Just when you thought it was safe to deploy Java SE on your subscription-licensed server, Oracle has changed the rules (again).  As of today (January 23, 2023), Oracle has overhauled its Java SE subscription plan making the use of Java potentially far more expensive for organizations than the previous plan.

The new Oracle Java SE Universal Subscription Global Price List has almost completely eliminated the ability to count physical Processors on which Java is “installed and/or running” (unless you happen to have more than 50,000 Processors, not counting desktops, on which Java is installed) for your subscription, and changed the metric to “Employee.” They further define Employee as:

1. “all of Your full-time, part-time, temporary employees”, AND
2. “all of the full-time employees, part-time employees, and temporary employees of your agents, contractors, outsourcers, and consultants that support Your internal business operations.”

What this means for your organization is that regardless of your Java users or server footprint, you now must count every employee, contractor, consultant, and agent to determine your Java subscription bill. You are potentially on the hook for a massive subscription fee increase that may have very little benefit to your operation.