You need an SBOM to track what's inside your software, respond quickly to vulnerabilities, meet regulatory requirements like the EU CRA, and build trust with customers and partners.
The software supply chain problem
Over 90% of modern applications contain open-source components. When a critical vulnerability is disclosed, the first question every security team asks is: “Are we affected?” Without an SBOM, answering that question requires manually auditing codebases across every product and service - a process that can take days or weeks.
Key reasons to adopt SBOMs
Vulnerability response
When a new CVE drops, an SBOM lets you search your entire software portfolio in seconds. Instead of scrambling to check repos manually, you can query your SBOMs and know immediately which products contain the affected component.
Regulatory compliance
SBOMs are increasingly required by law and industry standards:
- EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) - Requires SBOMs for all products with digital elements sold in the EU
- NTIA Minimum Elements - US government baseline for SBOM content
- NIST 800-171 - Supply chain risk management requirements
- FDA guidance - Medical device manufacturers must submit SBOMs
- PCI DSS 4.0 - Payment industry now references software composition analysis
See our full Compliance guide for details on each framework.
Customer trust and procurement
Enterprise buyers increasingly ask for SBOMs during procurement. Having your SBOMs ready and accessible through a Trust Center demonstrates transparency and security maturity, giving you a competitive advantage.
License management
SBOMs catalog the licenses of every dependency, helping legal teams identify copyleft or restrictive licenses before they become a problem.
Getting started
You don’t need to overhaul your development process. Start by generating an SBOM for one project using our language guides, then gradually expand coverage. sbomify’s free Community tier lets you manage SBOMs for open-source projects at no cost.