Bentley Systems, Incorporated is an American-based

software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

company that develops, manufactures, licenses, sells and supports

computer software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

and services for the

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

, and operation of

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

. The company's software serves the building, plant, civil, and geospatial markets in the areas of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

(AEC) and operations. Their software products are used to design, engineer, build, and operate large constructed assets such as

roadway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s, buildings, industrial plants,

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s, and

utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

networks. The company re-invests 20% of their revenues in research and development. Bentley Systems is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, United States, but has development, sales and other departments in over 50 countries. In 2021, the company generated revenue of $1 billion in 186 countries.

Software

Bentley has three principal software product lines: MicroStation, ProjectWise, and AssetWise. Since 2014, some products have been based on the

Microsoft Azure Microsoft Azure, or just Azure ( /ˈæʒər, ˈeɪʒər/ ''AZH-ər, AY-zhər'', UK also /ˈæzjʊər, ˈeɪzjʊər/ ''AZ-ure, AY-zure''), is the cloud computing platform developed by Microsoft. It has management, access and development of ...

cloud computing Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to International Organization for ...

platform.SPAR 3D
www.spar3d.com/news/software/vol12no45-bentley-announces-next-gen-connect-software-platform/
accessdate: September 7, 2016 In 2024, it continues to sell software lines such as MicroStation and ProjectWise, as well as several dozen others such as SYNCHRO and OpenRoads Designer.

History

Keith A. Bentley and Barry J. Bentley founded Bentley Systems in 1984.Section 10: CAD/CAM/CAE/CADD

, accessdate: September 14, 2016 They introduced the commercial version of PseudoStation in 1985, which allowed users of Intergraph's VAX systems to use low-cost graphics terminals to view and modify the designs on their Intergraph IGDS (Interactive Graphics Design System) installations. Their first product was shown to potential users who were polled as to what they would be willing to pay for it. They averaged the answers, arriving at a price of $7,943. A DOS-based version of MicroStation was introduced in 1986. In April 2002, Bentley filed for an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

, but it was withdrawn before taking effect. In November 2016, German-based

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

announced it would pay about $76 million for a minority stake in Bentley, as well as invest in developing joint software with it. In September 2020, Bentley Systems sets terms of its IPO valuing the company at about $4.96 billion. The company would offer 10.75 million shares priced between $17 and $19 per share. In October 2024, Bentley Systems began using

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

2D and 3D geospatial content in some of its software. Nicholas Cumins was Bentley chief officer.

Acquisitions

On June 18, 1997, Bentley acquired IdeaGraphix, a developer of MicroStation-based application software for architecture, engineering, and facilities management. On January 15, 1998, Bentley acquired Jacobus. On January 2, 2001, Bentley acquired Intergraph's

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, plot-services and raster conversion software businesses. On October 17, 2001, Bentley Systems bought Geopak design software for road and rail infrastructure. Bentley Systems acquired Rebis in 2003, Infrasoft Corporation in 2003, Haestad Methods, Inc. in 2004, and then agreed to acquire netGuru's Research Engineers International (REI) business which included its STAAD structural analysis and design product line on August 31, 2005. Bentley acquired GEF-RIS AG in 2006, KIWI Software in 2007, C.W. Beilfuss and Associates in 2007, and TDV GmbH, an analysis and design software provider for bridge engineering, in May 2007.Geospatial World
www.geospatialworld.net/news-posts/bentley-acquires-tdv-gmbh-analysis-and-design-software-provider-for-bridge-engineering/
accessdate: August 18, 2016 In early 2008, Bentley acquired Hevacomp, Ltd., LEAP Software, Inc., the promis•e product line from ECT International, and Common Point for mainstream construction simulation. On October 13, 2009, Bentley added

geotechnical Geotechnical engineering, also known as geotechnics, is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics to solve its engineering problems. I ...

and geoenvironmental capabilities with the acquisition of Software. On February 9, 2010, Bentley Systems announced two acquisitions: Exor Corporation and Enterprise Informatics. On March 2, 2011, Bentley Systems acquired SACS software for offshore structural analysis from Engineering Dynamics, Inc. Also in 2011, Bentley acquired FormSys and Pointools Ltd., a British developer of point-cloud software technology. In 2012, Bentley acquired the software business of Hannappel Software, as well as InspectTech Systems, USA, a provider of field inspection applications and

asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...

services for bridges and other transportation assets. Also that year it acquired Canadian-based Ivara, the Microprotol

pressure vessel A pressure vessel is a container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure. Construction methods and materials may be chosen to suit the pressure application, and will depend on the size o ...

design and analysis software from EuResearch, and SpecWave. In 2013, Bentley acquired topoGRAPH, a provider of surveying software, as well as the MOSES software business from Ultramarine.World Maritime News
worldmaritimenews.com/archives/94704/bentley-acquires-moses-software-business-from-ultramarine/
accessdate: August 18, 2016 On February 25, 2014, Bentley acquired DocQnet Systems’ eB Services BizDocQnet Systems. Later that year, it acquired SITEOPS, optimization software for enhanced land development site design, from Blueridge Analytics.Geospatial World
Bentley acquires SITEOPS for BIM advancement - Geospatial World
accessdate: August 18, 2016 Bentley acquired C3global for predictive modeling in 2015, and also that year acquired Acute3D, and the reality modeling creator e-on. In 2016, Bentley acquired the progressive assurance platform ComplyPro from UK-based ComplyServe. On January 23, 2018, Bentley acquired S-Cube Futuretech Pvt Ltd. to expand its offerings specific to the concrete engineering design and documentation software users in India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. On April 26, 2018, Bentley acquired Dutch geotechnical modelling company Plaxis B.V. On July 15, 2018, Bentley acquired Canadian geotechnical modeling company SOILVISION Systems Ltd. in order to enhance its 3D geotechnical offerings. Also in 2018, the company acquired Synchro, Agency9, ''LEGION,'' ACE enterprise Slovakia, and Alworx. In 2019, Bentley acquired SignCAD Systems, Keynetix, and Citilabs, Inc. & Orbit GeoSpatial Technologies. In 2020, Bentley acquired UK based consultancy Professional Construction Strategies Group (PCSG), and SRO Solutions. In 2021, Bentley acquired Ontracks Consulting, INRO Software, SPIDA Software, and Seequent Holdings Limited, and in 2022 acquisitions included Power Line Systems, ADINA R&D, Inc., and Eagle.io. In 2023, Bentley acquired

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, Utah-based Blyncsy, a provider of breakthrough

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

services for departments of transportation to support operations and maintenance activities. In September 2024, Bentley announced the acquisition of Cesium GS, Inc., a provider of 3D geospatial software applications and platforms.

Bentley Institute Press

Bentley Systems also is a

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

of textbooks and professional references for the architectural,

, and

(AEC), operations,

geospatial Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position). It is also call ...

, and

educational Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

communities, under the name Bentley Institute Press.

Bentley Infrastructure 500

Since 2010, Bentley annually published a ranking of the top owners of infrastructure from both the public and private sectors.

References

External links

* {{coord, 40.065500, -75.687817, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Software companies based in Pennsylvania Software companies established in 1984 Privately held companies based in Pennsylvania Building information modeling Companies listed on the Nasdaq Software companies of the United States