped to make sure that those updates are available to my users. It's a laptop shop, so I can't really deploy anything automated. My users are a big part of the update process here; they can really only run it when they have availability.

All Microsoft products' initial setup isn't very intuitive, so you have to have some familiarity at the Microsoft level to understand it. I would give it probably a four out of 10; not a high score.

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Mladen Vidic - PeerSpot reviewer
Mladen Vidic
Senior Oracle DBA at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

I think that the most valuable feature of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is the update for Microsoft Windows Server, as we do not use any other tools, but I don't know if Office 365 is under Windows update services regulation; it is not in our domain because we use it, but other teams are responsible for this task.

The key features or benefits of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services that have been most valuable in my IT administration processes are just the services for updating my Windows and Windows Servers, and as I mentioned, we don't use many applications; we just use it for Windows updates.

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services supports our regular requests for reliable systems, and updates are part of the process of keeping those systems stable, reliable, and confidential.

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DilipMishra - PeerSpot reviewer
DilipMishra
Senior Technical Engineer at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.

The reporting and inventory capabilities of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services are perfect.

The best features in Microsoft Windows Server Update Services include the patch solution, but the VSA patch solution is not working perfectly because most things depend on the API which is getting incorrect information from Microsoft. The VSA API integration is not perfect when compared to another product.

This entire solution is very good for small or medium organizations, but it is not suitable for large enterprise organizations where customers have 30,000 assets or 40,000 assets.

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Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Windows Server Update Services. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
885,286 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Aldo Centino - PeerSpot reviewer
Aldo Centino
System Administrator at Waternet

The benefit of working with Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is that all services and all Windows services will be updated. I confirm that they all get downloaded and installed simultaneously, and the new security patches are applied automatically.

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Chuck Colby - PeerSpot reviewer
Chuck Colby
Network Architect at a construction company with 51-200 employees

Patch management is a big thing, and I can't say they don't provide that basic service. The issue is what you need to do to get there. That's the problem. Patch management is indeed valuable, however, the process to achieve it could be improved.

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RishiPandit - PeerSpot reviewer
RishiPandit
Lead - Technical Services at Impetus

The simplicity of the configuration is a valuable feature for me. I can configure a few small things, and it becomes operational within some hours. The reporting is good. Many organizations may not see direct improvements, however, the ease of use and efficient reporting contribute significantly to my overall productivity.

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GK
Graham Kingaby
Network Manager at Broughton High School

The solution can be used to update PCs and servers.

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Lum Guan Yuan - PeerSpot reviewer
Lum Guan Yuan
Technical Manager at a retailer with 11-50 employees

We can track the updates of the PC and servers. The reporting features are good. The testing and reporting processes are better than those of other tools.

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Imtiyaj Jamadar - PeerSpot reviewer
Imtiyaj Jamadar
Information Technology Executive at Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

We use the security patch-level services provided by Microsoft. This is essential for keeping our network secure.

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Pankaj Marathe - PeerSpot reviewer
Pankaj Marathe
Technical Lead at ESDS Software Solution Pvt Ltd.

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to use.

It offers a friendly UI, so my company does not have to do the coding every time one wants to use the device. It is feasible for our company to use the product. If you have to perform any operations anywhere, you don't have to open the command prompt and run the command. There are features like PowerShell and batch scripting, but those are for the server part.

The current versions offered by the product are really great. I like to work on them.

The product's most critical features for maintaining the security and compliance of our company's systems stem from the security updates provided by the solution. Microsoft Defender and some of the other firewall products can be considered some of the most critical services offered by Microsoft Windows.

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Rafael Araujo - PeerSpot reviewer
Rafael Araujo
Infrastructure and Information Security Supervisor at YKK MALAYSIA SDN BHD

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is its low cost, as it requires no additional licensing fees.

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AI
AleksandarIvanovic
Head of IT department at Monetars

The tool's most valuable feature is Active Directory. 

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Mashood Atitebi - PeerSpot reviewer
Mashood Atitebi
Global Core Infrastructure Engineer at Finning International Inc

The noteworthy aspect is the system's capability to handle an extensive range of services and workloads, with the potential for almost unlimited scalability.

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JI
JitendraInjam
IT Lead at 0

The tool has only one feature, which is updates. 

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SK
Saad Khoudali
System Administrator at Confidential

When you're working in the IT department of an organization, you will often have to set policies regarding what users can and cannot download from the internet, especially when it comes to updates. Most updates are binary files and programs, and these are types of files that can sometimes be harmful, so an organization needs a way to prevent the downloading of these files.

Instead of leaving each server to download their own updates, with WSUS you have a centralized management tool for all the updates alongside a log for all the servers. By creating and deploying a WSUS server that will download the updates from the internet and dispatch them to the other servers, you can have control over the entire deployment process.

Essentially, it's like a Windows Update proxy that you absolutely need to have, as the IT department grants the WSUS server an exception to download files of any type from the internet. This is the only server with such an exception so that you can control what is entering or exiting the network with regard to updates.

The advantage that is offered by WSUS is not only that you can manage all updates (e.g. critical updates, essential updates, feature updates, driver updates, etc.), but also that you can manage the updates per type of operating system; for example, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, and so on. It provides you a way to create classifications of types of updates per type of operating system. And all this, you can do from a single management console.

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OğuzKalaycı - PeerSpot reviewer
OğuzKalaycı
system engineer at Yaşar Holding

The solution performs well.

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DL
Daniel Lutz
Consultant at Trigonova GmbH

The easy way to use it is the biggest benefit.

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Alexandru Cioruta - PeerSpot reviewer
Alexandru Cioruta
Global Cybersecurity Presales Domain Lead Architect at Eviden France

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is an easy-to-use and stable solution.

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Egor Marachev - PeerSpot reviewer
Egor Marachev
IT systems engineer at VeriFone

PowerShell is a valuable feature.

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HemantJoshi - PeerSpot reviewer
HemantJoshi
TEM Practice at Expleogroup

We were specifically looking for cloud-native solutions, and this particular solution perfectly aligns with our roadmap to transition to the cloud and leverage as many cloud-native tools as possible.

It is a tool that helps our organization meet our work requirements. I haven't exploited it to an extent where I can't comment extensively on what features I like in the tool. So, it may take me a year to do so.

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AANKITGUPTAA - PeerSpot reviewer
AANKITGUPTAA
Consultant at Pi DATACENTERS

We can easily download particular patches, and we can apply them on a group basis and policy basis.

It is stable.

We can scale the product.

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reviewer2506713 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer2506713
Infrastructure Architect - Director at a retailer with 11-50 employees

The solution's most valuable feature is the ability to set logical rules. These rules allow us to automatically apply updates based on their criticality or assign them to specific computer groups. It allows for automatic deployment to specific groups based on predefined logic, eliminating the need for manual intervention in deployment creation.

The tool's integration is easy. It manages everything behind the scenes. 

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Soroush-Enayati - PeerSpot reviewer
Soroush-Enayati
Network security engineer at freelancer

I like that we could evaluate every client and compare some weaknesses and vulnerability exploits in Microsoft Windows Server Update Services. This is a useful way to test applications against an attacker attempting to exploit the operating system.

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MR
Mahendra Reddy
Manager at Stark International

The centralized management and merging capabilities are useful. Windows users can switch from open access to data from the Linux servers. 

The various security updates are good for the users as well as the organizations it helps keep the solution safe.

The performance has been okay.

Technical support is responsive.

It can scale. 

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MY
MINBALEYENEW
IT proffesional at Ambo university

The product's most valuable feature is efficiently updating our server using the services provided. It ensures we get the necessary updates and features from the servers. 

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SP
Selvaraj Perumalsamy
IT Support at Rabban Ready Mix Company WLL

The product provides a valuable Single Sign-On (SSO) integration feature within our IES environment, particularly with the IT directory and server systems.

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VK
Vijay Kumar Avula
Principal Cloud Security Consultant at Pegasystems

I like the solution. When we do patching, the tool gives us error messages. We have around 1,000 production servers. It is tough to push Microsoft patches to 1,000 servers. When the servers fail, we troubleshoot to understand why they were not patched.

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Abinash Sinha - PeerSpot reviewer
Abinash Sinha
Platform Lead -Windows & VMWare DR at FIS

Once we configure it and it keeps updating the patches, all I need to do is filter out which patches are required or not. First, we test all the patches in a test environment, and if it's successful, we approve it for deployment. That's what I do. It fulfills all the requirements.

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IslamElsherpieny - PeerSpot reviewer
IslamElsherpieny
Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

I like that I can filter for critical and security updates.

The dashboard is okay.

The initial setup is easy.

It is a scalable solution. 

I have found the product to be stable. 

Support is helpful.

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NE
Nikos Ellinas
IT Systems Administrator at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

This product provides the option to create multiple downstream servers. If the infrastructure is distributed to different sites or different countries, you can create a structure where the upstream server downloads all the updates using the specific internal connection, and then distributes those updates to the downstream servers at a scheduled time when the workload is minimal. 

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Carlo Du Plessis - PeerSpot reviewer
Carlo Du Plessis
Security Specialist at Engen

The most valuable feature is Server Update's stability.

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Alejandro Bartolomeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Alejandro Bartolomeo
Country Manager at Arkano Software

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is the efficiency once configured.

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reviewer1678521 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer1678521
Lead - Global IT Networks at a recruiting/HR firm with 10,001+ employees

The most valuable feature is the ability to check whether users working from home are on the domain or not, allowing us complete visibility of the endpoints that are connecting to our network.

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Henrique Ariel Arruda Gerhard - PeerSpot reviewer
Henrique Ariel Arruda Gerhard
Analista de segurança da informação at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We need control over the versions of Windows to test them before using them on our network.

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Nishant Ambast - PeerSpot reviewer
Nishant Ambast
Deputy Manager at Arya Omnitalk Wireless Solutions Private Limited

The reporting capabilities that help maintain compliance and security are good.

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AS
reviewer0976523
System and network security engineer at Central Bank of Nigeria

The product is quite stable. I like the stability. It makes updates easy. It enables users to track updates.

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YunChyuan Sin - PeerSpot reviewer
YunChyuan Sin
Senior IT Systems Engineer at ITL Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd

The central points of managing product updates have been the tool's most valuable features. 

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AP
AdityaParihar
Senior System Administrator at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees

We get server updates from the internet and from the Bluetooth server. All of the clients are connected to it, and they're all updated from this exact server. It updates automatically.

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it_user1396728 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user1396728
Technology Consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

A valuable feature about this solution is that it enforces an updating and patching process for my applications. 

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JO
Julio Orihuela
Computer network and Data Center administrator at a sports company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The most important aspect is that we can centrally deploy the updates that are necessary for the organization. It's important. The solution is great for internal updates.

The solution has very good patches. They recently released one for Chrome, which was quite helpful.

We've found the stability to be pretty good.

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SB
Shaun Bell
Chief Operating Officer at a transportation company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The most valuable features are that it is included with Windows, and it can be driven by Group Policy Objects (GPOs).

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reviewer1369002 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer1369002
Technology Manager/Engineer III at a marketing services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

The most valuable feature is its ability to identify which updates are needed on a particular machine.

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it_user1327200 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user1327200
System Administrator at SAMCO

The most valuable feature is the practical and security updates. It downloads updates separately; security and critical. That's very good. 

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JK
JavadKamyabi
Information Technology Security Specialist at a university

The most valuable feature is the decreased level of internet usage by my network. When there is a new patch available, I can just connect my WSUS server to Microsoft, download the upgrades, and then use the internal traffic to upgrade all of the network clients.

WSUS allows me to choose what kinds of upgrades or updates that I need for my network. For example, I can download specific security patches for Windows Server or different versions of Windows.

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DL
Daniel Lutz
Consultant at Trigonova GmbH

I think there is no other product on the market that is so easy to implement and use.

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BK
Boubacar Khouma
Owner at xconsult

WSUS doesn't have many features, so it's very difficult to answer this question.

This solution is easy to use.

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SysAdmin6788 - PeerSpot reviewer
SysAdmin6788
System Administrator at a individual family services with 201-500 employees

The interface is easy to use.

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reviewer937473 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer937473
Systems Administrator at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

The most valuable feature is the integration of updates with our AD management. You can make an easy policy, embed WSUS, and in that actual policy we can embed to the extent to any device that generates gets automatic downloads from WSUS.

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Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Windows Server Update Services. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
885,286 professionals have used our research since 2012.