What Is Convergence?

The OSE defines convergence as the migration of physical and IT security towards common objectives, processes, and architectures.

This Migration Includes:


Objectives:

  • Cost Reduction/Revenue Enhancement/Regulatory Compliance
  • Improve Asset/Personnel Protection
  • Improve Operational Efficiency of Physical/IT Security Staff

Processes:

  • Collaborative Planning Between Physical/IT Staff on Security Strategy
  • Identify/Eliminate Security Gaps
  • Best Practices and Policies for Converged Security

Architecture:

  • Strategic, Tactical and Operational Security Modeling
  • Interoperability Standards and Policies for Physical and IT Systems
  • Combined Credentials for Physical and Logical Security

Physical/IT security convergence will enable vendor-neutral interoperability among diverse security components to support overall enterprise risk management needs. As physical and IT security merge, networked computer technology and associated applications will provide enterprises with increased operational efficiencies and intelligent security.

Click the Image Below to see the Full Roadmap

Physical/IT Security Convergence: What It Means, Why It's Needed, and How to Get There

Today's corporate security infrastructure is a patchwork. Most organizations maintain multiple, separate physical and IT security systems with no integration among them. This situation has become a growing liability as security concerns and the need to address privacy and regulatory compliance issues grow. At the same time, it prevents organizations from realizing an array of cost, control, and responsiveness benefits.

The Open Security Exchange (OSE) was formed to address these concerns and enable these benefits. The Open Security Exchange (OSE) is a non-profit association of security experts that provides a forum for end-users, manufacturers, integrators, consultants, and allied organizations to mutually define opportunities for converging physical and IT security. Its goal is to help improve enterprise security through the collaborative development of reusable models, definitions, vendor-neutral interoperability specifications, and best practice guidelines that accelerate the convergence of security systems.

This article discusses what convergence means for businesses, the business drivers for convergence, and the OSE's Convergence Roadmap to help organizations plan for and achieve convergence.