Oracle's Java Audits Ramp Up Amid Pricing Changes

Oracle’s transition to a per-employee Java model has increased pricing and auditing, giving companies’ alternatives to think about.

With its financial year-end looming, Oracle customers on Java are warned that the number of audits will increase, after the company controversially changed to a per-employee model. This updated pricing model rolled out beginning in January 2023, has led to significant increases in cost, with individual customers faced with the highest increase of up to five times pre-purchase figures.

Oracle was first to launch a paid subscription for Java in 2018 but the switch to charging for employee usage has caused alarm. The industry leaders—including Scott Sellers (CEO), Azul, a Java advisory firm, – pointed to the increased global presence of Oracle’s sales teams. These are teams are very active at seeking out and auditing companies that use oracle java in line with the company strategy at the end of the company year to finalize software deals.

Now that contracts expire in May, firms are left considering the cost of sticking with Oracle or working with others. Some firms have successfully renegotiated their contracts in return for retaining the old pricing model. Meanwhile Azul’s JVM Inventory tool provides businesses the opportunity to monitor and segment Oracle Java instances for improved compliance.

Industry experts like Craig Guarente at Palisade Compliance recommend to companies to move away from Oracle Java in order to avoid licensing issues when Oracle steps up its audits. To many, the search for open-source substitutes may carry a strategic opportunity in handling Oracle’s changing licensing algorithms.