Primary Department: Purchasing
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Kimberly J. Williams, JD
Secondary Department: Universal Services
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Sindhu Menon
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Award
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): CDW Government, LLC
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: Exempt - Interlocal/Cooperative Agreement
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable):
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of the Purchasing Agent for approval of The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) award on the basis of low quote and that the County Judge execute an agreement with CDW Government, LLC in the amount of $1,859,611 for Palo Alto network security subscriptions, hardware and related items for Universal Services for the period of March 19, 2026 - March 18, 2027 with four (4) one-year renewal options, Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: Exempt - Interlocal/Cooperative Agreement.
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Background and Discussion:
Harris County Universal Services is requesting approval to enter into an agreement to refresh its Palo Alto firewalls. The proposed firewall solution includes advanced security features such as threat prevention, URL filtering, and AI-powered operational intelligence, along with consulting and deployment services. Key benefits include improved bandwidth, simplified management, enhanced security, and automation capabilities.
Expected Impact:
Modernization of infrastructure resulting in approximately $13.66M in savings over a 5-year period compared to the annual renewal of existing infrastructure.
Alternative Options:
N/A
County Strategic Plan Goal: Choose an item.
County Strategic Plan Objective: Choose an item.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any): N/A
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Annual Fiscal Cost |
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$1,859,611 |
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Total Existing Budget |
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$1,859,611 |
$1,859,611 |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Total Funding Sources |
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$1,859,611 |
$1,859,611 |
$ |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
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$ |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
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$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: 3/19/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Daniel Merkel, Manager - Infrastructure for Universal Services; Fatimata Ba, Asst. Director of 3rd Party Risk & Contract Compliance for Universal Services; Jorge Geronimo, Sr. Manager of Contract Compliance for Universal Services; Sheila Rodriguez, Senior Buyer, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter, Agreement