NOVA Technology (300921.SZ) started with system integration services. After 27 years of development, it has now become a well-known brand in the field of domestic cloud network services. It is the first and only A-share listed company in the IP-VPN technology service segment. .

The main businesses of NOVA Technology include NOVAnet services, NOVACLOUD services and digital engineering. In 2022, they will achieve revenue of 394 million, 127 million and 38 million respectively. In May 2023, NOVA Technology released a cloud network security integration service - NOVACLOUD SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), which superimposes security on the cloud network to form an overall cloud network security solution.

As early as 2008, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology awarded the first batch of virtual private network licenses to two companies. One of them was NOVA Technology, which was founded in 1996.

Self-developed SD-WAN to build a global backbone network

NOVA Technology's NOVAnet services refer to NOVAnet Global (IP-VPN virtual private network solution), NOVAnet China (enterprise-level Internet services) and NOVAnet Port (network infrastructure) provided by it based on its self-constructed MPLS backbone network. Facility hosting and others) and a series of enterprise-specific network services.

NOVACLOUD service is an enterprise information service with cloud native and cloud architecture as its main technical features, including cloud security, cloud connection, edge cloud computing, cloud application and other software-defined services as well as private cloud.

NOVAnet + NOVACLOUD constitute the cloud network solution of NOVA Technology. SD-WAN (Software Defined Wide Area Network) technology is one of its core technologies, that is, software defined enterprise wide area network, which uniformly manages enterprise sites, data centers, private clouds and public clouds. access as well as Internet exit.

It is understood that NOVA Technology is one of the few network service providers in the industry with the ability to self-research SD-WAN technology. Its self-developed SD-WAN products effectively solve the problems of domestic SD-WAN technology in multi-tenant operation, single function, security and user experience. etc. problems.

"Our global backbone network now has about 70 POP points. At these POP points, we can deploy some network services and security services. These services are very close to customers and can provide high-quality, low-latency services." NOVA Technology CTO Ziyi Lu  told China Business News.

Omdia’s research data shows that SD-WAN services (hosted mode) provided by SD-WAN technology service providers are better than enterprises’ self-built SD-WAN in aspects such as security, policy management, design and installation, CPE management, and controller management. mode has more advantages. Gartner predicts that enterprise spending on managed SD-WAN services will grow rapidly, reaching nearly $5.7 billion in 2023.

Transformation into a cloud network security integration service provider

SD-WAN is also the key technology for SASE to solve basic network interconnection. SASE can be considered as SD-WAN+SSE, which combines SD-WAN functions with a large number of network security functions (SSE), and is uniformly configured by the cloud platform to deliver policies and monitoring.

It is reported that SASE provides cloud-native security services. Its security functions exceed the traditional enterprise firewall and generally integrates secure WEB gateway (SWG), next-generation firewall (NGFW), cloud access security broker (CASB), and zero-trust network access. (ZTNA) and other functions.

According to Gartner's forecast, total global SASE revenue will reach US$11 billion in 2024, and at least 40% of enterprises will have a clear strategy to adopt SASE in the future. SASE promotes the transformation of "cloud + network" service providers into "cloud + network + security" service providers.

In May 2023, NOVA Technology released "NOVACLOUD SASE", which integrated NOVA Technology's "cloud, network, and security" resource pool to provide customers with one-stop high-efficiency and highly intelligent solutions in a subscription model. NOVA Technology also As a result, it became a "cloud network security overall solution" service provider.

"'NOVACLOUD SASE' is based on innovative network and security integration architecture, and NOVA Technology is a provider of network and security integration services." Ziyi Lu  said that the emergence of SASE means that enterprises have changed from investing in hardware equipment for border protection to focusing on The subscription-based model flexibly purchases security capabilities from the cloud, and also means a shift from multiple suppliers to a single supplier.

The demand comes from the digital transformation of enterprises. “Enterprise digital transformation is the application of new digital and information technologies such as cloud computing, mobile computing, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence to all areas of business. With the widespread application of these technologies, network architecture has undergone disruptive changes. A few years ago, enterprise applications might be deployed in a single data center. Gradually, enterprise applications began to be deployed in SaaS, public clouds or self-built distributed data centers. Traditional centralized networks and security architectures cannot meet the needs of enterprise digital transformation. , which has brought about a series of network optimization and security control problems." Ziyi Lu  told China Business News.

According to data released by IDC, the total global network security IT investment in 2021 will be US$168.77 billion, and is expected to increase to US$287.57 billion in 2026, with a five-year CAGR of 11.3%. Focusing on the Chinese market, China's cybersecurity IT spending will reach US$31.86 billion in 2026, accounting for approximately 11.1% of the world, and the five-year CAGR is approximately 21.2%. The growth rate of China's network security market continues to lead the world, with a five-year CAGR that is nearly twice that of the world.

Shulin Chen , chairman of NOVA Technology, said that NOVA Technology has entered the field of network security and launched NOVACLOUD SASE to realize the upgrade from a "cloud network service provider" to a "cloud network + security service provider", marking NOVA Technology's entry into the field of network security. a historic step. The company's many previous achievements and continuous innovative R&D capabilities and service capabilities have provided key support for this transformation.

Ziyi Lu  told China Business News that for cloud network security service providers, the most important thing is to be able to provide professional services in an all-round and full-cycle manner, including from initial assessment, design, planning, implementation, to operation and maintenance, Iterate and upgrade.

"This first requires professional capabilities and industry experience, which NOVA Technology has accumulated over the past two decades; second, it requires a rich product line and services to meet the needs of different industries and companies; third, it requires flexibility For example, NOVA’s customers may no longer purchase hardware, directly subscribe to services, or choose privatized deployment; fourth, they must have the ability to customize services according to the individual needs of customers, which is a great test for enterprises. Self-developed products and self-research capabilities; finally, continuous service capabilities, the ability to continuously deliver to customers, continue iterative upgrades, and become a trustworthy partner for customers. This is also the most important point."