Walking through the aisles at the International Security Conference (ISC) West this year, attendees will notice some surprising new additions, starting with a new 20,000 square foot Convergence Pavilion hosted by Ingram Micro and its North America Physical Security Business Unit. As the physical security marketplace broadens to include more and more IT functions, convergence is top of mind for many in the industry and Ingram Micro and ISC West have partnered to lead this crusade in Las Vegas next week.

According to Ingram Micro, more than 430 unique companies will attend ISC West as a result of the distributor’s outreach efforts.

The company is also buzzing internally about adding ISC West to its shortlist of top industry events.

Brian Wiser, sr. vice president, Ingram Micro Specialty Solutions Division, North America explained that Ingram Micro’s Specialty Solutions Division, under which Physical Security BU falls, is one of the businesses within the company that is regarded as a very strategic, high growth and high profit area.  “These areas are like incubators for us — businesses where we see immense opportunity outside of our core IT business,” he added.

“We are extremely excited about this event. We see security as a very strategic piece of business at Ingram Micro, which is why we’re investing in the ISC West event. And we also see that convergence with so many other facets of IT is incredibly important. We have a strong legacy in areas such as digital signage, video surveillance and security platforms already, which is why we’re investing heavily to build that out even more dramatically. We see this event as a natural extension of that strategy and a way to demonstrate how important the business is for us. There are a lot of natural links to our IT business, but also a lot of green space for us so we’re really excited about the possibilities here.”

Wiser added that Ingram Micro’s physical security business is growing 30 percent year-over-year on average. Tom Burns, general manager, Ingram Micro Physical Security Business Unit, United States, explained how the division operates, “It’s a dedicated, focused business unit with partner-facing folks that are both on the vendor side as well as the reseller side and marketing. We operate like our own business attached to Ingram Micro in all its scale. We get the best of both worlds.”

As an IT and consumer electronics distribution partner, Ingram Micro offers a comprehensive portfolio of networking, unified communications, security and storage products, solutions and services, as well as video surveillance, access-control, cloud services, monitoring and hosting solutions.

From March 28 to 30, Ingram Micro will demonstrate solutions and showcase technology vendors at the new pavilion, marking the company’s first time exhibiting at ISC West.

Among a list of more than 25 vendors, the primary sponsors of this pavilion are IBM, HP, Citrix, Symantec and Promise Technologies. The pavilion will also feature Trendnet, Checkpoint, CP Technologies, Trend Micro, SonicWall, Kaspersky, McAfee, Microsoft, Paxton Access, MultiTech, Sprint, Solidtek, Adaptec, Tandberg Data, Zebra, Wells Fargo Capital Finance, Kensington, Axis Communications, Allied Telesis, Milestone ACTAtek, La Cie, Acronis and Lensec.

Burns noted, “Ingram Micro is getting pulled into this opportunity because convergence is accelerating within the market and security integrators want to learn more about IT and understand what IT vendors and distributors like Ingram Micro can do for them. That sentiment was picked up by ISC through polling and surveys. That’s when they approached us last year and said we would like Ingram Micro to be the exclusive partner in making this Convergence Pavilion happen. So that’s what we’ve done.”

Part of the new pavilion, the Ingram Micro Solutions Center will focus on demonstrating solutions in action and encouraging end users to “try before they buy” the company said.

The Ingram Micro Convergence Pavilion will feature several of the distributor’s divisions and business units (BU) including:

• New Accounts Team
• Advanced Computing and Advanced Technology Division
• Creative Services Agency
• Ingram Micro Cloud, Ingram Micro Services Division
• Data Capture/POS Business Unit
• Pro AV/Digital Signage Business Unit
• Physical Security Business Unit
• Ingram Micro’s Healthcare Team
• Mobile Business Unit
• Ingram Micro Financial Services
• Ingram Micro Professional Services