On the heels of the 25th anniversary of its founding, Security Network of America (SNA), a Southern Pines, N.C.-based organization of independent electronic security companies, has changed its name to NetOne.

According to the organization, this new moniker is more indicative of the state of the industry today versus when SNA started in the late 1980s.

“The change to NetOne underscores the significant changes our industry has seen in the past quarter-century as well as the even more profound changes we expect to see in the years ahead,” said David Carter, managing director of NetOne. “The name acknowledges that we function as a network, reflecting the unity of purpose of our member companies — sharing information and expertise to foster best practices and evaluating new technologies, so their customers are provided with a broad range of solutions to meet their expanding security needs and improve business operations.”

It is a sentiment echoed by Scott Elkins, CEO of Philadelphia-based UAS, which was a charter member of SNA and currently serves as its chairman.

“When we started in 1988, security was a relatively simple matter of hardware and software,” Elkins said. “People wanted a system that would protect their business or homes from break-ins and fires. Today, their expectations are much higher. It’s all about information and control. Customers want to control facilities and systems remotely, and they want to be able to use the operational insights they gain from these systems to manage their companies more efficiently and effectively.”

Carter and Elkins agree that the nature of the security industry has changed rapidly with the introduction of video and mobile applications, and with the growing sophistication of available technologies — all of which affect how SNA has operated for 25 years and how NetOne will operate going forward.

“Security and IT technologies are converging. And we are continuously evaluating new ways of integrating services to expand the information we can capture, the speed of assessment, and its availability whenever and wherever customers need it,” Carter said. “New mobile apps are coming out all the time, and people want to be able to control their business from their smartphones. We foresee a rapid expansion of the remote interactive services our companies offer.”

The 36 independent companies that form NetOne serve more than 650,000 customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Although each is local or regional in scope, they share best practices and compare performance to ascertain the most effective methods of giving customers what they need — and projecting what they may need in the future. This core philosophy will remain firmly in place under the new name, but will be complemented with additional membership benefits, according to Carter.

“As SNA, we were among the elite of the electronic security industry,” he said. “As we move forward under our new name NetOne, the services our members offer will expand; the role they play for their customers will evolve. We will grow in new directions, but our commitment to stay at the leading edge of the industry will endure.”