Case Study · Public Sector · Compliance

A Java estate, audit-ready year-round.

A government agency had no reliable view of where Oracle Java ran across thousands of endpoints. We helped it build a continuous compliance programme — so an Oracle Java audit would find nothing to claim.

Not an Oracle partner or reseller
100% buyer-side advisory
Money-back audit defence guarantee
340+ Java engagements
100%
Of the Oracle Java estate mapped
71%
Of installations moved to OpenJDK
0
Unlicensed Oracle Java deployments left
9,000+
Endpoints under continuous monitoring
Institutional government office building
The challenge

An estate no one could fully see.

After Oracle changed how Java SE is licensed, the agency knew it had Oracle Java installed somewhere across a large, decentralised estate — but it had no single, reliable inventory of where, which versions, or under which licence terms.

For years, individual departments had downloaded and updated Java independently. Some installations were legacy free versions, some were genuinely free under Oracle's current No-Fee Terms and Conditions, and some carried a paid-subscription obligation — but nobody could say which was which without looking.

An Oracle Java audit would have started from a position of complete uncertainty, and uncertainty is exactly what makes audit claims expensive. The agency decided not to wait to be audited. It wanted a programme that made the question answerable at any time.

Our approach

How we built the compliance programme.

1

Inventory the whole estate

We discovered every Oracle Java installation across servers and endpoints, recording version, build, and how each one came to be installed.

2

Classify each installation by licence

We determined which builds fall under the NFTC at no cost, which are legacy free versions, and which genuinely require a paid Oracle Java SE subscription.

3

Migrate non-essential workloads to OpenJDK

We moved installations that did not need Oracle Java onto a free OpenJDK distribution, shrinking the licensable footprint to a small, well-understood core.

4

Set policy and govern downloads

We put a clear Java policy in place so departments can no longer install Oracle Java unmanaged — closing the route that created the problem.

5

Stand up continuous monitoring

We established ongoing discovery so any new Oracle Java installation is caught and classified before it can become a liability — keeping the estate audit-ready every day, not just once.

The outcome

Audit-ready, and staying that way.

The agency now has a documented, current picture of its entire Oracle Java estate. With 71% of installations moved to OpenJDK, the licensable footprint is a fraction of what it was, and what remains is fully accounted for.

Most importantly, the programme is continuous. New installations are detected and classified as they appear, so the agency no longer faces an Oracle Java audit from a standing start — the answer is already written down.

Visibility

100% mapped

Every Oracle Java installation is discovered, documented, and kept current.

Footprint

71% on OpenJDK

Most installations no longer carry any Oracle subscription obligation.

Exposure

Zero gaps

No unlicensed Oracle Java deployments remain across the estate.

“We stopped guessing about Java. If Oracle audits us now, the answer is already prepared — and it stays that way without anyone scrambling.”
IT Compliance Programme Lead
Government agency

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