ASIS International, the preeminent organization for security management professionals worldwide, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Open Security Exchange, an organization dedicated to accelerating convergence of IT and physical security.   The OSE membership consists of companies, representing manufacturers, consultants and integrators as well as individual security practitioners from both domains. OSE is the first industry organization to align with ASIS under the new International Security Risk Management Consortium (ISRMC) program. 

The vision of the consortium is to increase collaboration in and among organizations that have access to the disciplines and thought leadership surrounding Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM). Providing a setting where organizations and individuals can actively collaborate in the development of education content through research, demonstrated best practices, principles and approaches involving ESRM is the immediate objective.   Involvement in the consortium is restricted to not-for-profit organizations with an interest in rapid advancement of the evolution of the ESRM body of knowledge.   

The ISRMC was initiated in 2008 in response to the development and evolution of an Enterprise Security Risk Management body of knowledge.   ESRM is the practice of integrating all the areas of an organization that involve the protection of people, property and information. A key component of Enterprise Risk Management—which considers the entire risk universe, including financial, strategic and operational—ESRM is where security professionals ensure that multiple disciplines and business units communicate effectively and work together to identify, prioritize and mitigate risk.

"The initial expectations for organizations joining the ISRMC are a commitment to collaborate on strategic and tactical approaches supporting the vision and objectives of the consortium," says ASIS' Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Stack. "This consortium approach allows for periodic discussions regarding common strategic, tactical or operational opportunities and/or partnerships that would be mutually beneficial to members' organizations."

According to the terms of the agreement, members of ASIS and OSE will meet twice a year. "The OSE is honored and excited to be the first organization to join forces with ASIS in this very important initiative," says OSE Chairman Laurie Aaron. "The consortium in and of itself represents a type of convergence on a grand scale.   I believe our participation in the ISRMC will result in valuable deliverables to the security industry that may otherwise take decades longer to realize."