Tech giant Oracle recently announced that starting in January of 2019 their flagship product, Java SE, would require a license for all commercial installations going forward. Many news organizations have reported on this impending change, however not many make it clear what happens going forward. Below is a quick guide to help answer some of the questions left unanswered in many other articles.
Who Does This Affect?
Any commercial users of Java in any form. If you go to Java.com and download the latest version of what most users know as “Java” (currently Java Version 8 Update 201) and you do business, make money, and or are a commercial entity, you need to purchase a license to use Java on a per machine, per year basis.
How much does Java licensing cost?
According to our sources at Oracle, pricing for Java will start at $30 per workstation per year (for 1 – 999 workstations). Pricing is dynamic if you need to license 1000 or more workstations. Server licenses for Java will be licensed on a per core basis but pricing does not directly correspond to number of cores. An “Oracle Licensing Equation” is used to determine the licensing cost for a server to use Java. Currently at time of production, the equation is (“Number of CPU Cores” * 0.5) * $300 = Cost of Java license for your server. For example, a server with an 8 core CPU would cost $1200 for a Java license.
Who do I talk to about getting Java licenses?
Cyber Tech Cafe would be happy to assist with Java licensing, we can be contacted here. Otherwise, it is our recommendation that you reach out to your IT team / administrator and work with them to confirm what is needed regarding Java licensing. For those without a dedicated or on call IT team, we recommend reaching out to Java Sales via the chat link at the top of this page and they should be able to put you in touch with your local Oracle sales rep or alternatively we here at Cyber Tech Cafe would be glad to discuss your options with you.
Final Thoughts / Misc Information
During our research we were often told by Oracle representatives that “Java 8 Update 201 will remain free forever”. This is true, however future versions of Java will require a commercial license to download / install. The problem none of the reps we spoke with mentioned is that remaining on the current version of Java 8 Update 201, without receiving updates as they are released, is a massive security concern and should be avoided at all costs.
Cyber Tech Cafe will be reaching out to all MyIT customers with more information on Java licensing in the near future.