The Java migration imperative: Why your business should upgrade now

Applications are the backbone of modern business. And when it comes to building enterprise applications, Java has made a name for itself as the Swiss Army Knife of programming languages. Its “write once, run anywhere” philosophy has driven widespread adoption and established the platform as the backbone of enterprise applications. In fact, 50% of today’s enterprise apps are Java-based – meaning most of today’s businesses rely on Java in some shape or form.

But of the millions of applications running on Java today, more than half are using Java 11 in production and nearly 33% are using Java 8, which was released a decade ago. A significant portion of companies, then, are running their businesses on top of apps built with archaic versions of this development ecosystem.

Alarm bells should be ringing for IT Leaders

This should be alarming to IT leaders. After all, the nature of software is that it’s changeable and designed to improve in lockstep with underlying hardware advancements. Java 22, for example, is the most current version and is more secure, more operations-friendly, more performant, and more memory efficient. However, to truly take advantage of modern Java, apps built for the ecosystem must be constantly maintained to maximize performance and minimize exposure to risks and security vulnerabilities.

Unfortunately, many teams are still firmly focused on building and deploying new, innovative features for business stakeholders rather than the technical maintenance of keeping underlying apps current. That’s echoed by VMware’s latest State of Spring report, which revealed that the leading impediments to upgrading to a newer version of Spring Boot (the most common Java development framework) are an inability to prioritize it (46%) and a lack of motivation to do so because the current environment is working well (51%). The downside here is that while an application may run well enough on older versions, businesses with upgrade inertia are leaving themselves both vulnerable to the pitfalls of old software and unable to tap into the cost savings and improved performance that can better position them for success in competitive markets.

The speed of business has changed, and it’s only getting faster. To avoid falling further behind the pace of technological and business innovation, it’s imperative for businesses and IT leaders to consider Java migration a strategic priority, and begin planning for and executing a systematic upgrade process to modernize their Java app ecosystem.

Is the juice really worth the squeeze?

The biggest sticking point for leaders in deciding whether to embark on this journey is the perceived time and money required. The reality is that there is no better ROI than being on the latest version of any given software. And it’s not just a matter of staying up-to-date. Upgrading ensures the improved security, performance, and agility of the business’s software infrastructure, which in turn, drives meaningful cost savings over the entire lifecycle of every application.

Security is perhaps the biggest area of vulnerability (especially for organizations in regulated industries, where secure software is non-negotiable). Generally, as vulnerabilities are identified in any software or programming languages, patches are issued to plug the hole and mitigate risk. However, in the case of older software, eventually, the provider will end support for certain versions which includes an end to ongoing security patches, small updates, and general technical support. Java 8, for example, is no longer receiving Long Term Support from Oracle. So for the 33% of companies still running that version, applications are now more exposed to data leaks or other security issues that increase the likelihood of a business winding up on the front page of the news for the wrong reasons. Upgrading delivers security features that will help to protect users’ data and ensure the integrity and reliability of Java applications.

That said, performance is arguably the more compelling reason to migrate to a newer version. As capabilities across the hardware stack advance so too will the software functionality that’s built on top. With the improved performance of Java versions 17 and beyond, software applications can handle larger workloads more efficiently, leading to faster response times and superior user experiences. Add to that: a reduced infrastructure footprint translates to lower hardware requirements and minimized operational expenses, which in turn supports cost optimization and resource efficiency that make a meaningful difference to an organization’s bottom line.

As an example: imagine that a company recently ran an application that required 1GB of memory per instance prior to upgrading to Java 17 and after upgrading, those instances only needed 400MB. This company unlocked a savings of 60% on their original infrastructure spend – and that savings is gained every day, week, and month going forward as this app runs more efficiently. These are meaningful and, more importantly, long-lasting gains achieved by upgrading just one primary application.

Not only are companies saving money on cloud and infrastructure spend, but these are now more efficient, high-performing apps. Netflix, as another example, recently migrated its apps to Java 17 and has already realized a 15 percent voluntary adoption rate, significant cost savings, and streamlined operations. Requiring less memory translates to faster start times, which in turn can translate to greater support of high-demand moments like Black Friday or open enrollment. This is great news for leaders seeking to optimize their infrastructure spend while also positioning their organization to increase its competitive advantages.

In short, businesses that aren’t considering an upgrade to newer versions of Java are losing out on greater performance benefits, cost savings from smaller infrastructure footprints, and enhanced security features. And at the same time that company A is delaying migration and the realization of these benefits, competitor B might be making upgrades a priority. The technological gap between these two organizations will get wider quickly. The juice is absolutely worth the squeeze.

It’s prime time to migrate

At some point, organizations will need to evolve the way they do things to keep pace with the rate of change in the industry. Upgrading doesn’t have to be overly complex; in fact, setting a goal to migrate apps to more current versions of Java can even be a motivator for developers. The reduced complexity, efficiency, and improved performance of apps running on updated versions help developers increase their own productivity, and encourage them to build new and innovative solutions. And frameworks like Spring and Spring Boot, for example, make programming Java quicker, easier, and safer for everybody. Spring’s focus on speed, simplicity, and productivity has made it the world’s most popular Java framework (46% of all enterprise workloads use the Spring Framework) and empowers teams to significantly streamline how they build high-performing, cost-effective apps going forward.

For businesses that want to start down this path, it’s best to identify the apps that are easiest to upgrade first – like apps that can be upgraded with available OpenRewrite recipes, or that don’t have breaking changes between versions. Save the apps that are likely to be more challenging for last – but use those as a learning opportunity. Teams might run into apps that have multiple third-party dependencies, for example, and those dependencies may have also reached end-of-life status. Find and identify the replacements for those dependencies and then apply them at scale across other applications.

There will certainly be apps that can’t technically make the jump right now – but the large majority of them can and should. This vetting and tiered migration process will ultimately prove to be a crash course in the nuances of continuous migration, empowering teams to execute this more seamlessly in lockstep with the regular releases of Java versions going forward. 

Final thoughts

Some of the world’s largest companies use Java for mission-critical applications. But the very nature of software is that it’s dynamic and changes over time. And although a recent survey revealed that developers expect their companies to both increase their investments in Java-specific development tools and expand their Java developer recruitment efforts in the year ahead, many are still propped up on a Java edition released in 2014.

It’s imperative that businesses acknowledge the need to ensure these mission-critical apps benefit from continuously upgraded underlying software. At the end of the day, migrating to newer versions of Java is a strategic imperative to drive innovation, enhance competitiveness, attract leading developer talent, and maximize cost-effectiveness in today’s dynamic business landscape.

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