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AllianceEnterprise Laptop for Service Wins Following Among Medical Systems Maintenance Providers

Mobile CRM solution enables technicians’ independent service response and traceable service records that can be uploaded to an enterprise database.

Horsham, PA, April 12, 2002—Astea International Inc. (Nasdaq:ATEA), the global provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solutions to equipment and service companies, said that healthcare organizations prefer the Company’s AllianceEnterprise CRM Suite with its Alliance Laptop for Service mobile option.

“Alliance Laptop for Service appeals to requirements in the healthcare industry for equipment technicians’ immediate and independent service response and traceable documentation of all equipment maintenance actions. We’re seeing it deployed by manufacturers of medical devices and diagnostic systems, hospital management organizations, and third-party medical equipment services providers,” said Jim Kirby, vice president of sales and marketing at Astea International.

Many types of healthcare enterprises are represented in recent Astea sales, and existing AllianceEnterprise users have begun to upgrade their systems to take advantage of the suite’s expanded offerings for integrated mobile applications.

“The Astea solution with Alliance Laptop for Service enables technicians at healthcare facilities to work independently on periodic and corrective maintenance, and document work electronically,” says Jeff Lagrutta, president of third-party services provider MultiMedical Systems.

Adds Bryan Eaves, a systems analyst at Technical Dynamics, Inc., the medical equipment services subsidiary of Inova Health System, “Alliance Laptop eliminates manual processes, paper reporting and dependence on other service staff to complete jobs. The capabilities to open and close work orders from remote locations are very appealing to our service technicians. Alliance Laptop also simplifies requirements for tracking equipment maintenance actions by capturing and storing service records.”

Overriding Influence of Product Service in Healthcare Industry
Product service carries an overriding influence on decision makers responsible for the selection and use of medical devices, diagnostic equipment and laboratory instrumentation. Most products require “milestone maintenance”--a combination of scheduled calibration, periodic maintenance and replenishment of consumable accessories. Emergency service needs to be on a first-call-response, first-visit-fix basis for both the quality of patient services and costs to equipment users during downtime. Records must be maintained throughout equipment’s life cycle and all maintenance actions traceable.

AllianceEnterprise Solutions Configure to Different Service Delivery Models
There are a variety of approaches to service delivery among healthcare entities. Equipment maintenance can be performed as a field service, depot service, or responsibility of onsite technicians. The service management model of an equipment manufacturer or dealer would not necessarily be the choice of an asset management company or services provider that stations technicians at healthcare facilities. AllianceEnterprise’s modular architecture allows configuring fully integrated sales, service and back-office solutions to an enterprise’s management strategies.

Alliance Laptop for Service Connects Technicians to Enterprise System
Alliance Laptop for Service, one of AllianceEnterprise's many Alliance EveryWareUR mobile options, fulfills requirements for technicians' independent service response that can be documented and later uploaded to the enterprise database. Mobile and onsite technicians work from a portable client database, untethered except for periodic changes-only data synchronization with the AllianceEnterprise host.

The high memory storage of Alliance Laptop for Service allows technicians to travel with all service and administrative tools to perform their job. This includes all relevant equipment records, service histories, periodic maintenance schedules, service guides, manuals, diagrams, parts lists, and other support documentation. Technicians can open and close work orders, report problem and repair codes, annotate maintenance actions, record materials and parts used, capture time and expenses, and replenish personal inventories.  

Mobile employees can retrieve their service assignments, including customer and equipment records, for the day or week when they synchronize their Alliance Laptop with the system host. Another Alliance EveryWareUR solution, Alliance Two-Way Paging, can be used as an adjunct to Alliance Laptop for real-time field service dispatch. Equipment providers increasingly want field service representatives to meet sales quotas and the sales order processing can also be performed with Alliance Laptop for Service.

About AllianceEnterprise CRM Suite
Astea’s AllianceEnterprise CRM Suite improves the productivity and customer relationships of equipment and service companies by collapsing multiple, interdependent business processes into a shared enterprise system. AllianceEnterprise delivers 360-degree customer management with full integration of business processes for marketing, sales, multi-channel customer contact centers, field and depot services, and professional services. System features include:

·       first zero-footprint web architecture for business process-driven CRM solutions

·       personalized portal access and integration with other XML-based portals

·       untethered and real-time wireless mobile applications for laptops, PDAs, mobile phones and pagers, including ruggedized devices with bar code scanners

·       real-time information sharing among local, remote and mobile users

·       online collaboration integrating voice, data and video

·       integration with financial and ERP systems, equipment self-diagnostics, and other business applications

·       multi-lingual (including data) and multi-currency capabilities so all end-users of global deployments can interact with the system in their preferred language

AllianceEnterprise is built on the Microsoft.NET framework and is designed with meta data, graphical metaphors and wizards for easy manipulation of system attributes and data presentation. Out-of-box applications adapt to business processes without hidden programming costs. In fact, AllianceEnterprise introduces a paradigm shift that transfers control of CRM and eBusiness solutions from programmers to business analysts. Unprecedented capabilities to modify AllianceEnterprise applications to existing and future business requirements quickly and economically ensure optimal long-term functionality, low cost of ownership and maximum return on investment.

About Astea International
Astea International Inc. (www.astea.com) develops, markets and supports Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions for companies that sell and service equipment, or sell and deliver professional services. Astea’s CRM solutions are used by companies in information technology, healthcare, industrial controls and instrumentation, retail systems, imaging systems, facilities management, telecommunications and other industries to improve operating costs, revenue recovery, revenue generation and customer loyalty. Astea offers over twenty years of related domain expertise and a worldwide sales and service network.

© 2002 Astea International Inc. Astea is a registered trademark and AllianceEnterprise Suite is a trademark of Astea International Inc.  All other company and product names contained herein are trademarks of the respective holders.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could materially affect future results. Among these risk factors are possibilities that the companies mentioned in this press release may not purchase licenses for AllianceEnterprise, the continuing acceptance of Astea’s products, general competitive pressures in the marketplace, and continued overall growth in the customer relationship management solutions industry. Further information regarding these as well as other key risk factors and meaningful cautionary statements that could affect the Company’s financial results are included at length in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 
Editorial Contact:
Joe Mitchell
Gregory FCA
610 642 8253
joe@gregoryfca.com
 
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