Enterprises consider alternatives as Oracle Java costs rise

Azul has released its second annual "State of Java Report" revealing how organisations are deploying the Java programming language in the current tech landscape and the challenges faced, such as high costs and security vulnerabilities.

The report was based on a survey conducted by Dimensional Research involving 2,039 respondents from across six continents. These respondents, all having significant roles in Java management, provided insights into the persistent reliance on Java, even amid concerns about Oracle Java costs and licensing terms.

One remarkable finding is that 88% of enterprises are considering alternatives to Oracle Java. This has increased from 72% in 2023, indicating a rising shift towards cost-effective solutions. The report highlights that 99% of surveyed organisations use Java, with nearly 70% indicating that over half of their applications run on a Java Virtual Machine.

Concerns over Oracle Java's employee-based pricing model remain significant. 82% of users are uneasy with the costs. The top reasons driving organisations to seek alternatives include cost at 42%, preference for open-source solutions at 40%, dissatisfaction with Oracle's sales strategies at 37%, pricing and licensing uncertainty at 36%, and restrictive policies at 33%.

The report also identifies ongoing challenges in cloud cost management linked to Java workloads. It notes that nearly two-thirds of organisations report Java workloads making up more than 50% of their cloud compute expenses. Despite this, a misalignment in resource allocation persists, with 71% of organisations paying for over 20% of unused cloud compute capacity.

In response to cloud cost challenges, companies are adopting strategies such as using more efficient processors (35%) and high-performance Java Development Kits (24%) to enhance application performance and optimise cloud expenses.

DevOps productivity is another area affected by Java-related issues. 62% of respondents identify dead or unused code as a burden on their DevOps teams' efficacy. Security concerns further complicate development, with 33% of teams spending over half their time resolving false positives linked to Java security vulnerabilities. Furthermore, 49% of companies are still dealing with Log4j vulnerabilities in their production environments.

Java's role in artificial intelligence development is increasing, with 50% of organisations employing Java to build AI functionalities. This surpasses the use of Python and JavaScript in Java-focused organisations. However, 72% of these organisations acknowledge the need to boost their compute capacity to support AI functions within Java applications.

The data highlights a continued investment in Java amidst changing technology landscapes. "Our report shows organisations are actively seeking ways to optimise their Java deployments to drive operational efficiency and cost predictability," said Scott Sellers, co-founder and CEO at Azul. "As Java continues to be the backbone for business-critical applications in the enterprise, we're seeing important trends — from the growing interest in Oracle Java alternatives to cloud optimisation strategies, improvements in DevOps productivity, and innovation with AI."