Azul State-of-Java-Report 2025: The role of Java in the AI sector
In the State of Java Report 2025, the Java platform Azul publishes trends in the Java world such as the use of the language in AI and platforms.
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The new State of Java 2025 report from the Java platform Azul shows a number of trends in how companies are using Java. It sheds light on the language in the field of artificial intelligence, its infrastructure and security issues.
Of the 2039 respondents, 34 percent are still developing with Java 17. 31 percent are already using the new Java 21, but older versions are also still popular: 23 percent use Java 8, the same number use Java 11 and 10 percent still use Java 6 (multiple answers were permitted). When it comes to Java offshoots, Groovy is in the lead with 36 percent, followed by Scala (35 percent) and Kotlin (33 percent). The most popular frameworks for microservices are Springboot (42 percent), Micronaut (39 percent) and DropWizzard (37 percent).
In terms of infrastructure, Spark is in first place for the first time with 35 percent. It is followed by Elastic with 29 percent and Kafka with 28 percent. The report attributes the increased use of Spark to the fact that "Spark offers speed and versatility for data analysis, machine learning and data stream processing."
Java and artificial intelligence
The growing use of Spark indicates an increased interest in artificial intelligence, although Java is not the first choice here. Only 50 percent of Java users who develop in the AI environment state that they also use Java for this purpose. 44 percent use JavaScript, 41 percent Python and 41 percent C/C++. The most popular Java libraries for AI projects are JavaML (48 percent), Deep Java Library (30 percent), OpenCL (25 percent) and PyTorch (21 percent). 37 percent of respondents need to expand their IT resources because of AI.
In the area of security, 41 percent of respondents find critical incidents in Java applications or the associated infrastructure at least once a week. 49 percent still fear problems with Log4J.
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As a direct competitor to Oracle Java, Azul asked Oracle users if they were considering switching to a Java alternative (such as Azul). 88 percent said yes, citing cost (42 percent), a preference for open source (OpenJDK, 40 percent) and "Oracle Sales Tactics" (37 percent) as reasons, with multiple responses allowed. Users of Java 17 are particularly concerned, as free support for this will expire in October 2024. Oracle's controversial pricing model stipulates that companies pay per employee in total – not just per Java user –.
Overall, the report concludes: Even after thirty years, "Java continues to innovate, adapt and lead in the ever-changing world of software development". The opinion research institute Dimensional Research conducted the non-representative study on behalf of Azul among 2039 Java users – developers and management – worldwide. Over 85 percent of them work in companies with over 1000 employees, 29 percent directly in the IT sector.
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