What’s changed?
In January 2019, Oracle changed the rules around licensing Java. What was free is now a paid subscription. The result of Oracle’s change is that your company is most likely out of compliance with Oracle’s Java licensing requirements. It’s really not a question of “are you out of compliance?” – it’s now a question of “by how much are you out of compliance?”
Despite this bad news, there is a silver lining. You actually have the ability to mitigate your Java non-compliance and pay Oracle nothing or almost nothing. The choice is yours if you are willing to do a little digging into your Oracle Java position.
In this brief research note we will outline:
- How Oracle convinces you that you need a paid Java subscription.
- How Oracle pushes you into an overpriced Java ULA.
- Two things you can do to avoid writing that big check to Oracle.
- How Palisade Compliance can help you.
How Oracle convinces you that you need a paid subscription
Convincing you that you need a Java subscription is not that difficult. In fact, this is an area where Oracle and Palisade Compliance agree. If you are using Oracle Java in your enterprise, then you most likely, but not always, require a paid Java subscription. We can say this because of how Oracle now licenses their Java product.
Oracle Sales is approaching their clients with clinical precision. The salesperson simply requests a meeting to discuss Oracle’s Java licensing rules and then asks you a series of questions. Something like:
- Are you using commercial features that are not included in the version of Java SE you are using?
- Is Java SE running on devices that are not “general purpose” computers and/or servers?
- Are you using Oracle Java SE v1.8.0.211 or higher?
If you answered yes to any of the three questions above you need a paid Oracle Java license.
- Do you use Open Java SE versions for longer than six months?
- Are you running unsupported Java SE in your environment?
If you answered yes to either or both of the two questions above you need a paid Oracle Java license if you want support.
Unlike traditional on-premise database licensing, Oracle Sales does not have to audit you, or really threaten you with a Java license audit. They just need you to say yes in any of the scenarios above – and they move on to the next step getting you to overpay and sign an Oracle Java ULA.
How Oracle pushes you into an overpriced Java ULA
Oracle simply loves their Unlimited License Agreements (ULA). These ULA contracts have been around for almost 20 years now and Oracle has generated – and continues to generate – billions of dollars in revenue from them. The ULA has been so successful with Oracle that they have created a unique ULA just for Java.
Oracle has structured their pricing to push clients into a ULA. If you look at Oracle’s Java price list, you can see there is no published pricing for clients that require over 20,000 processor licenses of Java. So, if you are over 20,000, Oracle will reflexively propose a ULA.
What if you have 19,999 processors? If you do the math, you’ll come up with a list price of $2,999,850 PER YEAR. Now you are never going to pay that much for something you used to get for free. And Oracle is not going to give you a 90% discount off of that fee. The answer to get the price to something that you would pay? Simply sign a ULA where Oracle can put in any fee without exposing a discount.
Pricing of a Java ULA is exactly like pricing in a database ULA. They are both completely arbitrary. Oracle makes it up in each situation, and the reality is, your ULA price will depend on your ability to say no to whatever number Oracle is proposing. If you can say no, the price goes down. If you have to say “yes”, then get out the checkbook.
The gotchas in an Oracle Java ULA
- Once you are over 20,000 installs the pricing becomes completely arbitrary and you lose leverage on negotiations. The pricing becomes whatever Oracle can extract.
- Unlike a traditional Oracle ULA, with this Java contract you do not get to keep the licenses when the ULA expires. All licenses will expire as well.
- At the end of your Java ULA you will either sign a new one, OR you will have done the necessary work during the ULA to reduce your reliance/non-compliance with Oracle Java.
The benefits of an Oracle Java ULA
- You may have a significant Oracle Java non-compliance issue and the Java ULA will fix it, albeit temporarily.
- The Java ULA can be your bridge to remediate issues and have a much smaller renewal for a fixed number of installations.
- You can also use the Java ULA term to explore alternative vendors to Oracle’s version of Java.
Two things you can do to avoid writing that big check to Oracle
The key to taking control here is two-fold. First, you should know your current Oracle Java compliance position. How many licenses are you using? How many licenses are covered by your other Oracle licenses? (Remember that Java is embedded with many Oracle products.) How much of your Java usage is covered by third-party agreements from companies like SAP, Adobe, and others? Licenses used minus licenses owned equals your Java compliance position. If you don’t know your position, then you should immediately put in a plan to discover it before Oracle Sales knocks on your door.
Second, once you know your position, take steps to mitigate non-compliance and bring that number down. You’ll find Java licenses embedded in your various software contracts. You may have to make some changes to how you virtualize. (Yes, Oracle’s crazy virtualization rules can apply to Oracle Java.) You can also investigate non-Oracle Java alternatives. These are just a few of the things you can do to eliminate your Oracle Java non-compliance problem.
If you don’t know your position, and you’ve done nothing to mitigate the problem you have, then you are the perfect target for Oracle Sales. In this situation, Oracle doesn’t have to prove anything to get you paying. They simply need to get you worried and then start proposing numbers based on nothing more than what they think you’ll pay. If you don’t know how much Oracle Java you need, how does Oracle know?
Further content
Visit our timeline of changes in how Oracle licenses Java.
How we can help you
We have developed a simple, yet comprehensive approach to help you identify Java, understand what’s installed, and provide you a path to mitigate any non-compliance risk you have in your environment. Companies have used our approach to reduce fees paid to Oracle by over 90% and completely avoid those overpriced Oracle Java ULAs.