Huston is the home of NASA’s human space program and has a well-developed engineering infrastructure, as well as a huge number of tech professionals specialized in providing high-end IT products and services. 

Even though the main activity of tech specialists is related more to energy, subsectors such as software engineering, web design and development, programming, and project management are also growing. 

In the last 3 years, the region has known one of the largest overall increase in IT talent pool in the nation. Now Houston is a tech hub that has an increasing number of innovation incubators and accelerators that help numerous startups in the area which are specialized in cleantech and software development. 

Houston shelters 8K plus tech-related companies, including 500+ venture-backed startups, and the city has its own platform to support tech startups - Houston Exponential, which was launched in 2017. 

Between 2014-19, Houston IT companies have received almost $2 billion in venture capital funding across 522 deals. Nearly half the funding has been routed to life science and health-related technology companies, an emerging sector in Houston’s innovation ecosystem. 

All in all, Houston has a huge potential to attract IT companies, researchers, and professionals, and, for sure worthy clients interested in developing a successful business in any subsector of the IT industry.

Laravel is a popular open-source PHP web application framework used for building web applications and websites. It's known for its elegant and expressive syntax, as well as its rich set of tools and libraries that simplify common web development tasks. Laravel was created by Taylor Otwell and released in 2011, and it has since gained widespread adoption in the PHP development community. Here are the key aspects and features of Laravel:

• Elegant Syntax

• MVC Architecture

• Artisan CLI

• Database Abstraction

• Blade Templating Engine

• Middleware

• Authentication and Authorization

• Routing

• Caching

• Testing

• Security

• Community and Ecosystem.

• Scalability

When choosing a PHP framework for a project, there are several alternatives to Laravel, each with its strengths and use cases. The choice depends on project requirements, familiarity with the framework, and specific preferences. Here are some notable PHP frameworks that often compete with Laravel:

• Symfony: Symfony is a high-performance PHP framework known for its flexibility and modularity. It is often used for large, enterprise-level applications. Laravel actually uses several Symfony components under the hood. Symfony provides robust tools for building web applications, APIs, and microservices.

• Zend Framework (Laminas): Zend Framework, now known as Laminas, is a mature framework that focuses on building scalable and enterprise-grade applications. It provides a collection of reusable components for various tasks, allowing developers to choose and integrate only what they need.

• CodeIgniter: CodeIgniter is a lightweight and straightforward framework that emphasizes simplicity and speed of development. It's often chosen for smaller projects and rapid application development (RAD). While it has a smaller feature set compared to Laravel, it's known for its minimal learning curve.

• CakePHP: CakePHP is a full-stack framework that focuses on convention over configuration (CoC). It comes with features like scaffolding, a built-in ORM, and a friendly community. It's known for its simplicity and convention-driven development.

Companies specialized in providing services using Laravel can significantly benefit relevant projects. Their expertise in Laravel development allows them to efficiently create customized web applications that meet specific project requirements. With a deep understanding of Laravel's capabilities, these companies can ensure the project benefits from Laravel's robust features, clean code structure, and security mechanisms.

They expedite development using Laravel's built-in tools and extensive package ecosystem, making them well-suited for both small-scale and enterprise-level applications. Security is a top priority, with specialists implementing best practices to protect against common web vulnerabilities, enhancing the project's safety, especially when dealing with sensitive data.

After the project launch, these specialized companies offer ongoing maintenance and support, addressing issues, applying updates, and ensuring the application's long-term reliability. They also excel in integration with third-party services and technologies, expanding the application's functionality and enhancing the user experience.

In addition, some companies may offer UX and design services, further improving the project's visual appeal and usability. Through rigorous testing and quality assurance, they identify and resolve potential issues before deployment, ensuring the application performs reliably across various devices and browsers.