Bentley Climbs to Number 2 in A/E/C; Recent Industry Reports Highlight Company Progress and EEM Headstart.

LAS VEGAS, Bentley Power Conference--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 1999--

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Exton, PA) today announced that market researcher Daratech Inc. (Cambridge, MA) reported that Bentley's 1998 revenue performance raised the company from the number three to number two software provider in the architecture/engineering/construction (A/E/C) global market, now ahead of Intergraph Corporation (NASDAQ:INGR) and behind only Autodesk Corporation (NASDAQ:ADSK).

Researcher Dataquest, a Gartner Group company (San Jose, CA), also announced gains for Bentley in the process plant design software market. Their most recent report showed that Bentley was the fastest-growing among the market leaders and rose to the number three position, with over ten percent market share and behind only Intergraph and CADcentre with twenty and twelve percent share respectively.

Charles Foundyller, president of Daratech, comments, "Bentley has grown sevenfold in the past four years." He adds, "That is impressive in itself, but even more striking is that, in 1998, they continued this pace while making significant investments in their emerging EEM market area. We view their 1999 as a year for Bentley to capitalize on these investments."

Bentley's performance for the just-completed 1999 first quarter was consistent with these expectations. The company grew its revenue by more than 22 percent versus the first quarter of 1998. Bentley reported 1998 revenue of $175 million to Daratech and Dataquest.

Recent EEM technology investments made by Bentley include the MicroStation/J(TM) product with Java(TM), the ProjectBank(TM) engineering transaction management system, and MicroStation/J engineering configurations for architectural modeling, civil engineering, geoengineering, plant engineering, and manufacturing. The company also introduced ProjectWise(TM), which has emerged as a leader in the fast-growing category of engineering project extranet solutions.

A-E-C Automation Newsletter recently reviewed Bentley's new organizational structure, also motivated by the move to EEM. According to the report, the approach of the new focused business groups should result in "even more tightly integrated solutions that cover a broader spectrum (of activities)." Separately, David Weisberg of the newsletter commented, "I am duly impressed with Bentley's move to EEM, a progression which will no doubt result in higher productivity for its user base. In fact, I expect that the most successful users will aspire to the goals of EEM."

Bentley itself reported several major new contracts and account wins during the climb to number two in AEC. Caltrans, in a $2.1 million order, expanded its use of Bentley software. The Maine Department of Transportation (MeDOT) became the 45th state transportation agency to standardize on Bentley software. The Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre signed a $1.9 million with contract with Bentley for their land register information system.

In addition, Kvaerner, the international Anglo-Norwegian engineering and construction group, signed a two-year $1.5 million agreement. Fincantieri, the world's leading shipbuilder, ordered $1.2 million of Bentley products. The Troyer Group, Inc., one of the midwest's largest architecture and engineering consulting firms, switched to Bentley. The prestigious architectural firm of Richard Meier, FAIA also selected Bentley.

Also, as Intergraph recently disclosed in an SEC filing, Bentley and Intergraph came to a settlement agreement of their royalty arbitration. In the settlement, Intergraph paid Bentley $12 million and transferred to Bentley the ownership of 3 million shares of Bentley stock, which served to reduce Intergraph's ownership in Bentley to 33 percent. Daratech, in a strategic brief on the settlement, termed the agreement "a net positive for all involved."

For more information on Bentley, please contact the company at 1-800-BENTLEY, [phone] (Americas), [phone] (Europe, Middle East, Africa), [phone] (Asia/Pacific), through E-mail at [e-mail] or through www.bentley.com. The Bentley Wire automatically delivers company press releases through E-mail within minutes of being issued. To subscribe, click www.bentley.com/news/bwire.

About EEM

EEM (enterprise engineering modeling) is a market category that has been identified by Dataquest, a Gartner Group company, as a progression of the computer-aided design market. While CAD is limited to geometric data, EEM encompasses modeling all aspects of engineered assets as well as sharing the information with extended enterprises that design, build, and operate the assets. Driven by forces similar to those behind ERP, EEM is made possible by advances in client/server, component software, Web, mobile device, and spatial database technologies.

More on Bentley

Bentley Systems, Incorporated is a worldwide leader in engineering software. The Bentley Continuum(SM) is the company's comprehensive engineering IT strategy comprising products, services, and strategic affiliations. The company now serves over 300,000 professionals in building/plant engineering, geoengineering, and manufacturing engineering. With revenues now over $175 million annually, Bentley was listed as the largest privately held company on the 1998 Softletter 100 and named to the 1998 Upside Hot 100.

Bentley's MicroStation(R) and ModelServer(TM) EEM products, together with high-quality, interoperable engineering applications provided by strategic affiliates, are used at over 70 percent of the largest U.S. engineering firms. These products form the software foundation of the world's infrastructure such as landmark buildings, roadways, industrial plants and machines. The Bentley SELECT(SM) technology and service subscription program now reaches nearly 200,000 users.

More information about Bentley is available at www.bentley.com.

Bentley and MicroStation are registered trademarks; MicroStation/J, ProjectBank, ProjectWise, and ModelServer are trademarks; and Bentley Continuum and Bentley SELECT are service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or Bentley Software, Inc. Java, all Java-based trademarks and logos, as well as "Write Once, Run Anywhere" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.