Title
Information Technologies Department recommending the Board consider the following:
1) Waive formal bid requirements in accordance with Purchasing Ordinance 3.12.160, exemptions from competitive process, Section D;
2) Authorize the use of the competitively bid Utah NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement AR3229 and California Participating Addendum 7-20-70-47-06 for the acquisition of computer hardware, maintenance, and technical support services necessary to improve the County's firewall infrastructure;
3) Approve and authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a purchase order to ePlus, under the State contract, in the amount of $132,612 plus applicable taxes and shipping, for the purchase of Palo Alto Firewall equipment, three-year support and maintenance, and consultation services; and
4) Approve the addition of seven Palo Alto Networks PA-850 firewalls to the Information Technologies FY 20/21 fixed asset listing.
FUNDING: General Fund, with partial cost recovery in future years through the A-87 Cost 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 an existing firewall between the County's internal network infrastructure and the Internet. This devise is instrumental in suppressing much of the malicious attacks that are perpetuated against the County on a continuous basis. However, the existing firewall cannot prevent the introduction of any and all malware to the El Dorado County (EDC) enterprise. Recent security audits have expressly identified the need for additional network segregation in the form of internal firewalls to reduce the potential spread of any malware that might successfully be introduced into the internal network infrastructure. This request for additional equipment will provide for internal firewalls at several County locations which will significantly reduce our cyber risk by creating additional security barriers between EDC business departments. Additional firewalls are a critical component of the County's continued efforts to upgrade existing technology infrastructure to provide flexible, fast, secure virtual workspace for all employees to be able to work from any device or location. Additional 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, 2024 for routers, switches, security firewalls, and storage networking products and services. Purchasing Ordinance Section 3.12.160 (D) 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 recommended purchase includes twelve Palo Alto Networks PA-220 Firewalls, seven Palo Alto Networks PA-850 Firewalls, along with rack mount kits, power supplies, 3-year threat prevention and premium support, and security services consultation professional support. The 3-year security subscriptions include malware filtering, anti-virus tools, and threat prevention capabilities. The consulting services will be used to assist the EDC IT networking unit in the set-up and configuration of the new internal firewalls.
Per Board Policy B-16, the addition of seven Palo Alto PA-850 firewalls with rack mounts and power supplies to the County's Fixed Asset List requires Board approval.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could decide to not approve this purchase.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
17-1216 - Firewall upgrades for end-of-life equipment
20-1013 & 20-1158 - CARES purchase approvals that included two Palo Alto Networks firewalls for the internet bandwidth upgrade project to increase teleworking capabilities.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Procurement & Contracts
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There are sufficient appropriations within the FY 20/21 budget for the initial purchase. Specifically, the Department is anticipating higher than anticipated savings than what was anticipated during their mid-year of revenues and expenditures.
Anticipated ongoing maintenance costs would be $21,191 in FY 21/22, $21,191 in FY 22/23, and $19,425 in FY 23/24.
The ongoing maintenance costs for FY 21/22 would be covered by appropriations requested the Department's budget request.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Infrastructure
CONTACT
Tonya Digiorno
Director of Information Technologies