Celebrating 50 Years of Security Industry Leadership

The Security Industry Association was built by combining two security associations that were formed in 1969 – 50 years ago! They were the Security Equipment Distributors Association (SEDA) and the Security Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA). These new associations were created to give voice and connect the manufacturing and distributing businesses and to solve pressing industry issues. SEDA and SEMA merged in 1972 and became the Security Equipment Industry Association (SEIA) and then in the 1980s became the Security Industry Association (SIA), as the association recognized its role wasn’t just tied to hardware and equipment but was also around all the services, knowledge and solutions of security.

In those 50 years, the association has connected the wider industry – connecting us for advocacy and professional development and allowing us to develop standards, but also connecting us personally for networking and business growth. While becoming the preeminent association of the security industry, we have grown to more than 900 member companies – large and small – and shaped an industry which employs more than a million professionals and keeps billions of people around the globe safe!

As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, our focus is not just about looking back; it’s about looking forward to the next 50 years! And so I ask: What can we – you, me and everyone in the security industry – do today to build a brighter future?

The best way is to get involved: Become a volunteer, bring a colleague to a SIA event, shape a standard, spread the word on our professional development resources and share the value of membership to a company which is not yet a member. This is our association, and let’s make the next 50 years as good for the industry as the last 50 have been for us.