Advanced Research of Technologies

What Advanced Research of Technologies does

Advanced Research of Technologies, Inc. (ART) is a privately held, founder-operated Japanese firm headquartered in Aoba-ku, Yokohama, established in July 1996 by KUDO Yasunobu. The company positions itself as a “Gateway to Japan” for advanced foreign IT vendors, providing distribution, reselling, sales representation, consulting, and liaison services that translate foreign IT products into the Japanese market. ART also delivers cybersecurity consulting and CISO outsourcing services directly to Japanese enterprises, helping clients assess threats, design secure architectures, and negotiate with SI and security vendors on a vendor-neutral basis.

ART’s product portfolio consists of imported enterprise technology rather than internally developed software: Edgenexus ADC (a Layer 4/Layer 7 load balancer and WAF virtual appliance distributed in Japan since November 2023 and available via Azure, AWS, and VMware marketplaces) and Calico Cloud/Enterprise (Tigera’s Kubernetes CNI security and observability upgrades for cloud-native workloads, distributed since October 2021). Service lines include Cybersecurity Consulting (standard and an “enhanced” version introduced in 2025 through a partnership with US-based Nexta Security), CISO Outsourcing, and IT Product Import Consulting/Outsourcing. Revenue is generated through product distribution and resale margins alongside professional services and consulting fees. In September 2025, ART formalized a strategic partnership with Nexta Security to broaden its cybersecurity consulting capability into application security, threat modeling, vulnerability management, incident response, security governance, and AI security.

The firm’s GTM relies on channel partnerships (acting as distributor/reseller for vendors such as Check Point, Tigera, and Edgenexus) combined with direct, sales-led cybersecurity advisory to enterprise clients. Its value proposition rests on nearly three decades of accumulated relationships in Japan and with US, European, and Israeli vendors, positioning ART as a long-tenured intermediator rather than a product developer.

Name

Advanced Research of Technologies

Legal name

Advanced Research of Technologies, Inc.

Website

https://art-sentan.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Advanced Research of Technologies is a founder-operated Yokohama-based firm that imports, distributes, and resells advanced foreign cybersecurity and networking products in Japan and provides vendor-neutral cybersecurity consulting and CISO outsourcing to Japanese enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IT Distribution and Cybersecurity Consulting

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Architecture & Technology Roadmapping (BPAEAAAC)

Keywords

• IT distribution services
• Cybersecurity consulting
• CISO outsourcing
• IT import consulting
• Enterprise network security

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. IT Product Distribution and Reselling: ART distributes and resells foreign IT products (security, networking) in Japan as a distributor, reseller, and sales representative. Revenue is generated through product sales and distribution margins.
2. Cybersecurity Consulting Services: Professional cybersecurity consulting services provided to Japanese enterprises, including threat assessment, system design recommendations, and vendor negotiation support.
3. CISO Outsourcing: CISO outsourcing services enabling organizations to have expert cybersecurity leadership without hiring a full-time executive.
4. IT Import Consulting / Outsourcing: Consulting and outsourcing services for importing foreign IT products into Japan, providing accumulated know-how from decades of market entry experience.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Advanced Research of Technologies (ART) operates as a "Gateway to Japan" distributor and consultant for foreign IT products. The company distributes and resells advanced foreign IT security and networking products (including Calico Cloud/Enterprise and Edgenexus ADC) into the Japanese market, while also providing cybersecurity consulting, CISO outsourcing, and IT product import consulting services to Japanese enterprises and foreign IT vendors.

Product overview

Advanced Research of Technologies (ART) operates as a 'Gateway to Japan' distributor and consultant for foreign IT products, rather than as a product developer. The portfolio consists of imported enterprise technology products including Edgenexus ADC (Application Delivery Controller) - a next-generation load balancer virtual appliance, and Calico Cloud/Enterprise - a Kubernetes CNI plugin security upgrade. ART also provides cybersecurity consulting services (standard and enhanced versions via Nexta Security partnership) and CISO outsourcing services. The company supports these offerings with IT product import consulting and outsourcing services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Calico Cloud/Enterprise Security and observability upgrade for the Calico open source CNI plugin. Provides enhanced network security, network policy, IP address management, DNS policy, egress gateway, and runtime threat defense for Kubernetes, OpenShift, Docker EE, OpenStack, and bare-metal environments at scale.
• Edgenexus ADC (Application Delivery Controller) Next-generation load balancer virtual appliance providing Application Delivery Controller functionality with Layer 4 and Layer 7 load balancing, GSLB for multi-datacenter and hybrid cloud deployments, and WAF for application-level security. Features flightPATH technology for on-the-fly traffic management without coding.
• Cybersecurity Consulting Cybersecurity consulting service based on long experience in importing and selling cybersecurity products. Assesses current threats and existing measures, proposes system configurations and vendor selection, and handles negotiations with providers on behalf of clients.
• Cybersecurity Consulting (Enhanced Version) Enhanced cybersecurity consulting service delivered through strategic partnership with Nexta Security (US). Provides comprehensive world-class cybersecurity consulting including application security, threat modeling, vulnerability assessment, incident response, disaster recovery, security governance, and AI security services to Japanese enterprises.
• CISO Outsourcing CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) outsourcing service that helps organizations effectively utilize SI vendors and security vendors. Provides cybersecurity expertise from customer perspective rather than vendor perspective, enabling clients to fully leverage vendor offerings rather than being led by them.
• IT Product Import Consulting / Outsourcing Consulting and outsourcing services for importing foreign IT products into Japan. Provides accumulated know-how from decades of market entry experience including sales, marketing, distribution support, reseller, sales representative, consultant, and liaison services for foreign IT vendors.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nexta SecuritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025ART formed a strategic partnership with Nexta Security, a major US-based cybersecurity consulting company, to significantly enhance its cybersecurity consulting offerings. The partnership combines ART's market presence in Japan with Nexta Security's global cybersecurity expertise to provide world-class cybersecurity consulting to Japanese customers. Enhanced services include Application Security Program Review, Security Architecture Engineering, Application Threat Modeling, Vulnerability Management, AI Security, and more.
• Tigera, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART serves as the Japanese importer and distributor for Tigera's Calico Cloud and Calico Enterprise products. Calico is the leading open-source CNI plugin for Kubernetes, providing networking, network policy, and IP address management for cloud-native applications. Tigera develops and maintains the Calico open-source project and offers commercial Cloud and Enterprise versions.
• EdgenexuscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART serves as the Japanese importer for Edgenexus, a next-generation load balancer and ADC (Application Delivery Controller) virtual appliance provider. Edgenexus products offer powerful Layer 4/Layer 7 load balancing, GSLB for multi-datacenter/multi-cloud environments, and WAF capabilities, marketed as highly cost-effective alternatives to F5 and other competitors.
• Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART started as a distributor for Check Point Software Technologies from Israel in 1996, distributing FireWall-1 in Japan. This was the company's first major vendor partnership and established its role as a Gateway to Japan for foreign IT companies.
• ArelNet Ltd.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed ArelNet's i-Tone internet fax server product in Japan around 1998. i-Tone enabled internet fax communication where faxes were sent via email to the i-Tone server, converted to fax format, and delivered to recipients.
• Elron Software, Inc.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed Elron Software's Internet Manager product — a proxy server, internet content filtering, and web security software — in Japan from 1999 to 2000.
• RainfinityminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed Rainfinity's RainWall and RainConnect products — content security and load balancing solutions for Check Point firewalls and Microsoft ISA Server — in Japan from 2000 to 2005.
• MetaInfominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed MetaInfo's Meta IP product — DNS and DHCP server management and Secure DHCP extension solutions — in Japan from 2004 to 2005.
• Tufin Software TechnologiesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed Tufin's SecureTrack firewall policy management product in Japan from 2005 to 2007.
• AcunetixminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed Acunetix's WVS (Web Vulnerability Scanner) product in Japan from 2006 to 2007.
• Applicure TechnologiesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed Applicure's dotDefender software WAF (Web Application Firewall) product in Japan from 2007.
• MetaInfominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed MetaInfo's Meta IP product (DNS/DHCP server management) in Japan. MetaInfo was also featured in Forbes, and ART served as its Japanese publisher/distributor.
• QualysminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorART distributed Qualys' QualysGuard vulnerability assessment service in Japan from 2001 to 2003.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ): Established Japanese internet and network services provider with a substantial security consulting practice. Comparable to ART as a Japanese enterprise-focused IT/security services provider, but operates network infrastructure at carrier scale.
• Avnet: Global IT distribution and solutions company with significant Japan presence distributing enterprise technology products from foreign vendors. Comparable in distribution model to ART, but at global scale and with a vastly larger vendor portfolio.
• SoftBank Technology: Japanese IT services company (part of the SoftBank group) providing cloud, security, and consulting services to enterprise customers. Comparable to ART on the enterprise IT/security consulting side but with the resources of a major group.
• Westcon-Comstor: Global value-added distributor specializing in networking, security, and collaboration products from vendors worldwide, with Asia-Pacific presence. Comparable to ART as a foreign-vendor IT distributor, with broader vendor portfolio and channel programs.
• SCSK Corporation: Major Japanese IT services company offering systems integration, consulting, and managed services to enterprise clients. Comparable on the enterprise IT consulting side but at vastly larger scale and broader scope than ART.

Direct peers

• Net One Systems: Japanese systems integrator and distributor focused on networking and security products from foreign vendors such as Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, and others. Closely comparable to ART in the security/networking distribution niche but with substantially broader vendor portfolio and enterprise coverage.
• Macnica Networks: Japan's leading value-added distributor specializing in foreign semiconductor, networking, and cybersecurity IT products. Directly comparable to ART as a Japan-based gateway/distributor for advanced foreign technology vendors, though operating at materially larger scale.
• LAC Co., Ltd. Pure-play Japanese cybersecurity consulting and services firm offering advisory, managed security, and incident response. Comparable to ART's cybersecurity consulting and CISO outsourcing offerings, with deeper in-house cybersecurity expertise.
• NRI SecureTechnologies: Specialist cybersecurity consulting subsidiary of Nomura Research Institute, providing security advisory, assessment, and managed services to Japanese enterprises. Comparable to ART on the consulting/CISO outsourcing side with a much larger consulting bench.
• Hagiwara Solutions: Japanese IT distributor and value-added reseller for foreign memory, storage, and security products. Comparable niche distributor model to ART focused on bringing advanced foreign technology into the Japanese market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ART_Sentan
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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Advanced Research of Technologies