diff --git a/examples/powertools-examples-core-utilities/terraform/pom.xml b/examples/powertools-examples-core-utilities/terraform/pom.xml
index 14c0e223e..a6237b00f 100644
--- a/examples/powertools-examples-core-utilities/terraform/pom.xml
+++ b/examples/powertools-examples-core-utilities/terraform/pom.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+    xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
     <name>Powertools for AWS Lambda (Java) - Examples - Core Utilities (logging, tracing, metrics) with Terraform</name>
@@ -101,7 +101,8 @@
                         <configuration>
                             <createDependencyReducedPom>false</createDependencyReducedPom>
                             <transformers>
-                                <transformer implementation="org.apache.logging.log4j.maven.plugins.shade.transformer.Log4j2PluginCacheFileTransformer"/>
+                                <transformer
+                                    implementation="org.apache.logging.log4j.maven.plugins.shade.transformer.Log4j2PluginCacheFileTransformer" />
                             </transformers>
                         </configuration>
                     </execution>
@@ -126,7 +127,6 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <LAMBDA_TASK_ROOT>handler</LAMBDA_TASK_ROOT>
diff --git a/examples/powertools-examples-parameters/sam-graalvm/pom.xml b/examples/powertools-examples-parameters/sam-graalvm/pom.xml
index 6d0c3f4a2..09401eeff 100644
--- a/examples/powertools-examples-parameters/sam-graalvm/pom.xml
+++ b/examples/powertools-examples-parameters/sam-graalvm/pom.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+    xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <groupId>software.amazon.lambda.examples</groupId>
     <version>2.8.0</version>
@@ -98,8 +98,6 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <!-- JUnit 5 requires Surefire version 3.1.0 or higher -->
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
             </plugin>
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>dev.aspectj</groupId>
@@ -144,7 +142,8 @@
                         <configuration>
                             <createDependencyReducedPom>false</createDependencyReducedPom>
                             <transformers>
-                                <transformer implementation="org.apache.logging.log4j.maven.plugins.shade.transformer.Log4j2PluginCacheFileTransformer"/>
+                                <transformer
+                                    implementation="org.apache.logging.log4j.maven.plugins.shade.transformer.Log4j2PluginCacheFileTransformer" />
                             </transformers>
                         </configuration>
                     </execution>
diff --git a/examples/powertools-examples-parameters/sam/pom.xml b/examples/powertools-examples-parameters/sam/pom.xml
index 15d68ffcd..3e8f99aa0 100644
--- a/examples/powertools-examples-parameters/sam/pom.xml
+++ b/examples/powertools-examples-parameters/sam/pom.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
-         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+    xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
     <groupId>software.amazon.lambda.examples</groupId>
     <version>2.8.0</version>
@@ -72,8 +72,6 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <!-- JUnit 5 requires Surefire version 3.1.0 or higher -->
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
             </plugin>
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>dev.aspectj</groupId>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 1e4c3a9fd..6f6a9ce10 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -95,7 +95,6 @@
         <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.14.1</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
         <aspectj.version>1.9.7</aspectj.version>
         <aspectj-maven-plugin.version>1.13.1</aspectj-maven-plugin.version>
-        <maven-surefire-plugin.version>3.2.5</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
         <jacoco-maven-plugin.version>0.8.11</jacoco-maven-plugin.version>
         <nexus-staging-maven-plugin.version>1.6.13</nexus-staging-maven-plugin.version>
         <maven-javadoc-plugin.version>3.12.0</maven-javadoc-plugin.version>
@@ -625,7 +624,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 @{argLine}
diff --git a/powertools-common/pom.xml b/powertools-common/pom.xml
index f14783b5b..551fae8bc 100644
--- a/powertools-common/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-common/pom.xml
@@ -106,7 +106,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
diff --git a/powertools-common/src/main/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaConstants.java b/powertools-common/src/main/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaConstants.java
index 69fc1283a..4c4e8e9db 100644
--- a/powertools-common/src/main/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaConstants.java
+++ b/powertools-common/src/main/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaConstants.java
@@ -28,4 +28,6 @@ private LambdaConstants() {
     public static final String ROOT_EQUALS = "Root=";
     public static final String POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME = "POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME";
     public static final String SERVICE_UNDEFINED = "service_undefined";
+    public static final String AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE = "AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE";
+    public static final String ON_DEMAND_INVOCATION_TYPE = "on-demand";
 }
diff --git a/powertools-common/src/main/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaHandlerProcessor.java b/powertools-common/src/main/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaHandlerProcessor.java
index 393835d1e..15bff15d6 100644
--- a/powertools-common/src/main/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaHandlerProcessor.java
+++ b/powertools-common/src/main/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaHandlerProcessor.java
@@ -93,7 +93,14 @@ protected static void resetServiceName() {
     }
 
     public static boolean isColdStart() {
-        return isColdStart == null;
+        if (isColdStart != null) {
+            return isColdStart;
+        }
+
+        String initType = System.getenv(LambdaConstants.AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE);
+        isColdStart = LambdaConstants.ON_DEMAND_INVOCATION_TYPE.equals(initType);
+
+        return isColdStart;
     }
 
     public static void coldStartDone() {
diff --git a/powertools-common/src/test/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaHandlerProcessorTest.java b/powertools-common/src/test/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaHandlerProcessorTest.java
index 5c6bdc020..0726a9e77 100644
--- a/powertools-common/src/test/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaHandlerProcessorTest.java
+++ b/powertools-common/src/test/java/software/amazon/lambda/powertools/common/internal/LambdaHandlerProcessorTest.java
@@ -216,6 +216,7 @@ void extractContext_notKnownHandler() {
     }
 
     @Test
+    @SetEnvironmentVariable(key = LambdaConstants.AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE, value = LambdaConstants.ON_DEMAND_INVOCATION_TYPE)
     void isColdStart() {
         boolean isColdStart = LambdaHandlerProcessor.isColdStart();
 
diff --git a/powertools-e2e-tests/pom.xml b/powertools-e2e-tests/pom.xml
index 484e3b4c2..bfd4350a0 100644
--- a/powertools-e2e-tests/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-e2e-tests/pom.xml
@@ -214,7 +214,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-failsafe-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <executions>
                             <execution>
                                 <goals>
@@ -241,7 +240,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-failsafe-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <executions>
                             <execution>
                                 <goals>
diff --git a/powertools-logging/pom.xml b/powertools-logging/pom.xml
index ae5788291..923d6d133 100644
--- a/powertools-logging/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-logging/pom.xml
@@ -123,7 +123,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
@@ -182,11 +181,11 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <AWS_LAMBDA_LOG_FORMAT>JSON</AWS_LAMBDA_LOG_FORMAT>
                         <POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME>testService</POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME>
+                        <AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>on-demand</AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>
                     </environmentVariables>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
diff --git a/powertools-logging/powertools-logging-log4j/pom.xml b/powertools-logging/powertools-logging-log4j/pom.xml
index 1cf3bf265..19a8b9428 100644
--- a/powertools-logging/powertools-logging-log4j/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-logging/powertools-logging-log4j/pom.xml
@@ -112,7 +112,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
@@ -204,12 +203,12 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME>testLog4j</POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME>
                         <AWS_REGION>eu-central-1</AWS_REGION>
                         <_X_AMZN_TRACE_ID>Root=1-63441c4a-abcdef012345678912345678</_X_AMZN_TRACE_ID>
+                        <AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>on-demand</AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>
                     </environmentVariables>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
diff --git a/powertools-logging/powertools-logging-logback/pom.xml b/powertools-logging/powertools-logging-logback/pom.xml
index b5a50573d..7ed1f1a17 100644
--- a/powertools-logging/powertools-logging-logback/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-logging/powertools-logging-logback/pom.xml
@@ -110,7 +110,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
@@ -203,12 +202,12 @@
             <plugin>
                 <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME>testLogback</POWERTOOLS_SERVICE_NAME>
                         <AWS_REGION>eu-central-1</AWS_REGION>
                         <_X_AMZN_TRACE_ID>Root=1-63441c4a-abcdef012345678912345678</_X_AMZN_TRACE_ID>
+                        <AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>on-demand</AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>
                     </environmentVariables>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
diff --git a/powertools-metrics/pom.xml b/powertools-metrics/pom.xml
index 4da0c0a9f..86bdcc560 100644
--- a/powertools-metrics/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-metrics/pom.xml
@@ -231,6 +231,7 @@
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <AWS_EMF_ENVIRONMENT>Lambda</AWS_EMF_ENVIRONMENT>
+                        <AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>on-demand</AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>
                     </environmentVariables>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
diff --git a/powertools-parameters/pom.xml b/powertools-parameters/pom.xml
index a2c4a65dc..78234b5cc 100644
--- a/powertools-parameters/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-parameters/pom.xml
@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@
         <plugins>
             <plugin>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <AWS_REGION>eu-central-1</AWS_REGION>
@@ -98,7 +97,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
diff --git a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-appconfig/pom.xml b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-appconfig/pom.xml
index ab8ae0e67..3c38963a1 100644
--- a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-appconfig/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-appconfig/pom.xml
@@ -108,7 +108,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
@@ -175,7 +174,6 @@
         <plugins>
             <plugin>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <AWS_REGION>eu-central-1</AWS_REGION>
diff --git a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-dynamodb/pom.xml b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-dynamodb/pom.xml
index 76a7b8845..b9e48567a 100644
--- a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-dynamodb/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-dynamodb/pom.xml
@@ -109,7 +109,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
@@ -176,7 +175,6 @@
         <plugins>
             <plugin>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <AWS_REGION>eu-central-1</AWS_REGION>
diff --git a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-secrets/pom.xml b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-secrets/pom.xml
index fbe4905be..c83c674d5 100644
--- a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-secrets/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-secrets/pom.xml
@@ -109,7 +109,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
@@ -176,7 +175,6 @@
         <plugins>
             <plugin>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <AWS_REGION>eu-central-1</AWS_REGION>
diff --git a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-ssm/pom.xml b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-ssm/pom.xml
index c9de1db51..d23b84bf6 100644
--- a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-ssm/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-ssm/pom.xml
@@ -98,7 +98,6 @@
         <plugins>
             <plugin>
                 <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>3.5.4</version>
                 <configuration>
                     <environmentVariables>
                         <AWS_REGION>eu-central-1</AWS_REGION>
@@ -123,7 +122,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
diff --git a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-tests/pom.xml b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-tests/pom.xml
index 3bcd4d604..9b93b3f79 100644
--- a/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-tests/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-parameters/powertools-parameters-tests/pom.xml
@@ -110,7 +110,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
diff --git a/powertools-serialization/pom.xml b/powertools-serialization/pom.xml
index c1eea4df7..535f23190 100644
--- a/powertools-serialization/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-serialization/pom.xml
@@ -107,7 +107,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent
diff --git a/powertools-tracing/pom.xml b/powertools-tracing/pom.xml
index ed2596059..9e5603d70 100644
--- a/powertools-tracing/pom.xml
+++ b/powertools-tracing/pom.xml
@@ -129,6 +129,20 @@
         </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
+    <build>
+        <plugins>
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
+                <configuration>
+                    <environmentVariables>
+                        <AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>on-demand</AWS_LAMBDA_INITIALIZATION_TYPE>
+                    </environmentVariables>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+        </plugins>
+    </build>
+
     <profiles>
         <profile>
             <id>generate-graalvm-files</id>
@@ -137,7 +151,6 @@
                     <plugin>
                         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-                        <version>3.5.4</version>
                         <configuration>
                             <argLine>
                                 -Dorg.graalvm.nativeimage.imagecode=agent