Azul launches AI assistant for Java security checks

Azul has launched an AI Assistant for its Intelligence Cloud platform, aimed at IT, DevOps and security teams managing Java environments.

The tool lets users ask natural-language questions about live runtime data to identify licensing and security risks across production Java estates.

It is designed to show where Oracle Java is still running, which Java versions remain unpatched, and what code is unused and could be removed. Built into Azul's existing cloud service, it maintains a current record of running Java Virtual Machines and code use in production.

The launch comes as the time between disclosure of software flaws and their exploitation continues to shrink. Azul cited research and public disclosures suggesting artificial intelligence is accelerating vulnerability discovery and exploit development, increasing pressure on organisations to know exactly what is active in their systems.

Live data

Azul said many organisations still rely on static asset management reports and code-scanning tools to track Java use. But those records can quickly become outdated as Java Virtual Machines are deployed, patched, changed or retired across on-premises systems, cloud infrastructure and containers.

That can create several areas of exposure, including unlicensed or unsupported Java distributions, systems running vulnerable versions, and old code that teams continue to maintain because they cannot tell whether it is still used in production.

The new assistant sits on top of Azul's JVM Inventory and Code Inventory services. These maintain a live catalogue of Java Virtual Machines and a runtime record of which code is actually executed, rather than simply provisioned.

Users can query the system in plain language instead of building reports or writing technical queries. That allows teams to investigate issues as they arise and immediately follow up with further questions based on current production data.

Broader users

Azul is also positioning the assistant for non-technical users who need information from Java estates for compliance, finance or governance decisions. It said the tool could help a compliance officer preparing for an audit, a Chief Financial Officer assessing Oracle licensing exposure, or a Chief Information Security Officer reporting current risk to a board.

Managed service providers and systems integrators could also use the assistant as part of ongoing Java management work for clients, rather than treating such reviews as one-off consulting projects.

Azul said the assistant does not take action in customer environments. It answers questions using runtime data already collected from live production systems, with no added performance overhead.

Industry view

William Fellows, Research Director at 451 Research by S&P Global Energy, said the launch addresses a longstanding visibility problem for organisations with large and ageing Java estates.

"Azul is extending its Intelligence Cloud platform with a new AI Assistant that gives enterprises a natural language interface into their Java runtime environments, to help identify unused code, redundant JVMs and untracked deployments. For organisations with decades of Java debt, the tool addresses a gap that has not yet been targeted at this level," said Fellows.

Azul said the assistant can work across Java environments regardless of vendor, age or application size. It also retains historical component and code-use records, allowing users to ask not only what is running now, but what ran previously.

That means teams can identify when an Oracle JVM was last active, what code has executed over time, and which code paths may no longer be needed. Azul argues this provides a more current picture than scheduled scans and summary reports that may already be outdated by the time they are reviewed.

Scott Sellers, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Azul, said the pace of risk in Java environments had changed.

"For years, enterprises have built dashboards and reports to understand what's actually running in their Java estate, but by the time a report gets properly summarized and reviewed, the risk it describes has often already changed," said Sellers.

"That used to be a productivity problem. Now that AI can find and weaponise a vulnerability in hours instead of weeks, it's a business risk - for security, for compliance and for the licensing exposure that shows up in an audit. The Azul Intelligence Cloud AI Assistant lets IT and security teams ask a direct question, in plain language, and get an answer grounded in what's actually running in production right now, as well as query historical information for further analysis," said Sellers.