Bentley OpenPlant Modeler V8i, Bentley OpenPlant ModelServer V8i, and Bentley OpenPlant Isometrics Manager V8i Extend Breadth and Depth of Application Offerings, Achieve Interoperability Requirements of iRING User Community, and Provide Breakthrough Value

EXTON, Pa. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — August 18, 2010 — Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for the infrastructure that sustains our world, today announced the immediate availability of three new products in Bentley’s OpenPlant software for plant creation based on an open data model. The new plant offerings from Bentley are the first commercially available products to share and meet the primary goal of the iRING user community ( www.iringug.org) – that is, to enable real-time, seamless sharing and interoperability of data and information across different organizations and systems using an internationally recognized standard. iRING implementations (ISO 15926 Real-Time Interoperable Network Grids) address the challenging workflow requirements of today’s globally distributed and sourced plant projects. Among the firms actively involved in the iRING community are Bayer, Bechtel, CH2M HILL, Consolidated Contractors Company, Dow, DuPont, Emerson, Fluor, Hatch, and Zachry. The new plant applications from Bentley enhance interoperability across data formats, workflows, and plant design systems, and add to the comprehensiveness of Bentley OpenPlant – extending its ability to integrate across multiple infrastructure disciplines while improving project team collaboration and providing breakthrough value.

Regarding the new OpenPlant products, Bruce Strupp, CPE-design technology director, CH2M HILL, a leading provider of the full spectrum of consulting, program management, design, construction, and operations solutions, said, “CH2M HILL has been an active member and participant in both FIATECH and, more recently, the iRING community of users. We’re committed to the goals of these organizations to achieve true interoperability and deliver business value through ISO 15926, and are delighted to see Bentley standing up to meet these challenges. The capabilities being delivered by Bentley with these new products are what the iRING community has been waiting for.”

The three new Bentley OpenPlant products being released today include:

• Bentley OpenPlant Modeler V8i – the first 3D plant modeling software to natively use the ISO 15926 data model as specified by the iRING user community. OpenPlant Modeler V8i incorporates the ongoing and ever-advancing capabilities of MicroStation V8i, the market-leading platform for plant creation and every infrastructure discipline. OpenPlant Modeler V8i is the only plant modeling software to natively support workflows that combine commonly used software standards including DGN, RealDWG, point clouds, and PDF.
• Bentley OpenPlant ModelServer V8i – the first plant design server software to effectively and productively manage both files and components – ideal for globally sourced projects that are necessarily loosely “coupled.” File management, enabled by Bentley’s ProjectWise collaboration services, is essential for the efficient exchange of deliverables and work packages, while at the same time, component management supports a higher level of abstraction, productivity, and quality of work. Projects using Bentley OpenPlant ModelServer V8i can benefit from yet another first: interoperable workflows across multiple design environments, including Intergraph’s PDS as well as Bentley’s AutoPLANT and PlantSpace.
• Bentley OpenPlant Isometrics Manager V8i – the first isometrics generation software to extract and incorporate complete intelligence from 3D plant models, automatically and in real time. Uniquely, such “on demand” intelligent isometric views remain relevant for owner-operators throughout the plant lifecycle – beyond procurement, fabrication, and construction to “as built” and “as safely operated” maintenance and compliance.

Bentley’s new OpenPlant offerings also provide breakthrough value, with new Bentley subscriptions ( www.bentley.com/subscriptions) typically costing less than the Unix-era maintenance fees of other vendors’ proprietary piping design systems. For example, with Bentley’s Designer for Piping Passport Subscription (OpenPlant), individual piping designers gain access to Bentley OpenPlant Modeler, Bentley OpenPlant Isometrics Manager, ProSteel Modeler, ProjectWise Passport, and ProjectWise Clash Resolution Visa – plus complete virtual training – for the single annual fee of $5,995. Value-creative pricing is also available to those acquiring Bentley OpenPlant products through perpetual licenses, which cost $7,295 for OpenPlant Modeler V8i, $25,000 for OpenPlant ModelServer V8i, and $6,500 for OpenPlant Isometrics Manager V8i.

Commenting on the new offerings, Bhupinder Singh, senior vice president, Bentley Software, said, “Bentley announced its OpenPlant strategy for enhanced interoperability in 2008. In 2009, the iRING user community demonstrated, using prototype software, the benefits of interoperability achievable with a full technical implementation of ISO 15926. Leveraging our MicroStation and ProjectWise platforms, the new OpenPlant applications enable users to achieve that level of real-time interoperability by using software that’s now commercially available – dramatically increasing the quality, cost-effectiveness, and freedom with which plant projects can be performed.”