That the City Council:
A. Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute a purchase order in the amount of $96,115.00 with Altaware, Inc. for the purchase of two Palo Alto Network Firewalls PA1420; and,

B. Approve an additional $11,115 budget appropriation from the IT Replacement fund balance to cover the full cost of this purchase.

The City of La Habra and the La Habra Police Department use two separate Palo Alto Network firewall devices for network security, both of which have been in service for the past six years, having been installed in the Spring of 2017. Manufacturer support for these devices will expire at the end of 2024. Given that the expected useful life for this type of equipment is approximately five years, and emerging technology surrounding cybersecurity is continually evolving, staff recommends the replacement of both firewalls with two advance models at this time. The newer firewall technology that is available today offers enhanced security features, while increasing processing speeds from 2GBps (gigabytes per second) to 10GBps, which improves data processing times and system responsiveness. 

Staff recommends the sole source purchase of this equipment in accordance with Municipal Code section 4.20.070 E., "Exceptions to Bidding Requirement for Purchase of Goods and Services" for the acquisition of information technology equipment as the Palo Alto Network has become the standardized equipment the City utilizes for network security. Altaware, Inc. is an authorized reseller of the Palo Alto Network equipment; however, staff did reach out through Palo Alto Network to other potential authorized resellers to obtain system bids, but received no response. After negotiations with Altaware, Inc., staff was able to secure a price reduction for the purchase of the new hardware.

The current firewall hardware is scheduled to be replaced in Fiscal Year 2022-2023 and funding for this purchase, in the amount of $85,000, was approved as part of the adopted FY 22/23 budget (Account #165152-8919). Due to market price increases caused by supply chain challenges for computer/technology hardware, an additional $11,115 appropriation from the IT Replacement fund balance is being requested to fully fund this recommended purchase. The IT Replacement Fund has sufficient available reserves to accommodate this additional requested funding appropriation.