ThyssenKrupp Bilstein GmbH is a manufacturing company operating a highly distributed IT environment with several thousand endpoints across multiple locations. Its IT organization supports a wide range of teams and systems, making reliable patching and comprehensive visibility into endpoint security essential to daily operations and the uninterrupted functioning of critical manufacturing processes.
As the environment expanded, ThyssenKrupp Bilstein faced a growing challenge of managing security patches efficiently. They needed a patch management solution that could scale with operations without increasing complexity. Centralized control, consistent patching, and clear visibility into vulnerabilities became mission-critical requirements not only to protect against security risks, but also to ensure operational stability and prevent costly downtime in a growing and increasingly complex infrastructure.
Fragmented Tools and Manual Processes
Prior to adopting Action1, ThyssenKrupp Bilstein relied on a legacy patching solution that struggled to meet the demands of a large, distributed environment. Patching processes required significant manual effort and showed clear limitations when operating at scale.
Operating system patching, third-party application updates, and vulnerability identification were managed through separate tools and disconnected workflows. This fragmentation reduced visibility across endpoints, slowed remediation of vulnerabilities, and increased the overall workload for the IT team.
As a result, patch cycles were difficult to standardize, and vulnerabilities often remained unresolved longer than acceptable. The lack of centralized visibility and automation expanded the organization’s attack surface and increased business risk, while consuming valuable time and resources of the IT team.
One Platform for Patching and Vulnerability Management
Recognizing the need for a more scalable and reliable approach, ThyssenKrupp Bilstein evaluated alternatives and ultimately selected Action1 to replace its existing toolset. The goal was clear: consolidate patching and vulnerability management into a single, centralized platform that could perform reliably at scale and reduce complexity.
Action1’s powerful patching engine enabled the IT team to unify and streamline patch management across thousands of endpoints from one central console. Third-party patching became significantly simpler thanks to Action1’s privately maintained, pre-tested software packages, eliminating the need for custom packaging and constant manual updates.
By combining vulnerability detection and patch remediation into one unified workflow, Action1 removed the need for tool switching and manual handoffs. This streamlined approach gave ThyssenKrupp Bilstein clear, real-time visibility into endpoint health and a faster, more consistent way to remediate vulnerabilities across the entire environment.
Automation, Reliability, and Measurable Efficiency Gains
After deploying Action1, ThyssenKrupp Bilstein achieved nearly 100 percent patch success rates across thousands of endpoints. Automation replaced numerous recurring manual tasks, enabling vulnerabilities that once took extensive time to remediate to be resolved within hours. “What used to take days or weeks can now be fixed overnight, even for thousands of third-party vulnerabilities,” mentioned Christian Kolz, Global Enterprise Architect.
Automated reporting further reduced operational overhead by delivering patch and security status directly to inboxes, eliminating the need for constant console monitoring. Patrik Licher, Action Directory & Client Engineer, said, “Custom report subscriptions deliver status reports directly to my inbox. I no longer need to open the console, which makes my work much simpler. Action1 is clearly ahead of competitors here.”
Scalable Security with Less Effort
With Action1’s unified, autonomous patching and vulnerability management, ThyssenKrupp Bilstein streamlined their IT operations, reduced complexity while strengthening security. Automation, centralized visibility, and reliable performance enabled the IT team to manage endpoint security at scale, achieving faster remediation, increased efficiency, and greater confidence.
Action1 has become a cornerstone of ThyssenKrupp Bilstein’s long-term security strategy, enabling consistent patching, faster remediation, and a scalable approach to endpoint protection.
