Title
Information Technologies Department recommending the Board:
1) Make findings in accordance with Procurement Policy C-17, Section 3.4 (4), Exemptions from Competitive Bidding, that National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) Agreement AR2472 is exempt from competitive bidding due to a competitively bid agreement being utilized;
2) Authorize the use of NASPO Agreement AR2472 and California Participating Addendum 7-17-70-40-05 between Carahsoft Technology Corporation and State of Utah as the lead public agency for the competitively bid services; and
3) Approve and authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a Purchase Order to ePlus Technology Inc. in the amount of $356,333.94 for the purchase of Proofpoint Security Enterprise Threat Protection, Email Fraud Defense, Secure Email Relay, and support services for a three-year period per ePlus quote 23438875.
FUNDING: General Fund, with partial cost recovery in future years through the Countywide Cost Allocation Plan.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The Information Technologies Department is looking to renew Proofpoint Enterprise-level solutions with ePlus Technology Inc. Proofpoint Core Email Protection is an advanced email security solution that provides efficient and comprehensive multi-layered advanced threat detection, and increases email security, data governance, and collaboration security. Proofpoint uses threat protection solutions to prevent, detect, and notify their clients of advanced threats and helps resolve them before they cause lasting harm. The Proofpoint platform integrates with the County’s current security platforms, including Palo Alto Networks and Crowdstrike. Proofpoint provides targeted attack protection to prevent known and unknown threats from reaching County employees. They also defend against complex malware or hacking attacks that target sensitive data within an organization. Proofpoint further protects the County in the face of increases in email usage, email-based threats, and the increased sophistication of cyber attacks. In addition to the core protection, the County uses Proofpoint Secure Email Relay services, preventing compromised third-party senders from sending malicious emails using County domains, enabling DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) signing to help meet Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) compliance, and adding layers of security and authentication to protect the County's communications. The County also uses Proofpoint Email Fraud Defense, which protects against email fraud by detecting spoofing and malicious impersonations and by simplifying DMARC authentication and blocking threats before they reach users, and Proofpoint ZenGuide strategic training and education platforms.
The requested approval will authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a Purchase Order to ePlus Technology Inc. to provide Proofpoint Security Enterprise Threat Protection core and support services to the County for the three-year period of May 12, 2026, through May 11, 2029, in the amount of $356,333.94, as quoted on ePlus quote 23438875. ePlus is an authorized reseller of Proofpoint under the Carahsoft agreement. County Counsel has previously reviewed and approved the use of California Department of General Services Participating Addendum 7-17-70-40-05 under State of Utah NASPO AR2472 for other technology purchases.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could decide not to approve this purchase and provide alternate direction for enterprise email-based threat protection.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
Legistar file 23-0796 - 05/02/23 - Board approval for initial Proofpoint purchase.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Procurement and Contracts
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Appropriations are available in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 and the FY 2026-27 Recommended Budgets for the continuation of this solution and appropriations will be included for future year budgets as needed.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Amanda Earnshaw, Chief Information Officer