Azul will bring to the Foundation over a decade of Java knowledge and expertise in multiple open source community projects.

It intends to work with other members of the Eclipse community and provide developers with access and insight into its Zulu and Zulu Embedded open source builds for the OpenJDK.

As a solution-level member of the Eclipse Foundation, Azul will be actively participating in the Eclipse Foundation’s Internet of Things (IoT) working group. Indeed it made the announcement today at Internet of Things World, a trade show in San Francisco, California, USA, today.

Zulu Embedded provides developers and manufacturers in the embedded, mobile and IoT markets with a robust, flexible open source alternative to traditional embedded Java implementations. It is particularly relevant to organizations that require customizable, multiplatform, reduced-footprint, and standards compliant Java SE runtimes and development solutions. Launched in March 2015, Zulu Embedded is already installed in over 2 million devices worldwide.

Commenting on the move, Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director at the Eclipse Foundation, said: “Azul Systems is 100% focussed on Java and Java runtime technology which supports our objective of establishing a Java platform for IoT, targeted at connecting and managing devices. The expertise it brings to the community will encourage developers to harvest the productivity benefits of Java and accelerate the widespread adoption of the language throughout the IoT.”

Scott Sellers, President and CEO of Azul Systems, said: “We’re delighted to become members of the Eclipse Foundation. As the world’s most popular programming language, Java is a natural fit for developers targeting the plethora of devices and environments across the IoT. By working closely with the Eclipse community, together we can broaden the use of Java and open source solutions and help accelerate cost-effective innovation across the IoT.”