Celebrating the 2025 Sonatype Elevate Awards Finalists
4 minute read time
At Sonatype, we believe innovation happens when secure development practices and bold ideas come together. That's why we created the Sonatype Elevate Awards to shine a light on organizations and teams setting new standards in software supply chain management, DevSecOps excellence, and collaborative transformation.
Over the past several months, we have had the privilege of reviewing an incredible range of submissions from around the world. Each story highlighted the determination, creativity, and impact of teams who are not only addressing today's most pressing software challenges, but also paving the way for a more secure and efficient future.
Narrowing down the list of finalists was no easy task, but we are excited to announce the 2025 Elevate Awards Finalists.
2025 Finalists
This year's finalists showcase a rich diversity of industries, including banking and financial services, education, and leading global IT providers.
Each finalist showcases the potential unlocked when organizations prioritize secure software practices and place innovation at the core of their strategy. (Note: Certain finalists remain anonymized for recognition purposes.)
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Alef Education
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Alpha Bank Greece
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Bank of Ayudhya
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Beneva
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EnBW AG
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Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC
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Freedom Mortgage and Xpanse
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Primetals Technologies Austria GmbH
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Commerzbank AG
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DCAI
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HSBC
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Nomura
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A global financial technology organization
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An international IT service provider
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A premier consumer financial services company
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A multinational digital payment services company
Together, these finalists embody the Elevate Awards' mission: to celebrate organizations that are tackling technical debt head-on, accelerating time-to-value, fostering cross-team collaboration, and leading the charge in DevSecOps innovation.
Award Categories: Recognizing Excellence Across the SDLC
To help spotlight the different ways teams raise the bar, the Elevate Awards span six categories. Each category reflects not only an achievement, but also a philosophy for how modern organizations can succeed in today's rapidly evolving software industry.
Leader of the Year
This category recognizes outstanding industry leaders across the software development life cycle (SDLC).
Finalists in this area demonstrate clear ROI for their organizations — whether in saved time, dollars, or improved security posture. They have seamlessly integrated Sonatype solutions into their existing systems and cultivated a culture where innovation and robust security practices coexist.
These leaders show how software developers can thrive in environments where productivity and morale are strengthened by strong leadership.
DevSecOps Trailblazing Team of the Year
Being a trailblazer in DevSecOps requires more than just adopting tools. It requires establishing best practices that elevate the industry.
Finalists in this category leverage advanced technologies, such as AI/ML, SBOM management at scale, and Sonatype solutions to improve efficiencies and security. They've positioned their organizations at the forefront of DevSecOps, proving how innovation and thought leadership can transform not only internal teams, but also the wider ecosystem.
Fastest Time to Value
Adopting new solutions often comes with a learning curve, but finalists in this category have shown extraordinary results within their first year of using Sonatype.
These organizations clearly defined their purchase goals, prioritized effectively, and achieved measurable improvements faster than expected. Whether through accelerated integration, rapid ROI, or immediate developer benefits, their success stories demonstrate the impact of moving quickly without sacrificing quality.
Tech Debt Destroyer
Technical debt is one of the most common roadblocks to innovation, but the finalists here refused to let it stand in their way. By tackling legacy challenges, prioritizing improvements, and systematically reducing debt, these organizations have unlocked new capacity for innovation.
Developers at these companies now work in environments where productivity, morale, and software quality are significantly enhanced — proof that cleaning up the past is essential to building the future.
Software Supply Chain Impact
This category celebrates organizations that have taken a comprehensive approach to improving security and performance across the enterprise.
By empowering DevOps, Development, and AppSec teams to work more effectively together, finalists here are building faster, more secure software at scale. Their efforts show the value of "shift left and shift right" strategies, tool consolidation, and full supply chain visibility.
Collaboration Catalyst
The best software is built when silos are broken down. Finalists in this category have made collaboration central to their transformation journeys.
By fostering communication between security, development, and operations teams, they've improved OSS risk reduction and developer productivity, while ensuring Sonatype solutions deliver enterprise-wide impact. Their stories demonstrate that collaboration is not just a cultural goal, but a business advantage.
Looking Ahead
The 2025 Elevate Awards finalists remind us what's possible when organizations commit to both innovation and security. Their stories illustrate how technical excellence, leadership, and collaboration can reshape industries and inspire others.
The winners will be announced in October 2025, and we can't wait to celebrate their achievements.
Until then, we invite you to join us to congratulate this year's outstanding finalists and recognize their contributions to a stronger, more secure software future.
Aaron is a technical writer on Sonatype's Marketing team. He works at a crossroads of technical writing, developer advocacy, software development, and open source. He aims to get developers and non-technical collaborators to work well together via experimentation, feedback, and iteration so they ...
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