Next-Generation Firewall Platform Replacement & Modernization

The County of San Luis Obispo is seeking a qualified firm to replace and modernize its entire firewall infrastructure. The contract covers the full lifecycle: requirements discovery, high‑availability architecture design, hardware/software acquisition, configuration, migration of rules/NAT/VPN, comprehensive testing, production cut‑over, hyper‑care, administrator training, and as‑built documentation. The solution must support 10 Gbps throughput, HA clustering, site‑to‑site failover, virtual firewalls in Azure, Zero‑Trust capabilities, and extensive logging/monitoring. The award will be a two‑year fixed‑price contract with up to three optional one‑year renewals. Proposals are due Nov 6 2026; a proof‑of‑concept may be required in mid‑November. The County prefers local vendors and mandates insurance coverage of $2 M per occurrence for both CGL and professional liability. • Scope: design, procurement, implementation, testing, training, documentation, and 24×7 support for a next‑gen firewall platform. • Technical requirements: ≥10 Gbps throughput, HA across two data centers, virtual/physical deployment, BYOL licensing, integration with Azure, Zero‑Trust, split‑tunnel VPN elimination. • Timeline: RFP issued Oct 9 2026, questions due Oct 23 2026, proposal due Nov 6 2026, evaluation Nov‑Dec 2026, award Jan 2027, contract start shortly thereafter. • Evaluation criteria include technical solution, cost, experience with public‑sector firewalls, local vendor preference, and ability to conduct a POC. • Mandatory insurance: $2 M CGL and $2 M professional liability.