CUPERTINO, Calif.: Zend Technologies, the PHP Company, today announced a new alliance with NIIT, a global talent development company and leader in the IT training space and winner of the Dataquest Top IT Training Company Award in 2010. Together, Zend and NIIT have launched a PHP training and certification program that will extend across more than 450 centers in India. The new program aims to establish a talent pool of PHP experts and Zend Certified Engineers in India to serve the growing market demand for skilled PHP developers around the globe. This demand is being driven by enterprise IT organizations and system integrators delivering application development projects, especially in the U.S. and Europe.

Under the new program, Zend Certified Trainers will train NIIT staff, and provide course content and certifications. Teaching of courses and certification testing which will then be conducted by NIIT for participants enrolling in the program. Program graduates will be sought after for their knowledge and skills in PHP application development and management by organizations aiming to accelerate time to market with business-critical Web applications.

According to Siddhartha Agarwal, Vice President, Americas and Emerging Markets Field Operations at Zend, "NIIT is an excellent training partner for Zend, with a track record of quality and global reach. India is a key market for developing and nurturing professional PHP developers. By establishing the training partnership in India, Zend and NIIT are creating an educated and certified community of PHP developers and Zend Certified Engineers. With this program underway, Indian companies and system integrators can rapidly build mission-critical web applications for local and offshore projects. This is the world's first partner program of its kind for PHP talent development."

Mr. Vijay K. Thadani, Chief Executive Officer, NIIT Limited, said, "NIIT has always been a pioneer at embracing new technology. Our relationship with Zend Technologies continues our tradition of bringing the latest technology first to students and professionals in India. This alliance with Zend will enable the Indian IT services industry to keep pace with the growing demand of PHP professionals globally."

As part of this alliance, Zend will provide NIIT with its world-leading training curriculum for PHP, Zend Framework, and Zend software product training. Zend and NIIT will customize the content for absorption within the Indian market and deliver it through its more than 450 training centers. The industry-acclaimed Zend Certification Program (Zend Certified Engineer for PHP 5.3 and Zend Certified Engineer for Zend Framework) will be leveraged by NIIT to certify PHP developers.

ZEND DELIVERS ENTERPRISE PHP SOLUTIONS FOR APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Development of the training program with NIIT reflects Zend's ongoing PHP community thought leadership and knowledge sharing for effective use of PHP open-source and commercial solutions in enterprise application development. According to market analyst estimates, there are approximately 4.5 million PHP developers worldwide. Zend provides the PHP community with an integrated software platform, ideal for on-premise and cloud computing environments, which includes Zend Server Web application server, the Zend Studio integrated development environment (IDE), and Zend Framework, the leading PHP application framework.

About Zend

Zend Technologies, Inc., the PHP Company, is the leading provider of software and services for developing, deploying and managing business-critical PHP applications for Web, cloud and mobile computing environments. PHP runs 35 percent of the world's Web sites and has quickly become the most popular language for building dynamic Web applications. Deployed at more than 35,000 companies worldwide, the Zend family of products delivers a comprehensive solution supporting the entire application lifecycle. Zend is headquartered in California with offices in France, Germany, Ireland, Israel and Italy. Visit www.zend.com, or follow www.twitter.com/zend.

About NIIT

NIIT Limited, leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia's largest IT trainer, offers learning and knowledge solutions to over 5 million students across 40 countries. Leading IT magazine Dataquest has conferred upon NIIT, the 'Top IT Training Company' award successively for the past 18 years, since the inception of this category. Rated among India's Business Superbrands 2008, NIIT's Individual Learning Business offerings include industry-endorsed programs for students seeking careers in IT - GNIIT, Edgeineers and Global Net Plus for IT professionals. NIIT has provided computer-based learning to over 15,000 government and private schools. The futuristic NIIT eGURU range for schools is a holistic education package that comprises of Interactive Classrooms (an embedded Teaching Learning Material that uses elements of interactivity, automation and web links library); Math lab (technology tools that enable school students to learn and explore mathematical concepts); IT Wizard (equips the students with core computer knowledge and IT skills); and Quick School (an Education Resource Planning solution for school management). For working professionals, NIIT Imperia, Centre for Advanced Learning, offers Executive Management Education Programs in association with Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Ahmadabad, Indore, Kolkata, Lucknow, IMT Ghaziabad and IIFT Delhi. NIIT Institute of Finance Banking & Insurance (IFBI), formed by NIIT with equity participation from ICICI Bank, offers programs for individuals and corporations in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance. NIIT Uniqua, Centre for Process Excellence, addresses the increasing demand for skilled workers in the business and technology services industry by providing training programs in relevant areas. This is a part of NIIT Institute of Process Excellence, a NIIT-Genpact venture. NIIT's Corporate Learning Solutions, offers integrated learning solutions (including strategic consulting, learning design, content development, delivery, technology, assessment and learning management) to Fortune 500 companies, Universities, Technology companies, Training corporations and Publishing houses. NIIT delivers a tailored combination of catalog learning products, technology and services through Element K offerings. These include: vLab®: hands-on labs, instructor-led courseware, comprehensive e-reference libraries, technical journals, and KnowledgeHub™: hosted learning management platform. This makes NIIT the first and the best choice for comprehensive learning solutions, worldwide. Ushering in a new model in higher education is the not-for-profit NIIT University, established in 2009 with a vision of being the leading centre of innovation and learning in emerging areas of the Knowledge Society. Nestled in the foothills of Aravali, in Neemrana, Rajasthan, the picturesque 100 acres fully residential green campus has been developed as an institute of excellence based on the four core principles of providing industry linked, technology based, research driven, seamless education.

SOURCE Zend Technologies