By Enabling Data Exchange Between Tekla Structures and Bentley’s Integrated Structural Modeling Methodology, the Two Companies Will Significantly Increase the Productivity of Their Mutual Users

EXTON, Pa. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — May 26, 2011 — Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, including structural analysis, design, and documentation software, and Tekla Corporation, a software provider and driver of digital information models to the construction, infrastructure, and energy industries, today announced a joint collaboration to further advance the interoperability of software within Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows. The two companies are improving interoperability between the Tekla Structures BIM software and Bentley’s Integrated Structural Modeling (ISM) methodology.

Once ISM-linked, Tekla Structures will interoperate with all other ISM-enabled software including, to date, Bentley’s STAAD, RAM Concept, RAM Elements, Structural Modeler, ProSteel, and ProConcrete. Tekla Structures links with various other systems through the Tekla Open API^™ application programming interface that is implemented using Microsoft^® .NET technology.

With ISM, structural practitioners are able to choose the software they need for each project task while benefiting from the efficiencies of data reuse as they participate in multidisciplinary, integrated project workflows. This lets them take full advantage of BIM best practices to reap significant business benefits, and results in intelligent structural designs, more successful projects, and better-performing buildings and structures of all types.

Risto Räty, Executive Vice President of Tekla Corporation, said about the joint development effort, “We are excited about this new collaboration with Bentley. It will enable us to provide a better open BIM experience for our shared Tekla and Bentley software users, whilst supporting other open standards, too.”

Santanu Das, Bentley Vice President, Integrated Engineering Group, said, “Having Tekla embrace ISM puts our common structural software users on the road to substantial, game-changing productivity improvements. By providing the ability to track, control, visualize, and easily share changes, our two companies are greatly improving the data fidelity and software interoperability experience of these practitioners.”

Das continued, “Upcoming enhancements to ISM will include connections and concrete reinforcing. These will further meet users’ interoperability needs and reduce the data re-entry and repetitive cross-checking among products that continue to be a mainstay process in far too many of today’s structural projects.”

ISM provides the structural practitioner with:

• interoperability among all ISM-enabled software;
• a shared repository of common structural model data among the enabled products for most structural project types and common materials;
• the ability to track revisions and compare differences among versions of this common model;
• robust round-tripping of information with unique filter methodology to avoid false changes;
• the ability to visually and textually see and control model changes;
• i-model and PDF publishing capabilities to enable collaboration and downstream value-adds such as clash detection and enhanced scheduling;
• a no-cost visualization tool for data interrogation and i-model sharing;
• open API to ensure data fidelity.

For additional information about Bentley ISM V8i, visit www.bentley.com/ism.

For additional information about Tekla Structures, visit www.teklastructures.com.

About Tekla

With its software, Tekla Corporation drives the evolution of digital information models and provides thus more and more competitive advantage to the construction, infrastructure and energy industries. The company was established already in 1966, and today it has customers in 100 countries, offices in 15 countries and a global partner network.

With an ambition to multiply its customers’ potential to think and achieve big, Tekla provides an accurate, detailed, and data-rich 3D BIM (Building Information Modeling) software environment that can be shared by contractors, structural engineers, steel detailers and fabricators, as well as concrete detailers and manufacturers.

The highly detailed as-built structural models created, combined and distributed with Tekla BIM software enable the highest level of constructability and production control. Centralizing building information into the model allows for more collaborative and integrated project management and delivery. This translates into increased productivity and elimination of waste, thus making construction and buildings more sustainable. More information at www.tekla.com.

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 .