The business of corporate security has changed dramatically in the past 25 years, and few firms know it better than Horsham-based NFC Global.

NFC Global was founded in 1982 as Willox and Associates and targeted fraud in the insurance industry. The company was involved early on in the creation of proactive databases and software designed to detect and prevent fraud.

Today, the firm uses the most advanced databases and technology available to provide international due diligence and risk consulting and compliance services for clients in more than 125 countries--all from its headquarters outside Philadelphia.

"We do no travelling whatsoever," says Bill News, NFC's Director of Investigative Resources. "We are able to conduct this research from our desks in Horsham."

Not only does NFC Global use technology, the company also creates it. Since the early 1990s, NFC has developed new software for case management, and since 2001 has regularly rolled out new versions of its NFC WebProducts, the latest version having been launched in March 2008.

Of course, the information some NFC clients need can't always be gleaned from computer databases, so the company employs in-country sources to conduct some research work overseas.

"The way research is done now, both here in the states and outside, is much, much different," says News. "There are a lot more databases that available and our clients are looking for us to know which ones to go to in the most economical and efficient way, so they are not waiting for two or three weeks for something we can get in two or three days."

As a result of changing technology, News adds, NFC's turnaround times are much shorter than they were even five years ago.