Novalys
Novalys is a privately held French software vendor founded in 1998 that develops and distributes development tools and lifecycle add-ons (code analysis, security, UI modernization, testing, localization) for the PowerBuilder ecosystem and enterprise database platforms. It serves hundreds of large organizations across banking, insurance, government, and industrial sectors, and acts as exclusive Appeon PowerBuilder distributor in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersBoulogne, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Novalys does
Novalys is a privately held French software vendor founded in 1998 and headquartered in Boulogne Billancourt, specializing in development tools and lifecycle-add-ons for the PowerBuilder ecosystem and enterprise database platforms (Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase). Its product portfolio spans code analysis and documentation (Visual Expert), identity and application-level permissions management (Visual Guard), UI modernization controls (Ultimate Suite for PowerBuilder), object-based automated software testing (AscentialTest, distributed from Zeenyx), runtime localization (Enable for PowerBuilder), source-code protection (PB Protect), and supplementary suites such as Developer Maintenance Suite and Reporting Data Suite. The company also operates as the exclusive distributor of Appeon's PowerBuilder, InfoMaker, RapidSharp, and PowerServer products across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal.
Novalys firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Novalys
- Legal name
- Novalys
- Website
- https://novalys.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Novalys is a privately held French software vendor founded in 1998 that develops and distributes development tools and lifecycle add-ons (code analysis, security, UI modernization, testing, localization) for the PowerBuilder ecosystem and enterprise database platforms. It serves hundreds of large organizations across banking, insurance, government, and industrial sectors, and acts as exclusive Appeon PowerBuilder distributor in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Novalys industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Developer Productivity Software
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Developer Experience Platforms for Enterprise (IDEs, CI/CD, Dev Portals) (HDAEAKAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Software Engineering & Application Development Training (Languages, Frameworks, Testing) (BPAEANAI), Low-Code/No-Code Integration Builders (BPAMAOAL), Software Development (Programming, Frameworks, Dev Tools) (EDABAFAA)
Keywords
Where Novalys is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boulogne
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices8 records
Markets served
Novalys business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licenses and Subscriptions: Novalys develops and sells software tools for developers, including Visual Expert, Visual Guard, Ultimate Suite for PowerBuilder, and distributes AscentialTest and Enable. Products are sold through direct sales, online shop (shop.novalys.net), and channel partners with licensing models for enterprise and individual use.
- Consulting Services: Professional services including application security consulting, PowerBuilder modernization/migration (PB Open), PowerBuilder assistance, and training. Services help organizations implement security, web-enablement, and UI modernization for their PowerBuilder applications.
- PowerBuilder Product Distribution: As exclusive distributor for Appeon products in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, Novalys resells PowerBuilder, InfoMaker, RapidSharp, and PowerServer. This represents a significant distribution revenue stream.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Enterprise and individual developer licensing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Novalys product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Novalys develops and sells a suite of software tools dedicated to the PowerBuilder development ecosystem, including code analysis (Visual Expert), application security (Visual Guard), automated testing (AscentialTest), localization (Enable), and a packaged Ultimate Suite that bundles multiple capabilities. The company also distributes Appeon's PowerBuilder product and adjacent tools (Omnis Suite, Reporting Data Suite, Developer Maintenance Suite) to enterprise IT teams and individual developers maintaining or modernizing legacy PowerBuilder-based applications.
Product overview
Novalys is an international software vendor founded in 1998 that develops and distributes a portfolio of developer tools focused on the PowerBuilder ecosystem and enterprise database platforms. The core offering consists of Visual Expert (code analysis and documentation for PowerBuilder, Oracle, and SQL Server), Visual Guard (identity and application-level permissions management), AscentialTest (automated and manual software testing), and Ultimate Suite for PowerBuilder (UI modernization). These are supplemented by Enable for PowerBuilder (multilingual localization), PB Protect (code protection), Omnis Suite, Reporting Data Suite, and Developer Maintenance Suite. Novalys also resells Appeon PowerBuilder products (Professional, CloudPro, InfoMaker, RapidSharp) as an exclusive distributor in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal. The company offers complementary consulting services including application security, PB Open modernization, PowerBuilder assistance, and online training.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Visual Expert: Code analysis and documentation tool for PowerBuilder, Oracle, and SQL Server codebases.
- Visual Guard
- Ultimate Suite for PowerBuilder
- AscentialTest
- Enable for PowerBuilder
Products and services
- Visual Expert Code analysis tool that scans, documents, and analyzes PowerBuilder applications to help developers understand complex legacy codebases, identify dependencies, and improve code quality. Targeted at PowerBuilder development teams and IT maintenance groups.
- Visual Guard Application security and access-control product for PowerBuilder applications, providing role-based security, user/rights management, and audit trails. Intended for enterprises running mission-critical PowerBuilder systems that require controlled access and compliance.
- AscentialTest Automated testing platform for PowerBuilder applications that enables functional and regression test automation, reducing manual QA effort for ongoing application maintenance. Aimed at QA teams and developers maintaining PowerBuilder-based systems.
- Enable for PowerBuilder Localization tool that allows PowerBuilder applications to be translated and adapted for multiple languages and regional markets. Useful for enterprises distributing the same PowerBuilder application across geographies.
- Ultimate Suite for PowerBuilder Bundled package combining multiple Novalys tools (code analysis, security, testing, etc.) for PowerBuilder developers into a single integrated suite. Targeted at enterprise customers who want comprehensive coverage.
- PB Protect Source-code protection utility for PowerBuilder applications that helps prevent unauthorized access, copying, or modification of application source code. Designed for vendors and enterprises distributing PowerBuilder applications.
- Omnis Suite Tooling suite for the Omnis development environment, offered by Novalys as part of its catalog of legacy rapid-application-development tooling.
- Reporting Data Suite Reporting and data-access tooling for PowerBuilder and related database-driven applications, supporting report generation and data connectivity.
- Developer Maintenance Suite Suite of utilities aimed at PowerBuilder developers for ongoing code maintenance, refactoring, and quality improvement activities.
- PowerBuilder (Appeon, resold) Resale and distribution of Appeon's PowerBuilder rapid application development environment, offered by Novalys through an exclusive distribution arrangement. Targets PowerBuilder developers who need a vendor-supported development platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduces test maintenance costs through object-based automation that doesn't require re-recording when UI changes
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Novalys
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Novalys technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature5 records
Novalys partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- SAP (formerly Sybase)coreNovalys has been a Sybase partner since the beginning of PowerBuilder in Europe (1992). The partnership continued through SAP's acquisition of Sybase. Novalys now works with SAP to animate the PowerBuilder community and holds a distribution partnership authorizing Novalys to resell PowerBuilder.
- MicrosoftcoreNovalys is a Microsoft Certified Partner maintaining a special relationship with Microsoft. This provides access to Microsoft products, technical support, and strategic knowledge, enabling development of innovative and sustainable solutions.
- AppeoncoreNovalys and Appeon signed a distribution agreement making Novalys the exclusive distributor of Appeon products in France. The agreement also includes license sales in Belgium and Luxembourg.
- ZeenyxcoreNovalys distributes AscentialTest, a Zeenyx product. Zeenyx specializes in software testing with founders who are pioneers in test automation, having developed AscentialTest as a unique solution for test automation and management.
- Nippon Computer Systems (NCS)coreNCS is the official PowerBuilder distributor in Japan and supports enterprise development teams with solutions, services, and community engagement. NCS operates the PowerBuilder Japan Portal and newsletter. In December 2025, Novalys and NCS announced content collaboration to deliver news, product updates, and technical resources to PowerBuilder teams in Japan.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Novalys competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Rogue Wave Software (now part of Perforce): Rogue Wave / Perforce offers legacy code modernization, static analysis, and developer productivity tools for enterprise C++, Java, and mainframe environments. It overlaps with Novalys' Visual Expert (code analysis) and broader legacy modernization positioning at a much larger scale.
- Micro Focus: Micro Focus provides enterprise application modernization, testing (Silk), and developer tools for COBOL, mainframe, and legacy stacks. Comparable to Novalys in serving organizations maintaining critical legacy systems, but at vastly greater scale and breadth.
- OpenText (formerly Micro Focus DevOps): OpenText's acquisition of Micro Focus brought in a portfolio of enterprise testing, application modernization, and developer tools. Comparable to Novalys in serving legacy application lifecycle needs but at hyperscaler scale across many languages and stacks.
Direct peers
- Appeon: Appeon is the developer and owner of PowerBuilder and is Novalys' primary distribution partner. The two companies' product lines are tightly coupled: Novalys sells Appeon's PowerBuilder, InfoMaker, RapidSharp, and PowerServer in Europe, and both serve the same legacy PowerBuilder customer base in banking, government, and insurance.
- CAST Software: CAST provides static code analysis and software intelligence platforms that assess code quality, security, and technical debt — directly comparable to Novalys' Visual Expert. Both serve enterprise teams needing to understand and modernize complex application portfolios.
- Embarcadero Technologies: Embarcadero provides developer tools for legacy and modern stacks including Delphi, C++Builder, and database tools — overlapping with Novalys' developer-tools focus on legacy enterprise environments and database-aware code analysis.
- Parasoft: Parasoft provides automated software testing, code analysis, and application security solutions for enterprise development teams. It competes in adjacent categories to Visual Expert (static analysis) and AscentialTest (test automation), particularly for regulated industries.
- SonarSource (SonarQube): SonarSource offers code quality and security analysis (SonarQube) for many languages and integrates into CI/CD pipelines. While it does not cover PowerBuilder, it competes for the same enterprise code-analysis budget that Visual Expert addresses for PowerBuilder and database code.
- SmartBear Software: SmartBear provides automated testing and code quality tools (TestComplete, ReadyAPI, QMetry) that overlap with Novalys' AscentialTest for object-based automated testing and with broader application lifecycle testing for enterprise applications.
- Zeenyx Software: Zeenyx develops AscentialTest, an object-based automated testing platform that Novalys distributes to PowerBuilder and PowerServer users. Both companies target the same niche of teams maintaining legacy enterprise applications and emphasize no-programming test creation.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Novalys social profiles
Digital presenceNovalys financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Novalys leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Novalys subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Novalys funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Novalys M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Novalys
What does Novalys do?
Novalys develops and sells a suite of software tools dedicated to the PowerBuilder development ecosystem, including code analysis (Visual Expert), application security (Visual Guard), automated testing (AscentialTest), localization (Enable), and a packaged Ultimate Suite that bundles multiple capabilities. The company also distributes Appeon's PowerBuilder product and adjacent tools (Omnis Suite, Reporting Data Suite, Developer Maintenance Suite) to enterprise IT teams and individual developers maintaining or modernizing legacy PowerBuilder-based applications.
Is Novalys a public or private company?
Novalys is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Novalys founded?
Novalys was founded in 1998. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Novalys based?
Novalys is headquartered in Boulogne, France, in the Europe region.
How does Novalys make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses and Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are consulting Services and powerBuilder Product Distribution.
Who are Novalys's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Rogue Wave Software (now part of Perforce), Micro Focus and OpenText (formerly Micro Focus DevOps). Direct peers are Appeon, CAST Software, Embarcadero Technologies, Parasoft, SonarSource (SonarQube), SmartBear Software and Zeenyx Software.
Does Novalys have an API?
No public API is recorded for Novalys.
What industry is Novalys in?
Novalys's product category is Developer Productivity Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAKAI, Developer Experience Platforms for Enterprise (IDEs, CI/CD, Dev Portals), with a secondary code of BPAEANAI, Software Engineering & Application Development Training (Languages, Frameworks, Testing). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7371.