Businesses that rely on public Java updates for accessing mainframe applications won't have the same amount of access to security patches for this program in the future, according to a statement uploaded to the company's website last month. As part of a larger series of newer Java developments, Oracle is no longer offering free public updates for Java 7, and will discontinue these updates for Java 8 by March 2017 at the earliest.
Since many companies may have used Java in the past for legacy applications, the news could impact the way that they run their enterprise and coordinate its use of apps. The final update for Java 7 came last month, on April 15, when the company released its Critical Patch Update.
InfoWorld quotes John Holt of Waratek, who says the new change "is going to cause enormous headache and disruption to millions of application owners around the world." More specifically, Holt said earlier in the piece that the end of updates means "now millions of Java 7 applications will have to defend themselves against code-level vulnerabilities without the benefit of future fixes."
While Oracle released patches for other products during the same update, the Java news could especially impact enterprises that weren't expecting the sudden lack of support. What's more, these entities could need a new option for working with screen-based apps. Basing a business modernization plan on a program that requires an applet may leave users at a loss when updates are suddenly no longer available or feasible for use.
This difficulty is not as much of a problem for companies that use a web-based solution that ports access through any device with access to a common web browser. This way, businesses can prioritize whichever browser they prefer or is most compatible with their work.