Release Details

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 2004-- Aspen Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZPN) today announced that its Global Customer Support & Training group has earned the prestigious 2004 WebStar Service Award for outstanding web-based customer support from the Service and Support Professionals Association (SSPA) for the second consecutive year. The annual WebStar Service Awards are presented to five SSPA member companies that provide superior customer service to their customers via the web.

"The WebStar Service Awards winners are industry-leading organizations that truly understand the impact the Internet can have on technical support," said Bill Rose, SSPA Founder/CEO. "Aspen Technology has excelled in delivering world class support for enterprise applications in complex environments. Its outstanding web-based support service, which features innovative personalized services and a comprehensive knowledge base, is an integral part of its support offering. It is truly deserving of a WebStar Service Award."

This award is particularly significant since the SSPA membership includes more than 24,000 service professionals in over 2,800 support centers worldwide. These professionals look to the SSPA to provide insight into the future of support services, as well as current best practices within the industry.

"Delivering outstanding web-based support to customers is one of the core elements of our support strategy," said David McQuillin, President and CEO of AspenTech. "Our on-line Support Center provides customers with a wealth of self-support resources that help them ensure the success of their solutions and a speedy return on their technology investment. We are proud that these efforts have been recognized through this prestigious award."

AspenTech customers have strongly embraced the on-line Support Center as a valuable resource for conveniently accessing technical support resources and product information. They may visit the site anytime to search a knowledge base of over 7,000 items, including downloadable service packs, documentation and application examples. The recently added My Support personalization helps users to quickly extract the product information they require, leading to dramatic increases in customer satisfaction.

AspenTech customers visiting the Support Center can submit, track, access, and escalate incidents on-line, and may also provide feedback or participate in customer-driven discussion forums. Customers also receive monthly Technical Support e-Bulletins that proactively notify them about the latest product support and release news, and about any new additions to the knowledge base.

"With over 80 percent of AspenTech's global customers using the web-based support service, the on-line Support Center is truly becoming a key resource for proactively communicating with our customers," said Lee Riley, Vice President of Global Customer Support & Training. "With the help of our web-based support applications and on-line collaboration tools, we have been able to consistently meet and exceed our response and resolution targets throughout the organization."

About SSPA

Founded in 1989, the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) was formed to focus on the specific needs of service executives who are responsible for support centers and overall customer relations. Today, the SSPA represents over 24,000 service professionals at 2,800 support centers worldwide. These executives look to SSPA to provide insight into the future of support services, a road map of best practices within our industry and access to the best service and support vendors. SSPA has become the center of support providing a reliable and comprehensive resource for news, research, benchmarking, standards and collaboration. SSPA was created for professionals, managers and executives that make their living in the IT support services community. It is not a generic, one-size-fits all website where nobody ever feels like they belong. SSPA is dynamic, interactive, living resource specifically designed for the unique needs of support professionals. This exciting virtual community creates a forum for constant interaction with peers, industry experts, technology vendors and much more. For more information regarding the SSPA and other related divisions, log on to www.thesspa.com or send an email to info@thesspa.com.

About AspenTech

Aspen Technology, Inc. provides industry-leading software and implementation services that enable process companies to increase efficiency and profitability. AspenTech's engineering product line is used to design and improve plants and processes, maximizing returns throughout an asset's operating life. Its manufacturing/supply chain product line allows companies to increase margins in their plants and supply chains, by managing customer demand, optimizing production, and streamlining the delivery of finished products. These two offerings are combined to create solutions for enterprise operations management (EOM), integrated enterprise-wide systems that provide process manufacturers with the capability to dramatically improve their operating performance. Over 1,500 leading companies already rely on AspenTech's software, including Aventis, Bayer, BASF, BP, ChevronTexaco, Dow Chemical, DuPont, ExxonMobil, Fluor, GlaxoSmithKline, Shell, and Total. For more information, visit www.aspentech.com.

Certain paragraphs of this press release contain forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statement using the term "will," "should," "could," "anticipates," "believes" or a comparable term is a forward-looking statement. Actual results may vary significantly from AspenTech's expectations based on a number of risks and uncertainties, including: AspenTech's lengthy sales cycle which makes it difficult to predict quarterly operating results; fluctuations in AspenTech's quarterly operating results; AspenTech's dependence on customers in cyclical industries; adverse global economic conditions; AspenTech's ability to raise additional capital as required; the FTC's investigation of the Hyprotech acquisition; the outcome of AspenTech's restructuring plans; intense competition; AspenTech's need to develop and market products successfully; and other risk factors described from time to time in AspenTech's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AspenTech cannot guarantee any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Moreover, neither AspenTech nor anyone else assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any forward-looking statements. AspenTech undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

AspenTech, and the aspen leaf logo are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.

CONTACT:
Aspen Technology, Inc.
For Media:
Peter Watt, +44 1223 819-752
peter.watt@aspentech.com

Marie Telepneff, 617-949-1324
marie.telepneff@aspentech.com

For Investors:
Joshua Young, 617-949-1274
joshua.young@aspentech.com