The Hidden Cost of Java: How Licensing Changes Are Creating New Risks

In recent months, we’ve seen many customers move to Pentaho 10.2 Enterprise Edition to “remove some of the open-source risks” that they have been managing for the last few years. While this is not a new topic, it’s certainly one that open-source users need to monitor consistently. Underlying components regularly shift, and what has worked for years can suddenly create a problem from both a licensing and a security perspective.  

For example, Pentaho Community Edition version 9.3 was released on Java 11. Prior CE versions utilized Java 8. While Java remains a stable platform, recent policy changes require additional engineering and compliance attention. Accordingly, we’ve made updates to run on Java 17 in our Enterprise Edition.  

With the recent changes to Oracle’s support policy for the related Java SE toolkits the legacy environments our customers may have relied on are now outside of commercial terms. Continued usage could result in either audit costs or related support fees, which is why we are encouraging those concerned about these risks to upgrade to our Pentaho Enterprise Edition. 

Java Changes and Escalating Costs 

Since 2019, there have been at least five large changes to the Java ecosystem. During that time, the license agreement type under which Oracle licenses different Java releases has changed three times. The required subscription if you’re using the Oracle SE Java JDK has changed twice. The old Oracle Java SE subscription (tied to the count of Java developers) has been replaced by the more broad-based Java SE Universal Subscription. The Universal Subscription price is now pegged to the size of your company, all employees and contractors, and it costs significantly more.  

With the risk of rising costs and license confusion, everyone needs to ask: How is my company managing its Java tools and environments given the seismic changes? Are we at risk? What will it cost us? 

How Pentaho Helps Mitigate Risks (and costs!) 

At Pentaho, our approach has been Bring your own Java JDK. We support multiple flavors and test them. There are many open-source JDK alternatives that our Pentaho team tests in our QA processes. The options range from Open JDK, Eclipse Temurin, Azul Zulu, Red Hat Open JDK.  

If you are using the Oracle JDK in production, you need to be aware of the following: 

1. While Java 8 and 11 are still being patched for personal development, they may not be used for commercial use without a subscription. Oracle ended support for Java 8 in 2019 and Java 11 in September 2024. 

1. Oracle’s No-Fee Terms and Conditions (NFTC) means that usage of the Oracle JDK is not “free forever.” Instead, “free for now” and only for defined LTS periods of time. 

1. Security updates provided under the NFTC have a limited window. We encourage users to monitor closely the LTS policy. Make sure you understand Java 17 and 21 timelines. 

1. Running Oracle JDK in production, without an active subscription, not only creates a licensing risk but a potential audit and security liability. 

This is all a healthy reminder that a quick internal check can reveal if Oracle JDK usage is still ongoing and worth the risks outlined here. Shifting to a certified open-JDK standard can leverage the options available in the Pentaho Enterprise release. This not only creates operational predictability, but it helps support alignment with key security requirements including NIST SP 800‑53 (controls SI‑2 and CM‑6) and the HIPAA Security Rule [45 CFR § 164.308(a)(1)]. 

Investments in open-source resources change over time. What was once a cost-saving strategy may easily morph into a costly headache. Remove the hidden risk of open source by moving to a Pentaho Enterprise Edition. Our team of experts will help you protect your investment in data management. 

Disclaimer: The following does not constitute compliance advice. It is provided for informational purposes only. Customers are solely responsible for understanding their unique needs according to their organizational requirements. This is not legal advice and is based on November 2025 publicly available information.