Technology Services recommends the award of the City’s planned firewall infrastructure replacement and upgrade to Solid Border in the amount of $273,808 on DIR Contract No. DIR-TSO-4095.
The City’s current firewall infrastructure is aging and reaching the end of its usable lifecycle. We currently maintain a fleet of firewalls across physical and cloud locations that act as the City’s first line of defense against cyber-attacks in our multi-layered, defense in depth strategy and security design. For the FY 19-20 budget, TS requested and was approved to replace these aging firewalls. This replacement will consolidate several sets of firewalls into one (1) larger and more powerful set which will reduce future maintenance renewal costs while maintaining and improving our security posture. This replacement includes all licensing and support for a three (3) year term.
The City garnered competition by requesting quotes from five (5) vendors and received (2) responses with the lowest and best value being Solid Border on DIR Contract No. DIR-TSO-4095.
If not awarded, the current firewalls will reach end of life and support stages, preventing them from receiving critical software updates, and limiting our ability to leverage newer technologies that require higher speeds of security processing. Additionally, the City would be at a heightened risk of cyberattack.
The City is authorized to purchase from the State Contract list pursuant to Chapter 271 Subchapter D of the Texas Local Government Code and by doing so satisfies any State Law requiring local governments to seek competitive bids for items. (DIR Contract No. DIR-TSO-4095 / City of Plano Internal Contract No. 2020-0463-OR)