A recent survey of 2,039 Java professionals across six continents has found that Java is the leading choice for coding AI functionality in Java-based applications and infrastructure, followed closely by JavaScript and Python. The Azul 2025 State of Java Survey & Report provides valuable insights into the current state of Java adoption, AI development, and cloud computing trends.

According to the report, 50% of organizations that use or deploy Java-based applications and infrastructure rely on Java to code AI functionality, with 44% using JavaScript and 41% using Python. This highlights the significant role Java plays in driving innovation and enhancing application functionality through AI integration. Moreover, 72% of survey participants believe that compute consumption will need to increase to support Java applications with AI functionality.

The report also sheds light on the ongoing concerns surrounding Oracle's pricing model, with 88% of respondents considering a migration to another Java distribution or provider. This sentiment is likely driven by the significant impact of Oracle's pricing on Java-based applications, with nearly two-thirds of organizations running Java workloads in the cloud reporting that Java accounts for more than 50% of their cloud compute costs.

To address these costs, organizations are adopting various strategies, including implementing new internal rules for managing cloud instances, adopting finops practices, upgrading to more efficient compute instances and processors, and leveraging high-performance Java Development Kits (JDKs). Additionally, the report highlights the importance of optimizing devops productivity, with 62% of participants citing dead or unused code as a significant hindrance and 33% reporting that more than 50% of their devops team's time is wasted addressing false positives from Java-related security vulnerabilities.

The survey also provides insights into the popularity of various Java-based languages, with Groovy leading the pack at 36%, followed by Scala, Kotlin, and traditional Java. Furthermore, the report reveals that 68% of respondents report that more than 50% of their applications are Java-built or run on a JVM, with Java 17 being the most commonly used Java version for production applications.

In terms of microservices frameworks, Spring Boot leads the way, used by 42% of organizations, closely followed by Micronaut, DropWizard, Quarkus, and Vert.x. Notably, only 7% of participants reported not using a Java-based microservices framework. The report also highlights the widespread adoption of Java support, with 85% of survey participants paying for Java support.

The Azul 2025 State of Java Survey & Report provides a comprehensive snapshot of the current state of Java adoption, AI development, and cloud computing trends. As the technology landscape continues to evolve, this report serves as a valuable resource for organizations seeking to optimize their Java-based applications and infrastructure.