The Rise of Jinan's High end Software Industry: Independent Innovation Builds a New Engine for 'Digital Strong Province'
On the development map of China's software industry, Jinan is rising at an impressive speed to become a high-end software innovation highland. As the second "Chinese Software City" in China, Jinan has been focusing on the construction of the high-end software industry chain in recent years, continuously making efforts in the three directions of basic software, industrial software, and emerging software. A number of enterprises and products with national influence have emerged, becoming an important force in promoting the high-quality development of the digital economy in Shandong Province and even the whole country.
The industrial ecology is perfect, and the level of software city continues to improve
Jinan's software industry has a long history and a strong foundation. In 2011, Jinan was approved as the second "China Software City" nationwide. Over the past fourteen years, this city has been driven by innovation and driven by applications, continuously consolidating its industrial foundation and improving its industrial ecology. In 2024, Jinan's software business revenue accounted for 4.2% of the national total and 40.5% of Shandong Province's total, with high-end software accounting for 18.61%. This data fully demonstrates the important position of Jinan in the national software industry landscape.
At the beginning of 2025, Jinan City will include the high-end software industry chain in the 13 iconic industry chains of the city, clarify the key development directions of basic software, industrial software, and emerging software, and form the industrial characteristics of "highlighting innovation in basic software, strong support for industrial software, and characteristic development of emerging software". In the next three years, we will follow the overall development concept of 'application driven, innovation driven, and ecological cultivation', fully optimize basic software, strengthen industrial software, and expand emerging software, and promote the upgrading of software cities, "said Wang Chongqian, a member of the Party Group and Chief Economist of Jinan Industry and Information Technology Bureau, in an interview with our reporter
In terms of regional layout, Jinan follows the overall principle of "leading by leaders, differentiated development, and diversified linkage" to create an industrial development space layout of "one core leading, multiple parks supporting". Taking Jinan High tech Zone, Lixia District, Shizhong District, and Licheng District as the core areas of the city's software industry, districts and counties such as Tianqiao District, Zhangqiu District, and Changqing District rely on their own industrial foundations and resource endowments to achieve differentiated development and create regional characteristics. This scientific spatial layout provides strong support for the agglomeration and development of the software industry.
Breaking through monopoly in basic software and building a solid foundation for information security
Basic software is the foundation of the software industry and an important guarantee for national information security. In the field of basic software, Jinan enterprises have achieved an important leap from technological catch-up to domestic substitution, and a number of representative enterprises such as Inspur Group, Zhongchuang Software, Hangao Software, and Zhongfu Information have emerged.
As a leading provider of basic software products and services in China, Zhongchuang Software Commercial Middleware Co., Ltd. has been deeply involved in the localization of middleware market for 23 years. It was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board in March 2024. The company's general manager Gao Longlin told reporters: "Zhongchuang Group focuses on the requirements of the national information and innovation strategy, and its independently developed series of middleware has reached the level of similar products of foreign commercial companies in terms of architecture, functionality, performance, usability, and reliability. Currently, the company's products have been widely applied in key industries of the national economy such as party and government, military industry, finance, energy, and transportation, achieving the substitution of similar foreign products.
In the financial field, a large commercial bank completed the migration, deployment, and launch of thousands of middleware sets within six months, achieving smooth migration of financial business systems; In the field of energy, a large power grid enterprise has deployed a series of middleware products on a large scale, creating a full stack autonomous and controllable cloud platform that can stably support the peak traffic of millions of users. These successful cases fully demonstrate the technical strength and application value of domestic basic software.
In the face of the wave of artificial intelligence technology, Zhongchuang Group actively lays out the research and development of intelligent agent platforms. Gao Longlin introduced that on the one hand, the company has added MCP support capabilities on the basis of its products, allowing large models to use middleware; On the other hand, developing new intelligent agent platforms to achieve equal governance between humans and machines. At present, scenario practice has been carried out in the fields of finance, transportation, military industry, etc., such as solving the needs of financial intelligent due diligence and intelligent compliance review.
Inspur Group is technologically leading in areas such as cloud operating systems, distributed databases, microservice engines, and network security protection, forming a complete basic software product system. These breakthroughs provide solid guarantees for national information security construction and industrial chain security, demonstrating Jinan's innovative strength in the field of basic software.
Industrial software is independently controllable, breaking through the bottleneck problem
Industrial software is the "brain" and "nerve center" of intelligent manufacturing, a key link in the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, and a "bottleneck" field that has long been monopolized by foreign countries. Jinan City has shown outstanding performance in the field of industrial software, with industrial software revenue accounting for 11.9% of the national total in 2024. Representative enterprises such as Huatian Software, Ganlun Electronics, Shanxin Software, Inspur Software, and PuLian Software have emerged.
Shandong Shanda Huatian Software Co., Ltd., as one of the few intelligent manufacturing software service providers in China with independent and controllable 3D CAD technology, has made significant breakthroughs in key industrial software technologies. The Chairman of the company, Yang Chaoying, proudly stated that the 3D CAD software, which is the core of industrial software, is known as the 'pearl on the crown of industrial software'. After more than ten years of continuous research and development, Huatian Software has successfully independently developed two core technologies: the '3D Geometry Modeling Engine' and the 'Geometric Constraint Solver'
The complexity of 3D geometric modeling engine technology is extremely high, and it has long been monopolized by foreign companies. Huatian Software has broken through key algorithms such as geometric modeling, surface continuity, and precision control, achieving complete autonomy and controllability from the underlying code to the application layer. The geometric constraint solver solves the parameterized driving and constraint satisfaction problems in complex assemblies, and its solving efficiency and stability have reached the international mainstream level. The breakthroughs in these two core technologies have made Huatian Software the only enterprise in China with fully independent intellectual property rights for 3D CAD cores.
Based on breakthroughs in core technology, Huatian Software has developed a cloud based 3D CAD platform - Crown CAD, which supports multi-user online collaborative design and achieves a revolutionary experience of "3D modeling anytime, anywhere through a browser". The platform not only has all the functions of traditional CAD software, but also integrates artificial intelligence technology to achieve innovative functions such as intelligent modeling and intelligent rendering. Crown CAD has been successfully applied in multiple high-end manufacturing fields such as aerospace, automotive manufacturing, and engineering machinery, with a user base exceeding 450000 people.
At the end of 2024, based on the breakthrough of Huatian Software's 3D CAD technology, Jinan Municipal People's Government, Jinan High tech Industrial Development Zone Management Committee, National Intelligent Design and Numerical Control Technology Innovation Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Huatian Software jointly established Jinan Industrial Software Research Institute. Yang Chaoying introduced that since 2025, Huatian Software and Research Institute have been working together to promote deep cooperation with multiple large state-owned enterprises and industry leaders, establish the Jinan branch of the National Intelligent Design and Numerical Control Technology Innovation Center, and jointly build the "CAX Integrated Technology Joint Laboratory" to accelerate the promotion and application of domestic industrial software in key industries.
Shanxin Software has multi-level, multi scenario, and full cycle solutions in the intelligent manufacturing field of industries such as steel and non-ferrous metals, covering more than 20 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, serving over a thousand customers, and implementing nearly a thousand production lines, providing strong support for the digital transformation of traditional industries.
Empowering transformation with emerging software, creating a benchmark for smart applications
In the emerging software field, Jinan enterprises have relied on cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and low code to create a series of industry application benchmarks, promoting the transformation and upgrading of the software industry towards intelligence, platformization, and serviceization.
Shandong Expressway Information Group Co., Ltd., as the core force of informationization construction and digital transformation of Shandong Expressway Group, takes "smart transportation leader and digital industry promoter" as its strategic positioning, independently develops more than 200 software and hardware products, and has been awarded 14 high-end software certifications in the first edition of Shandong Province. Li Jie, General Manager of Shandong Expressway Information Group Co., Ltd., introduced the innovative application of the Smart Brain 3.0 platform to reporters: "The platform relies on four independently developed digital bases: data center, GIS platform, IoT platform, and AI platform, integrates big model capabilities, and achieves a comprehensive view of the whole through one network, deeply empowering the digital transformation of the transportation industry
In terms of abnormal event monitoring, the platform can predict congestion events 25 minutes in advance with an accuracy rate of over 90%, effectively reducing traffic delays; In terms of command and dispatch, the digitalization rate of business has reached 100%, significantly improving emergency response capabilities; In terms of smart toll collection, 53 smart cloud toll stations have been built, increasing traffic efficiency by more than 30%. At present, this product is not only applied on highways in Shandong, but also promoted and applied in many provinces such as Shandong Provincial Department of Transportation, Inner Mongolia Transportation Group, and Xinjiang Communications Investment, achieving good results.
Around the zero carbon transportation strategy, the Information Group has also developed a comprehensive zero carbon control platform for highways, and created multiple demonstration pilot projects such as the first zero carbon smart highway in China - Jiwei Expressway, and the first zero carbon highway for renovation and expansion - Jihe Expressway. Li Jie stated that the collaborative application of these technologies and products provides a replicable and scalable "Shandong solution" for the deep integration of smart transportation and green energy.
The light cavalry low code platform of Jin Modern Company integrates low code, zero code, data middleware, AI technology and other capabilities, becoming an important tool for enterprise digital construction; The Hairuo big model of Inspur Cloud demonstrates Jinan's layout strength in the field of cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology. These innovative applications fully reflect the development vitality of Jinan's emerging software industry.
Dual wheel drive of policy talents, building a new pattern of industrial development
The vigorous development of Jinan's high-end software industry cannot be separated from a favorable policy environment and talent support. Jinan City continues to optimize the industrial development environment and takes multiple measures to promote high-quality development of the software industry.
In terms of talent security, Jinan continues to optimize the "soft environment" of talent ecology in response to the characteristics of high-end software being "talent driven" and "clustered". General Manager Gao Longlin of Zhongchuang Software said with deep emotion, "In recent years, Jinan has vigorously implemented the 'New Talent Policy', providing a lot of support for enterprises to attract and cultivate talents from various aspects such as housing, education, and research funding. This has created favorable conditions for us to solve the talent problem. Jinan has guided the core areas of the software industry such as Qilu Software Park to create livable and business friendly work and life ecological parks and entrepreneurial incubation spaces, providing a good development environment for software talents.
In terms of building an open source ecosystem, Jinan is accelerating the construction of the Qilu Open Source Society, supporting Inspur Group and Shandong University in exploring open source technologies, promoting open source technology, supporting the high-end software industry to break through technological bottlenecks, enhance core competitiveness, and build an independent and controllable system.
In terms of application promotion, Jinan has systematically sorted out various pilot demonstrations approved in recent years according to technology and industry fields, established a recommended list of high-quality software at the municipal level, deeply explored the application scenarios of high-end software in major projects such as digital transformation and digital Jinan construction, built docking platforms, and promoted the deep application of high-end software in government affairs, education, health, transportation, water conservancy, finance and other fields.
Wang Chonggu, Chief Economist, stated that in the field of basic software, Jinan will focus on supporting leading enterprises such as Inspur to enhance their endogenous development momentum and drive the supporting development of upstream and downstream enterprises; In the field of industrial software, guided by the "Guidelines for Equipment Updating and Technological Transformation in Key Industrial Industries" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and relying on Jinan Industrial Software Research Institute and industry chain leading enterprises to carry out technological breakthroughs; In the emerging software field, driven by the digital transformation of manufacturing, small and medium-sized enterprises, and "artificial intelligence+", we will promote the research and innovative application of technologies such as cloud native, big models, and blockchain.
From "Innovation Breakthrough" to "Ecological Gathering", Software City Embarks on a New Journey
From the leading digital products such as the intelligent high-speed control platform and intelligent brain independently developed by Shandong Expressway Information Group, to Huatian Software's "3D CAD core engine" breaking the monopoly of foreign industrial software technology, to Zhongchuang Software's "commercial middleware" building the technological foundation of key industry information systems, Jinan's software industry is achieving a historic leap from "innovation breakthrough" to "ecological gathering".
Over the past fourteen years, the scale and thickness of Jinan's software industry have continued to solidify, innovation depth has continuously broken through, application strength has been comprehensively strengthened, and spatial breadth has accelerated expansion. Nowadays, Jinan not only has a complete software industry system, but also has formed unique advantages in the high-end software field, exploring beneficial experience for the development of the national software industry.
Facing the future, Jinan's high-end software industry is ushering in new development opportunities. With the comprehensive arrival of the digital economy era, the role of software as the core engine of the digital economy will become more prominent. Jinan will fully leverage its advantages as a software city, take the construction of the high-end software industry chain as the starting point, promote the deep integration of the software industry and the real economy, and contribute the "Jinan strength" to the construction of a manufacturing power, a network power, and a digital China.
The 'Quancheng Zao' software is deeply empowering thousands of industries with stronger innovation power, and accurately benefiting society and people's livelihoods with better service capabilities. Jinan, an ancient city with a history of 1000 years, is making more contributions to the high-quality development of the software industry in the new era with the appearance of "famous software city", exporting more "digital solutions", and writing a wonderful chapter of the software industry in the construction of Chinese path to modernization.
Information source: China Industrial News Network
