Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance selects Livelink for information management

Open Text's collaborative knowledge management approach satisfies vision of Web-based future

Waterloo, ON - 1998-08-05 - -- Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ:OTEX, TSE: OTC ) announced today that Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance (BBRM), one of the UK s leading railway engineering contractors, has selected Livelink to publish, control and disseminate essential documentation used in the day-to-day running of its operations. The system will allow BBRM to make substantial savings by reducing print and distribution costs. The company expects a return on investment within 18 months.

Livelink will run on a NT/Oracle platform and it is planned to provide access for up to 800 users involved in BBRM s railway infrastructure inspection, maintenance and management activities.

"In our business, we have volumes of technical information which have to be readily available to a geographically dispersed workforce," said Paul Banyard, BBRM s system development manager. "After assessing other, more traditional solutions, we chose Livelink for a variety of reasons including its ease-of-use, low cost of deployment and tremendous scalability.

"Our research convinced us that Web-based systems were the way forward for us and Livelink appeared to be well ahead of the game," added Banyard.

Currently, BBRM receives regular information updates from Railtrack in CD-ROM format which have to be printed and circulated to staff across much of the UK. Taking account of issues such as speed of delivery and printing and distribution costs, a corporate intranet offers an attractive alternative.

"Entering the selection process late in the day, Open Text became the premier choice. The combination of our consultancy, expertise and focus on client satisfaction enabled us to demonstrate that Livelink was the only product to meet Balfour Beatty s requirements," said Derek Buchanan, UK country manager for Open Text. "The message is clear - Web-based collaborative knowledge management is definitely the way ahead."

Paul Banyard expects the system to play more than one key role. "I see it as an ideal vehicle for providing news and background information about BBRM to our employees, helping them get a better understanding of the company s aims and ambitions."

About Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance

Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance (BBRM) is the UK s only specialist contractor dedicated solely to managing and maintaining railway infrastructure. Its 3500 employees provide routine and emergency services from the Scottish border to the Channel Tunnel for local and high-speed lines carrying commuter, inter-city and international passenger and freight traffic. It is one of five main operating companies within Balfour Beatty Rail which together cover all aspects of railway infrastructure design, construction, renewal and maintenance.

Release Disclaimer

This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of Open Text Corporation. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the final prospectus for the company's initial public offering of common stock in January 1996, Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 1997, and Form 10-Q for the quarters ended September 30, 1997, and December 31, 1997. Note to Editors: Livelink Pinstripe, Livelink 8, Livelink Search, Livelink Library, Livelink Workflow and Livelink Project Collaboration are trademarks of Open Text Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

For more information, please contact

Margaret E. Dobbin
Director, Industry Analyst Relations
Open Text Corporation
+1-519-888-7111 ext.2410
mdobbin@opentext.com