The warehouses of broad-line IT distributor Ingram Micro will soon stock fire control systems, automated door locks and other such products alongside servers, switches and storage arrays that make up the core of the company's portfolio.

Ingram Micro announced yesterday that it will now stock physical security technologies, providing solution providers with the products and support to build and implement systems that safeguard both the virtual and brick-and-mortar domains.

“The launch of this security division is another example of our continuing efforts to expand our reach and bring value and focus to new and adjacent markets,” said Keith Bradley, president of Ingram Micro North America, in a statement on the launch.

Physical security is no longer the distant cousin of logical security. Security evangelists have long prognosticated that the logical and physical security worlds would converge into one big tent. Physical security systems—closed-circuit televisions, window and door alarms, turnstiles, and other physical security devices—typically ran over dedicated lines and had siloed management systems. As more of these devices became IP-enabled, enterprises would migrate physical security to the data network and, eventually, they would be implemented and supported by solution providers and IT admins.

Physical and logical convergence can be seen in various places in the conventional IT channel. One of the core technologies in Cisco Systems' Emerging Technology division is physical security, and Cisco's litmus test for emerging tech is whether it can mature into a $1 billion business in three to five years. Ingram's physical security effort is focused on alarm and fire control, physical access control, monitoring systems, and IP-based video surveillance. And PSA Security, a consortium of physical security solution providers, is actively courting their IT counterparts to build holistic security solutions.

But convergence has been a slow road, and one that remains relatively elusive. While Ingram, Cisco and others see opportunity in physical security, the convergence of digital and logical security doesn't necessarily make it a reality. Management and organizational divides continue to hamper the convergence trend because, inside companies, the guys who secure the front lobby and parking lot gates are different from the guys who secure workstations, applications and data centers. While many businesses are seeing greater cooperation between physical plant and IT managers, they're often divided into separate management lines and budgets. And that prevents the customer from buying physical and logical as one solution.

On the channel side, conventional IT security solution providers rarely have the skill sets, experiences and contacts to capitalize on physical security opportunities. PSA Security has partnered with groups such as 1nService to foster partnerships between companies in these respective domains. Rather than try to converge the solution providers, they've discovered that it's easier to foster relationships that open mutual opportunities and satisfy customers' overall security needs.

While there is definitely opportunity in the physical security market, Ingram may discover the same thing that PSA and Cisco already have: enable the opportunity with partnerships and matchmaking between complementary peers that can leverage each other's expertise and experience to converge the technologies.