Oracle Java SE — what are customers really seeing?
We recently held a very popular webinar where we discussed the latest regarding the challenges and observations surrounding licensing Oracle Java SE. We shared our extensive independent experience and observations, and offered our attendees the chance to provide anonymous feedback on specific questions surrounding preparedness, planning and strategy.
In this blog, I will share the results of some of the questions we posed along with our commentary — we find that customers are always very keen to hear what others are doing.
How confident are you about Oracle Java SE licensing rules and their applicability to your estate?
It’s not surprising to see that organisations have responded in this way, with just over 60% of respondents with limited or no confidence in Oracle’s licensing rules for Java SE, given that there is so much information (as well as contrary information) in the market. There is no ‘single place of truth’ and there are many differing sources and views.
For customers, it’s really difficult to get one definitive assessment of the changes in the rules and how they apply to their estate, how they should approach their scenario and an understanding of what their peers are doing.
We have some really good resources which serve as an initial starting point for those who may feel confused about their first step:
Version 1’s Oracle Java SE FAQ
Version 1’s Oracle Java SE Interactive guide
Oracle contact about use of Oracle Java
We have seen Oracle ramping up their customer activity in this space (especially in certain territories) and have also heard of Java resource hires specifically to be involved in these types of engagements with customers.
Over the next 12 months, we anticipate the answer to this question will change dramatically. Oracle tracks (email addresses of) those who have downloaded Java; they have the contact information from the software registration and can easily approach these businesses to start a conversation, complete with information about the customer and their Employee count — it is therefore easy to issue a bill based on this information — of course, this is not appropriate and needs challenging.
Oracle Java SE strategy
All of the response options carry their own set of challenges and benefits, and it’s unsurprising to see that most customers are really unsure of what to do. The uncertainty of removing all Java to save for example, $500k worth of subscriptions without knowing the technical implications of buying a new application which is going to cost say $300k (plus the cost of running a tender, training, implementation etc) is possibly a risk too far.
Many businesses will have Oracle Java SE in their estate that cannot be removed, but equally they cannot justify the cost of moving to the employee metric. Few businesses subscribe to the old legacy metrics, leaving them with few options. I believe a lot of businesses will endeavour to migrate away or remove Java, however both these options are a lot easier said than done.
Oracle Java SE licensing strategy
For those organisations who own the older subscriptions, this is a very good starting point as you could potentially renew those and stay on the old metrics. To any business that has done nothing so far, in order to remove the risk these changes can create, my advice to you is contact us for a confidential discussion and for us to share knowledge and insights as to what other customers have done, how their approaches have worked out, what to expect from Oracle and likely timescales.
Summary
Given our conversations with customers and the poll outputs discussed here, it is clear that the market is still uncertain as to the strategies, options and alternatives available. I urge all customers, regardless of the stage of progress to contact us to advise them of next steps — even if you have a final order from Oracle or are starting on your Oracle Java SE licensing journey, you should reach out to us.
We are offering the opportunity for you to take part in a complimentary remote workshop where we can assess your Java position and advise on the best way forward, including how to prepare for an audit.
Contact us for further information on this offer and watch a recording of the customer webinar.
About the Author:
Paul Bullen is a Principal License Consultant at Version 1.
