Innovations Are Based on i-model-Enabled PDFs and Adobe Digital Rights Management

Be Inspired: Thought Leadership in Infrastructure

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, today announced that its i-models (containers for open infrastructure information exchange) are now able to deliver AECO information mobility "with integrity" in PDF workflows by leveraging new agreements with Adobe Systems Incorporated and Bluebeam Software (provider of PDF creation, markup, and editing tools for AEC workflows). As a result, PDF-format deliverables can serve usefully at each stage, even as information is transformed from design to construction to operations, and back again. The agreements:

• introduce i-model-enabled PDFs providing new capabilities for AECO workflows that let users, for example, easily and interactively navigate and query information-rich 3D models and drawings within PDF documents;
• extend the interoperability of Bluebeam PDF Revu and related products with Bentley's ProjectWise collaboration and work-sharing platform, leading to new opportunities for dynamic review and for secure information mobility;
• enable Bentley to incorporate Adobe digital rights management capabilities in optional services of ProjectWise and AssetWise to further enhance the security of AECO intellectual property such as transmittals, project records, and operational documents shared among stakeholders.

Harry Vitelli, Bentley vice president, Collaboration Products, said, "We are pleased to be working with both Adobe and Bluebeam Software towards the common goal of enabling fit-for-purpose information to be shared in a consistent, controlled, and secure manner across all project disciplines and phases using our i-models and ProjectWise collaboration platform. The agreements and innovative developments we are announcing today enable users to distribute and interact with project-scale models in PDF, to help ensure project quality by synchronizing PDF-based markups dynamically and in correct context, and to protect their critical intellectual property."

Vitelli continued, "At a time when Adobe has determined that its efforts are best concentrated on important horizontal capabilities, we commend the useful work of Bluebeam in helping us achieve the potential of PDF in AECO. One of our particular contributions at Bentley has been to advance rich PDF use cases, and today's announcements support the important future for 3D PDF in AECO.

"Our users have very enthusiastically taken advantage of our ongoing commitment to PDF. In fact, of the tens of millions of vital AECO documents our users share in ProjectWise, the PDF format is used for nearly half."

John Landwehr, senior director of Enterprise Security Solutions, Adobe, said, "We are pleased to support Bentley with our digital rights management capabilities in its Bentley ProjectWise and AssetWise shared service. Now, AECO users will have the same levels of intellectual property protection and rights management features found in health care, financial services, and other highly regulated industries. Bentley's customers will enjoy features such as revocation of outdated content, watermark changes based on workflow states, or distribution of new versions of PDF and Microsoft Office files, i-models, and mobile packages."

Landwehr continued, "We are also excited that Bentley will extend PDF to include AECO-specific functionality through its i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. Users will enjoy advanced functionality such as viewing large point cloud data sets, component data query, and hypermodel interaction."

"Bluebeam and Bentley share the goal of creating better ways for information mobility within AECO through the use of PDF," said Richard Lee, president and CEO of Bluebeam Software. "For years, Bluebeam PDF Revu, our markup and collaboration application, has enabled digital workflows for Bentley users. And thanks to our cooperation with Bentley, Revu users will soon be able to synchronize their redlines through ProjectWise directly back to the information source, such as MicroStation, OpenPlant, or AECOsim applications. Plus, Bentley's i-model-enabled PDFs are truly exciting, as they make it possible to interact with project-scale models in PDFs. Today's announcements establish that PDF will become even more important for AECO."

i-model-enabled PDFs and i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader

Significantly, through the Adobe Reader Integration Key License (RIKLA) Program Bentley has developed new i-model-enabled PDFs and associated i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. These plug-ins are readily downloadable from Bentley's iWare website at no charge. In addition, Bentley and Bluebeam will work together to support i-model-enabled PDFs within Bluebeam's PDF Revu and related products.

Availability

The i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader will be available through Bentley's early adopter program in Q4 2011.

Additional information about i-model-enabled PDFs and the new i-model plug-ins for Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader will soon be available at www.bentley.com/iWare.

For additional information about news announced at Be Inspired, visit www.bentley.com/PressKits.

About Be Inspired: Thought Leadership in Infrastructure

The world's leading practitioners have gathered this week at Be Inspired, Bentley's premier thought leadership and networking event, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. They will share the best practices behind the successful realization of their current projects and explore new ways to respond to the challenges driving today's business. Also in attendance are 80 journalists from around the world, who additionally participated in a special media briefing on November 7.

Be Inspired is an intimate, invitation-only event featuring presentations by the Be Inspired Awards finalists as well as executive roundtables focusing on critical issues in business, technology, and practice facing infrastructure professionals around the world. It culminates with an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding achievement and innovation in infrastructure design, construction, and operations by winners selected from 57 project finalists by five independent panels of jurors. In total, nominations from 270 organizations in 42 countries were submitted in this year's awards program.

This annual event provides a unique forum for senior-level executives to learn about the innovations driving the development and operations of the world's top infrastructure projects. It also enables them to engage with other industry leaders in interactive discussions on topics of importance to the business of sustaining infrastructure. For additional information about the Be Inspired: Thought Leadership in Infrastructure event, visit www.bentley.com/BeInspired.

Follow us on Twitter: @BentleySystems. Use the hashtag #BeIn2011 to join the conversation about Be Inspired.

About Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Bentley is the global leader dedicated to providing architects, engineers, geospatial professionals, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. Bentley's mission is to empower its users to leverage information modeling through integrated projects for high-performing intelligent infrastructure. Its solutions encompass the MicroStation platform for infrastructure design and modeling, the ProjectWise platform for infrastructure project team collaboration and work sharing, and the AssetWise platform for infrastructure asset operations - all supporting a broad portfolio of interoperable applications and complemented by worldwide professional services. Founded in 1984, Bentley has grown to nearly 3,000 colleagues in more than 45 countries and $500 million in annual revenues. Since 2001, the company has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.

Additional information about Bentley is available at www.bentley.com and in Bentley's annual report. For Bentley news as it happens, subscribe to an RSS feed of Bentley press releases and news alerts. To view a searchable collection of innovative infrastructure projects from the annual Be Inspired Awards, access Bentley's Year in Infrastructure publications. To access a professional networking site that enables members of the infrastructure community to connect, communicate, and learn from each other, visit Be Communities.

To download the Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top Owners ranking, a unique global compendium of the top public- and private-sector owners of infrastructure based on the value of their cumulative infrastructure investments, visit www.bentley.com/500.

Bentley, the "B" Bentley logo, Be, MicroStation, and ProjectWise are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

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