Planning to develop and deploy an application but unsure where to start? Whether you’re new to software engineering or managing a team of developers for the first time, you’ve likely heard you need a server—but what kind? Aren’t all servers essentially the same? 

Not exactly. Servers play specialized roles in hosting and running applications, with web servers and application servers serving distinct purposes. In this post, we’ll explore what each does, how they differ, and help you decide which one is right for your project. 

Over the past decades, the technology landscape has undergone relentless change, with innovations rapidly reshaping how applications are developed and deployed. In such a fast-moving environment, few technologies have demonstrated true staying power. Yet, Java has defied the odds. As we mark 30 years of Java and 25 years of enterprise Java, it’s evident that these platforms haven’t just endured but have thrived—constantly evolving, adapting and proving their enduring value to developers worldwide.

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is changing the cybersecurity and regulatory compliance landscape for financial institutions in the EU. In effect, DORA is now binding, with regulators shifting from guidance to active enforcement. For developers building or maintaining financial applications, understanding DORA’s requirements and how to meet them is essential.

In this post, we’ll break down what DORA is, why it's important and what it means for developers. You'll also get a glimpse on how to meet the regulatory requirements with your enterprise Java applications. 

Almost any developer looking to leverage containers turns to Kubernetes (K8s) for orchestration. However, with its complexity comes security risks, particularly misconfigurations, which remain one of the most critical attack vectors in cloud-native environments. In effect, K8s misconfigurations can lead to data breaches, privilege escalations and service disruptions. 

This blog examines key technical security challenges associated with K8s and demonstrates how to mitigate these risks through platform engineering. 

Application server migrations often come with apprehension. While companies look forward to better performance and/or support, enhanced security as well as functionalities, they can feel like navigating a project full of potential pitfalls. Among these, a particularly pressing concern is whether the application development team is prepared to handle the complexity of the migration process.

After all, a successful migration isn’t just about the technology—it’s about the people implementing it. Addressing this fear is crucial to ensuring a smooth transition and unlocking the full potential of your new platform. Let’s have a look at how organizations can address this challenge while improving their skillsets.

Jakarta Persistence (formerly JPA) is a cornerstone of enterprise Java development, offering a standardized approach to object relational mapping (ORM). But when it comes to selecting a persistence provider, the decision isn’t one-size-fits-all. Hibernate, EclipseLink and OpenJPA are three leading options, each with unique strengths. But how do you know which is right for your project?

In this blog, we’ll give you a short overview of the core features, advantages and ideal use cases of these Jakarta Persistence providers to help you make an informed decision.

The May 2025 release brings updates across Payara Platform Community 6.2025.5, Payara Platform Enterprise 6.26.0 and 5.75.0. These focus on bug fixes and component upgrades. Let's have a closer look at what you can find in this release. 

Platform Engineering is rapidly becoming a must-have approach for modern software teams looking to streamline operations, scale development efficiently, reduce cognitive load on developers while enhancing their productivity. But while the word is on everyone's lips, do we really know what it means? When it comes to middleware solutions, how can a platform engineering-based solution help users?

After two decades as Java's dominant build tool (no offense to Gradle), Maven is undergoing its most significant evolution. While the official Maven documentation outlines the technical changes in Maven 4, this blog post focuses specifically on what these changes mean for enterprise developers working with Jakarta EE, Spring Boot and Quarkus.