Java License Review

The short answer: a Java license review finds every Java installation in your company and the licence each one falls under. It tells you what you owe Oracle, if anything, before Oracle asks. That matters more each year. Since January 2023 Oracle prices Java SE per employee, and since September 2026 updates to Oracle JDK 21 (21.0.13 and later) are no longer free for production use. Most of our clients pay Oracle nothing after the review.

Impact of Java License Changes

From January 2019, Oracle changed the licensing policy around Java. And, again in January 2023, Oracle change the licensing metric for Java. From a predominantly ‘free’ Java for most use cases, Oracle Java has been migrated to a largely commercial licensing model. This has given rise to potential license non-compliance risks and brought in a new revenue stream for Oracle.

Java’s licensing maze increases costs exponentially

For enterprises worldwide, keeping up with Java licensing has become a growing headache. The pressure on customers to pay huge license fees for Java is immense adding to the challenges of an already stretched IT budget. Oracle’s recent overhaul of the Java license metric has drastically inflated the cost of Java usage, with estimates suggesting a 10-fold to 14-fold increase.

Our Java License Assessment Service & Analyzer is designed to provide customers a deep dive into current usage patterns to avoid compliance penalties.

This squeeze forces organizations to rethink their Java footprint, starting with a clear picture of their existing deployments.

Scope of Work in our Java License Assessment Service

The scope of our Java License Assessment Service includes:

• Java deployment discovery
• Data Normalization & Identifying to Oracle Java Agreements
• Contracts & Entitlement Analysis (Oracle and third party)
• Normalization with third party entitlements
• Normalization with other Oracle entitlements
• Reporting
• Negotiations and Hand Holding

Java Deployment Discovery & Raw Data Reporting

• Raw data discovery
• Support troubleshooting for the discovery
• Report Raw Deployment – with the Hostname, Path, Publisher, Version, Product information as scanned

Data Normalization & Contracts Analysis

• Process Raw Data – incl virtual env mappings
• Classify deployments into Oracle, Non-Oracle, OpenJDK and various Oracle Java agreements
• Normalization with Oracle and third-party entitlements
• Provide processed Deployment Report with Product information as scanned and thereafter Classification of Deployment

Reporting

• Determine license requirements on as is basis post completion of discovery
• Remediation and Rebalancing Recommendations
• Oracle deal structuring advisory

Negotiations & Hand-Holding

• Reviewing and drafting communication from/to Oracle
• Strategic and tactical plays for negotiations
• Reviews of commercial offers and agreement terms
• Participation in negotiations.

What is the current status in Oracle Java license audits?

We have seen formal audits of end-user companies for their use of Java since June 2022. There has also been an increase in:

• Discussions on wrong usage of Java and persuasion to purchase licenses
• Formal discussions for purchase of Java subscriptions
• Audits of third-party ISVs for their sales & sub-license of Java

Each licensing change since then has brought more installations under the paid licence, and given Oracle more to audit.

What is expected in the future?

Oracle has always created new revenue streams from older products and licensing models, and Java follows the pattern. The free period for each long-term release is now set in advance. Oracle JDK 21 updates moved from the free NFTC licence to the OTN licence after September 2026. Oracle JDK 25 is planned to follow in September 2028 (Oracle Java SE Licensing FAQ, 20 October 2026). Anyone who keeps taking Oracle’s updates on a long-term release will sooner or later need a subscription or a move to another Java build. See how the rules changed in Java license changes, year by year.

What should you do today?

Get visibility. Understanding your deployment, license rights, and alternatives.

Conduct an internal Java License review and work through the compliance issues. The review will help you explore the need to

• Procure Oracle Java licenses
• Migrate to alternative Java platforms
• Work with your third-party development teams for obtaining coverage for Java usage.

How can we help?

We have developed discovery and license normalization techniques to provide you with an enterprise-wide Java (from Oracle, Open source, IBM, RedHat, etc) deployment inventory as well as a Java ELP. Using our services, you will be able understand your exposure, if any, to Java license fees.

We will assess the deployments, estimate potential savings, analyse risks & license non-compliance exposures and recommend optimizations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why has Oracle Java licensing become a major cost issue?

Oracle changed Java licensing twice, in 2019 and again in January 2023. The 2023 change moved Java SE to a per-employee subscription. For many enterprises this multiplied Java costs overnight, even when actual Java usage had not changed. It has turned Java from a near-free utility into one of the largest Oracle line items.

How does Oracle's per-employee Java subscription work?

You pay a per-employee per-month fee multiplied by your total employee count, not your Java user count. Oracle’s definition of “employee” is broad: it includes full-time, part-time, temporary employees and most contractors. So a 10,000-person company with Java on a single server is licensed for 10,000 people, not for one.

Do we have to license everyone if only IT uses Java?

Under the per-employee subscription, yes. That is exactly Oracle’s position. The licensable count is your total organizational headcount, not your Java-user count. This is why the per-employee metric is so financially severe. The remedy is not arguing the count down. It is reducing or eliminating commercial Oracle Java in your environment.

What does Rythium's Java License Assessment cover?

Java deployment discovery across servers and endpoints, classification into Oracle commercial, Oracle non-commercial, OpenJDK and third-party distributions, normalization against your existing Oracle and third-party entitlements, license requirement determination, remediation and rebalancing recommendations, and direct support during any negotiation or audit with Oracle.
Start to finish, not just a report.

Can we migrate from Oracle Java to OpenJDK safely?

For most applications, yes. Eclipse Temurin, Amazon Corretto, Azul Zulu and Liberica are production-grade OpenJDK distributions used by major enterprises globally. Compatibility issues do exist with very old or vendor-locked applications, which is why discovery and classification come before migration.

How does Oracle find out which companies are using Java?

Oracle may use download records from oracle.com, support interactions, and commercial outreach to identify likely usage. Increasingly, Oracle also sends formal letters and email “Java reviews” asking companies to confirm usage. Once you are on Oracle’s radar, the conversation is hard to defer indefinitely.

How do we respond to an Oracle Java review email or letter?

Carefully. Do not confirm headcounts, deployment scope or compliance status without first running an internal baseline. Acknowledge the letter, request clarification on what Oracle is asking, and engage independent advisory before any data goes back. We have helped many clients respond in ways that ended the conversation without payment.

Can we continue to use older versions of Oracle Java safely?

Some are free. Oracle JDK 25, Oracle JDK 21 up to update 21.0.12 and Oracle JDK 17 up to update 17.0.12 are under Oracle’s No-Fee Terms and Conditions, which allow production use. Later updates of 21 and 17, and current updates of 11 and 8, are under the OTN licence, which does not. Staying on an old update means running without security fixes, so it is rarely a durable compliance strategy. We help clients determine which versions are genuinely free under their actual usage.

How much do clients typically save on Java through a Rythium review?

• Majority of our clients pay nothing to Oracle after the review, because they were fully licensed, or commercial usage was negligible.

• Others reduce Oracle’s asking price by 60% to 90% through a combination of remediation, OpenJDK migration and negotiation. The starting point is always a baseline of actual deployments and contracts.

Is Java covered under our Oracle ULA for other Oracle products?

Almost never. Java is licensed separately from Database, Middleware and Application ULAs. Customers often assume a ULA gives them blanket Java coverage; Oracle’s contracts almost never agree.