Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. has hit a company milestone by exceeding 1,000 total employees, 601 of whom are based in Indiana.

The Indianapolis business-communications software firm said on Thursday that it has added 190 jobs in the state since the beginning of 2010—a 46-percent growth rate in its Indiana employment.

The average salary of its state employees is $71,000, the publically traded company said.

Interactive Intelligence is the Indianapolis-area's largest software developer in terms of local employment, with 186 at its northwest-side headquarters, according to IBJ statistics.

Its major clients include Eli Lilly and Co., The Finish Line Inc. and Honda Motor Co.
 
CEO Donald E. Brown founded Interactive Intelligence in 1994. It has more than 4,000 customers worldwide and offices throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

For the first six months of 2011, Interactive Intelligence increased revenue 35 percent, to $73.8 million, largely by increasing sales to larger customers and expanding its international presence. Profit grew 31 percent, to $14 million.

Company shares opened Friday morning priced at $28.28 each.

An article in the Sept. 26 IBJ will examine the impact of Brown's first major software firm, Software Artistry, on the Indianapolis-area tech community.