Zyxel Networks marks ten years of Nebula, the cloud platform making networking simple for SMBs

Zyxel Networks, a leader in delivering secure and AI-powered cloud networking solutions, is celebrating ten years of Nebula, its secure cloud networking platform. Launched on 7 November 2016 to make networking simple for businesses, Nebula is now used by hundreds of thousands of companies and end users, and by thousands of managed service provider (MSP) partners worldwide to deploy, monitor and manage more than a million network devices remotely.

Nebula was built to remove the cost and complexity that had kept fully featured networking out of reach for many SMBs. By moving management to the cloud, it provided centralized, remote access to WiFi access points, switches, and security gateways from any location.

"When we launched Nebula, the goal was simple: take the complexity out of networking for small businesses," said Kevin Drinkall, Senior Director, Marketing & GTM Strategy at Zyxel Networks. "Ten years on, that goal hasn't changed. What has changed is how much Nebula can do, and nearly all of that has come from listening to the customers and partners who use it every day."

Nebula began with dedicated cloud-only products and later, with NebulaFlex, basic level support was extended to the full product range.

With NebulaFlex, every Zyxel device includes the Nebula Base Pack at no additional cost, providing essential cloud management and security. Zyxel Networks remains the only networking vendor to offer remote management support across all its devices. Businesses can upgrade to the Nebula Pro Pack when they are ready.

Onboarding has been refined so that devices can be configured and deployed in a few clicks. This has cut deployment times from hours or days to minutes, saving customers and partners many thousands of hours and reducing on-site installation calls.

From the start, Nebula has offered resellers a cost-effective route to becoming MSPs, enabling them to deliver affordable managed networking and security services while building predictable, recurring revenue.

"Networking has always been about connecting people, and for us, Nebula is about connecting our partners to their next stage of growth," said Drinkall. "We've never seen it as just a management platform; it's a business growth enabler. Every feature we've built has been shaped by conversations with partners who told us what they needed to win new customers, work more efficiently, and grow their services. Seeing a reseller turn into a thriving MSP on the back of Nebula is what drives us. We're incredibly proud of what our partners have achieved over the last ten years, and we're even more excited about where we'll go together next."

Zyxel Networks is the only major network vendor that, as well as providing dedicated firewall appliances, builds cybersecurity protection into its entire core portfolio. Through Nebula, devices on a local network share information and act automatically to protect users and data, supported by Zyxel Networks' global security cloud.

Zyxel Networks has used AI and machine learning in Nebula for many years to share information and apply changes faster. Next, it will introduce AI-driven self-diagnosis, self-healing technology, and enhanced natural language recognition into the platform.

Zyxel Networks developed Nebula because it recognized that networks would need to become simpler, more secure, and easier to manage, and that this could only be achieved through the cloud. Today, businesses expect IT to be quick to deploy, simple to manage and easy to use, and SMBs increasingly will not tolerate complexity.

"Scalability, visibility across devices and a deep understanding of what's happening in the network simply aren't possible with an on-premises approach," said Drinkall. "Nebula delivers all the functionality needed to run large, complex enterprise networks. But we've developed and evolved it to meet the needs of SMB customers who want networking that is simple, effective, affordable and secure."