Case Study · Manufacturing · Compliance

An exposed Java estate, remediated before the audit.

A global manufacturer suspected it had Oracle Java licensing gaps but had no central view. We catalogued every install across 18 sites and closed each gap before an audit could find it.

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340+ Java engagements
18
Sites assessed
600+
Java installs catalogued
100%
Of gaps remediated
0
Audit surprises remaining
Engineer reviewing software on a laptop
The challenge

Growth by acquisition, Java with no record.

The manufacturer had grown by acquisition, and Oracle Java had arrived with it — different versions, different download sources, and no central record. Plant systems, engineering applications, and back-office tools all ran Java, but nobody could say with confidence which installs were licensed and which were not.

The mix was exactly the kind that creates exposure: legacy Java 8 builds from the BCL era, Java downloaded under the OTN agreement, newer Java 17 under the NFTC, and Java bundled inside other software. Some of that is free to use; some is not. Without knowing which was which, the manufacturer could not answer a simple question — are we compliant?

Rather than wait for an Oracle audit to answer it for them, the manufacturer chose to find out first.

Our approach

How we made the estate visible and compliant.

1

Discover every Java install

We scanned all 18 sites and built a single catalogue of every Oracle JDK and Java SE deployment, with version, source, and the application it served.

2

Classify each install by licence

Every install was mapped to its governing licence — BCL, OTN, NFTC, subscription, or a free OpenJDK build — to separate genuine exposure from non-issues.

3

Remove and replace where Java is free

Where a no-cost option existed — an OpenJDK build or a free-to-use Oracle edition — we replaced the licensable install entirely.

4

Right-size the subscription

For the small remainder that genuinely required it, we sized a Java SE Subscription to actual, in-scope usage — not to the whole estate.

5

Document the compliant position

We delivered a written, evidenced compliance record the manufacturer can stand behind if Oracle ever asks.

The outcome

Compliant, documented, and monitored.

Every licensing gap the assessment found was closed. The manufacturer moved from not knowing where it stood to holding a complete, documented, defensible Oracle Java compliance position.

Crucially, it did so on its own timetable and at its own cost — remediation chosen in advance is always cheaper than a claim negotiated under an audit deadline. Ongoing monitoring now keeps the estate compliant as it changes.

Result

Fully compliant

Every Oracle Java licensing gap identified in the assessment was closed.

Visibility

One catalogue

600+ installs across 18 sites are now recorded in a single source of truth.

Control

On our terms

Remediation happened on the manufacturer's timetable, not under an audit deadline.

“We would much rather find our own problems than have Oracle find them for us. It cost far less, and there is nothing left to be surprised by.”
Global IT Asset Manager
Global manufacturing group

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