Oracle’s new Java subscription model to cost a lot more: Gartner

Oracle’s new Java subscription licensing model could cost new and existing customers significantly more, according to a research article by market research firm Gartner.

On January 23, Oracle replaced its previous Java SE and Java SE Desktop subscription with a new Java SE Universal subscription that changes the licensing model to a per-employee metric for licenses that were based on number of processors and named users. .

The software giant defines a named user plus as a person authorized by a company to use the programs, which are installed on a single server or multiple servers, regardless of whether the person is actively using the programs at any given time. A non-human user is also counted as a named user plus.

The company counts any processors that run Oracle programs as “processors,” and these processors, in turn, can be accessed by internal users of a company.

This change in the licensing model is expected to increase the subscription cost, according to the Gartner report.

“The cost of Java SE Universal Subscription may be higher than Legacy Java SE Subscription and Java SE Desktop Subscription due to the impact of the Employee metric,” the report says.

The shift to the employee metric could lead to higher costs for businesses, as the new Java SE Universal Subscription requires a license for all employees in an organization, regardless of whether they use Oracle, the report explains.

Oracle also counts temporary employees, contractors, and agents as part of the employee metric.

Subscription under the new Universal scheme is $15 per employee per month compared to $2.50 per named user plus/desktop per month and $25 per processor per month.

Oracle tracks employee metrics in licensing models, even for other products, such as E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, and Fusion Cloud, such as HCM (Human Capital Management).

Oracle will vigorously pursue license compliance

The market research firm expects Oracle to vigorously pursue license compliance.

“Based on interactions with Gartner customers, Oracle is actively engaging organizations—both existing Oracle customers and non-Oracle customers—on Java compliance, and is deploying its global Java Licensing team. to enforce compliance,” the report read.

By calendar year 2022, 52% of Oracle software audit and compliance-related interactions were focused on Oracle Java, according to Gartner.

It’s unclear what businesses using the legacy Java subscription can expect in terms of renewal fees and renewal time, the market research firm added.