Franklin County, Washington, Joins Bentley's Municipal License Subscription Program



    Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced that Franklin
    County, Washington, has joined Bentley's Municipal License
    Subscription (MLS) program. The county will use its new MLS to help
    increase the level of service to its citizens in areas such as GIS,
    construction and maintenance support, road and bridge construction and
    maintenance, and irrigation.

    Bentley's MLS offers municipalities all the software they need to
    design and manage all their infrastructure for a fixed annual fee
    based on population. The breakthrough program enables them to improve
    productivity and reduce administrative costs by outfitting their
    entire mapping and engineering organizations with fully integrated
    software for GIS and engineering workflows. This leads to improved
    services and more efficient government.

    Said Matt Mahoney, design engineer for Franklin County, "Our
    decision to go with Bentley's MLS program was all about economics and
    easier, broader access to Bentley's products. We were already
    convinced that Bentley's software solutions are best able to meet our
    needs, which is why we've long used MicroStation, InterPlot, Bentley
    I/RAS B, and most of Bentley's Haestad Methods product line.

    "In addition, the service and technical support we receive from
    Bentley are second to none, and this is a must for a small agency like
    ours. It's what enables us to get our work completed
    cost-effectively."

    According to Mahoney, one of the most important benefits of the
    MLS to Franklin County is budgeting efficiency. "We know what our
    software is going to cost us each year," said Mahoney. "We don't have
    to forecast software needs for each subsequent year, or amend our
    budgets should we need to increase seats or acquire another product to
    satisfy new requirements.

    "And this translates into another important benefit of our MLS: We
    can deploy whatever software we want whenever and wherever we need to.
    Because there are no shared network licenses, we no longer have to
    wait for someone to exit an application before we can complete our
    work. If we need another seat or a different software solution, it is
    available immediately at no additional cost to us."

    Bentley's MLS program provides municipalities with unlimited
    access to a comprehensive portfolio of integrated GIS and engineering
    software for all of their infrastructure, including:

    -- Public works - roads, bridges, water, sewer, and storm

    -- Land development

    -- E-government

    -- Light rail design

    -- Community broadband

    -- Water and wastewater treatment plant design

    -- Electric and gas distribution networks

    -- Urban planning

    -- Cadastre management

    -- Public safety

    -- Municipal building design

    -- Mapping and 3D modeling

    Because program fees are fixed, Bentley's MLS guarantees
    predictable software costs and budgeting. In addition, it removes the
    administrative burden of complex software licenses, shortens
    procurement cycles, speeds project starts, and ultimately leads to
    more efficient government.

    Added Mahoney, "Our goal is to deploy new seats of the software we
    are using currently and to add new software to our solutions set so
    that we can provide the most efficient and cost-effective services to
    the citizens within our administrative area. For example, in the near
    future we are planning to deploy more geospatial solutions, HAMMER for
    our water infrastructure, PowerSurvey, PowerCivil, InRoads, and
    DigitalPlant solutions. Without our MLS, and given the realities of
    tight budgets in a rural county like ours, it's unlikely that these
    solutions would even be on the table for consideration."

    For more information about Bentley's MLS program initiative and
    software or to contact a Bentley representative, visit
    www.bentley.com/MLS.

    About Franklin County

    Franklin County, Washington, has a total area of 1265 square miles
    and more than 63,000 citizens. It is the fastest-growing county in the
    state, experiencing a population increase of more than 20 percent
    between 2000 and 2004.

    Franklin County is a rural county based on agriculture with highly
    productive farmland, both irrigated and non-irrigated. It is
    characterized by its open spaces, quality development, and
    agriculturally related industries. The county enjoys a diversity of
    population and is a good place to live, with quality education in its
    schools, a low crime rate, clean, fresh air, and friendly neighbors.
    For more information, visit www.co.franklin.wa.us.

    About Bentley

    Bentley Systems, Incorporated provides software for the lifecycle
    of the world's infrastructure. The company's comprehensive portfolio
    for the building, plant, civil, and geospatial verticals spans
    architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and operations. With
    revenues now surpassing $400 million annually, and more than 2400
    colleagues globally, Bentley is the leading provider of AEC software
    to the Engineering News-Record Top Design Firms and major
    owner-operators, and was named the world's No. 2 provider of
    GIS/geospatial software solutions in a recent Daratech research study.

    To receive Bentley press releases as they are issued, visit
    www.bentley.com/bentleywire. For more information, visit
    www.bentley.com. To view a copy of Bentley's May 2006 Annual Report
    online, go to www.bentley.com/May2006annualreport.

    Bentley, the "B" logo, Municipal License Subscription, MLS,
    MicroStation, InterPlot, Bentley I/RAS B, Haestad Methods, HAMMER,
    PowerSurvey, PowerCivil, InRoads, and DigitalPlant 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 trademarks are the property of their
    respective owners.