Success Story: Business Concept
Ksplice has developed a solution to this problem: technology that can transform traditional updates into rebootless updates. This technology makes it possible to patch software while it is running, without any disruption or downtime. Software vulnerabilities cost U.S. companies hundreds of billions of dollars per year, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office.
“You must restart your computer to install these updates.” Everyone has seen this message before, and everyone hates it. Rebooting is a disruptive process–and, as a consequence, many system administrators and end-users delay the installation of important updates. Unfortunately, updates correct security vulnerabilities, and a machine that is not up to date is necessarily also a vulnerable one.
This number could be dramatically reduced if system administrators kept software up to date with the latest bug fixes. In fact, the vast majority of security exploit attacks in the wild–greater than 90%–are made possible by systems not being patched with the latest available updates. A solution that makes it possible to deploy updates seamlessly could save companies tens of billions of dollars per year in reduced operational costs and reduced costs from security incidents.
We will sell to software and system vendors (e.g., operating system vendors, telecom and networking equipment vendors, enterprise software application vendors, storage solution vendors) who want the capability of distributing rebootless updates for their products. Ksplice will be paid in three ways: a license fee, a development fee for transforming each traditional update into a rebootless update, and a small royalty fee for each unit that features this technology.
The opportunity
The demand for this technology is widespread. Devices as disparate as your mobile phone, your set-top box, your desktop and your company’s server infrastructure all suffer from the fact that software updates are incredibly disruptive and painful. As computers in their various forms become more prevalent and pervasive, the need for this solution (and thus the size of the market) only grows.
Popularity: 13%