What? There’s already a problem with PHP5 although a stable release is not even out yet? Yes, there is – and I am not talking about technical problems, rather about business problems.

Don’t get me wrong: I love PHP and I am very excited about the new features of PHP5. With PHP5, no doubts, PHP is really ready for the enterprise – at least when it comes to PHP as a programming language.

But what about PHP5 in a business environment? I am sceptical on the business success of PHP5 in the enterprise market:

• Java is already there,
• there’s no global player providing professional services for PHP applications development,
• there are too few really good PHP programmers,
• where are those professional (Open Source) PHP tools, frameworks, and applications that minimize the risk of enterprise application development?

I will shed a light on these 4 questions and probably some more in forthcoming postings to my Weblog – and I will also tell you, why I still see a future with PHP5 in the enterprise market.