Survey Reveals Nearly Half of Developers Plan to Migrate to Jakarta EE Within Two Years
Jakarta EE, the Eclipse Foundation’s version of enterprise Java, is gaining significant traction, as indicated by recent survey results. According to the 2021 Jakarta EE Developer Survey Report released on September 13, nearly half of the respondents have either already migrated to Jakarta EE or plan to do so within the next two years. This demonstrates a substantial shift from the previous Java EE (Enterprise Edition) to Jakarta EE, reflecting the growing adoption and confidence in the new platform.
The survey reveals that more than 48% of participants have either transitioned to Jakarta EE or are planning to make the switch within six months to two years. This shift highlights Jakarta EE’s increasing prominence and acceptance as a viable alternative to its predecessor. Since Eclipse took over the stewardship of enterprise Java from Oracle in 2017 and renamed the platform from Java EE to Jakarta EE, the transition has been a significant milestone for the enterprise Java community.
One notable trend is the acceleration of cloud-based business application development facilitated by Jakarta EE. The survey data shows that Jakarta EE has become the second-most-used cloud native framework, with 47% of respondents incorporating it into their cloud strategies. This positions Jakarta EE just behind Spring/Spring Boot, which is used by 60% of respondents. The growing adoption of Jakarta EE in cloud environments underscores its effectiveness and relevance in modern application development.
The survey also highlights the increased usage of Eclipse MicroProfile, a Java microservices architecture. In 2021, adoption of MicroProfile rose to 34%, up from 29% in 2020. This uptick reflects the ongoing interest in microservices as a preferred architectural approach for cloud-native applications. Additionally, the use of microservices for Java systems in the cloud has grown to 43%, indicating a continued trend towards modular and scalable application designs.
Jakarta EE community priorities include accelerating innovation, improving support for microservices, and enhancing native integration with Kubernetes. The survey identifies Docker, Kubernetes, and Jakarta EE as the top three cloud native technologies, highlighting the importance of containerization and orchestration in the modern development landscape. Furthermore, the most favored architectural approaches for implementing Java systems in the cloud are microservices, hybrid, and monolithic architectures.
Survey participants, representing a range of roles from developers and architects to development managers, come from diverse industries such as IT, software, education, financial services, and government. This broad representation underscores the wide applicability and growing influence of Jakarta EE across various sectors and use cases. As the ecosystem continues to evolve, Jakarta EE is positioned to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of enterprise Java and cloud-native application development.