CHICAGO, IL, Aug. 2, 2005 -- DARC Corporation announced today that Parelli Natural Horsemanship has gone live on the DARC-hosted Oracle E-Business Suite 11i10 application. Completed in only eight weeks, DARC's implementation of the Oracle software and applications, along with Mercury Payment Systems' payment processing interface, has already streamlined Parelli's business operations and sales processes.

"Being in a remote part of Colorado, DARC's application hosting solution and remote consulting capability was a perfect fit for us. The support we received on both the technical and functional side made the entire process seamless and painless," said Chris Dollar, IT Director for Parelli.

Parelli migrated to the Oracle E-Business Suite from a non-scalable Windows-based accounting, order management and inventory package that required a considerable amount of manual processing and Excel spreadsheets. The introduction of the Oracle enterprise resource planning (ERP) system eliminates the manual processing and reduces human error. More important, the new system accommodates the company's rapid growth, expansion of its retail and educational sales channels and integrates the financials, inventory control, customer management, project management and reporting functions.

Along with implementation of the Oracle applications, DARC provides hosting support to Parelli's geographically disbursed users over a highly- secure system that uses SSL technology over the public IP network. The arrangement eliminates Parelli's need for complex WAN and VPN technologies as well as in-house system administrators required to support those functions.

Because of Parelli's robust growth in internet-based sales, DARC facilitated a payment processing interface with Mercury Payment Systems. Through the use of a DARC supported iPayment-to-Mercury interface, Parelli is able to process credit card transactions directly with Mercury and avoid the expense of costly credit card gateways.

Mercury Payment Systems, an integrated transaction processing company, developed a unique, customized solution to address Parelli's specific needs. Part one of the three-part solution is a Web services interface for Internet sales. The interface provided a direct interface via web services call to Mercury's processing platform, eliminating the need for a costly gateway and allowing for time-initiated auto close batching. It also gives real-time access to reports via the Web.

The second part of the solution is a custom processing program for membership sales. Prior to working with Mercury, there were no membership sales. Mercury assisted Parelli in creating a customized recurring billing process. Membership sales are currently at $1.5 to $2.0 million annually.

In addition to these services, Mercury also helped create a Windows CE based wireless handheld solution for road shows and touring. To eliminate a conglomerate of satellite terminals and dial (hard phone line) equipment, Mercury developed a custom processing application on a handheld palm unit. "Before, Parelli's solution for road shows and touring was cumbersome," explained Matt Taylor, vice president of sales at Mercury Payment Systems. "Now, any internet connection - from wireless to broadband to cellular - allows real time authorizations with a friction-free pipeline - all in a neat hand-held wireless package."

DARC Chairman and CEO David Herrington explained that his company's alliance with Parelli demonstrates how the Oracle E-Business Suite of applications provides the power of sophisticated ERP systems to small-and mid- sized companies that are often unfamiliar with such technology. "Parelli is now positioned, from an IT standpoint, to sustain and build on its current level of rapid growth - with smoother and more efficient business operations," he said.

The alliance between DARC and Parelli, along with the support from Mercury Payment Systems, illustrates how Oracle can facilitate out-the-box solutions that enhance staff productivity and customer service. It also shows how DARC's 13 years of experience delivering Oracle implementation successfully and consistently can help companies in any industry - even horse training.

DARC is scheduled to showcase the application at the Oracle Applications User Group (OAUG) at the Fall 2005 Oracle Open World (OOW) conference.

About DARC: DARC is a recognized leader in the Oracle Applications marketplace with a 13-year track record of successful deployments of enterprise applications from Oracle Corporation, the world's largest enterprise software company. DARC, a longstanding Oracle Certified Partner, offers implementation and upgrade consultancy, training, patented integration software and managed services. DARC uses the proven DARC Method(SM) project methodology to ensure successful technology initiatives. Further information about DARC can be found at http://www.darc.com.

About Parelli Natural Horsemanship: Parelli Natural Horsemanship is the industry leader in natural horse training techniques and education. The Parelli method has attracted attention from all corners of the industry, including the respected riding school, the Cadre Noir of Saumur in France. Owners involved in all aspects of horse ownership - from working, breeding, playing or competing - are adopting the Parelli method to enhance their relationship with their animals.

About Mercury Payment Systems: Mercury Payment Systems is an integrated transaction processing company created to enhance point-of-sale systems by offering credit, debit, check, gift card and loyalty processing. Mercury's integrated dial-up or Internet protocol (IP) processing solutions are fast, reliable and affordable. Retailers can leverage the reliability and enhanced efficiency of integrated payment processing to increase productivity and customer satisfaction. Mercury creates competitive advantages for point-of- sale developers and dealer channel partners to help dominate the market for integrated transaction processing. For more information call 1-800-846-4472, ext. 1820 or go to http://www.MercuryPay.com.

Rebecca Shields
rshields@darc.com