CITOC Expands into Global Market with International Client; Mary Kay Inc. Signs CITOC for Remote IT Access and Turnkey Printing Solution.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2004

CITOC Inc., a Houston-based provider of leading edge technology solutions for server-based computing and global networks, has assisted in rolling out an international printing solution for Mary Kay Inc., a leader in the cosmetic industry.

Mary Kay Inc., one of the largest direct sellers of skin care and color cosmetics in the world, achieved another year of record results in 2003, reaching nearly $1.8 billion in wholesale sales. The company's independent sales force exceeds 1.1 million Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants in more than 30 markets worldwide.

Because of their worldwide operations, Mary Kay was experiencing prolonged lag time in printing from geographically diverse office points and was seeking a low cost and flexible solution. After careful assessment of their business operations, CITOC provided a turnkey printing solution that would run independently of any other operating software, guaranteeing 100% uptime and availability to print from any Mary Kay location in the world, without having to install printer software on the servers.

CITOC has connected approximately 150 users in 3 countries to a centralized printer platform, known as ThinPrint, which will allow Mary Kay employees to print 80-90% faster. ThinPrint has greatly reduced the number of printing problems the employees experience, making them more productive.

"We chose CITOC because they presented us with the easiest set up, configuration, reliability and diversity with their services and ThinPrint product solution. We have been so surprised with the ease and thoroughness of CITOC's work that we are considering how we can implement additional server-based technology into our operations to increase productivity and revenues," said Vicki Brough, director, International IST, Mary Kay.

Beta testing began in Mary Kay offices in Germany and Australia. Approximately 30 days later, upon training, successful integration, testing and consistent uptime, the remainder of the rollout in the United Kingdom was executed in a matter of days. Mary Kay will complete the roll out to selected groups in the United States, Spain and Portugal within the next quarter. By the end of 2004 over 400 Mary Kay employees in 7 countries will utilize the new printing platform.

CITOC implements ThinPrint technology, an infrastructure for printing in the mobile Internet, an ideal platform for distributing information over every connection on every end device. Thanks to strategic partnerships with companies such as CITOC, the client components of the ThinPrint technology are integrated in a multitude of terminals, print boxes, PDAs, and mobile telephones from leading hardware manufacturers.

CITOC has also been recognized by the Houston Business Journal as one of Houston's Fast Tech 50 for 2003 and by Computer Reseller Magazine as one of the nation's top 25 "Rising Stars" program in 2003. In January of 2004 CITOC was recognized as the top reseller of ThinPrint west of the Mississippi and a Premier Partner for North America.

About CITOC

Based in Houston, CITOC is a comprehensive technology solutions provider with a specific focus on providing solutions to businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions. Founded in 1997 and led by President and CEO BJ Farmer, CITOC develops information systems that deploy flexible business solutions to help companies effectively assess, design, integrate and support their IT environment. CITOC partners with their customers to develop a deployment plan, addressing issues such as timeline, resources required, and production network impact. In addition, the company provides training, status reports, network drawings, and documentation to effectively manage and provide scalability to build on the network. With industry certified systems engineers utilizing proven methodologies that minimize risk, CITOC focuses on reducing the Total Cost of Technology Ownership by enabling users to easily and securely access the on-demand enterprise, from anywhere, anytime, using any device over any connection via centralized computing. Nearly 50 million people in more than 120,000 organizations around the world use centralized computing every day. For more information, please visit www.CITOC.com.