Especially on the Web, a fast response time is crucial for the success of applications. All from one common tool set, without the need for expensive third party modules. Indeed, others have had these thoughts, and since version 4.0, PHP supports direct access to Java objects on any system with a Java Virtual Machine available, as well as Distributed COM on Windows. Multiple Web applications can reuse the same components. Up until version 3.0, PHP could be integrated only as module into the Apache Web server, or run as separate CGI program, which would eliminate many of PHP's speed benefits.
Portability is the key to scalable applications.
Also, PHP interfaces transparently with clustering solutions from simple Round Robin IP clusters to advanced Cisco solutions. The broad platform support can be directly attributed to the fact that PHP is distributed with full source code. Anyone with the necessary skills can port PHP to a new operating system. The resulting modifications to the core system can then be contributed back to the community. Open Source Open Source software in general means a number of significant advantages for the corporate IT infrastructure.