Most of our projects involve CMS systems, but also custom PHP coding. The Zend Framework provides an easy, open source way to produce coding based on the needs of our customers.
IT Consultant, Business Owner, Lecturer at a tech consulting company with 10,001+ employees
Gives the flexibility to use external modules to easily expand functionalities
Pros and Cons
- "Zend Engine is the core of PHP. It makes PHP fast, efficient, and basically, the language of choice for web applications."
- "Zend Engine gives the flexibility to use external modules to easily expand the functionalities you need for your web project."
- "The Zend Framework provides an easy, open source way to produce coding based on the needs of our customers."
- "Scaling up is an important factor for large projects, and with PHP 7 and its performance improvements, this becomes even easier."
- "The main area that Zend needs to improve is to support asynchronous programming tasks, which is facilitated in PHP 7, but not at the same degree as HHVM."
- "SQL queries have always been an issue with PHP, especially if you use large tables, which require caution from the side of the developer."
How has it helped my organization?
What is most valuable?
Zend Engine is the core of PHP. It makes PHP fast, efficient, and basically, the language of choice for web applications. Most of the Content Management Systems today are based on PHP, making it much easier to maintain and extend them.
Zend Engine gives the flexibility to use external modules to easily expand the functionalities you need for your web project. It has significantly improved over the different PHP versions, improving memory management, developing a flexible internal build system for PHP, and allowing for an easy interface for external module development.
What needs improvement?
The competition with Zend/PHP has been increasing. HHVM is the main competitor when it comes to performance. However, the Zend Engine in PHP 7 has significantly improved, promising a more than 100% increase in performance. The main area that Zend needs to improve is to support asynchronous programming tasks, which is facilitated in PHP 7, but not at the same degree as HHVM.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There used to be stability issues with the MySQL functions, however with the move towards MySQLi, there has been a significant improvement. Additionally, SQL queries have always been an issue with PHP, especially if you use large tables, which require caution from the side of the developer.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not encountered issues with scalability as long as we effectively use caching to optimize performance of our web applications as well as a proper use of database connectivity.
How are customer service and support?
Since Zend/PHP is open source, you will always find someone that has faced the same issue as you in the online community. However, if a company requires frequent technical support, they need to hire highly qualified, PHP developers, who are in abundance.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We tried ASP.NET for a period of time. However, the flexibility of Zend PHP, the cost savings since it is an open source, and the large open community led us to choose Zend PHP.
How was the initial setup?
To install PHP is very easy, but to configure it properly according to the needs of your projects does require expertise.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Not applicable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Zend PHP against ASP.NET.
What other advice do I have?
Zend PHP has evolved a lot since its initial concept. At the moment, it is the language of our choice. Easy to use and implement, flexible, and with the right developers, you can do a lot. Scaling up is an important factor for large projects, and with PHP 7 and its performance improvements, this becomes even easier.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software Architect at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Streamlines PHP web app dev but lacks integration of MVC with ORM tools for PHP
Pros and Cons
- "Faster web app implementation, when PHP dev is required by customers."
- "Integration of MVC with ORM tools for PHP is okay, but lacking a short list of decent ORM tools for PHP to choose from; there is ample room for improvement in both areas."
Buyer's Guide
Application Infrastructure
June 2025
Find out what your peers are saying about Zend, Apache, Red Hat and others in Application Infrastructure. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
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Updated: June 2025
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