Why SBOMs are critical for security and compliance in 2025

Software supply chain security has become a top priority for organizations worldwide, and at the center of this movement is the software bill of materials (SBOM). 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NITA) defines SBOM as “a nested inventory for software, a list of ingredients that make up software components.” 

In other words, an SBOM provides a detailed inventory of all components within a software product, offering critical visibility into open-source dependencies and potential security risks.

Regulatory changes, such as the U.S. Executive Order 14028 and NIST guidelines, have made SBOMs a compliance necessity, while cybersecurity threats like Log4j have proven why proactive software component management is essential. 

But simply generating an SBOM isn’t enough — organizations need an effective way to continuously manage and act on SBOM insights.

Why SBOMs matter now more than ever

• Visibility into software components – Modern software is built on a complex web of open-source and third-party components, making it difficult to track what’s inside. SBOMs provide transparency, helping security teams identify risks before they escalate.
• Regulatory pressure & compliance – Governments and industry bodies are mandating SBOM adoption to enhance software security. Organizations must now prove they understand and manage their software supply chain to meet compliance requirements.
• Proactive risk management – A single static SBOM does little to prevent security incidents. Organizations need to continuously monitor their SBOMs for vulnerabilities and act quickly when new threats emerge.
  
  

Challenges in SBOM adoption

• Keeping tabs on the most up-to-date SBOMs – Many organizations generate SBOMs once during pipeline builds, but fail to continue to monitor them after the fact, leading to outdated and ineffective security practices.
• Integrating SBOMs into security & compliance programs – SBOMs are often treated as isolated engineering artifacts rather than being integrated into broader risk management and compliance strategies.
• Identifying and acting on vulnerabilities – Knowing what’s inside your software isn’t enough — compliance teams must have processes in place to detect and remediate vulnerabilities in real time.
  
  

The future of SBOM management? Intelligent, automated, and compliance-ready

As cybersecurity threats evolve, companies need SBOM solutions that go beyond static inventory tracking. Future-proof SBOM management must be:

• Automated – Reducing the manual burden of generating and monitoring SBOMs across software development pipelines.
• Integrated – Seamlessly working with existing security, compliance, and development workflows.
• Actionable – Delivering real-time alerts on known vulnerabilities and actionable insights into component releases that include fixes - so teams are enabled to mitigate risks before they escalate into major security incidents.
  
  

How Strike Graph’s SBOM manager solves these challenges

Unlike standalone SBOM tools that focus solely on inventory generation, Strike Graph provides:

✅ Automated SBOM collection & monitoring – No manual tracking; SBOMs are automatically collected from your pipelines.

✅ Built-in compliance alignment – Designed with regulatory requirements in mind, ensuring you stay ahead of evolving cybersecurity standards.

✅ Seamless integration – Works with GitHub and GitLab to collect SBOMs without disrupting your development workflows.

✅ Actionable vulnerability alerts – Every night we refresh the knowledge base of known vulnerabilities so you are instantly notified when new security risks are detected, allowing your team to take immediate action.

Learn more about Strike Graph’s SBOM Manager

Conclusion

SBOMs are no longer just a compliance checkbox — they are a crucial tool for improving software security and reducing risk. But managing SBOMs manually or with outdated tools is unsustainable. 

Strike Graph’s SBOM manager makes it easy to automate, integrate, and act on SBOM insights, helping teams stay compliant while strengthening their software supply chain security. 

Want to see this in action? Schedule time with a security expert today.