Centrica Achieves Multi-Million Pound Savings as Part of a Major IS Change Programme

Project Includes Investment in BMC's Business Service Management Strategy -- Unified View of Business and IT Operations Assists Leading Essential Services Provider in Optimising Availability and Efficiency

LONDON, England - (December 8, 2003) - BMC Software, Inc., [NYSE: BMC], a leader in enterprise management, today announced that Centrica is on target to achieve multi-million pound savings within twelve months of implementing BMC Software's Business Service Management (BSM) strategy as part of a major IS change program. BSM is BMC Software's strategy for helping companies manage their business critical services from both an IT and business perspective. The BSM strategy enables customers to link their IT resources tightly to business objectives and manage these resources based on business priorities by providing a "whole view" of their business and IT operations.

This leading UK services provider is linking its comprehensive IT infrastructure, which includes a major Siebel CRM deployment, with key services and business goals. As a result, Centrica is benefiting from business processes based on best practice; optimised efficiency, maximised availability; and next-generation systems monitoring and diagnosis.

"Centrica is implementing a solution in-line with the blueprint of BMC Software's Business Service Management," said Matthew Burrows, consultant program manager, Centrica. "Our business requirement is to provide 'service views' showing availability and performance of key business processes and transactions. The IS requirement is to provide Centrica's Service Control Centre and technology specialists with better diagnosis of data and tools to help resolve incidents." The BSM strategy draws these two disparate needs together, directly linking business services to the underlying technology. This enables the company to deliver exceptional application availability and performance across the enterprise.

Following business acquisitions including roadside assistance, financial services and communications organisations, Centrica has been amalgamating numerous disconnected systems and technologies, as part of a group-wide business transformation program. The company has standardised on BMC Software PATROL® as its enterprise monitoring system. The main recipient for this information is Centrica's Service Relationship Management team, which fronts the company's IS services to the business. The main goal of this management team is to determine whether the technology is benefiting the business. Therefore, the solution needed to link Centrica's IS resources tightly to business objectives and manage these resources based on business priorities, by providing a total view of the business and IS operations.

The Centrica solution began with BMC Software PATROL monitoring the infrastructure and technology foundation, grouping the individual alerts to show the service availability, and then adding process and transaction monitoring to deliver a full view of business services. Custom and off-the-shelf knowledge modules deployed to servers monitor several elements including operating systems, databases, and log files. Today, BMC Software's PATROL Enterprise Manager provides a central point for all the technology alerts and information from the knowledge modules. Interlink PowerPack delivers the service views, showing technology alerts in the context of how they affect the service. HP ServiceDesk, works with PATROL Enterprise Manager to raise trouble tickets and automatically routes them to the Service Control Centre. This Centre is set up to receive the tickets and Centrica relies on BMC Software's PATROL to diagnose causes, resolve incidents or forward them to third-level resolutions groups.

"The BMC Software Business Service Management strategy was the ideal choice for Centrica's next-generation, unified enterprise management system and Service Control Centre. BMC Software is well known in the industry, as a world-class company with significant experience. The breadth and depth of their product portfolio is outstanding¾a true 'best-of-breed' vendor," says Burrows.

"BMC's goal is to enable business and IT leaders to speak a common language," said Simon Teager, BSM Field director, BMC. "Our solutions empower IT organisations to manage all IT elements and services from a business perspective. This enables companies to improve their business performance and operational efficiency by delivering strategic value from critical investments. Centrica is driving business results with its technology investments through BMC's Business Service Management strategy and we look forward to continuing our work with them so the can allocate resources effectively and make even smarter investments."

About Centrica
Centrica's vision is to become a leading supplier of essential services in its chosen markets. In the UK, the company does this through their consumer brands, each of which is known and trusted by millions of customers: the AA, British Gas and One.Tel. In addition, its Centrica Business Services division is developing a range of product and services tailored to the specific needs of commercial customers. In North America Centrica is the market leader in the unregulated sector of energy supply through its subsidiary in Canada, Direct Energy, and in the USA through its Energy America business. In Texas Centrica also operates as WTU Retail Energy and CPL Retail Energy. Its commercial division, Direct Energy Business Services, provides comprehensive, integrated energy solutions for businesses across Canada. In Europe, Centrica is supplying customers in the newly deregulated energy markets of Belgium, through the Luminus joint venture, and in Spain, where the company has launched Luseo Energia.

About Business Service Management
Business Service Management (BSM) is BMC Software's approach for enabling companies to manage their IT infrastructure and services from a business perspective. BSM enables companies to understand and predict the impact of technology changes on the business and conversely, how changes in business impact on IT, resulting in improved customer service and business performance. For additional information on BSM, visit www.bmc.com/bsm.

About BMC Software
BMC Software, Inc. [NYSE:BMC], is a leading provider of enterprise management solutions that empower companies to manage IT from a business perspective. Delivering Business Service Management, BMC Software solutions span enterprise systems, applications, databases and service management. Founded in 1980, BMC Software has offices worldwide and fiscal 2003 revenues of more than $1.3 billion. For more information about BMC Software, visit www.bmc.com.

Public Relations Contacts:
Victoria Henry
Kaizo
020 7580 8852
Victoria Henry@kaizo.net

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