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Azul, a Java platform provider that competes with Oracle in the Java space, has released results of a survey indicating that over 80% of respondents said they are moving to alternatives to Oracle’s Java Development Kit (JDK) for various reasons including cost.
Oracle’s share of Java users has been declining. Oracle held about 75% of the market for JDK distributions in 2020 — according to New Relic — but only 42% in the Azul State of Java Survey and Report 2023. This latest survey shows that trend continues, as 86% of respondents who are using Oracle Java SE are currently moving or plan to move all or some of their Java applications off Oracle to OpenJDK-based distributions. Only 14% of Oracle Java subscribers plan to stay on Oracle, according to the report.
Azul’s “Oracle Java Usage, Pricing & Migration Survey and Report” is based on a global study that includes responses from 663 qualified participants from companies of various sizes, across six continents. All respondents said they are versed in Java, with 75% saying a substantial part of their jobs involve Java. Dimensional Research, a market research firm, administered the electronic survey.
Key reasons for migration from Oracle JDK include cost (53% find Oracle Java too expensive), preference for open source alternatives (47%), uncertainty over Oracle’s pricing and policy changes (38%), audit risk concerns (25%), and dissatisfaction with Oracle support (24%).
“The data from the ‘Oracle Java Usage, Pricing & Migration Survey and Report’ paints a clear picture: Java users are looking for an equivalent or better alternative to Oracle Java SE which can address their business concerns regarding licensing and support costs and risk of an audit,” said Scott Sellers, co-founder and CEO at Azul, in a statement. “There is a better path forward: organizations who have switched to commercially supported distributions based on OpenJDK report smooth experiences and achieved significant cost savings.”
Overall, most organizations seeking to move from Oracle Java are not expecting to find something better.
“I think most of the time, people are not necessarily looking for something that’s better. What they’re really looking for is something that is the same,” Simon Ritter, deputy CTO at Azul, told The New Stack. “Because all they want is to continue using Java. They want to continue getting the updates at the same time that they would get them from Oracle with the same contents in terms of security patches, bug fixes and so on. People are looking for something which is equivalent to what Oracle offers at a lower price.”
Meanwhile, 84% of respondents who migrated said their migration went as expected or easier, and 75% of companies who have already migrated off Oracle Java completed their migrations within one year, including 23% which finished in three months or less. About two-thirds of respondents who plan to migrate said they plan to start their migration off Oracle Java (but haven’t started yet) within two years.
“Well, you have to take surveys by competitors with a grain of salt,” said Holger Mueller, an analyst at Constellation Research. However, “All open source ecosystems are sensitive to overall direction and cost. It is fair to say that the Java community was very concerned with Oracle’s acquisition of Sun and Java — but all in all, Oracle has been a good steward to Java. One of the drivers for that has been an active ecosystem with vendors like Azul who have provided alternatives to enterprises – and with that kept Java a competitive programming language. The survey taken by Azul will for sure get the attention across the Java ecosystem — and will make it even better.”
Moreover, two-thirds of respondents said their organizations saved costs after switching.
“While some organizations initially hesitated to make the switch, our survey reveals that those who have migrated to OpenJDK distributions have had a positive experience,” Sellers added. “It’s clear that the Java community is voting with its feet, seeking more cost-effective, flexible and open solutions for their Java applications and Java-based infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, 83% of respondents said their organizations would need Java support for production applications.
