Microsoft continues to enhance the automation and governance of patching workflows on Azure. A key evolution during April and May 2024 was a set of updates to Azure Update Manager—a service designed to simplify OS patching for Azure VMs and hybrid servers.

These updates bring expanded VM image support, broader region availability, and enhanced automation tools that help organizations maintain secure and compliant infrastructure effortlessly.

🚀 Quick Recap: What is Azure Update Manager?

Azure Update Manager (formerly Update Management Center) provides a centralized experience for managing operating system updates across:

• Azure Virtual Machines

• Arc-enabled on-premises servers

• Multi-cloud VMs (via Azure Arc)

With support for scheduling, tracking, compliance, and reporting, it replaces the older Log Analytics–based solution.

🆕 Key Updates (April–May 2024)

1. 📦 New VM Image Support (April 2024)

You can now manage updates for several new OS versions and distributions, including:

• Ubuntu Pro 22.04

• RHEL 8.8

• CentOS HPC 7.9

• Oracle Linux 8

These additions ensure wider compatibility with enterprise workloads, HPC environments, and regulated industries.

🛠️ Pro Tip: You can use the az update command-line interface to automate patch configurations for these new images.

2. 🌍 Expanded Region Availability (May 2024)

Update Manager is now globally available in multiple new Azure regions, including:

• South India

• Switzerland North

• Canada Central

• Poland Central

• Norway East

This rollout ensures that customers with data residency or latency-sensitive workloads can deploy patching automation closer to their applications.

3. ⚙️ Migration Toolkit & Automation Script Generator

Azure released a migration assistant for customers moving from:

• Legacy Update Management (Log Analytics-based)

• SCCM or custom automation workflows

This tool:

• Analyzes existing configurations

• Generates equivalent policy templates in Bicep/ARM

• Offers PowerShell scripts to replicate your patching strategy in Update Manager

It significantly reduces friction for customers modernizing their patching pipeline.

4. 📊 Unified Update Compliance Dashboard

A redesigned dashboard now offers:

• Per-VM patch status

• Critical vs optional patch separation

• Missed patch alerts and historical trends

• Drill-down by tags, OS types, or regions

This provides governance-ready visibility for security teams, auditors, and platform engineers.

🛡️ Why These Updates Matter

• Broader OS Coverage = Modernize patching across your full fleet, including hybrid & HPC.

• Regional Proximity = Stay compliant with data sovereignty requirements.

• Automation Toolkit = Migrate at scale with minimal effort and clear visibility.

In the age of ransomware and zero-day exploits, patching is security. These updates allow enterprises to patch smarter, faster, and more compliantly.

✅ Getting Started

To enable Update Manager:

1. Go to Azure Portal > Update Manager (under Azure Automation).

2. Select your VM or resource group.

3. Configure a patching schedule or apply updates on demand.

4. (Optional) Use az update-mgr CLI or Bicep templates for infrastructure-as-code setup.

🏁 Conclusion

With continuous enhancements like these, Azure Update Manager is fast becoming a first-class tool for managing OS updates across any environment—cloud, hybrid, or edge.

The April–May 2024 updates empower IT teams with greater compatibility, control, and compliance, keeping infrastructure secure and resilient.

📝 Next Up: Let’s explore how Azure Functions evolved at Ignite 2024 with .NET 9 and Redis triggers.