Strategic collaboration aims to dramatically reduce security patching burden and strengthen software supply chain security for enterprise Java customers

Azul, the only company 100% focused on Java, and RapidFort, the industry leader in software supply chain security, today announced a strategic partnership to deliver near-zero Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) third-party container images backed by Azul’s world-class Java support. This partnership, which combines Azul’s entire commercial Java portfolio, including Azul Platform Core and Azul Platform Prime, with RapidFort Curated Images, will accelerate developer productivity and reduce the burden of security patching while enabling secure software development practices to protect the software supply chain.

The partnership comes at a critical time as organizations face mounting pressure to secure their software supply chains amid escalating cyber threats. According to Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, the exploitation of vulnerabilities (CVEs) has seen another year of growth and will surpass credential abuse as the #1 security attack vector by 2026. This places an enormous burden on both security and developer teams who must continuously patch and update systems.

Transforming Container Security

RapidFort and Azul have joined forces to redefine how enterprises secure and run Java workloads in containers. By combining RapidFort’s advanced container optimization technology with Azul’s Platform Core and Platform Prime runtimes for Java 8 and later, organizations can now deploy hardened Java containers with unprecedented efficiency and security. These jointly curated images reduce vulnerabilities by up to 90%, significantly shrinking the attack surface. As a result, development teams benefit from less frequent patching and greater productivity, accelerating innovation without compromising security.

Unlocking Value Across Security, Speed, and Costs

The Azul/RapidFort partnership delivers several significant advantages for enterprise customers, including:

• Reduced Patching Burden: Near-zero CVE container images mean fewer vulnerabilities to patch, allowing security teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
• Enhanced Supply Chain Security: Hardened container images provide a secure foundation for the entire software development lifecycle.
• Accelerated Development: Developers can build applications faster without compromising security.
• Regulatory Compliance: Compliance is made easier despite increasingly stringent security regulations and frameworks such as NIS2, CMMC and FedRAMP.
• Lower Operational Costs: Maintenance burden and risk of security incidents is dramatically reduced.

”Enterprises are drowning in security vulnerabilities and patches,” said Mehran Farimani, founder and CEO of RapidFort. “Our partnership with Azul allows us to provide customers with hardened container images that are not only more secure by design but require significantly less ongoing maintenance. This is a game-changer for organizations looking to strengthen their security posture while reducing operational overhead.”

“Java remains the backbone of enterprise applications worldwide, and securing the Java ecosystem is critical to protecting the software supply chain,” said Scott Sellers, co-founder and CEO at Azul. “By partnering with RapidFort, we’re enabling organizations to deploy Java applications with confidence, knowing they’re backed by Azul’s world-class support organization and built on a foundation of security-hardened container images with minimal vulnerability exposure.”

Availability

The first set of jointly developed hardened container images is available immediately. These images will include all Java LTS (Long Term Support) releases starting with Java 8, and popular Java applications such as Apache Spark, Apache Kafka and Apache Tomcat. Interested customers can request more information here.

For more information:

• Azul Platform Core
• Azul Platform Prime
• RapidFort Product Overview
• Azul RapidFort Partner Page

About Azul

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Azul provides the Java platform for the modern cloud enterprise. Azul is the only company 100% focused on Java. Millions of Java developers, hundreds of millions of devices and the world’s most highly regarded businesses trust Azul to power their applications with exceptional capabilities, performance, security, value, and success. Azul customers include 36% 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, Deutsche Telekom, LG, Mastercard, Mizuho, Priceline, Salesforce, Software AG, and Workday. Learn more at azul.com and follow us @azulsystems.

About RapidFort

RapidFort is a software supply chain security platform that secures and optimizes modern infrastructure by reducing the attack surface of containerized applications and near-zero CVE, curated base images. Through continuous monitoring and intelligent removal of unnecessary components from container images, RapidFort significantly minimizes vulnerability exposure and patching requirements. This innovative approach enhances security posture, improves operational efficiency, and ensures end-to-end protection across the global software supply chain. The company's innovative approach has been recognized by leading industry analysts and is trusted by Global 2000 companies across finance, healthcare, and government sectors. For more information, visit www.rapidfort.com

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Strategic collaboration between Azul and RapidFort aims to dramatically reduce security patching burden and strengthen software supply chain security for enterprise Java customers.