The 2025 Azul State of Java survey, conducted in partnership with Dimensional Research, revealed that 99% of respondents actively use Java, and 88% are considering a switch to open source alternatives. Oracle’s 2023 decision to implement an employee-based pricing model has accelerated this trend. Azul CEO and Co-Founder Scott Sellers explains that the new model, which charges enterprises based on total employee and contractor count rather than Java usage, has been widely criticized. This is driving companies toward alternatives like Azul’s distributions.

The survey provides key insights into Java usage, developer challenges, and industry trends. With responses from over 2,000 professionals, the survey highlights Java’s widespread adoption, shifting preferences toward open-source alternatives, security concerns, and cloud cost inefficiencies.

Security remains a major issue, with 49% of respondents still dealing with Log4j security vulnerabilities. Additionally, 33% report spending over half their time chasing false positive security alerts, while 41% encounter critical production security issues weekly or daily. Sellers emphasizes the urgent need for better security tools that help developers focus on real threats rather than unnecessary alerts. Sellers says, “If developers are spending time getting their applications to upgrade areas in their code that actually are not truly vulnerable, that’s certainly a waste of time.”

Java’s role in cloud computing is another key trend identified in the survey, with 65% of cloud compute bills tied to Java workloads. Despite this, over 70% of respondents indicate that at least 20% of their cloud capacity remains unused, leading to inefficiencies and unnecessary costs. Sellers notes that companies are increasingly adopting FinOps strategies, modern processors, and high-performance Java runtimes to optimize their cloud spending.

Emerging technologies are also shaping Java’s future, with over 50% of developers reporting that they use Java for AI and machine learning applications. Despite Python’s dominance in AI, the findings indicate that Java remains relevant, particularly due to its evolving integration with GPU libraries and improved efficiency for AI model training and inference. AI-related workloads are expected to drive further increases in cloud spending, making performance optimization a priority.

The survey underscores the need for enhanced developer productivity tools. Azul’s Intelligence Cloud aims to address this challenge by reducing false positive security alerts and identifying unused code. By focusing on vulnerabilities that are actively used in production, the tool helps developers avoid unnecessary fixes. It also allows teams to optimize their codebase, ensuring that developers spend less time maintaining non-essential components and more time on impactful work.

The findings underscore the importance of improved security management, cost-efficient cloud usage, and enhanced developer productivity. As Java continues to evolve in AI and cloud computing, organizations must implement solutions that optimize performance, reduce waste, and mitigate security risks.

Guest: Scott Sellers (LinkedIn) 
Company: Azul
Show: Java Reloaded

This summary was written by Emily Nicholls.