LONDON, March 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Slovenian Client Expands Ventyx Leadership in Global Nuclear Market

Ventyx(R), the world's largest private software provider to the energy 
and utility industry, today announced that Nuklearna elektrarna Krsko d.o.o. 
(NEK) has selected the Ventyx Shift Operations Management System (eSOMS) 
software solution to enhance the efficiency, productivity and safety of the 
utility's operation and maintenance activities at its Krsko Nuclear Power 
Plant. The new license with NEK marks the continuing expansion of Ventyx's 
customer base in the nuclear industry, where the company owns unparalleled 
market share and deep domain expertise unmatched in the enterprise software 
market.

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NEK is among the top 25 percent of operational nuclear power plants in 
the world in terms of nuclear safety and stability criteria standards. The 
Krsko plant generates more than 5 billion kWh of electrical energy per year, 
which represents approximately 40 percent of the total electricity produced 
in Slovenia. Additionally, as a reliable source of active and reactive power, 
it is an important supporting point of the electricity supply system as part 
of the Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE)-the 
association of transmission system operators in continental Europe.

"In terms of nuclear safety, operational stability and business 
performance, our aim is that NEK will be classified among the best
functioning nuclear power plants in the world," said Franc Skaler, Project
Lead at NEK. "In order to meet these objectives, we needed to upgrade our
operational capabilities with an automated plant operations and maintenance
system. We first tried to develop our own solution internally. But, we soon
discovered that we could achieve much greater value by installing the Ventyx
eSOMS system."

In its continuing commitment to nuclear leadership, NEK have
set the following strategic objectives:

- Safe and stable operation in the top 25 percent of nuclear power plants 
      operating around the world and in accordance with World Association of 
      Nuclear Operators (WANO) performance indicators
    - Competitiveness of the electricity produced on the open market, with an 
      average annual production of 5100 GWh, an 18-month fuel cycle, outages 
      shorter than 28 days and cost effectiveness
    - Social acceptability of nuclear power based on safe, environmentally 
      clean and responsible operation, as well as on a highly motivated and 
      committed staff/workforce



By implementing the mission-critical plant operations management 
application eSOMS, NEK can better ensure the safe, efficient and reliable 
operation and maintenance of their facility assets. The plant will obtain 
benefits in the areas of improved equipment status reporting, electronic 
logging and operator rounds, as well as improved communication and 
information sharing via a proven mobile platform for plant workers. In the
eSOMS product, NEK recognized that the majority of features were compatible
with features they were prepared to develop on their own. Discovering the
eSOMS product on the market, which can be easily adjusted to their
established processes, they accepted the solution as ready for use. During
the second half of 2009, NEK will achieve additional return on their
investment by implementing the solution's tagout/lockout and configuration
controls modules, further improving efficiency and safety.

"We are grateful that NEK have recognized the superior capabilities of 
our eSOMS software," said Ventyx VP Richard Jones. "In addition, we are also 
pleased that NEK recognized the proven expertise of our professional services 
staff who will work closely with the utility's engineers and leadership team 
to ensure the eSOMS implementation meets the utility's precise 
specifications. Ventyx is proud to team with an industry leader like NEK to 
help them continue to be one of the world's leading nuclear providers."

Setting the Standard in Plant Operations Solutions

eSOMS is a mission-critical plant operations management solution which 
helps clients ensure the safe, efficient and reliable operation and 
maintenance of their facility assets. eSOMS offers highly complementary 
features to Ventyx Asset Suite in the areas of tagout/lockout, equipment 
status reporting, electronic logging and operator rounds, as well as a proven 
mobile platform for plant workers. Managing compliance with regulatory 
mandates is made easy using eSOMS's scheduling and reporting capabilities.

For more information on eSOMS, visit our Website at
http://www1.ventyx.com/esoms/overview.asp. And, to review Ventyx's full
complement of offerings for the nuclear industry, visit our Website at
http://www1.ventyx.com/solutions/nuclear-power.asp.

About NEK

NEK has been in commercial operation for more than 20 years. In this time 
it has met basic expectations and objectives with regard to safety and 
stability of operation, competitiveness in comparison to other sources of 
electricity and public acceptability. Today NEK belongs among the top 25 
percent of operational nuclear power plants in the world in terms of nuclear 
safety and stability criteria standards.

About Ventyx

Ventyx is a leading business solutions provider, delivering asset 
management, mobile workforce management, energy portfolio management, and 
customer care solutions to more than 1,250 energy, utility and communications 
customers, as well as to asset-intensive customers in selected commercial 
markets. Ventyx delivers best-of-breed business solutions that maximize 
operational and financial performance, backed by the industry's deepest 
available industry-specific domain expertise. For more information, visit 
our Website at www.ventyx.com.

Ventyx is a registered trademark of Ventyx Inc. Other company and product 
names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are 
associated.