Published on march 23, 2023
Oracle Java SE licensees may continue with their per-processor or per-user plans and do not have to switch to the new per-employee subscription plan.
The current Oracle Java SE licensees are not required to move to the controversial new Java subscription plan, which charges based on the number of employees rather than the number of actual Java users. As usual, they will continue to provide Java SE licenses and related support services.
In an interview last week, Oracle senior vice president of development Georges Saab, stated that Oracle continues to offer the former Java SE licenses based on the number of processors or users. While Oracle offers per-employee licensing for new customers, Oracle continues to offer the previous Java SE licenses, which are based on the number of users or processors.
“It is up to the existing customers to make a choice,” Saab explained. Historically, customers have been able to renew under the same terms. As of January 23, 2023, the Java SE Universal Subscription will replace the legacy Java SE Subscription and Java SE Desktop Subscription plans. “Customers of the legacy Java SE Subscription products will continue to receive all the original benefits and may renew under their existing terms and metrics,” Oracle’s FAQ states.
Oracle’s Universal plan raised concerns about the potential for significantly higher licensing costs. Saab defended the plan by stating that some customers requested a simpler method of determining licensing costs than counting the number of processors or named users. “They wanted something that would be easier for them to count,” said Saab.
Oracle competitors claim to be benefiting from Oracle’s new licensing model even though some Oracle customers have switched to the new employee-based metric. Temurin Java, for example, has seen a surge in downloads from the Eclipse Foundation. Over 10,000 customers have subscribed to Oracle’s Java distribution, which includes support and updates.
