State of Open Source: Java Ecosystem Trends and Challenges

Our recent State of Open Source Report surveyed professionals across the globe to identify adoption patterns, version preferences, and common pain points within modern software stacks. We conducted a deep dive into the Java user segment to better understand how teams deploy this foundational language.

The findings highlight a clear divide between large-scale enterprise usage and smaller organizations. They also expose the growing technical debt many teams accumulate as they attempt to keep pace with accelerated release cycles across interconnected technologies like Apache Tomcat and Spring Framework.

In this blog, we'll explore the biggest takeaways from the data so that technology leaders can benchmark their own environments against industry standards and make informed decisions about migration timelines, resource allocation, and long-term support strategies.

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Who Is Using Java in Enterprise Environments Today?

In the 2026 State of Open Source Report, 37.44% of the surveyed population idenfitied as Java users. Demographically, Java adoption scales closely with organizational size. 70% of the largest companies (500 to 5,000+ employees) utilize Java in their tech stacks, compared to only 23% in the smallest size brackets (under 100 employees).

Geographically, Java is more prevalent in Asia, Africa, and Latin America than in North America or Europe. When evaluating industry distribution, the banking, insurance, and financial services sector reports the highest usage, closely followed by government and public services. Conversely, the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and technology sectors report the lowest usage.

What Are the Most Popular Java Distributions?

Organizations have numerous options when selecting a Java distribution. The report data indicates a strong preference for open source builds.

Here is the breakdown of the top Java distributions among respondents:

• OpenJDK: 66.89%
• Eclipse Temurin (Adoptium): 31.08%
• Oracle Java: 27.03%
• Red Hat OpenJDK: 14.86%
• OpenLogic OpenJDK: 10.14%

What Are the Biggest Challenges in Managing Java Stacks?

Maintaining a Java environment requires dedicated resources and strategic planning. Respondents identified several key challenges that hinder their operational efficiency:

These primary difficulties stem directly from OpenJDK’s accelerated release cycle. OpenJDK issues a new feature release every six months, with Long-Term Support (LTS) editions released every two years. Normal feature releases receive support for only six months, whereas LTS editions receive five years of support.

Frameworks like Spring Boot now align with this same rapid release cycle, consistently raising the minimum OpenJDK version required for compatibility. Most organizations cannot adopt a new LTS version on the day of its release. Consequently, teams often have significantly less than five years to complete complex migrations before losing access to critical security updates. This dynamic creates a direct correlation between the frequency of new runtime versions and heavy maintenance requirements.

Where Is the Spring Framework Being Used Most Often?

Spring is highly deployed in larger organizations and specific enterprise sectors. Similar to broader Java trends, Spring usage correlates with company size and geographic region.

In terms of regional adoption, Asia leads with 26.47%, followed by Latin America at 25.00%. Europe (18.34%), North America (15.31%), and the UK (11.11%) report lower overall adoption rates.

Industry-wise, Spring usage is highest (47.22%) in the banking, insurance, or financial services sectors. Other prominent industries include telecommunications (33.33%), government or public services (29.17%), and manufacturing (23.08%).

When looking at organizational size, adoption scales dramatically. 46.67% of Spring users work for organizations with 5,000+ employees, compared to just 9.36% for organizations with fewer than 20 employees. 

Which Versions of Spring Boot and Framework Are Currently Deployed?

Version management within the Spring ecosystem reveals potential security and compliance risks. 52.05% of Spring Boot users operate on version 3.5, which exits community support on June 30, 2026 — and 27.40% still use Spring Boot 2.7, which reached end of life (EOL) in 2023.

Spring Framework 6.2 is the most popular, used by 46.58% of respondents, and like Spring Boot 2.7, will stop receiving updates from the open source community on June 30. Alarmingly, 30.14% of organizations remain on Spring Framework 5.3, which became EOL in 2024. 

As previously mentioned, the Spring Framework lifecycle is fast, so it’s no wonder some organizations can’t keep pace. However, operating on unsupported framework versions exposes enterprises to cyberattacks and data breaches when unpatched Spring vulnerabilities are exploited.

How Are Organizations Deploying Apache Tomcat?

Apache Tomcat remains a cornerstone of enterprise Java deployments. 51.24% of the Java segment deploys Tomcat, frequently pairing it with other web servers. Specifically, 23.6% use Tomcat alongside NGINX, and 19.88% pair it with Apache HTTP Server.

Tomcat usage is highest among large enterprises, capturing 44% of that demographic, while only 12% of respondents from startups and small organizations utilize it.

Which Apache Tomcat Versions Are Most Common?

Following the stable release of Tomcat 11 in April 2025, version distribution is highly fragmented.

While nearly a third of users have migrated to the latest Tomcat 11 release, more than a quarter remain on Tomcat 8.5. Notably, 33% of banking, insurance, and financial services organizations are still running version 8.5, which no longer receives community support or security patches.

This delay in migration occurs because upgrading Tomcat is a massive undertaking. Spring Boot 2.7 and Spring Framework 5.3 are tightly coupled with Tomcat 8.5. Moving to a new Tomcat version requires upgrading the JDK, the underlying frameworks, and other connected components to prevent application failure.

Final Thoughts

The 2026 State of Open Source Report clearly demonstrates that keeping pace with accelerated Java release cycles is a significant challenge for modern enterprises. To maintain a secure and performant infrastructure, it’s wise to conduct a comprehensive audit of your current Java, Spring, and Tomcat versions and identify any unsupported components. Then you can establish a roadmap for upgrading interconnected systems systematically, ensuring that your JDK, frameworks, and servers remain compatible throughout the migration process. Partnering with enterprise support providers like OpenLogic can help you navigate these complex upgrade paths with confidence and minimal disruption.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common challenges when using Java?

According to the 2026 State of Open Source Report, the most common challenges are performance tuning (34.46%), managing dependencies across frameworks (31.08%), keeping up with version upgrades (28.38%), and handling security vulnerabilities (22.97%).

Why is it difficult to upgrade Apache Tomcat versions?

Upgrading Apache Tomcat is difficult because it is tightly integrated with specific Java framework versions. For example, moving away from Tomcat 8.5 requires simultaneously upgrading legacy frameworks like Spring Boot 2.7 and Spring Framework 5.3, alongside updating the JDK, which increases the risk of breaking the application.

Which version of Spring Boot should I use in 2026?

Spring Boot 4.0 is the latest release, with Spring Boot 3.5 reaching end of life on June 30, 2026. If you cannot migrate to a community supported version, you should acquire Spring Boot long-term support from a third-party like OpenLogic.

What is the most popular Java distribution for enterprise use?

OpenJDK is the most popular distribution, used by 66.89% of respondents. Eclipse Temurin (Adoptium) follows at 31.08%, and Oracle Java is used by 27.03% of the surveyed population.

Additional Resources

• Blog - Top Takeaways from the 2026 State of Open Source Report
• Webinar Recording - The State of Open Source in 2026
• Blog - Tracking Tomcat CVEs: How to Protect Your App
• Blog - Untangling Spring Dependencies in Legacy Environments
• Blog - Preparing for Your Next Tomcat Upgrade
• Solution - OpenJDK Technical Support and Migration Services