Astea International and XOi Technologies Partner to Deliver a Fully Integrated Visual Intelligence and Field Service Management Solution

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., April 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today XOi Technologies and Astea International Inc. (OTCQB: ATEA) announced a partnership to expand their combined offerings to field service providers around the globe by integrating XOi's Vision™, an augmented reality and visual intelligence solution, into the Astea Alliance™ field service management and mobility platform. The announcement comes from the trade show floor of Field Service USA, the premier conference for field service companies in the United States. The two platforms will integrate for customers, validating quality and consistency of field service work, streamlining information sharing and training, and increasing mobile workforce efficiency through technology built for technicians to capture and leverage visual intelligence in the field.

"Every service organization is looking to increase the effectiveness of field technicians as deployed assets become exponentially more complex," said Emily Hackman, director of global marketing, Astea International. "Integrating XOi's Vision augmented reality platform into the Astea Alliance field service management and mobility platform will allow technicians to launch an interactive video session from any connected location to get the assistance they need. It will empower technicians to leverage the experience of a diverse set of remote service experts who assist in real-time to improve first-time fix rate and productivity. At the same time, it will help address the aging workforce and skilled labor scarcity many of our clients are now facing."

Astea will integrate the XOi Vision technology into the Astea Alliance back office, Alliance Mobile Edge™ and portal components of its award-winning field service management platform. Videos and still images, which are captured using cameras mounted to safety glasses or wearable action cameras, can be added to customer-facing records for greater transparency. The videos and images can also be accessed through Alliance's knowledge manager, the service order and asset history. Additionally, session information will be included in Alliance's Business Intelligence layer so that the return on investment of the augmented reality solution, and the back office service experts, can be measured. This evidence-based approach also means easier record-keeping and expanded data utilization for Astea and XOi customers.

The integrated solution will provide several innovative capabilities that the field service industry demands: the ability to document and archive components and systems using optical character recognition (OCR) and natural language processing (NLP); the creation of instant communications on new equipment needs to estimators; the ability for any service expert or veteran technician to assist with a problem from any location using real-time video; and lastly, the ability to provide point-of-view training videos for entire teams and document work environment safety conditions.

The partnership is the result of Astea wanting to offer its clients seamless integration to emerging technologies that will increase their return on investment and help them overcome current challenges. The BP Group, a joint customer of Astea and XOi, has been using both platforms independently and has worked with both companies as they developed the integration. "Our firm is always looking for opportunities to make our field technicians more capable and effective," said Jack Fanneron, president of The BP Group. "Vision and Astea Alliance are a winning combination for us. They've transformed our ability to deliver the best possible experience for our end customers while dramatically increasing efficiency for our field technicians. Together they allow us to differentiate ourselves from the competition."

"With this partnership, Astea is demonstrating its continued leadership in the field service market," said Aaron Salow, chief executive officer, XOi Technologies. "By leveraging the integrated solution, organizations can optimize their mobile workforce and increase customer trust by using data to better inform and equip their service technicians. The actionable data service organizations are gathering through this integrated solution is enabling them to set a new standard in field service delivery for their customers."

About XOi Technologies
XOi Technologies is the creator of Vision™, the modern technology platform built for the unique needs of the field service technician. Businesses need technology to make jobs more efficient, to regain trust with the customer, and to leverage the retiring knowledge base for the next generation. Vision™ empowers a tech to use a portable device in the field to solve problems faster by enlisting the entire team, to build trust and transparency with the customer, and to automate and identify content captured in the field. Leading Field Service Management companies like Astea International, DataBasics, and Field Connect are integrating Vision™ into their systems to complete the communications cycle and leading Field Service teams like The BP Group, TDIndustries and MacDonald-Miller are leveraging Vision™ to generate more revenue.

About Astea International
Astea International is a global leader in field service and mobile workforce management, including all the cornerstones of full service lifecycle management: customer management, service management, asset management, forward and reverse logistics management and mobile workforce management and optimization. Astea technology helps the world's best service-driven companies generate higher profit while properly balancing customer satisfaction and service levels through proactive communication that creates a seamless, consistent and highly personalized experience at every customer relationship touch point. Astea's solutions unify processes, people, parts, and information to focus the entire organization on the creation of sustainable value in highly competitive, global markets.

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

© 2018 Astea International Inc. Astea, Astea Alliance and Alliance Mobile Edge are trademarks of Astea International Inc. All other company and product names contained herein are trademarks of the respective holders.

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SOURCE Astea International Inc.