Keeping Campus Connected: How the University of Aberdeen Streamlined Software Updates

University of Aberdeen’s story

Managing thousands of endpoints across a university campus is no easy feat—especially when every update can trigger a wave of support tickets. At the University of Aberdeen, patching setbacks was becoming routine. But with Patch My PC, they found a way to bring consistency, control, and calm to campus IT.

About

The University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, is one of the oldest and most respected institutions in the United Kingdom. Serving over 15,000 students and faculty, its IT team supports a wide network of 7,000+ endpoints across administrative offices, lecture halls, and research labs. The university is consistently ranked among the top global universities for academic excellence and innovation.

The Dilemma

In higher ed, an unpatched app isn’t just a vulnerability—it’s an open invitation to ransomware. And universities are a prime target. In 2023, 79% of higher education institutions were hit by ransomware, with more than half of those attacks tied to known but unpatched vulnerabilities. At the University of Aberdeen, the IT team knew that every failed update wasn’t just a ticket—it was a risk.

For Ian Rowley, Desktop Services Manager, that risk came with real consequences. His team managed over 7,000 endpoints, but with no clear insight into which third-party app deployments failed, patching was part guesswork, part fire drill. “We had no way to tell if a deployment was successful,” Ian explained. When things broke, support tickets surged, users got frustrated, and the team had to drop everything to play catch-up.

It wasn’t just inefficient. It was unsustainable.

They didn’t need another tool—they needed trust in their patching process, visibility into what was working, and a way to get ahead of problems before they became front-page headlines.

We had no way to tell if a deployment was successful. Patch My PC allowed us to centrally push updates and have confidence that the deployment was successful.

Ian Rowley

Desktop Services Manager

The Solution

Everything changed when they rolled out Patch My PC.

Suddenly, updates weren’t a mystery. With centralized deployment and clear visibility into what was working (and what wasn’t), Ian’s team could push software with confidence—and know it had landed. “Patch My PC allowed us to centrally push updates and have confidence that the deployment was successful,” Ian said.

That shift didn’t just improve the patching process—it dramatically reduced the noise. Support tickets started to drop, end users experienced fewer interruptions, and the team finally had space to breathe. Even better? Patch My PC’s support team didn’t just meet expectations—they blew past them. “They exceeded expectations compared to other vendors we’ve worked with,” Ian shared.

For the University of Aberdeen, Patch My PC didn’t just fix patching. It restored trust in the update process—and gave the IT team back their time.

A Modern Patch for Higher Ed

Since implementing Patch My PC, the University of Aberdeen has reduced disruptions, boosted reliability, and gained peace of mind—without adding overhead. With fewer tickets and more predictable outcomes, their IT team now spends less time reacting and more time optimizing.

If patching is still your team’s weakest link, we’ve got a fix.

— Book a demo or start your 30-day free trial today.