Title
Information Technologies Department recommending the Board:
1) Waive formal bid requirements in accordance with Procurement Policy C-17, Section 3.4 (4), due to there being competitively bid contracts with another public agency available;
2) Authorize the use of competitively bid Utah NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement AR3229 and California Participating Addendum 7-20-70-47-06 between Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and the State of Utah as the lead public agency for the competitively bid Palo Alto firewall hardware, software, and support services for the County’s firewall infrastructure;
3) Approve and authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a Purchase Order to ePlus Technology Inc. in the amount of $126,025.01 plus applicable sales tax and shipping/handling for the purchase of Palo Alto firewalls, software and support; and
4) Approve the addition of three Palo Alto Networks PA-1420 firewalls to the Information Technologies Fiscal Year 2025-26 Fixed Asset List.
FUNDING: General Fund, with partial cost recovery in future years through the Cost Allocation Plan.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In computing, a firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. A firewall typically establishes a barrier between physical and logical network segments. The Information Technologies (IT) Department currently employs internal firewalls at several County locations which significantly reduce our cyber risk by creating additional security barriers between El Dorado County business departments. These firewalls are a critical component of the County's continued efforts to maintain existing technology infrastructure to provide flexible, fast, secure virtual workspace for all employees to be able to work from any device or location. The firewalls help provide network redundancy, resiliency, and business continuity objectives.
The Utah NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement AR3229 is a competitively bid agreement with Palo Alto Networks, Inc. for data communications products and services. The State of California Participating Addendum 7-20-70-47-06 allows local governments to use the master agreement through September 30, 2026, for routers, switches, security firewalls, and storage networking products and services. Purchasing Policy C-17, Section 3.4 (4) allows for the exemption from competitive bidding when utilizing a contract that uses a competitive bidding process substantially the same as the County’s process. The Participating Addendum allows for authorized resellers for sales and service functions. The County has identified ePlus as an authorized reseller under the agreements. The original NASPO Agreement AR3229 and Participating Addendum 7-20-70-47-06 and Amendment I, II, and III have been reviewed and approved by County Counsel.
The recommended Purchase Order includes the purchase of two Palo Alto PA-460 firewalls and two Palo Alto PA-1420 firewalls, along with three-years of premium support and advanced threat prevention software for each device. The PA-1420 firewalls are fixed assets. Firewall security hardware was included in the IT Department's Fiscal Year 2025/26 budget, however the specific products are being clarified with this Board item. The anticipated cost of the fixed asset portion of the order will be $42,125. IT has appropriations in the Fiscal Year 2025/26 budget to cover these expenses, and future year maintenance costs will be budgeted appropriately.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could decide not to approve this purchase and provide alternate direction for firewall purchases and support.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
N/A
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Procurement and Contracts
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The IT Department Fiscal Year 2025-26 and Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budgets contain sufficient appropriations for this cost. Future year maintenance costs will be budgeted appropriately.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Amanda Earnshaw, Chief Information Officer