HORSHAM, Pennsylvania, October 2 /PRNewswire/ --

Astea International Inc. (Nasdaq: ATEA), the leader in service lifecycle management and mobility solutions, today announced that it has signed a partner agreement with Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd, a leading global IT services and solutions provider and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the USD 7 billion global technology, engineering, manufacturing and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). The partnership combines L&T Infotech's deep IT services expertise and system integration experience with Astea's global service management and mobility solutions.

L&T Infotech offers added value to Astea's service management and mobility software implementations by providing global IT application expertise that will not only streamline and accelerate large-scale implementations, but will also extend Astea's ongoing customer support capabilities. L&T Infotech and Astea will plan each implementation so that it is expertly executed to drive financial and operational benefits for their clients. In addition to providing implementation and consulting services, as the relationship progresses, L&T Infotech may also become a value-added reseller to further expand both Astea's and L&T Infotech's global footprint.

"We are very pleased to be working with a leader in the service management space. Astea has extensive experience in delivering proven and innovative software solutions to the global market and has become the 'go to' company for organizations where service is strategic and mission-critical to their business," stated Mr. Sudip Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer, Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd. "We are already actively working together on a large enterprise global deployment of their solution. There is a high level of synergy and complementary capabilities between Astea and L&T Infotech and we see a lot of opportunity for continued success and expansion for both of the organizations."

L&T Infotech's advanced deployment strategy reduces overall costs by simplifying the planning process, reducing costs and speeding overall implementation times. The combined solution improves efficiency and consistency of service, while leveraging L&T Infotech's strength in integrating Astea's solutions with non-field service applications, such as ERP solutions, custom applications, legacy and other existing systems.

Astea is unique in its offerings because it provides the total end-to-end service management and mobility solutions that can support a company's entire service business or it provides a modular approach and complements existing applications. Astea offers service management, mobile workforce management, parts and inventory management, reverse logistics management and customer management solutions -- all on a single central repository. These solutions enable companies to improve their global service operations by significantly increasing productivity and profitability as well as delivering a consistent level of service around the world, ultimately driving customer satisfaction and retention.

"By combining our service management software with talented global IT experts at L&T Infotech we are strengthening our commitment to provide the best customer service to our clients. Additionally, this partnership will help expand our market presence and accelerate growth," said Mr. John Tobin, President, Astea. "With this partnership, we are enabling our clients to provide the highest levels of customer satisfaction to their customers, with faster response times and proactive communication, creating a consistent and highly personalized experience at every touch point."

About L&T Infotech

L&T Infotech is a global IT services and solutions provider, providing the winning edge to their clients by leveraging their Business-to-IT Connect and deeply committed people. L&T Infotech's Global clients have found in L&T Infotech, a right-size partner who combines scale, stability and customer-centricity.

L&T Infotech is ranked by NASSCOM among the top 10 software & services exporters from India in 2008. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the USD 7 billion Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), India's largest technology-driven engineering organization which was ranked as India's Best Managed Company-2008 in a survey conducted by Business Today-Ernst & Young. L&T has also been rated as No. 1 in Quality in a 2008 survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal Asia. L&T Infotech is differentiated by its unique Business-to-IT Connect, which is a result of its rich corporate heritage. A full-services IT firm with a blue-chip client roster, it offers comprehensive, end-to-end software solutions and services in the following industry verticals:

1) Banking & Financial Services 2) Insurance 3) Energy & Petrochemicals 4) Manufacturing (Consumer Packaged Goods, High-tech, Industrial Products, Automotive, Chemicals & Process, Media & Entertainment and Retail) 5) Product Engineering Services (Telecom)

L&T Infotech delivers business solutions to its customers, leveraging its substantial domain experience and depth in technologies like SAP, Oracle (including PeopleSoft/JD Edwards/Siebel), Microsoft, EAI, and DW/BI. In addition to application development and maintenance services (ADM), L&T Infotech has strong capabilities in infrastructure management (IMS), independent verification and validation testing (IV&V) services, end-to-end engineering services and embedded system solutions. L&T Infotech's vision is to provide world-class service to clients in its areas of focus, offering solutions that are based on business and technology insights.

About Astea International

Astea International (Nasdaq: ATEA) is a global provider of service management software that addresses the unique needs of companies which manage capital equipment, mission-critical assets and human capital. With the acquisition of FieldCentrix, Astea complements its existing portfolio with the industry's leading mobile field service execution solutions. Astea is helping 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. Since 1979 Astea has licensed applications to companies around the world, in a wide range of sectors including information technology, telecommunications, instruments and controls, business systems, HVAC, gaming/leisure, imaging, industrial equipment, and medical devices. http://www.astea.com. Service Smart. Enterprise Proven.

Web site: http://www.astea.com

Debbie Geiger, Vice President, Marketing of Astea International, +1-215-682-2500, dgeiger@astea.com