Interactive Solutions sales soar

Annual sales for Interactive Solutions Inc., a Memphis-based video conferencing firm, have grown more than 1,535 percent during the past five years, and sales for 2001 are on the rise due to increased demand for its video conferencing and telemedicine systems.

At a time when most businesses, especially in the technology sector, are facing cutbacks and financial challenges, ISI is thriving, company officials said.

ISI was listed as No. 182 on the 2001 Inc 500 list, Inc magazine's annual ranking of America's fastest growing private companies. Sales grew from $263,000 in 1996 to $4.29 million in 2000.

``We've been incredibly busy over the past year,'' said Jay Myers, ISI president and chief executive officer. The firm has done more than $5 million in sales this year and has recently signed new contracts to provide video conferencing and telemedicine services for a major university medical system. Myers has also noticed an increase in requests for standard business video conferencing systems.

``The need for these systems has dramatically increased as companies have been forced to reduce travel costs and examine employee safety concerns,'' Myers said.

Systems for telemedicine are also in demand, he said. These systems, which merge video technology with medical computer applications, are used to provide diagnosis and treatment for patients who may be miles away from health care facilities.

ISI recently designed these systems for use in pediatric cardiology, psychiatric crisis intervention and dental consultation. Recent expansions in federal Medicare coverage are helping make this technology more accessible and acceptable. Myers expects the revenue from ISI's telemedicine systems to grow from 5 percent to 20 percent by the end of 2001.

ISI serves customers in 35 states and 12 countries. It has satellite offices in Birmingham, Ala., and Nashville, Tenn.