By High availability has long been treated as a disaster recovery tool—a safety net for when things go wrong. But as IT teams face growing pressure to patch faster, minimize downtime, and maintain airtight security, HA is taking on a new role: a proactive enabler of patch management.
In this TFiR clip, Margaret Hoagland, VP of Global Sales & Marketing at SIOS Technology, explained how this shift is playing out in industries with zero-tolerance for downtime. “We’re seeing more customers interested in patch management than in traditional clustering,” Hoagland noted. “Healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing are leading the way.”
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In these sectors, scheduled downtime is often unacceptable. Hospitals can’t afford to take their EHR or patient management systems offline. Financial services firms need 24/7 transaction integrity. Even manufacturers rely on always-on systems to avoid costly production delays.
Patch Without Disruption
SIOS is seeing a significant uptick in organizations asking how to patch without shutting down. The answer lies in rethinking HA—not just as failover protection, but as a framework for continuous operations.
By deploying HA alongside patching strategies, organizations can shift workloads, update systems, and apply fixes—all without taking critical services offline. “HA solves so much of the patching challenge,” said Hoagland. “It’s productive, efficient, and ensures uptime in industries that simply can’t afford to pause.”
The Industries That Can’t Tolerate Downtime
While every organization values uptime, certain verticals face steeper consequences:
- Healthcare: Patient care relies on digital continuity. Any system downtime can impact diagnosis, treatment, or record accuracy.
- Financial Services: Security and transaction systems must remain active around the clock to prevent fraud and maintain trust.
- Manufacturing: Factory floor operations are highly sensitive to delays. A few minutes of downtime can lead to major financial loss.
SIOS’s high availability solutions help these organizations ensure that patching cycles don’t interrupt mission-critical processes.
Moving From Reactive to Resilient
As the role of IT evolves, high availability is becoming a strategic enabler—not just a safety net. For enterprises facing tightening compliance requirements, increased threat exposure, and more frequent patching needs, HA is the silent infrastructure that keeps everything moving.
Hoagland’s perspective is clear: patching isn’t just a maintenance activity—it’s a test of how resilient your systems truly are. “In verticals with low tolerance for downtime, high availability isn’t optional anymore,” she emphasized. “It’s foundational.”
