Hong Kong — September 4, 2025 — Sangfor Technologies, a leading global provider of cybersecurity and cloud computing solutions, proudly announces its inclusion in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Hybrid Mesh Firewall¹.
We believe this recognition is particularly significant as it comes in the first-ever Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall, a new category that reflects the fundamental shifts occurring in enterprise network security. The new Magic Quadrant replaces the long-standing Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls, which, in our view, signals the industry’s transition away from perimeter-centric models toward distributed, hybrid, and cloud-first architectures.
Sangfor at the Forefront of a New Era in Network Security
We believe Sangfor’s recognition in this inaugural report demonstrates its ability to evolve alongside its customers and to deliver security solutions designed for today’s hybrid enterprises. Where the legacy firewall market focused primarily on protecting centralized data centers, today’s organizations require consistent, adaptive, and intelligent protection across data centers, public clouds, private clouds, and edge environments.
We are proud to be included in the first Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall. We see this recognition as validation of our ability to meet the security challenges of hybrid IT and multi-cloud environments while continuing to prioritize customer success, innovation, and operational simplicity.
Jeremy Jia, President of Sangfor International Market
What is a Hybrid Mesh Firewall?
The Hybrid Mesh Firewall (HMF) marks the next evolution of enterprise firewall technology. In contrast to traditional network firewalls that operate at the perimeter of on-premises environments, a HMF is a multideployment firewall that supports hardware appliances, virtual instances, and cloud-based options, all managed through a unified cloud-based management platform. HMFs are designed to support hybrid environments and evolving use cases by providing centralized visibility and management of firewall policies across on-premises, cloud, and branch deployments, reducing operational complexity.
HMFs offer advanced threat prevention, including protection against DNS-based attacks and IoT security threats, and support integration with CI/CD pipelines and native cloud controls, making them suitable for modern hybrid and multicloud environments. They also provide secure remote access capabilities such as SSL VPN, IPsec VPN, and Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA).
This shift reflects the reality that network perimeters no longer exist in the traditional sense. Firewalls must now be distributed and coordinated, protecting data and applications wherever they reside.
Athena NGFW: Sangfor’s Recognized Hybrid Mesh Firewall
Sangfor Athena NGFW (formerly Sangfor Network Secure) provides comprehensive hybrid mesh firewall capabilities across hardware appliances, virtual firewalls, cloud-native firewalls, and firewall-as-a-service – all centrally managed through the Sangfor Platform-X cloud-based manager. By continuously adopting innovative security technologies, Athena NGFW protects every network perimeter and safeguards critical assets, data, and users against emerging threats.
Key strengths of Sangfor Athena NGFW, some of which were referenced in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for HMF, include:
- Innovative product features: Athena NGFW integrates AI-based phishing detection using LLMs – the world’s only HMF to leverage LLMs for detecting, alerting, and mitigating sophisticated phishing attacks. It also utilizes real-time, cloud-based AI threat intelligence to block new and emerging threats at the network perimeter.
- Cost-effective value: By maintaining stable pricing over the past several years, Athena NGFW combines affordability with advanced functionality.
- Ease of use: Ease of use: Athena NGFW enables streamlined deployment and simplified operations through an intuitive console and the user-friendly SOC Lite module to simplify threat analysis and response.
- Regional strength and support: Athena NGFW is backed with multilingual technical support across Asia and the Middle East and a growing network of local channel partners.
Visit the Sangfor Athena NGFW webpage to explore its full range of features and capabilities, success stories, market recognitions, and more.
As enterprises continue to embrace hybrid and multicloud strategies, Sangfor remains committed to delivering firewall solutions that are not only secure and scalable but also intuitive and cost-effective. We believe our inclusion in Gartner’s inaugural Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall reinforces Sangfor’s position as a trusted partner in navigating the evolving cybersecurity landscape.
Sources
- Gartner Inc., Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall, Rajpreet Kaur et al., August 25, 2025
Gartner Disclaimer
GARTNER is a registered trademarks and service mark, and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
About Sangfor Technologies
Sangfor Technologies is a global leader in cybersecurity, cloud computing, and IT infrastructure, providing fully integrated and AI-driven solutions. Founded in 2000 and publicly listed since 2018 (STOCK CODE: 300454.SZ), Sangfor serves over 100,000 customers worldwide, including Fortune Global 500 companies, government institutions, universities, and healthcare organizations. With over 8,000 employees and more than 70 branch offices across APAC, EMEA, and LATAM, the company is committed to delivering on its mission to Make Your Digital Transformation Simpler and Secure.
