Azul. Billed as the only company 100% focused on Java, with a 20-year history of Java leadership, Azul has millions of Java developers, hundreds of millions of devices and some seriously highly regarded businesses trusting Azul to power their applications with exceptional capabilities, impressive performance, security, value and success.

The largest independent Java vendor, Azul supports more versions of Java than any other company - even more than Oracle.

Azul helps its customers solve the cloud cost paradox, with its flagship Platform Prime product reducing cloud costs by up to 50%.

Meanwhile, Azul's Platform Core provides a supported, secure, compatible and compliant Java runtime for up to 70% less cost than Oracle.

Azul has the customers to back up its claims, too, with 27% of the Fortune 100, 50% of Forbes top-10 World’s Most Valuable Brands, all 10 of the world’s top-10 financial trading companies and leading brands like Avaya, Bazaarvoice, BMW, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Telekom, LG, Mastercard, Mizuho, Priceline, Salesforce, Software AG and Workday all happy with Azul.

In August 2022, Azul announced the appointment of Dean Vaughan as Vice President, APAC, to drive the company’s expansion in the region. With over 25 years experience in the tech industry and previous success in rapidly growing tech business in the region, Azul is confidently investing in the APAC region, in the channel and in new product development to drive customer value.

Vaughan noted: "The challenges Azul solves are global; everyone is grappling with cloud costs and organisations are increasingly tired of paying high prices for Oracle Java.

"It’s an exciting time for Java and Azul. With so much innovation happening and a customer base that includes brands such as LG, Mastercard, Salesforce and BMW, this was an opportunity I simply could not pass up and I’m thrilled to be joining the incredible team at Azul.”

So, Dean Vaughan joined us on iTWireTV to explain the ins and outs of Azul's leadership in the Java space, to explain the cloud paradox and plenty more, with that video interview below.

After the video, you'll find a summary of the topics we spoke about - so please watch and read on!

• I started by introducing Dean, welcoming him to the program, and asking him to give us a refresher on Azul, what it does, and what makes the company unique.
  
  
• Noting that many people would think of Oracle when thinking of Java, Azul explains it has been working with Java for over 20 years and even leads more OpenJDK projects that Oracle or any other company, with Azul stating it's an exciting time for Java, so Vaughan explained this reality for us in further detail.
  
  
• Vaughan explained the Cloud Paradox, how Azul handles it, and what are the cost savings are using Azul instead of Oracle.
  
  
• Then we explored some of Azul's global and local customers, noting some big names are on the list.
  
  
• Next up, Vaughan shared what attracted him to Azul, and shared some of his near-term plans, after which I asked him to share a bit about his own personal journey through the world of tech.
  
  
• After this, Vaughan shared how he saw Azul growing over the next couple of years and the direction Azul might be taking in the 2030s when the metaverse should be commonplace, followed by memories of his first computer and memories of the first time he encountered Java.
  
  
• We finished with great advice received in life, and Dean Vaughan's final message to iTWire viewers and readers, and to his current and future customers and partners.

So, to learn more, please watch the video interview with Dean Vaughan above!