The University of Southern Queensland faced a major budget challenge when Oracle changed its Java licensing model in 2023 to one based on “employees” that could include:
– 100 people on staff
– 12,000 students
– Any part-time employees, temporary employees, contractors, outsourcers, agents, and consultants
This change would potentially increase the university’s Java costs by around half a million Australian dollars, or 60%, annually. “A 60% license cost increase just didn’t sit well with us,” says Andrew Yong, Manager of Enterprise Applications at UniSQ. “There are countless ways we could use those funds to support our students.”
While they hadn’t yet been engaged in an Oracle audit, Andrew and his team were increasingly concerned about compliance risk and cost uncertainty. They needed a simpler, more transparent solution that could scale affordably and be trusted across a wide range of campus systems, from development environments to legacy desktop applications.
The university considered a free distribution of OpenJDK, the open-source version of Java—which comes without support—but determined that expert third-party support would be necessary to ensure a smooth migration, proper management of security updates, and professional help in troubleshooting and problem-solving issues going forward.
Azul offered a compelling alternative to Oracle Java: Azul Platform Core, which is a leading OpenJDK solution that provides:
– Functional equivalence to Oracle Java SE
– License costs that are typically 70% less than Oracle Java
– Equivalent service offerings, which meant that UniSQ didn’t need to change its existing JDK upgrade/patching processes.
But what sealed the deal for management was Azul’s flexible, cost-effective licensing model with unlimited student access, clear pricing, and robust support. Working closely with Azul’s client services team, UniSQ executed a seamless migration from Oracle Java in only two weeks.
Instead of pursuing a complex replacement and removal strategy for Oracle Java, the team decided to block future downloads of Oracle Java at their firewall, which allowed them to phase in Azul Platform Core with minimal disruption and assure that they do not introduce unlicensed versions of Oracle Java into their environment. Trusted advisory support from Azul helped ensure that UniSQ’s Oracle implementation, as well as other essential Java-based applications, continue to function as needed.
Completed migration in just two weeks.
Successfully upgraded over 1,000 desktop applications.
Minimal disruption to developers and IT staff.
Eliminated Oracle Java licensing risk and audit anxiety.
Avoided a Java cost increase of $500,000, a 60% annual increase over its prior Oracle Java licensing agreement.
For universities concerned with the possibility of an Oracle audit and considering a switch from Oracle Java, I’d say: Just call Azul. The surprisingly smooth transition to Azul Platform Core across more than 1,000 applications took only two weeks and will save us over half a million dollars annually.
