Java's Pragmatic Turn: Why 'Codeless Migration' Is Winning Over Cloud-Native Rewrites

The recent news that Payara and Azul have formed a strategic partnership to deliver "codeless migrations" represents more than just another vendor alliance. It's a glimpse into how the Java world is adapting to the cloud-native imperative while acknowledging a fundamental truth: most enterprises want to modernize without the pain of rewriting code.

The Lift-and-Shift Reality
The Payara-Azul partnership centers on combining Payara Qube with Azul Platform Prime to create what they're calling a "codeless, lift-and-shift migration solution." The promise is seductive: move your Java applications to Kubernetes-native environments with improved performance and lower costs, all "without changing a single line of code."

"This partnership between Payara and Azul isn't just a collaboration — it's a game-changer for Kubernetes-native Java application deployment," said Steve Millidge, founder and CEO of Payara, in a statement. "Azul Platform Prime brings unmatched performance and efficiency to Payara Qube's revolutionary Java platform. Together, we're redefining how enterprises run Java—faster, more securely, and with dramatically lower cloud costs, all without the usual complexity of containerized environments."

Scott Sellers, co-founder and CEO at Azul, echoed the sentiment: "By integrating Azul Platform Prime with Payara Qube, enterprise customers can quickly modernize their Java applications with codeless, lift-and-shift migrations that ensure the highest performance, best security and lowest cost of ownership, all without changing a single line of code."

The timing isn't coincidental. This partnership announcement comes amid a broader pattern of Azul forming strategic alliances that address different aspects of the Java migration challenge.

A Multi-Pronged Strategy
Just days after the Payara news, Azul announced a partnership with RapidFort aimed at delivering "near-zero CVE enterprise grade Java container images"—in other words, containerized Java runtime environments that have been hardened to minimize security vulnerabilities. (Just to clarify, "Near-Zero CVE" means the container images have been optimized to contain almost no known security vulnerabilities.) This collaboration tackles the security dimension of Java modernization, a critical concern as organizations face mounting pressure to secure their software supply chains.

According to Verizon's 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, the exploitation of vulnerabilities (CVEs) has seen another year of growth and will surpass credential abuse as the #1 security attack vector by 2026. The Azul-RapidFort partnership directly addresses this challenge by combining RapidFort's container optimization technology with Azul's runtime platforms to create hardened Java containers that "reduce vulnerabilities by up to 90%."

"Enterprises are drowning in security vulnerabilities and patches," said Mehran Farimani, founder and CEO of RapidFort, in a statement. "Our partnership with Azul allows us to provide customers with hardened container images that are not only more secure by design but require significantly less ongoing maintenance. This is a game-changer for organizations looking to strengthen their security posture while reducing operational overhead."

Possibly even more telling is Azul's expanded partnership with OpenValue, which now includes "Java migration guarantees" available globally. This represents perhaps the most pragmatic acknowledgment of market reality: enterprises need assurance that their Java migrations will be "delivered on time and within budget, minimizing risk and ensuring predictable outcomes."

Robert Bruinink, CEO of OpenValue Services, explained the market dynamics in the company blog: "The demand for guaranteed Java migration services continues to accelerate in both Europe and North America. By expanding our strategic partnership with Azul, we can offer customers a proven path to move away from expensive, restrictive Oracle Java—while guaranteeing that migrations will be completed on time and on budget."

Reading the Tea Leaves
What's particularly interesting about these partnerships is how they collectively address the three primary barriers to Java modernization: complexity, security, and risk.

The Payara partnership tackles complexity by promising codeless migrations. The RapidFort alliance addresses security concerns with hardened container images. The OpenValue expansion mitigates risk through guaranteed migration outcomes.

This isn't just smart partnering—it's a reflection of market maturity. The Java ecosystem has moved beyond the "rip and replace" mentality that dominated early cloud-native discussions. Instead, vendors are acknowledging that most enterprises have significant Java investments they want to preserve while gaining cloud benefits.

The focus on "codeless" migrations is particularly revealing. It suggests that after years of cloud-native evangelism, the market has settled on a more pragmatic approach. Rather than forcing organizations to rewrite applications for cloud-native patterns, vendors are meeting them where they are.

The Oracle Shadow
Although none of these announcements explicitly mention Oracle, the subtext is clear (to me at least). Each partnership includes language about moving away from "expensive, restrictive" licensing models—a not-so-subtle reference to Oracle's Java licensing changes that have driven many organizations to seek alternatives.

Simon Taylor, vice president of Global Partners and Alliances at Azul, framed it diplomatically: "OpenValue's Java migration guarantee is a game-changer, giving enterprises the confidence to modernize their Java estates with clear expectations and no surprises."

The competitive dynamics are fascinating. Rather than competing directly with Oracle on features, Azul is building an ecosystem that makes migration away from Oracle Java as painless as possible. It's a classic disruption strategy: compete on convenience and cost rather than raw capability.

What This Means
These partnerships signal a broader shift in how the Java ecosystem approaches modernization. The focus has moved from revolutionary change to evolutionary improvement. Organizations can modernize their Java deployments without the trauma of major rewrites, while vendors build sustainable businesses around migration services and ongoing support.

For enterprises, this represents a welcome maturation of the market. The promise of maintaining existing investments while gaining cloud benefits is compelling, especially when backed by performance guarantees and security improvements.

For the broader Java ecosystem, it suggests that pragmatism is winning over idealism. The future of Java modernization isn't about convincing organizations to abandon their existing applications—it's about meeting them where they are and providing a path forward that balances innovation with stability.

Posted by John K. Waters on July 16, 2025