Java: Oracle's Four-Letter Word

Java. A four-letter word. I've consulted with 1,000+ companies since Oracle announced charging for #Java in 2018. There has been one organization … ONE … that the egregious Employee metric made any sense for: an extensive portfolio of home-grown applications that all employees require mission critical access to.

I haven't been shy about calling Oracle Java an extortion racket. What amazes me is that it continues. This means unsuspecting customers continue to respond and pay. Otherwise, Oracle wouldn't continue its push, including the opportunity cost of an annoying overlay on their actual Tech and Cloud sales motions.

If you've read this far, then I'll say it: it is no longer Oracle's fault that companies are overpaying for Java. Indeed, the following saying in Texas, and perhaps Tennessee applies: "Fool me once, shame on… shame on you. Fool me…

…you can't get fooled again."

So… this post is my annual, obligatory plea to the market that friends don't let friends pay for Oracle Java. For eff sake: if you are in the throes of an Oracle Java shakedown, then schedule a five-minute discussion with me (or someone like me), and bring your lawyer so we can let them in on the joke.

G-Dubya's classic Bushism here.