Title
Information Technologies Department recommending the Board:
1) Make findings in accordance with Procurement Policy C-17, Section 3.4 (3) Exemptions from Competitive Bidding, that the continuation of Crowdstrike Falcon Complete managed detection and response products and services is exempt from competitive bidding, as competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the County, and Section 3.4 (2) (f) Sole Source, that the procurement is for goods where the continuity of providers will provide efficiency or critical knowledge;
2) Authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a Purchase Order in the amount of $155,878.90 for the period of March 4, 2024, through March 3, 2025, for Falcon Complete endpoint protection; and
3) Authorize the Purchasing Agent to accept and execute Crowdstrike quote Q-823645.
FUNDING: General Fund.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
Since January 2018, the Information Technologies (IT) Department has used Crowdstrike Falcon advanced breach and endpoint protection services with Antivirus, Threat Intelligence, USB Device Control, and Threat Hunting capabilities. In March 2022, IT upgraded to Falcon Complete managed detection and response (MDR) services, which delivers 24/7 expert management, monitoring, and response for the Crowdstrike Falcon platform. The Crowdstrike Falcon security solution is an industry leader to stop advanced threats, including next-gen antivirus, endpoint detection through Falcon Insight, and threat protection with Falcon Identity. The Crowdstrike Falcon Complete team, available 24/7, uses Overwatch to manage threat hunting and ensures comprehensive security for our El Dorado County IT assets, remediating security incidents in minutes to minimize impacts to the County.
El Dorado County currently has endpoint licenses for 2,300 devices. IT is requesting a Purchase Order in the amount of $155,878.90 per quote Q-823645 be approved for the renewal of the Falcon Complete services and licenses for the term starting March 4, 2024, through March 3, 2025. Funds are available within the IT Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Budget for this year's expenses and appropriations have been included in the FY 2024-25 Budget request to continue services.
Procurement Policy C-17 allows for the exemption from competitive bidding when competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the County. This request is a renewal for existing established and approved services and licenses. Furthermore, while Crowdstrike Falcon is available through resellers, we have been partnering directly with Crowdstrike to procure licenses and Falcon Complete security services (since 2020 and 2022, respectively). The direct procurement of licenses allows for better pricing than the State’s competitively bid contract for CrowdStrike Falcon Complete, therefore competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the County.
ALTERNATIVES
Should the Board opt to not approve this license renewal, the County will not be able to provide adequate endpoint protection for all IT managed devices.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
23-0082 - On February 14, 2023, the Board authorized the Purchasing Agent to issue a Purchase Order in the amount of $148,455.80 for the period of March 4, 2023, through March 3, 2024, for Falcon Complete endpoint protection and authorized the Purchasing Agent to accept and execute Crowdstrike quote Q-579846.
22-0850 - On May 24, 2022, the Board authorized the Purchasing Agent to issue a Purchase Order in the amount of $32,775.52 for the period of June 5, 2022, to March 3, 2023 for additional licenses for necessary security endpoint protection and authorized the Purchasing Agent to accept and execute Crowdstrike quote Q-441989.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Procurement and Contracts and Risk Management
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funds are available within the FY 2023-24 Budget for this year's expenses and appropriations have been included in IT’s FY 2024-25 Budget request to continue services.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Good Governance
CONTACT
Tonya Digiorno, Director of Information Technologies.