Ausgrid cuts Java licensing costs by 80% with Azul migration

Ausgrid, Australia's largest electricity distributor, has shifted its entire Java estate from Oracle to Azul Platform Core. The move, completed in two months, is expected to cut potential Java licensing costs by 80% and reduce Java-related security vulnerabilities by 99%.

Licence exposure

Ausgrid provides electricity to more than 1.8 million homes and businesses across Sydney, the Central Coast, and the Hunter regions of New South Wales. The organisation relies on hundreds of applications, with some maintained by teams outside the technology group.

During a recent Windows 11 upgrade, Ausgrid discovered widespread reliance on various Oracle Java versions, especially in applications outside direct IT oversight. Shortly thereafter, Oracle altered its licensing terms, shifting from an instance-based to an employee headcount-based model. This meant even single instances of Oracle Java could trigger large-scale licensing fees applying to all employees, contractors, and consultants.

For Ausgrid, that model could have meant over USD $500,000 in licensing costs annually if sustained. Faced with these financial consequences and compliance risks, Ausgrid sought an alternative.

"Oracle's license subscription model was very aggressive, and I was aware of their ability to move the goalposts again at any time," said Glen Parker, Senior Partner Solutions Manager, Ausgrid.

Security reduction

In addition to the potential billing exposure, an internal review found Oracle Java contributed significantly to the company's cyber vulnerability footprint. Ausgrid required a solution to both secure consistent licensing and address operational security issues-while also ensuring the platform's reliability for existing business critical software.

The company was referred to Azul Platform Core, an OpenJDK-based Java solution, by a technology partner. To mitigate risk, three proof-of-concept deployments tested compatibility and performance across different application and device environments.

These proofs gave Ausgrid confidence to proceed with a full migration, which was completed without disrupting operations.

"The Azul Platform Core POCs gave us confidence that migrating to an OpenJDK alternative was the right approach," said Parker. "We saw first-hand that moving off Oracle Java wouldn't cause any disruption, which was an important milestone in our evaluation. In addition, we were able to reduce our large volume of outstanding Java-related vulnerabilities by 99%. With Azul Platform Core, we now have a modern, well-supported Java platform with clear, predictable licensing - and the confidence of knowing we'll be covered in the event Oracle comes knocking to perform an audit of our Java usage."

Compliance addressed

The end-to-end migration to Azul Platform Core allowed Ausgrid to standardise its Java platform. This resolved both licensing compliance matters and improved overall IT security posture. Java platform management and updates are now centralised, which simplifies long-term administration of enterprise applications, including legacy software maintained by different internal groups.

The project preserved the stability of applications during the transition, which the company said was a key aspect of its IT operations and service continuity.

"Ausgrid's proactive approach shows how critical it is for enterprises to address Java licensing and security risks before they become compliance crises," said Dean Vaughan, Vice President of APAC, Azul.