Bentley outlines vision and products for new world of engineering collaboration over the internet; Company takes lead role in empowering large, multi-discipline teams to work together, announces ProActiveM and Engineering Links.

ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 1996--A/E/C SYSTEMS '96--At his keynote speech here on Wednesday, Keith Bentley, CEO of Bentley Systems, Inc. (Exton, PA), will publicly unveil his company's vision and products for the new world of engineering collaboration over the Internet. As large-scale engineering projects grow in complexity, the company plans to take its traditional lead role in automation that empowers multi-discipline teams to collaborate worldwide.

Specifically, Bentley is announcing a new enabling technology, called ProActiveM, designed for modeling over the Internet, and a series of tools and technologies for engineering over the Internet, called Engineering Links, to be released this year. A confluence of factors is making it possible to revolutionize engineering collaboration. In its plans, Bentley recognizes the commanding role of the Web in this shift and will be fully leveraging its technologies and standards.

Bentley comments, "From our beginning, we have separated ourselves from the crowd in providing products that support large engineering groups. As these groups go global and embrace the Internet, it is our moment in time to outline a new vision for engineering collaboration." He adds, "Engineering Links offer a comprehensive set of Internet capabilities for today and ProActiveM offers a technology for the future that allows for continuous, global collaboration."

Thomas Greaves, vice president and senior analyst at CAD/CAM/CAE research firm Daratech Inc., of Cambridge, comments, "We share Bentley's vision that the Internet and Intranets will revolutionize engineering, and we applaud their strategy of Web-enabling the MicroStation(R) product line." Greaves adds, "Based on what we've seen and heard from Bentley, we believe them to be an industry leader in this fast-developing area."

Use of the Internet in engineering is on a sharp rise. For example, over 83% of architectural/engineering firms now have access to the Web, according to a recent study by PSMJ Resource of Newton, MA. Large-scale engineering is an especially appropriate application for the Internet, given the essential need to globally share information. Next week, Daratech will hold its first-ever Internet for engineering executive workshop.

Bentley explains, "Engineering projects are becoming fast-paced, worldwide orchestrations of large teams. To make the right decisions, users need immediate, far-reaching access to changing information." He continues, "Properly leveraged, the Internet and Intranets are ideal communication and collaboration vehicles for engineering."

For Bentley, that leverage comes in the form of ProActiveM technology, the foundation of the upcoming Objective MicroStation product. As Java activates Web pages, so ProActiveM is designed to activate engineering models over the Web. Its Active Models hold data and programs that run without re-compilation on all platforms.

ProActiveM adds the ability to safely distribute and move engineering models over the Internet. Moreover, ProActiveM holds a transaction management system that lets users share models while automatically preserving model integrity and structure. This integrity is ensured regardless of the complexity of the model or the number of users sharing information.

Bentley's new world of collaborative engineering on the Internet is stirring. Engineering projects will have home pages, borrowing the simplicity and power of this paradigm. From "sites of engineering", users will access and share active models with simple clicks.

Engineering context will be added to Web search tools, opening the door to a world of access and engineering information. Architects, for example, will ask the Web for the supplier of windows that best match the requirements of the design. Civil engineers will navigate municipal Web-sites and electronic drawings rather than search through city hall archives for paper maps and drawings.

Because Active Models contain code, they can be made "intelligent". This furthers the collaborative benefits. Models will match real-world components, such as doors and windows, that can interact and collaborate with other components. For example, a building's Active Model for its structure can ensure that the HVAC model does not disturb supporting beams.

Bentley comments, "Models in a large-scale engineering project are very complex and interrelated. As a recent KPMG survey found, maintaining the integrity of this information is a top priority for users." He adds, "ProActiveM is the only technology that ensures the integrity of models in the more exciting yet more demanding world of the Internet."

The new Engineering Links will provide Internet-based collaboration starting this month. MicroStation Link, an add-in for MicroStation 95, incorporates a Web browser inside MicroStation. Because it supports embedded URL links in models, MicroStation Link allows users to quickly navigate the Web and drag-and-drop content to-and-from MicroStation files. Users can better share working models and published information with their enterprise, clients, and providers from within MicroStation 95. MicroStation Link will be expanded for use in all MicroStation products.

Engineering Links also include MicroStation 2D and 3D publishing tools for the Internet. The first of these to be released will support VRML and CGM.

ProActiveM and Engineering Links are being demonstrated here at A/E/C SYSTEMS '96. Because Engineering Links are written in the MicroStation Development Language (MDL(TM)), these capabilities work with existing versions of MicroStation products. Subscribers to the Bentley SELECT(SM) support and licensing program receive all the Engineering Links, as well as other enhancements to MicroStation products, at no charge.

At the A/E/C show, Bentley will also talk at The Internet for A/E/C's workshop Thursday at 9:45am. Also Yoav Etiel, Bentley senior vice president of marketing, will speak in the first session of Daratech's upcoming Internet workshop in Orlando on June 24, 1996. He will be joined in a panel discussion by other industry executives from IBM, National Semiconductor Corp., and Hewlett-Packard.

For more information on Bentley, Engineering Links, or ProActiveM, please contact the company at 1-800-BENTLEY, [phone] (US), [phone] (Europe), [phone] (Asia), via e-mail at [e-mail], or through the World Wide Web at http://www.bentley.com/.

More on Daratech Intranet/Internet Strategies for Engineering and Manufacturing '96

This conference will focus on the vision, philosophy, practicability, justification, and alternate deployment strategies of corporate Intranets in support of engineering and manufacturing on an enterprise-wide basis, and explore the roles of Intranets and the Internet in a manufacturing enterprise. For more information, you can reach Daratech at 617/354-2339 or at http://www.daratech.com.

More on Bentley

Bentley Systems, Inc. is a worldwide leader in engineering software products and user services. The company now serves over 220,000 professionals in building/plant engineering, GeoEngineering, and mechanical engineering. Its MicroStation products are proven at over 70% of the largest U.S. engineering firms and are the software foundation behind the engineering of well-known buildings, airports, hospitals, highways, machines, bridges and industrial plants throughout the world. With annual revenues of over $95 million in 1995, Bentley has risen to number three in the AEC software segment and become one of the world's fastest growing software companies.

MicroStation is a registered trademark; Bentley, ProActiveM, Engineering Links, Active Models, and MDL are trademarks; and Bentley SELECT is a service mark of Bentley Systems, Inc. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

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Boston Communications

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