In an attempt to provide local firms a more cost-effective option for their cloud journey, Sunnyvale, California-headquartered tech firm Azul has announced the availability of Java Virtual Machine (JVM) software called Azul Platform Prime.
Azul, which claims to be the only company that its 100% focused on Java, said the availability of Azul Platform Prime in the country will ensure that local businesses can continue to expand their cloud usage without encountering downsides such as cost overrun and poor performance.
The company’s CEO and co-founder, Scott Sellers, as well its top executive for the Asia Pacific region, Dean Vaughan, personally travelled to the Philippines as part of a regional roadshow to drumbeat awareness for the Java-based platform.
The tech firm said the Azul Platform Prime accelerates Java performance by enabling more transactions from the same hardware, even as loads increase, as well as optimization features to deliver consistent response times and reduced latency.
Together, these benefits allow Azul customers to confidently increase cloud utilization thresholds and in turn reduce the number of cloud compute instances, according to the company. On average, Azul said its customers have been able to save 50% on their cloud bill using Azul Platform Prime.
According to research firm Statista, revenues in the Philippines public cloud market are projected to grow beyond $1 billion in 2023 and reach almost $2.28 billion in 2028. Cloud computing brings on-demand capacity, elasticity, automation and availability, empowering businesses large and small to run in a modern, agile fashion to meet today’s dynamic business needs.
However, cost overruns are a serious downside for many businesses. In a 2021 study, research firm Gartner found that organizations with little or no cloud cost optimization plans end up overspending on cloud services by up to 70% without deriving the expected value from them.
Sellers emphasized the critical need for companies to optimize their cloud spending and enhance security, particularly as security demands surge and formidable competitors like Oracle become more assertive in conducting customer audits.
“We’re not just about helping customers deal with the Oracle problem; we’re very much focused on enabling organizations to use Java to save money and enhance their footprint,” he said.
Vaughan elaborated on the regional context, pointing out that Azul’s solutions can provide substantial value in countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, where native-born cloud-based companies are on the rise.
“We help our customers with the Azuil Platform Prime product specifically to get the best of both worlds,” he added. “All the benefits of the cloud in terms of agility, flexibility, and scalability, while also keeping costs highly optimized.”
Both Sellers and Vaughan shared an optimistic outlook for Java’s role in the Philippines, saying it has the potential to significantly reduce the infrastructure required to maintain similar computing environments.
Vaughan expounded: “There are three core areas where we feel that we can certainly help Filipino organizations. The first is helping with regards to Oracle and its licensing and license management. The second is with the cloud costs and the growing cloud expenditure. Then the third is helping customers secure, particularly here in the Philippines, their Java environments with better tools and management.”
“By introducing Azul Platform Prime to the Philippines, we are not just providing a solution – we are providing a pathway for businesses to realize unparalleled efficiency and cost savings in their cloud journey,” he said.
Vaughan also highlighted Java’s OpenJDK, a free open-source platform supporting numerous Web and mobile applications.
Notably, Azul said it takes pride in delivering an average practical response time of eight minutes for every support ticket, transcending borders. This dedication to customer service has borne fruit, as the company boasts a 100% customer satisfaction rate for the past 14 quarters.
