Analyst Gartner has warned that Oracle will target organisations on Java compliance.
Big G said that in the 12 months leading up to 31 December 2022, half of the Oracle software compliance and audit-related interactions focused on Oracle Java. In 2023 following some recent licensing changes mean that this will become an issue.
In 23 January 2023, Oracle introduced changes to Java SE licensing. Unlike the previous Java SE licence, which was measured either per named user or per processor basis, the new subscription includes usage across desktops, servers and third-party cloud deployments.
Gartner said the new Oracle Java SE Universal Subscription means every person employed in an organisation where Java SE is deployed is counted for the purpose of the subscription.
Many companies will suddenly find themselves with huge bills. According to Gartner, in an organisation with 45,000 employees of which 40,000 are full-time, part-time and temporary staff, and 5,000 are agents, contractors and consultants, the company will require 45,000 licences. This results in an annual bill of $2.8 million.
The Java SE Universal Subscription fee starts at $15 per employee per month. While the Java SE Desktop Subscription started at $2.50 per named user or desktop per month and the Java SE Subscription started at $25 per processor per month, Gartner warned that the Java SE Universal Subscription fee starts at $15 per employee per month.
Companies with large numbers of employees where only a small proportion are licensed to use Java SE software may find their annual licence fee increase dramatically.
In a report exploring the implications of the licensing scheme, Gartner said: “According to Gartner client interactions, Oracle actively targets organisations – both existing Oracle customers and those with no Oracle products – on Java compliance, and deploys its global Java licensing team to enforce compliance.”
