Re Contract

Embargoed Release: 10th February 2004

                                  Sopheon Plc                                  

                                  (`Sopheon')                                  

              Lenzing AG Implements Sopheon's Accolade to Reduce               

         Development Costs and Improve Time-To-Market for New Products         

World Leader in Cellulose Fiber Manufacturing Selects Software System

to Deploy Stage-Gate Process for Product Development

MINNEAPOLIS and LONDON_Feb. 10, 2004_Sopheon, the international software and
services company, announced today that Lenzing AG of Austria, a global leader
in the manufacture of cellulose fiber for textile and non-textile applications,
has implemented the Sopheon Accolade® new product development system. Initial
deployment of the solution includes users in research and development, quality
control and sales and marketing.

Lenzing AG has 3,200 employees at production sites and distribution offices
worldwide. Its flagship offering, Lenzing Lyocell®, is used in a wide range of
innovative applications in textile products. In addition to its core fibers
business, the company has business groups in paper, plastics and engineering.
One of Lenzing's principal ongoing challenges is to enhance its product
portfolio in order to offset global competition and fluctuating currency
values.

In 2002 Lenzing decided to adopt Stage-Gate®, the widely used
product-development process methodology, as a way of reducing developmental
costs and improving time-to-market. The company subsequently looked for ways to
automate its implementation of the process. Sopheon's Accolade system was the
only solution considered, owing to its unique capacity to reinforce the
Stage-Gate structure and its integration of best-practice process manuals and
other specialized content that helps to ensure the steps of the process are
properly executed. Lenzing was further attracted to Accolade by its portfolio
management features, which provide executives with a clear, comprehensive view
of project work, enabling effective assessment and control.

In addition to implementing Accolade's automated process framework, Lenzing is
taking advantage of many of the system enhancements introduced in the recently
launched version 5.0 of the Accolade system. Included are resource planning
functionality that enables centralized management of project resources down to
the individual level; a document routing and approval component that ensures
key deliverables in the development process are formally reviewed and approved
via electronic signatures, then stored as proof of compliance; and integration
capabilities that tightly link Accolade's process framework to Microsoft®
Project software already widely used by Lenzing's product development teams.
Later this year the company also plans to deploy Accolade's idea management and
screening functionality to facilitate the generation, capture and assessment of
product ideas and to provide a centralized, electronic 'suggestion box' that
will enable employees throughout the organization to submit their thoughts on
everything from new market and business opportunities to ways of improving
existing processes and policies.

'One of Lenzing's central strategies is to continuously improve product mix,'
said Thomas Fahnemann, chairman of Lenzing's board of management. 'Accolade
solidifies the structure and efficiency of our stage gate process and gives
better oversight of project status and resources at each step. Deployment was
straightforward and user acceptance has been high because of Accolade's
ease-of-use. We expect that Accolade's capabilities will enable us to deliver
innovative fiber products to the market more quickly, improve costs and support
top-line revenue growth.'

Sopheon partners Sopheon Vertriebs GmbH and Sopheon Business Applications GmbH
were responsible for the sale, implementation and support of Accolade at
Lenzing. Dieter Jaeger, chief executive officer of Sopheon Vertriebs GmbH,
said, 'Global market leaders such as Lenzing are adopting product life cycle
management tools to cut costs, improve efficiency and strengthen their
competitive position by standardizing and streamlining product development.
Lenzing chose Accolade for its ability to increase the visibility and
controllability of critical product development projects. The fact that
Accolade could be implemented rapidly and demonstrate positive results
immediately was also key to its selection.'

'Our focus on process manufacturers has helped us develop a clear understanding
of their product development challenges and enabled us to shape a solution that
consistently delivers value,' said Andy Michuda, chief executive officer of
Sopheon. 'The features and competitive benefits of Accolade's newly released
version 5.0 were central to Lenzing's deployment. Lenzing's rationale for
selecting Accolade is further indication that the system's overall ease-of-use,
its integrated best-practices content and low total cost of ownership are
redefining the market's view of what constitutes a viable product portfolio
management solution.'

Sopheon Accolade® is a registered trademark of Sopheon plc.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the sole

property of their respective owners.

About Lenzing AG

Lenzing AG is a publicly traded Austrian company with a tradition and history
of more than sixty years. A global player, the Lenzing Group is a world-market
leader in the manufacture of cellulose fibers for textile and non-textile
applications. Production sites and distribution offices throughout the world
provide the necessary proximity to markets and customers. In addition to
fibers, the core business, the business sectors paper, plastics and engineering
contribute essentially to the success of the Lenzing Group. For more
information, please visit www.lenzing.com.

About Sopheon in Germany

Located in Darmstadt Germany, Sopheon Vertriebs GmbH and Sopheon Business
Applications GmbH are independently owned enterprises chartered to partner with
Sopheon in distributing the Accolade product development system to companies in
German-speaking countries. Their responsibilities include the provision of
installation, implementation and support services. For more information, please
visit www.sopheon.de.

About Sopheon

Sopheon (LSE:SPE) is an international provider of software and services.
Sopheon's Accolade® product development system automates gate- or phase-based
product development processes and provides strategic decision support that
allows companies to improve innovation, cut product development spending waste
and shorten time-to-market. Sopheon's Monitor software operates as a 'reading
robot' that monitors, filters, analyzes and pushes relevant content to
healthcare and engineering professionals to enable effective compliance with
protocols, standards and regulations. Sopheon is listed on the AIM market of
the London Stock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands. For more
information, please visit www.sopheon.com.

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Further Information

Arif Karimjee             Sopheon Plc                01483 685 735            
                                                                              
Andrew Tan                Hansard Communications     020 7245 1100