Decision details

The purpose of the report is to recommend the procurement of a preferred firewall solution.

The decision required is to procure the preferred option.

To renew the licenses on our existing next generation firewall platform for a period of 3 years via Softcat as the reseller.

The contract will be a direct award via Procurement Services PCR2015 Framework Call-off.

The Council has used its existing firewall services for the past 8 years and it provides a high level of assurance as part of our portfolio of security products which provide protection against security threats against the Council.

The current supplier has been recognised by Gartner as a leader in the provision of firewall services.This is recognised in their Magic Quadrants and further assurance was provided directly by Gartner as part of the review of the renewal options.

This approach represents best value for the Authority as it meets the current and likely future requirements of the Authority as well as providing a platform for the standardisation of key applications used by services across the new authority.

Moving to an alternative firewall vendor was considered but was rejected because:

• The existing hardware platform is still current and has another 3 years of life. Renewal has negated the need to spend additional funds on replacing the hardware element.
• Migration to another vendor would have introduced risk to the Council’s overall security posture.
• Migration to another vendor would have consumed considerable additional Technology resource which would have impacted our ability to deliver other projects.