CSAA prepares for 2017, changing name to The Monitoring Association

VIENNA, Va.—Over the course of 2017, as the Central Station Alarm Association transitions to The Monitoring Association, it will get a new look, new logo.

In June 2016, CSAA members voted to change the name.�Jay Hauhn, CSAA's CEO and executive director, said that the change better fits the growing number of devices and events that can be monitored. “The number of things that can be monitored, where knowing of a status change provides value to an end user, is exploding—driven by this Internet of Things concept,” he told Security Systems News.

CSAA has a committee looking into standards for emerging technologies, and subcommittees for specific technologies, such as one for monitoring mobile technologies.

CSAA is aiming to roll out the new name in March, according to Elizabeth Lasko, the organization's VP of marketing and communications, though it will be an ongoing process to change everything over. The association will “have a new logo and a new look, and we'll have some media that goes along with it to help people understand [the changes].”

Lasko said she doesn't expect people who haven't heard about the change to be surprised by the switch from central station to monitoring center. “I don't think we're going to see anything but a very positive response to the fact that the association is moving ahead to keep up with the changing in the industry.”

This will be the second name change for the association. From its inception in 1950 to 1989, it was known as the Central Station Electrical Protection Association. In 1989, it became the Central Station Alarm Association. Now, in 2017, it will become The Monitoring Association.

“This one is both more complicated and less complicated because of the digital footprint that we have,” Lasko said. “We can change things quickly, but there's also a lot more that needs to be changed. You have to be prepared, from the top level—about your messaging, why you're doing it—all the way down to changing the signage on your door and on your twitter account.”