Following the boat-rocking acquisition acquisition of VMware by Broadcom at the end of 2023, uncertainty and skepticism has been looming among VMware customers as the changes were fast and drastic, impacting everyone in one way or another. While VMware still remains the virtualization leader and isn’t going anywhere (especially for large customers), a number of smaller organizations have been poking around to find whether realistic alternatives exist.

Now in its ninth edition, the 2024 “Open Source Security and Risk Analysis” (OSSRA) report delivers an in-depth look at the current state of open source security, compliance, licensing, and code quality risks in commercial software.

Open source security is a term used to describe the process of protecting your organization’s data and network from attack by using open-source software. It refers to the use of open-source software (OSS) for data protection. Open source software is free to use, meaning that anyone can access it without paying fees. This allows organizations to take advantage of the collective knowledge and experience of thousands of people who have contributed code or worked on projects together.

The software bill of materials (SBOM) is quickly becoming an essential aspect of open source security and compliance. In this post, we'll delve into what SBOMs are, why they're necessary, and their role in open source security.