Heartland Chooses Astea's Field Service & Mobility Solution Suite

HORSHAM, Pa., June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Astea International Inc. (Nasdaq: ATEA), the leader in service lifecycle management and mobility solutions announced that Heartland Business Systems, a leading provider of value-added integration services and networking technologies, has selected the Astea Alliance solution suite to replace their existing service solution, and provide additional automation capabilities that will further streamline and advance their service business.

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Heartland Business Systems has become one of Wisconsin's leading providers of value-added integration services and networking technologies. Since its establishment in 1990, the company has developed services and support programs for commercial, industrial, government and education clients throughout Wisconsin. The variety of solutions and services the company provides its customers include computer networking; technology planning; internet, data center, hosting, monitoring, security and managed services; cabling and audio/video solutions; and software consulting. Heartland also provides direct thermal and thermal transfer printer technology and label media to its customers.

"Our business is built on helping companies make the best IT decisions to drive operational efficiency and improve profitability," stated Carol Henning, Controller for Heartland Business Systems. "When it comes to making decisions for our own IT systems, we apply the same rigorous standards.  We were looking for a best-of-breed application that matched the quality and level of service we strive to provide to our customers. After an extensive search for a service management solution, we found that Astea's deep domain expertise in conjunction with their robust solution offered the breadth and depth of functionality that was the perfect fit for our organization's needs."

More than 140 Heartland employees will be using Astea's solution to accomplish three key goals:

• Improving productivity – automate additional manual processes for improved efficiencies
• Increasing revenue – by identifying new cross-sell and up-sell opportunities
• Delivering even better customer service – by having a real-time, 360 degree view of the customer

The Heartland Team evaluated several field service solutions and selected Astea for their extensive and proven experience, over 30 years, in developing and implementing global field service and mobility solutions to enterprise companies. Additionally, the Astea Alliance solution suite provides end-to-end service management & mobility functionality, incorporating industry best practices all on a single platform, with ease of integration to Microsoft Dynamics GP. Astea's solution will provide Heartland with a comprehensive and robust mix of capabilities such as, mobility, field service, customer self-service, and professional services automation that will help to drive and improve the efficiency and costs of service delivery.

"Heartland Business Systems is a perfect example of a company that is constantly looking for value-added services that help to exceed its goals in delivering excellence in customer service. We are delighted that they chose Astea," said John Tobin, President of Astea International. "Astea's solution incorporates industry expertise and best practices making it an ideal solution for companies looking for a competitive advantage."  

Astea is the only solution provider that offers all cornerstones of service lifecycle management: customer management; service management; asset management; forward and reverse logistics management; and mobile workforce management with enhanced workforce scheduling optimization. Astea's solutions are seamlessly orchestrated to share and leverage information throughout the service lifecycle – removing the traditional barriers between the field and back office. With Astea's solution modularity, companies can introduce one module at a time or deploy a seamless information backbone across the entire service lifecycle continuum, thereby eliminating the patchwork of disparate systems that can hamper a company's ability to provide best-in-class service.

About Heartland Business Systems

Heartland Label Printers, Inc. was founded in 1991 in Neenah, WI as a leading manufacturer and distributor of labels and packaging-related items.  In 1992, HRTLP merged with Alferi Communications to form a new division, Heartland Business Systems.  In 1998 Heartland moved to its current location in Little Chute, WI.  HBS provides technology solutions to corporate; healthcare; education; government; and non-profit organizations.  Solutions include: computer networking; technology planning; internet; data center; hosting services; monitoring; security and managed services; cabling and audio/visual solutions; and software consulting.  In 2004, HBS opened a remote office in Milwaukee and also established Avastone Technologies.  Operating out of the main Heartland location, Avastone is a custom programming division that offers website design, search engine optimization, custom integrations, software applications, and other related services.  Heartland's three divisions currently employ approximately 300 people.

About Astea International

Astea International (Nasdaq: ATEA) is a global provider of software solutions that offer all the cornerstones of service lifecycle management, including customer management, service management, asset management, forward and reverse logistics management and mobile workforce management. Astea's solutions link processes, people, parts, and data to empower companies and provide the agility they need to achieve sustainable value in less time, and successfully compete in a global economy. Since 1979, Astea has been helping more than 400 companies drive even higher levels of customer satisfaction with faster response times and proactive communication, creating a seamless, consistent and highly personalized experience at every customer relationship touch point.

www.astea.com.   Service Smart.  Enterprise Proven.

© 2010 Astea International Inc. Astea and Astea Alliance are trademarks of Astea International Inc.  All other company and product names contained herein are trademarks of the respective holders.

SOURCE Astea International Inc.