"Convergence is happening, but not as quickly as some people predicted," he said.

Among the obstacles to widespread integrations between logical and physical security vendors is confusion about which companies will play a lead role in the converged solution set, he said.

"Vendors are kind of casting about and trying to divine their place in a converged world," he said. "They want to know 'How do I do this and not lose my advantage?'"

Both Thomas and Amin said that the technology that makes the Novell-Honeywell convergence work could also work with other vendors. However, the two companies are focused on working with each other.