Red Hat brings JBoss platform to Azure, easing the shift of Java apps to the cloud

Red Hat has brought its JBoss enterprise application platform to Microsoft Azure, helping to ease the transition to the cloud for traditional Java applications.

The open source company has announced the JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (JBoss EAP) on Microsoft Azure, which enables organisations to benefit from a cloud-based architecture and update their existing Jakarta EE (previously Java EE) applications and build new ones on Azure.

JBoss EAP is currently available as a native offering in Azure that comes fully configured and ready to run, and will be available in the near future as a fully supported runtime in the Azure app service managed by Microsoft.

Java continues to be a popular programming language, with an estimated 8 million developers worldwide and steady growth in the use of Jakarta EE to accelerate application development for the cloud. The Jakarta EE-compliant application server, JBoss EAP, offers Java developers management and automation capabilities designed to improve productivity, and a lightweight architecture for building and deploying modern cloud-native applications.

Red Hat says that by bringing JBoss EAP to Azure, it will ease the shift to the cloud and give organisations more choice and flexibility in how they plan for the future. Customers can bring existing applications to Azure, including JBoss EAP applications running on-premises or other Jakarta EE applications running on different application servers, and choose how they want to manage business critical, Java-based applications in the cloud.

"Red Hat and Microsoft have long been strategic partners. Red Hat's JBoss platform continues to be the cornerstone of Red Hat's commitment to enterprise Java," says Red Hat senior director of product management, Rich Sharples.

"By offering JBoss EAP on Azure, we are combining our expertise and enabling customers to successfully choose how they want to manage applications on the cloud.

 According to Red Hat, JBoss EAP on Microsoft Azure allows customers to:

• Develop modern Jakarta EE apps. Using JBoss EAP with Azure's complementary services, customers are able to create cloud-native applications that are flexible, scalable, and more secure. They can build these on JBoss EAP and take advantage of support through Red Hat runtimes.
• Run JBoss EAP in the environment that best meets their needs. Available as both a hosted and customer-managed offering, customers can run applications with JBoss EAP on Azure virtual machines through the Azure Marketplace, or adopt a hosted JBoss EAP offering through the Azure App Service (public preview), with on-demand pricing. For customers looking for container-based solutions, JBoss EAP is also supported on Azure Red Hat OpenShift.
• Save costs. Moving Java applications to the cloud can help reduce costs associated with managing on-premise data centers, including IT infrastructure, operating systems, and storage. In doing so, it can help shift large, upfront capital expenses to more predictable operational expenses.

"As two of the biggest names in enterprise software, it just makes sense that we have such a strong relationship with Red Hat," says Microsoft's principal group manager, Martijn Verburg.

"Bringing JBoss EAP to Azure customers means not only faster time to market and remaining competitive, but also yields more options for building, deploying, and managing a security-focused cloud environment that meets business needs today while adapting for future change."