Deal to 'save' UK colleges £45M in Oracle Java licensing fees followed audit requests

Framework agreement may rescue some unis from 'financial abyss' after Oracle per-employee Java license, says insider

Exclusive Oracle requested Java audits with UK higher education institutions leading up to the negotiation of a national framework agreement — set to be worth up to £9.86 million ($13.33 million) — which aims to save the institutions £45 million when compared to standard commercial pricing.

Since Oracle introduced the Java SE Universal Subscription in January 2023, users have been advised to find alternatives to Big Red's runtime environments and development kits. It moved licensing of Java from a per-user basis to a per-employee basis.

Although Oracle argues it is "a simple, low-cost monthly subscription that includes Java SE Licensing and Support for use on Desktops, Servers or Cloud deployments," analysis from Gartner at the time found the per-employee subscription model to be two to five times more expensive than the legacy model.

Jisc, a provider of digital solutions for UK education and research, has negotiated a national agreement for programming and development platform Oracle Java SE. It said the deal gives institutions licensing tailored to UK education and research that saves the orgs up to £45 million compared to published single license list pricing, and also offers a waiver for potential historical licensing discrepancies.

The collective buying organization said that although Oracle Java was free for third party training in institutions, higher education establishments that are running it in internal business systems - which need long-term support - face cost and compliance challenges.

One university insider speaking to The Register said that although their institution did not use Oracle Java, a handful still did, sometimes for loosely governed "pet projects." When looking at the new licensing terms of student numbers, these customers were "staring down a financial abyss," and the Jisc agreement with Oracle offers to cap those liabilities.

Jisc said the agreement offers a flat rate per FTE annually over five years and demonstrates the benefits of a collective, sector-wide approach. It confirmed to The Register that the new licensing framework was negotiated after Oracle requested audits, including those related to Java, directly with individual institutions, although the org did not have access to the details.

Since the introduction of the new Oracle Java licensing model, user organizations have been strongly advised to move off Oracle Java and find open source alternatives for their software development and runtime environments. A survey of Oracle users found that only one in ten was likely to continue to stay with Oracle Java, in part as a result of the licensing changes.

Jisc told The Register that following Oracle's licensing model changes, its universities and colleges explored a range of options.

"However, given the complexity of existing dependencies and the risks of non-compliance, the sector determined that securing a collective agreement with Oracle was the most effective and pragmatic approach," a spokesperson said.

They said the agreement was developed in collaboration with Oracle and representative bodies including UCISA, an association representing higher and further education institutions, and the Association of Colleges Technology Reference Group over a period of 18 months.

In a prepared statement, Caren Milloy, director of licensing at Jisc, said: "As our members navigate significant financial pressures, this agreement not only reduces costs and drives efficiency, but also helps develop a constructive strategic relationship with Oracle, one of the sector's major vendors."

Georges Saab, senior vice president, Oracle Java Platform and chair, OpenJDK governing board, said: "Oracle has always supported third-party training for many Oracle products, including Oracle Java, in a free and transparent manner. Educators and students alike enjoy free access and support of Oracle Java.

"However, institutions that use Java to run their organizations enterprise systems still need commercial licensing for long-term support." He claimed: "This agreement provides tremendous value to institutions by helping assure that their licensing requirements are covered."

Last year, a report by the Office for Students (OfS) found that 40 percent of England's universities are expected to run budget deficits this year. Meanwhile, data from the University and College Union (UCU) found more than 50 universities and colleges were set to make redundancies and other cuts in 2024. ®