I’m thrilled to announce that a new DOD Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) program contract has been awarded for Palo Alto Networks products. Fourteen contracts were awarded in total with nine given to small businesses to help agencies meet their socio-economic goals. This contract will make it easier and faster for the DOD and U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) organizations to purchase our cybersecurity solutions, as well as plan and budget for their future cybersecurity needs more efficiently and cost-effectively.
DOD and IC agencies use contract vehicles, such as the DOD ESI, the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule and Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP), to access and procure products and services from commercial companies. These contracts aid defense and intelligence agencies in their Program Objective Memorandum (POM) budgeting and planning, which they use to detail proposed programs and describe how they intend to allocate resources to support those initiatives in the years ahead.
Access to More Advanced Products and Services for Improving Cybersecurity
DOD and IC agencies can still purchase select Palo Alto Networks products and services, such as our Next-Generation Firewalls, Prisma Cloud and Cortex, through the GSA Schedule, SEWP or other contract vehicles. However, these vehicles can be complicated and time-consuming, necessitating additional terms and conditions required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The new DOD ESI contract streamlines procurement of Palo Alto Networks solutions and helps agencies ensure that they are procuring in a FAR/DFARS-compliant method. It also makes it easier for agencies to consolidate purchases and reporting, and to track what’s being purchased, by whom and where those products are being used.
The award of the DOD ESI enterprise-wide contract means that DOD and IC agencies can now easily include almost all Palo Alto Networks products and services, such as our Next-Gen CASB and the Cortex XDR platform, in their plans for digital transformation and IT modernization. This includes efforts to move toward Zero Trust, which was mandated in President Biden’s Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity and the recent OMB memo. The product and services will be outlined in a single catalog along with all the specifics that agencies need to include in their bill of materials for the Program Objective Memorandum (POM) process.
The ability to get leading-edge cybersecurity solutions faster from Palo Alto Networks into mission-critical environments can help agencies accelerate their efforts to enhance their security posture and improve the nation’s defenses. DOD and IC agencies that use the new DOD ESI contract to acquire Palo Alto Networks products and services will find that they get only Palo Alto Networks authorized partners bidding on their requests, which helps to secure their supply chain.
An Opportunity to Collaborate Even More With Trusted Distributors
In addition to being able to support the cybersecurity needs of our DOD and IC customers in new ways, the DOD ESI contract lets Palo Alto Networks maintain our valued relationships with IT distributors that serve the public sector, like immixGroup, Inc. and Carahsoft Technology Group.
Gina Brown, manager of Federal Contracts for immixGroup said, “immixGroup is excited to team with Palo Alto Networks on the DOD ESI catalog blanket purchase agreement. This enterprise software agreement will save agency dollars, reduce procurement time and provide easy access to Palo Alto Networks cybersecurity solutions.”
Ryan Farrar, sales manager for the Palo Alto Networks Federal Team at Carahsoft said, “Carahsoft Technology Corporation, alongside our reseller partners, is proud to support Palo Alto Networks on the DOD ESI blanket purchase agreement. The ESI blanket purchase agreement reinforces the DOD's strategic focus on increasing cybersecurity measures to protect critical assets. With this agreement, agencies are able to easily access and procure next-generation cyber solutions from Palo Alto Networks.”
For More Information
Learn more about the DOD ESI program. Email us directly at navy@paloaltonetworks.com for additional details on how to access Palo Alto Networks products and services through the DOD ESI program. Learn more about our cybersecurity solutions for the U.S. federal government.