Why Azul Payara

The commercial Jakarta EE runtime from the company that also builds your JDK. One vendor across the stack, transparent per-vCore pricing, and a security program you can put in front of an auditor.

Modernize without the rewrite

Most of what a rewrite targets is the deployment shape, not the business logic. The rewrite alternative runs a median of $1.2 million and 18 months per portfolio, with a 30 percent overrun rate (Modernization Intel, 142 verified projects).

The existing application lifts and shifts to the namespace-matched Azul Payara version in days to weeks

Runs in containers on any Kubernetes distribution, and keeps its standards portability

On Azul Payara Micro: java -jar payara-micro.jar –deploy your-app.war, starting in two to five seconds

Audit-defensible security

When a critical CVE lands, the question is how fast the patch reaches production. The patch evidence an auditor asks for is already on the calendar.

Registered CVE Numbering Authority under CISA and DHS oversight (Oracle, IBM, and Red Hat also hold CNA status; the differentiator is the cadence and the backporting)

Security patches monthly on a published calendar, across every supported major version at once

Multi-phase lifecycle per major release

Built-in security: authentication, authorization, identity stores, identity propagation, TLS 1.3, data grid encryption, security auditing

AI-ready on the stack already in production

Jakarta EE 11 adds the two capabilities a Java-native AI workload needs. The existing application hosts the AI feature, with no second runtime added to operations.

Jakarta Concurrency 3.1: container-managed virtual threads for high-concurrency model calls

Jakarta Data 1.0: repository layer for the vector and relational data that retrieval-augmented generation uses

One vendor for the runtime and the JDK

Azul Payara runs on Azul Core, Azul’s supported builds of OpenJDK (includes Azul Zulu). One vendor, so an incident spanning the JVM and the server above it stays on one escalation path.

Azul Core is a separate Azul product, not bundled into the runtime artifact

Certified through the OpenJDK TCK, with builds for Java SE 21 and 25 (LTS)

Azul Payara also runs on any compatible JDK; choosing Azul Core puts the full stack with a single vendor

For organizations that already moved Java SE to Azul, this completes the Oracle exit one layer up

Customer	Outcome
Rakuten Card	99.9999% middleware availability
BMW Group	55 to 80% reduction in commercial application server support costs
Hermes (Evri)	Migration 100 days ahead of schedule; 30% performance improvement; 30% fewer instances
Setar	Migrated mission-critical systems with no major code rewrites
US Coast Guard	Federal mission-critical production systems on Azul Payara

Incumbent	Target Azul Payara	Why teams move
Oracle WebLogic 14.1.2 (javax)	5	Same namespace, no rewrite; core-factor licensing and audit exposure on WebLogic
Oracle WebLogic 15.1.1	6	Two spec versions behind; same licensing and audit model
IBM WebSphere tWAS V9	5	Frozen at Java EE 7; no v10; PVU plus mandatory ILMT
IBM WebSphere Liberty	7	VPC licensing with mandatory ILMT compliance tooling; built-in Hazelcast data grid; runs on any Kubernetes
Red Hat JBoss EAP 7	5	Maintenance Support ended June 30, 2025; same namespace as Payara 5, no rewrite
Red Hat JBoss EAP 8	6	MicroProfile via separate EAP XP; Azul Payara 6 includes it, runs on any Kubernetes
Eclipse GlassFish 7 / 8	6 / 7	Same asadmin CLI and domain model; commercial support and patch SLA
WildFly 39 / 40	6 / 7	Community-only; commercial support and monthly patches without buying a separate product
Apache Tomcat / TomEE	6 / 7	Servlet container, not an application server; integrated specs on one lifecycle
Spring Boot rewrite	6 / 7	Framework, not a runtime; the existing archive deploys unchanged; the rewrite is the cost

Next Steps

Free portfolio assessment

A workshop that maps your current configurations to Azul Payara equivalents and produces a phased migration plan with realistic timelines. No commercial commitment.

Same-day proof of concept

Deploy one existing application on Azul Payara Server or Azul Payara Micro and verify identical behavior.

Parallel proof of concept during your current renewal term

Run Azul Payara alongside the existing platform, so the renewal decision rests on data from your own code.

Having commercial support from Payara, who own the codebase, really takes open-source to the next level. They validated our configuration, made recommendations for improvement, and gave us confidence we were getting the most out of the product and making the best decisions from the start.

Neil Openshaw, Senior Manager Software Engineer

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Book a free consultation

A free 20-to-30-minute session with an Azul Payara specialist. Get advice on your current Java environment, guidance on performance, or cloud-native adoption, and a clear roadmap for next steps.