PHP and Java are both languages with reputations for getting things done, and there are plenty of reasons for combining the two, particularly in an Enterprise environment. The most common situation is for an organisation with an existing Java infrastructure to want to develop PHP projects, for all the reasons any enterprise would choose PHP, such as speed of development, cost, desire to use specific open source applications, or availability of staff. Often this is inspired by an internal group who has started using Drupal, MediaWiki, Wordpress or similar to great effect, but without the integration to the rest of the organisation's infrastructure that would be needed for a full scale roll out.

There are many reasons to want to integrate these new developments with Java rather than just creating a separate silo - existing libraries or systems that would be difficult or expensive to replicate, well-tested systems providing key functionality, and an existing team of developers are just a few. So, the best way is often to mix and match the two - which is easier than it might first appear.