Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. (MS Open Tech), a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. dedicated to bridging Microsoft and non-Microsoft technologies, and Azul Systems, the award-winning leader in Java runtime scalability, announced today at the O’Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON) that they are partnering on a Windows distribution build of the community-driven open source Java implementation, known as OpenJDK, for Windows Server on the Windows Azure platform.
As part of this partnership, Azul Systems will build, certify and distribute a compliant OpenJDK-based distribution meeting the Java SE specification for use with Windows Server environments on Azure. The new OpenJDK-based offering will be freely distributed and licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2) with the Classpath Exception.
Open source is now a key building block for enterprise IT strategies. Customers also require choice in where and how they deploy new and existing Java applications. Through this partnership the global community of Java developers gain access to open source Java on the Windows Azure cloud. It will also serve the growing number of Java applications that both small and medium businesses and global enterprises depend on to run their businesses.
Scott Sellers, Azul Systems president and CEO, said, “This initiative is all about bringing Java to the masses in the cloud. We will be providing a fully open and unconstrained Java environment — with open choice of third-party stacks — for developers and essential applications deployed on Windows Azure.”
Jean Paoli, president of MS Open Tech said, “Microsoft Open Technologies and our Azul Systems partner are motivated by a common goal to make the world of mixed IT environments work better together for customers. This partnership will enable developers and IT professionals to ensure their mission-critical apps deploy and run smoothly on Windows Azure, using the open source Java environment they prefer. With Azul Systems rich Java heritage and strong customer track record, partnering was a natural decision.”
A June 14, 2013, Forrester Research report, titled: “The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Public Cloud Platforms, Q2 2013,” states “Microsoft’s strategy for Windows Azure is very strong for two reasons … creating a single platform spanning many clouds is achievable, valuable, and a natural act for Microsoft. … Microsoft’s openness to other platforms, languages, databases, development environments, and tools is genuine and virtually assures Windows Azure’s relevance as technology evolves.”
With the support of Azul Systems and MS Open Tech, customers will be assured of a high-quality foundation for their Java implementations while leveraging the latest advancements in OpenJDK. The OpenJDK project is supported by a vibrant open source community, and Azul Systems is committed to updating and maintaining its OpenJDK-based offering for Windows Azure, supporting current and future versions of both Java and Windows Server. Deploying Java applications on Windows Azure will be further simplified through the existing open source MS Open Tech Windows Azure for Eclipse Plugin with Java.
The new Azul Systems offering will be available later this year. For more information and updates about the new product or the MS Open Tech and Azul Systems partnership, subscribe to the MS Open Tech Blog. Customers and partners of Microsoft and Azul are also invited to contact Azul at AzureInfo@azulsystems.com for additional information about Azul’s Early Access Program.
