Astea announces new tools to capture and leverage critical customer information; Comprehensive product schedule anticipates enhanced connectivity and ease-of-use capabilities.

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 1995--Astea International (NASDAQ: ATEA) today announced the pre-production availability of DISPATCH-1 Release 7.0, a major new release of the industry's most widely used software system for automating and integrating field service and business operations. Release 7.0, scheduled for commercial availability in early 1996, includes a broadened Graphical User Interface (GUI) supporting Windows '95 and a new object architecture designed to deliver unmatched flexibility, ease-of-customization, and ability to integrate next-generation features and technologies.

The introduction of Release 7.0 reinforces DISPATCH-1's position as the most effective system available for sharing critical information among all departments and functions involved with customer care, including call center management, contract administration, logistics, support and finance.

"Customer responsiveness is the leading benchmark by which organizations are now measured, and the need to be immediately responsive has never been greater," according to Keith Larson, vice president of marketing and investor relations, Astea International. "Release 7.0 empowers organizations and individuals with new levels of flexibility to dynamically gather and process information in the way that best suits the customer and most fully meets the organization's needs."

According to Tony Praza, Director of Information Systems at Itron, Inc., an early release site for the product: "The ability to gather, analyze and leverage customer information at all points throughout the service cycle is an important driver of our organizational growth. The unprecedented adaptability and rich features we have found in DISPATCH-1 Release 7.0 promise to further strengthen the benefits we expect from this powerful business management tool." Itron, Inc. of Spokane, Washington, is a leading supplier of meter reading systems to major utilities.

Product Development Update

In addition to Release 7.0, Astea is delivering two new DISPATCH-1 modules. Customer Access and SCHEDULE-1, which will be commercially available in December 1995, allow organizations to link their customers electronically into the extended service enterprise and improve resource planning. A new release of PowerHelp, Release 2.2, is scheduled for pre-production availability in December 1995 and will deliver significant new connectivity and communications capabilities for help desk and customer support environments. PowerSales, Astea's sales force automation solution originally scheduled for delivery in late 1995, is now expected to be available by mid-1996. Astea continues to market this full suite of products to its customer base. The company believes that demand for its existing products will continue to fuel its growth and create new opportunities for PowerSales as organizations implement solutions to share customer information across their sales, support and services operations.

DISPATCH-1's New Architecture Delivers Greater Flexibility and Ease-of-Use The introduction of DISPATCH-1 Release 7.0's new computing architecture provides customer services operations with easier customization, use and maintenance, and further facilitates information sharing among all key departments in the customer contact cycle.

Key Release 7.0 features include:

o a broadened GUI for unsurpassed ease-of-use;

o unprecedented adaptability that enables small- and large-scale

customizations without impacting the core product or source code;

o the ability to use common interface elements throughout

DISPATCH-1's core suite of modules and applications extensions,

enabling all departments to fully leverage the system

as their common platform for collecting, analyzing and

using information at all points of customer contact; and,

o easier upgrades and an environment that facilitates the

integration of new technologies and next-generation features.

Astea International develops, markets and supports client/server-based customer interaction software. Its products enable organizations of all sizes across a range of industries to automate and streamline their customer support, field services and sales operations. Astea's customers include such leading companies as Allen-Bradley; AT&T Global Information Solutions; E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; Johnson Controls Inc.; Northern Telecom Inc.; Ricoh Corp. and Savin Corp. Additional background is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.astea.com.

CONTACT: (Investor) Keith Larson

Astea International, 617/275-5440, x117

Andrew Kramer

Sharon Merrill Associates, 617/262-1800

or

(Press) Maureen MacGregor

Astea International, 617/275-5440, x285