AspenTech Announces Availability of Process Industry's Most Comprehensive Manufacturing Solutions Based on S95 Guidelines.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 2003

Process companies can benefit immediately from tailored

solutions for key industries including chemicals, petroleum,

oil & gas and pharmaceuticals

Aspen Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZPN) today announced the availability of a major new range of integrated manufacturing software solutions aligned with the international ISA S95 guidelines. The solutions address key operations defined by S95, including production scheduling, production dispatching, production data collection, production execution, and performance analysis, and are tailored to the requirements of the main process industries including chemicals, petroleum, oil & gas and pharmaceuticals. Customers are able to benefit immediately from these solutions following the commercial release of Version 6 of the Aspen Manufacturing Suite, which provides the process industry's most comprehensive set of scalable manufacturing products aligned with the S95 guidelines.

The S95 standard supports improved operational performance by defining a clear set of manufacturing functional activities and workflows, and by establishing a common format for the exchange of information between the plant and business systems, like enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. By consistently aligning its products with the S95 guidelines and leveraging its expertise in the application of process models, AspenTech is able to offer modular manufacturing solutions that deliver maximum value, and that offer reduced risk and lowest cost of ownership.

"As many companies are trying to integrate their manufacturing operations with the rest of their company systems, new standards such as ISA S95 are becoming increasingly critical," said Dave Woll, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group. "We think there is a great deal of significance in AspenTech's decision to use ISA S95 to unify its Aspen Manufacturing Suite and thereby enhance the value proposition to its customers."

The enhanced capabilities provided by AspenTech's manufacturing solutions allow customers to manage their manufacturing operations, functions, and associated workflows--from receipt of raw materials through to the final consumer--with the same underlying data, assumptions, and process models used across the manufacturing process. This enables real-time management and optimization of the operations based on a consistent set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and messages as defined by S95.

"Our investment in developing software solutions aligned with the ISA S95 guidelines means that our customers can begin to transform their manufacturing operations today," said Steve Pringle, AspenTech's Sr. Vice President of Manufacturing/Supply Chain. "These integrated solutions allow business managers to see what is actually happening in their operations, rather than getting a historical picture. If a business variance occurs, the solution enables them to identify the root cause, so that immediate corrective action can be taken before it accumulates into significant business loss."

AspenTech's latest generation of manufacturing solutions are based on software technologies that are part of the Aspen Manufacturing Suite (AMS) Version 6, which includes such industry-leading products as DMCplus(R), InfoPlus.21(R), Aspen eBRS(TM), and Aspen Apollo(TM). The AMS product range is designed as a comprehensive set of building blocks that can be applied to create completely integrated process industry solutions. AspenTech's Manufacturing Suite solutions have already been implemented by over 1,000 process companies worldwide.

AspenTech actively participates with other leaders in the process industry community in the development of the ISA S95 guidelines. The latest AMS products reflect this close association with the design and development of the guidelines, incorporating a set of common messages for exchange, a supporting infrastructure to provide agreement on data content, and workflow, event, and error handling.

About AspenTech

Aspen Technology, Inc. provides industry-leading software and implementation services that enable process companies to increase efficiency and profitability. AspenTech's engineering product line is used to design and improve plants and processes, maximizing returns throughout an asset's operating life. Its manufacturing/supply chain product line allows companies to increase margins in their plants and supply chains, by managing customer demand, optimizing production, and streamlining the delivery of finished products. These two offerings are combined to create solutions for enterprise operations management (EOM), integrated enterprise-wide systems that provide process manufacturers with the capability to dramatically improve their operating performance. Over 1,500 leading companies already rely on AspenTech's software, including Aventis, Bayer, BASF, BP, ChevronTexaco, Dow Chemical, DuPont, ExxonMobil, Fluor, Foster Wheeler, GlaxoSmithKline, Shell, and Total. For more information, visit http://www.aspentech.com.

AspenTech, Aspen Manufacturing Suite, Plantelligence, DMCplus, InfoPlus.21, Aspen eBRS, Aspen Apollo and the aspen leaf logo are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.