With the ability to 'rollback' patches and uninstall 'Hotfixs' these days, I would suggest that everyone look in to SUS/WUS for their MS environments.

Automating the basics of patch management is the way to go. SUS is free and easy to set up. Highly controllable through GPO or the old fashion way with registry edits. You can find a lot of tools and support at www.susserver.com. By far one of the most useful SUS/WUS site on the net. It is loaded with tutorials and tools that make setup/install/maintenance a breeze.

Just another way to keep in step or one step ahead of the game. And we all know that helps given the pace we are forced to play.