Bentley taps Oracle Universal Server Spatial Data Option for enterprise management of engineering data.

EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 1997--

New ModelServer Continuum Combines with Oracle(R) Universal Server

to Deliver First Information System that Spans

Enterprise and Engineering

Bentley Systems, Inc., a leader in engineering software, today announced the beta shipments of ModelServer Continuum(TM) product supporting Release 7.3.3 of Oracle(R) Universal Server Spatial Data Option (SDO). The resulting combination will offer the first commercial information system that spans enterprise and engineering data.

Companies and organizations with heavy investments in engineering assets have long sought such a "contiguous" database. Utility companies, highway departments, facility owners, and others can now add critical engineering and spatial data to their business applications. For example, Oracle Spatial Data Option plus ModelServer Continuum will allow asset planning, customer information, and maintenance scheduling systems to incorporate engineering details and provide map-based user interfaces.

Jim Steiner, senior director of Server Technologies at Oracle, explains, "SDO was developed to facilitate the integration of spatial engineering data and the associated transactional information. Bentley worked closely with us to assure that SDO meets the requirements of the GIS community. We are very pleased that Bentley recognizes the new performance and function found within the latest release of Spatial Data Option."

Yoav Etiel, senior vice president of marketing at Bentley, comments, "ModelServer Continuum is the latest product in our Engineering Back Office(TM). It makes possible a whole new category of engineering- and spatially-enabled business applications." He adds, "Engineering asset owners, their suppliers, and their clients will each become more competitive with these new applications."

Oracle(R) Universal Server brings high performance, scaleable database capabilities to complex data types. The Spatial Data Option is an extension of Oracle(R) Universal Server to provide native support of geographically referenced data. SDO facilitates the storing of geometry, points, lines, polygons, and what is know as topology, within the relational database.

Legacy spatial software, or GIS, has stored geometry in a proprietary form. The combined technology of Oracle and Bentley unlocks the value of this information by sharing it with the enterprise. States Michael Fisher, director of the Oracle Spatial Business Unit, "Complex software is no longer necessary to access this valuable data which was so costly for many organizations to collect. Effectively, SDO and Continuum open the door to a new generation of spatially-enabled application development, free and clear of proprietary barriers."

ModelServer Continuum serves as an enterprise-wide engineering information broker connecting engineering client software from Bentley and other suppliers to data stored in Oracle(R) Universal Server using Spatial Data Option. Supported clients include MicroStation GeoGraphics(TM), MicroStation GeoOutlook(TM), as well as ESRI's ArcView.

Dave Weisberg, of A-E-C Automation Newsletter, comments, "Bentley is certainly on a roll and once again shows inspiring leadership with ModelServer Continuum." He adds, "When engineering assets are central to the enterprise, there is a great synergy in joining engineering and enterprise data. Engineers can design and maintain better projects while organizations can make better business decisions."

Because ModelServer Continuum interoperates with ModelServer Publisher(TM), it can deliver engineering data on demand to any desktop web browser. Organizations need maintain only one copy of their data. The collective information now including engineering and spatial data can be shared throughout their extended enterprises.

ModelServer Continuum also provides multi-user access to engineering information with short- and long-term transaction management. It includes Bentley's Open Engineering Connectivity (OEC), an API that makes all server functionality available to other applications.

ModelServer Continuum complies with industry standards as does Oracle Spatial Data Option. Data stored in Oracle(R) Universal Server through ModelServer Continuum can also be retrieved through SQL and Oracle APIs. Furthermore, Continuum is compatible with Oracle tools, supporting application development based on the world's most popular database. Systems administrators can therefore take a unified approach to security, backup, and recovery.

ModelServer Continuum and Oracle(R) Universal Server were demonstrated at the Executive Geoengineering Summit in Keystone, Colorado, last week to over 180 editors, analysts, and executives. Spatial queries and edits were made to the Oracle(R) Universal Server of the city of San Antonio that houses geoengineering features such as telephone cables, utility poles, and water pipes. Results were promptly displayed on various thick and thin clients, including MicroStation GeoGraphics, ArcView, Java stations, and Web browsers.

Pricing and Availability

ModelServer Continuum is priced at $37,500 (US, per server) and runs on Sun Solaris and later Windows NT(R) and other UNIX platforms. ModelServer Continuum will be available to beta users beginning this month. Production release is scheduled for Q3 1997. Plans also call for the product to integrate with other RDBMS platforms starting later this year.

ModelServer Continuum is licensed exclusively through Bentley's SELECT(SM) technology and service subscription program. SELECT Term Licensing is also available. Interested users and developers can contact Bentley immediately to join the Enterpriser Program, which offers early planning and implementation for all Engineering Back Office products.

For more information on ModelServer Continuum or the Engineering Back Office, please contact Bentley at 1-800-BENTLEY, [phone] (US), [phone] (Europe), [phone] (Asia), through E-mail at [e-mail], or through http://www.bentley.com . A white paper on the Engineering Back Office is also available from Bentley and can be downloaded from the company Web site.

More on Bentley

Bentley Systems, Inc. is a worldwide leader in engineering software and user services. The company now serves over 250,000 professionals in building/plant engineering, geoengineering, and mechanical engineering. Its MicroStation(R) desktop products are proven at over 70% of the largest U.S. engineering firms and are the software foundation of well-known buildings, roadways, machines, and industrial plants around the world. Its new line of Internet/intranet-based ModelServer(TM) products are the first to unite engineering and the enterprise. With revenues now over $120M annually, Bentley was listed as the fourth fastest growing on the 1996 Softletter 100 and named Growth Company of the Year by the Eastern Technology Council in their 1996 Enterprise Awards. -0-

MicroStation is a registered trademark; Engineering Back Office, ModelServer, ModelServer Continuum, ModelServer Publisher, MicroStation GeoOutlook, and MicroStation GeoGraphics are trademarks; and Bentley SELECT is a service mark of Bentley Systems, Inc. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Boston Communications

Michelle Allard

617/247-1112

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