The service operates through two cloud-based platforms – PatchCloud and OpsCloud – which effectively allow client organisations to operate their security and patch management platforms independently of Shavlik's physical servers.
PatchCloud, as the name implies, deals with software patch requests and 'pushes' of patches from/to the client's computers. OpsCloud, meanwhile, supports the company's new range of IT management services for small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs).
Of the two services, OpsCloud looks the most interesting because, as well as supporting cloud-based patch management, the company is effectively offering SMBs a similar level of IT management facilities as that seen on major enterprise systems.
Shavlik claims that OpsCloud can be installed on an SMB's computer systems in a matter of minutes and ties the client organisation's computer systems into a patch network of more than 10 million endpoints worldwide.
Announcing the extension into cloud territory, Mark Shavlik, the firm's CEO, said: "Shavlik has used a cloud approach for many years that leverages the internet to deliver patch data to literally millions of computers simultaneously."
The company's goal with OpsCloud, he explained, is to to reduce client's IT management infrastructure inside their companies and enabling them to get these services over the internet.
"By and large, IT admins are interrupt-driven. OpsCloud allows them to get the services they need on demand with the immediate fulfilment and satisfaction they require", he said.