Identification cards have come a long way in the past decade, and Eden Prairie-based
IdentiSys has been a pioneer in that evolution.
These days, cards can carry much more than identity data--they can track history of access to a server room, for example, or provide location info for an emergency worker.
"We're on our second or third generation of capabilities," says IdentiSys CEO Michael Shields. "Our customers are very savvy about what they want in a card, and at the same time, we're happy to keep expanding card uses."
When the company opened in 1999, it was a spinoff of Datacard Group, an ID card printer and issuance firm. Thanks to that connection, IdentiSys had $5 million in business waiting the moment its doors opened. Not many startups can make that claim.
"We found our footing quickly," says Shields. "That allowed us to go from there." The company began acquiring ID firms to expand its reach nationally, and also looked at industries where the card usage was highest. Currently, the largest market share seems to go to casinos, which use ID cards for player reward programs.
Another growing area, Shields says, is emergency management. The company provides identification and tracking systems to police and fire departments so they can create a centralized response station. For instance, in a wildfire, the cards are part of a kit assigned to each firefighter. At the command center, supervisors can track how much air is in each person's tank, where they're located during the fire, and other important factors.
Areas like this are fueling growth for IdentiSys, Shields notes, and the company is looking ahead to a robust future. "When we started, people were using ID cards just for identification," he says. "Now, there's no limit to the innovations and uses."
Source: Michael Shields, IdentiSys
Writer: Elizabeth Millard