Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 23-000819
MEETING DATE:	10/17/23
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	All Districts
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	County Executive Office (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	KC Roestenberg (714) 567-5075
	Ed Althof (714) 834-3069

Subject: Approve contract for Firewall Implementation and Related Services

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: Yes

Current Year Cost: $1,733,701

Annual Cost: N/A

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: No

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: Information Technology ISF 289: 100%	County Audit in last 3 years: No
Levine Act Review Completed: Yes

Prior Board Action: N/A

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Authorize the County Procurement Officer or Deputized designee to execute contract with ePlus Technology, Inc. for Palo Alto Network Firewalls and Related Services utilizing the National Association of State Procurement Officials ValuePoint Master Agreement, effective October 17, 2023, through October 16, 2028, in an amount not to exceed $1,733,701.

Pursuant to Contract Policy Manual Section 3.3-113, authorize the County Procurement Officer or Deputized designee to exercise a contingency contract increase, not to exceed a total of 10 percent of the Contract amount for the entire term of the Contract, and within the scope of work set forth in the Contract. The use of this contingency contract cost increase is subject to approval requirements established by the County Procurement Officer.

SUMMARY:

Award of contract to ePlus Technology, Inc. for Palo Alto Firewalls and Related services will allow the County to implement an upgraded firewall system to support the enterprise network and provide enhanced security features.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Over the past several years the County has moved many software applications and data services to external cloud service providers. In addition, remote work has added to the demands of the network architecture. The transition has placed a greater transaction load on the network (external) firewalls and contributed to performance and reliability incidents. In an effort to mitigate the load and optimize performance, Orange County Information Technology (OCIT) has formulated a new network design that requires the addition of additional firewalls. At the same time, we are enhancing the security capabilities and features of the firewalls with a new vendor, Palo Alto Networks (Palo Alto). The implementation project for the additional firewalls includes the firewall equipment and professional services from Palo Alto to assist OCIT in migrating to the new firewall platform in an efficient and timely manner.

The purchase will be made utilizing the National Association of State Procurement Officials ValuePoint (NASPO) Master Agreement executed by the State of Utah (Utah). On August 13, 2019, Utah and Palo Alto Networks, Inc., entered into NASPO ValuePoint Contract No. AR3229 for Data Communications Products and Services (“NASPO Agreement”). On October 29, 2020, the State of California entered into a Participating Addendum No. 7-20-70-47-06 with the Palo Alto Networks, Inc., effective June 1, 2020, through September 30, 2024, to allow local government agencies to utilize the NASPO Agreement. ePlus Technology, Inc. (ePlus) is an authorized reseller/fulfillment partner for Palo Alto and submitted the most competitive pricing against the NASPO Agreement. Therefore, OCIT is requesting Board of Supervisors’ (Board) authorization to execute the contract with ePlus to procure the hardware, software and related professional services. OCIT is also requesting the Board’s approval for a 10 percent contingency contract cost increase for additional services that may be needed for implementation, configuration and migration of firewall rules.

The NASPO Agreement contains non-standard Indemnification and Limitation of Liability language that limits the contractor’s liability for damages to the purchase price of the assets, but OCIT considers the non-standard terms to be low risk as the equipment and software to be purchased are standard off-the-shelf products and services are provided by the original equipment manufacturer to ensure an efficient implementation. In the event the equipment malfunctions, the County has redundancies in place to continue with normal business with minimal down time, and the malfunctioned equipment will be covered and replaced under the manufacturer’s warranty and the County’s extended warranty plan. An Indemnification and Limitation of Liability Analysis Form is attached to this Agenda Staff Report as Attachment C.

The contract includes subcontractors. See Attachment B for information regarding subcontractors.

The Orange County Preference Policy is not applicable to this contract award.

In order to remediate ongoing network reliability issues, this item is being submitted within 30 days of contract commencement.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Appropriations and revenue have been included in the FY 2023-24 Budget for Fund 289, OCIT Countywide Services.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Contract MA-017-24010341
Attachment B - Contract Summary Form
Attachment C - Risk Assessment Form