ThirdPatch has been recognized with a 2026 Global Recognition Award for building a third-party patch management platform that closes one of the most persistent security gaps in the managed service provider industry, and this recognition is being awarded under the Startup Of The Year category.

Managed service providers have long struggled with a specific blind spot: operating systems are patched reliably through standard RMM tools, while the browsers, communication apps, and utility software running on the same endpoints are frequently left exposed. A majority of exploitable vulnerabilities on a typical endpoint originate in this overlooked layer rather than the operating system itself. ThirdPatch was built directly in response to that gap, giving MSPs a way to patch Chrome, Zoom, Slack, Adobe Reader, and thousands of other applications, and it does so without the manual overhead that has historically made third-party patching an afterthought for busy technicians. Founded by Jeremy Oaks, ThirdPatch managed 10,000 endpoints as an RMM administrator before building the platform. That background shaped a product designed around the operational realities of running patch programs across many client environments simultaneously.

Its package-based structure allows MSPs to nest automation the way interlocking blocks snap together, so an entire stack of client-specific software and MSP base tools can be deployed or updated with a single command. This structure directly addresses a problem Oaks identified while surveying providers during development. Most MSPs surveyed said they wanted patching to work without unreliable agents or another portal to log in to, and ThirdPatch’s Pro version was built to install with a single PowerShell command while optionally discovering and patching existing applications on a system. The result is a tool built around reliability and simplicity as core requirements, which is a distinction Oaks considered essential after seeing firsthand how convoluted approval structures and rigid global policies fail across diverse client accounts.

Closing a Gap That The Industry Overlooked

ThirdPatch’s central achievement lies in its decision to treat third-party patching as its own discipline rather than a secondary feature attached to an existing RMM, and this focus sets it apart from broader platforms that address patching only in passing. The platform works with any RMM, so it integrates with ConnectWise Automate, CIPP, Atera, NinjaOne, JumpCloud, and any other tool that can run PowerShell. This flexibility carries real weight in an industry where providers frequently switch RMM platforms or operate mixed environments across client accounts. Because MSPs often resist being locked into a single vendor’s ecosystem, ThirdPatch’s compatibility across tools reduces switching costs and lowers the operational risk associated with vendor dependence.

The platform’s library of more than 10,000 available software packages, paired with templates for building custom applications, gives technicians a straightforward way to standardize patching across accounts with widely different software needs. Flat-rate pricing removes the per-app and per-endpoint charges that typically make comprehensive third-party patching cost-prohibitive at scale, and it allows MSPs to deliver consistent value to clients without having to recalculate costs for every new application added to an environment. These choices reflect a product built around the specific economics and staffing constraints of the MSP business model, so the platform functions as purpose-built infrastructure rather than a general patching tool adapted after the fact for service providers.

Automation Designed for Real-World Exceptions

Set-it-and-forget-it automation only works if it can accommodate exceptions, and ThirdPatch’s package framework was designed with that tension in mind from the outset. The platform supports prebuilt templates, guided implementation, and MSP-specific playbooks, so technicians can deploy software within minutes rather than building automation from scratch for every client relationship. Discovery and patching of existing applications on a system happen with minimal manual intervention. Yet the framework still allows for the exclusions and edge cases that any environment running dozens of client tenants inevitably requires.

Custom application support extends that same logic further, since any application with silent-install parameters can be packaged and deployed centrally, while versioning and reporting remain intact. This capability matters because every MSP maintains a long list of niche client software that off-the-shelf patching tools rarely cover, and ThirdPatch’s templates were designed so technicians without prior packaging experience can start deploying software within minutes. Backed by fully managed infrastructure and around-the-clock US-based support, the platform provides technicians with a repeatable process rather than a one-off workaround for each new application request.

Startup Of The Year is the category Global Recognition Awards selected for ThirdPatch, and the distinction suits a business that identified a narrow but consequential problem and built infrastructure specifically to solve it. Shortlisted applicants across all categories are evaluated using the Rasch model. This measurement method creates a linear scale, allowing direct comparison between applicants who excel in entirely different fields, whether in research, service delivery, or innovation. ThirdPatch’s scores reflected strength in the innovation and service dimensions that anchor the Startup Of The Year distinction, and this outcome stemmed from its product design and its direct response to a documented, ongoing industry need.

Final Words

ThirdPatch’s growth illustrates a broader pattern within the MSP software market, since the biggest opportunities often sit in the gaps left by established, general-purpose tools that address only part of a provider’s technical burden. Third-party patching was treated as a secondary concern for years, even as it became one of the largest sources of exploitable risk on managed endpoints across the industry, and ThirdPatch built its entire business around closing that specific gap rather than expanding into unrelated services. Its RMM-neutral, package-based approach gives the company room to grow alongside whatever tools MSPs choose to run, which positions it well regardless of how the broader RMM market shifts in the coming years.

Alex Sterling, spokesperson for Global Recognition Awards, said the panel noticed that ThirdPatch’s product precisely matched a problem the MSP industry had openly struggled to solve for years. “ThirdPatch didn’t try to be everything to everyone, since it picked the hardest, most overlooked piece of the patching puzzle and built a genuinely elegant solution around it, and that kind of focus is exactly what this award is meant to recognize,” Sterling said. The recognition places ThirdPatch among a small group of companies whose growth is driven less by market timing than by solving a problem their own industry could see clearly but had not yet fixed.