Historically, leaders have pursued a siloed approach to business security management, with physical security and IT professionals working independently to manage their own solutions.

However, as digital security technologies, cloud management systems and AI-powered tools become more popular, the division between practices becomes increasingly blurred, leading many businesses to explore the practical benefits of pursuing converged security operations.

Just as physical security leaders have had to adjust workflows to accommodate new digital technologies, IT leaders must change the way they view security management. With all this in mind, the following article explores why IT leaders must now think about physical security.

The Current Cyber-Physical Security Landscape

Current and projected commercial security trends demonstrate the increasing importance of converged security practices. To begin, organizations across the U.S. and many parts of the world are witnessing rising numbers of physical, cyber and cross-practice security incidents.

For example:

• 66% of U.S. security chiefs report a significant increase in threats of violence.
• Almost 20% of U.S. business leaders report a rise in physical security incidents.
• 72% of global cybersecurity leaders believe cybersecurity risk levels are rising.
• Cyber-attacks per organization rose by almost 50% during the first 3 months of 2025.

Alongside rising threat levels, physical security and IT leaders are being asked to navigate increasingly converged internal infrastructure, with data indicating 90% of organizations will have adopted some form of hybrid cloud infrastructure by 2027 and over 98% of surveyed business leaders plan to increase current investments into AI and data-driven strategies.

As more physical security devices are merged into digital infrastructure, the division between cyber and physical security starts to disappear, leading to modern workflows that see both IT and physical security personnel working together to optimize converged security operations.

The Merging of IT and Physical Security Practices

Efforts to converge existing physical and cybersecurity measures is proving challenging for some businesses, resulting in overly-complicated and difficult-to-manage security solutions.

IBM data reveals 74% of leaders believe the current workload shouldered by security teams is excessive, while 52% believe complexity is the biggest impediment to security operations.

To overcome these challenges, many organizations are empowering physical security and IT departments to merge some operations, with reports suggesting as many as 77% now work together to plan improvements while 50% make equipment purchasing decisions collectively.

This latter point provides insight into why IT leaders must now think about physical security, as increasingly IT professionals are required to offer practical guidance about the utilization of smart security technologies. For example, AI cameras leveraged to safeguard physical assets generate data that must be protected, requiring guidance from experienced IT teams.

Physical security equipment is becoming increasingly important as a means to help prevent unauthorized access to digital systems. No longer do IT personnel only need to worry about securing sensitive data against cyber-attacks, they also need to understand how physical devices like cameras, access systems and sensors work to fully protect on-premises assets.

Best Practices for Pursuing Security Convergence

Now more than ever, IT leaders must consider how adjustments made to important digital systems might impact physical security solutions to safeguard against sophisticated attacks.

Convergence helps to promote knowledge-sharing between experienced physical security and IT professionals, enabling both departments to continuously improve critical operations.

To guide successful security convergence, IT leaders must factor physical security into all decision-making processes, below are some best practices to help leaders achieve this goal.

• Establish objectives: Systems and practices should only overlap where required, meaning objectives must be defined and communicated before siloes are removed.
• Define responsibilities: Existing roles may change as systems are converged; IT leaders must make sure new processes are overseen by knowledgeable colleagues.
• Prioritize visibility: Tools and measures should be implemented to continuously monitor newly-converged processes to help prevent new exploits being introduced.
• Consider scalability: New hardware and software solutions will likely be added to converged systems over time, plans must be made to account for future scalability.
• Promote knowledge-sharing: Staff across physical security and IT roles should be encouraged to train together and share expertise to drive continuous improvements.

A More Proactive Future for IT Security Operations

As sophisticated physical and cybersecurity threats rise, IT leaders are facing a future where upskilling in physical security will become increasingly important. By both considering how adjustments made to IT systems may impact physical security and exploring ways to protect access to sensitive data behind physical protections, leaders can improve existing defenses.

Pursuing security convergence can help IT leaders proactively address modern threats, with knowledge-sharing across departments enabling staff to make effective use of cutting-edge technologies. As businesses adopt more cross-practice systems and strategies, the ability for IT leaders to intelligently navigate physical and cyber protections could prove invaluable.