New Astea Reseller in Japan, ITfor, Secures Major Accounts with MT Services East Japan Co. Ltd. and TEC Engineering Corporation (email this article)

HORSHAM, Pa., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Astea International Inc. (Nasdaq: ATEA - News) (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies), a global provider of service management solutions, today announced that its new Japanese reseller, ITfor, has made significant progress since becoming its primary reseller in Japan in April 2004, including securing accounts with MT Services Japan Co. Ltd. and TEC Engineering Corporation. ITfor is a leading provider of IT services specializing in the integration of global state-of-the-art technologies for the Japanese market.

MT Services Japan Co. Ltd. is a nationwide maintenance service provider in Japan and a subsidiary of Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co. Ltd., a leader in graphic arts and electronics systems. The company is deploying the Astea Alliance suite for 280 service professionals using the Field Service (Contracts) and Logistics software applications. MT Services chose the Astea Alliance service management suite to significantly improve productivity and customer satisfaction.

TEC Engineering also provides maintenance services nationally in Japan and is a subsidiary Toshiba TEC Co. Ltd., a leading Point of Sale (POS) system provider. TEC, an existing Astea Alliance user, expanded its investment after an initial pilot. The suite is being rolled out to over 1300 service professionals for access to the Field Service (Contracts) and Logistics software applications. TEC's key driver for implementing the Astea Alliance service management suite was improvement in customer service.

"The Japanese marketplace is the second largest in the world for information technology and telecommunications," said Paul Buzby, managing director for Astea International in Asia Pacific. "Astea has been providing Japanese-specific service management software since 1994. We are pleased with the initial results from our new distributor ITfor, and that prominent Japanese market leaders continue to adopt Astea solutions to help them manage and grow their service businesses."

Astea's latest software suite, developed on the Microsoft .NET framework, was made available in Kanji in the third quarter of 2004. Other recent customer acquisitions in Japan include CTCT, Fuji Photo, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, NSAT and Shinko Services.

About Astea International
Astea is a global provider of service management software that addresses the unique needs of companies who manage capital equipment, mission critical assets and human capital. The Astea Alliance suite supports the complete service lifecycle, from lead generation and project quotation to service and billing through asset retirement. It integrates and optimizes critical business processes for Contact Center, Field Service, Depot Repair, Logistics, Professional Services, and Sales & Marketing. Astea extends its application suite with portal, analytics and mobile solutions. Since its inception in 1979, Astea has licensed applications to companies in a wide range of sectors including information technology, telecommunications, instruments and controls, business systems, and medical devices.

Astea and Astea Alliance are trademarks 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 Astea Alliance, 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, 2003, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.