Project Information

Bid Title

GSA-019-26 QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS RESPONSES - NEXT-GENERATION FIREWALL

Issuing Agency

Guam General Services Agency (GSA)

Location

Guam

Published Date

May 20, 2026

Closing Date

Jun 17, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Original Source

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Bid Inquiries

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

GSA-019-26 QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS RESPONSES 05-20-2026

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EDWARD M. BIRN

Director (Direktot)

RENA K. BORJA

Deputy Director (Sigundo Direktot)

GENERAL SERVICES AGENCY

(Ahension Setbision Hinirat)

Telephone (Telifon): (671) 475-1705/1706

LOURDES A. LEON GUERRERO

Governor (Maga’håga)

JOSHUA F. TENORIO

Lt. Governor (Sigundo Maga’låhi)

May 20, 2026

Invitation For Bid

GSA-019-26

Next-Generation Firewall

Questions and Concerns received from Sirius Computer Solutions, LLC on May 12, 2026.

1. Item 2.1 SFP+ SR transceiver

Please confirm QTY needed is 24 Total for both firewalls

Response: Yes, total quantity needed is 24.

2. Item 2.1 SFP+ SR transceiver

Please confirm QTY needed is 24 Total for both firewalls

Response: Yes, total quantity needed is 24.

Questions and Concerns received from Sirius Computer Solutions, LLC on May 13, 2026.

3. I have a 2nd question/comment regarding the below language for “renewing for an additional two (2) years, with no

change in unit cost”. Although I would like to agree to this, please be aware that CDW is a reseller and our costs are

dictated by the manufacturer, in this case Palo Alto. There is too much uncertainly and risks in future pricing so

unfortunately, this is not something that we can offer.

Please advise if you are OK with us responding but with the understanding that we will add a comment that we are

unable to agree to any costs beyond the first 3 years of included prepaid subscription and support. Thank you.

Response: Please refer to amendment #1, the option to renew for an additional two (2) years, on a year to year basis,

with no change in unit cost throughout the duration of this contract” has been removed.

Questions and Concerns received from Data Management Resources LLC on May 13, 2026.

4. Is this an Indefinite Quantity IFB?

Response: This is not an Indefinite Quantity IFB.

5. Relative to Invitation for Bid Form and Contract on page 4 of 47, IFB specifies, "Firm Fixed-Price, Multi-Term Contract"

and "For a period of three (3) years with the option to renew for an additional two (2) years, on a year to year basis,

with no change in unit cost throughout the duration of this contract."

a. Please confirm if "option to renew for additional two (2) years" is referring to Bid Item 1.2 only.

Response: Yes, items 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, and 4.1 are a one time purchase. Item 1.2 is for a period of three (3) years.

b. Please clarify, does "year to year basis" mean the agency will issue three separate purchase orders annually for the

first three years? Or does "year to year basis" refer only to the optional additional two-year period?

Response: Please refer to amendment #1, the option to renew for an additional two (2) years, on a year to year

basis, with no change in unit cost throughout the duration of this contract” has been removed.

590 South Marine Corps Drive, ITC Building, Suite 230, Tamuning, Guam 96913  P. O. Box 7420, Tamuning, Guam 96931

6. Relative to Item No. 1.1, Description on page 42 of 47 indicates "(1 EA to serve as the primary and 1 EA to serve as a

secondary)". Further, 6. Additional Requirements of Item 1.1 on page 45 of 47 indicates "Solution must include two (2)

physical appliances, 1 EA for primary and 1 EA for High Availability." In addition, quantity for this Bid Item is indicated

as "2":

a. Please clarify whether the word "secondary" in the item Description is to be interpreted as meaning "high

availability" as specified in 6. Additional Requirements for the same Bid Item?

Response: The High Availability (HA) solution shall connect as one cluster, ensuring that if one device fails, and the

other takes over immediately without interruption of network traffic. The "secondary" device shall refer to the

backup or redundant unit to the HA solution and shall follow the same hardware and software requirements.

b. Please clarify whether the agency is requesting for the price of the High Availability unit to be included in a single

quantity of Bid Item 1.1?

Response: No, Item 1.1 shall refer to one (1) HA solution consisting of one (1) primary device and one (1)

secondary device, or two (2) physical appliances.

i. If yes, please confirm that the agency is requesting for: 2x (1x Primary Unit+ 1x Secondary Unit) for a total of 4

physical machines for Bid Item 1.1?

Response: Refer to response for 6b.

7. Relative to Item No. 1.2, Quantity is listed on Page 46 of 47 as "3" and UOM is listed as "YR." Please confirm that this

Bid Item is for an up-front initial term purchase of 3 years.

Response: Yes, QTY and OUM for item 1.2 is three (3) years.

a. If not, if the agency is intending to procure services on an annual (1YR) renewal basis for the duration of the 3-YR

term, this would ultimately be more costly than purchasing 3YRs up front, as manufacturers offer a discount for

multi-year terms.

Response: The contract establishes a three (3)-year term; however, funding will be obligated annually via purchase

orders in accordance with fiscal year constrains. Pricing should reflect the full 3-year term.

8. Please provide the brand and model reference used to develop specifications for Item 1.1.

Response: PaloAlto PA-3430.

9. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 44 of 47, "Can achieve Zero Trust with a comprehensive platform that

includes foundational components of User-ID, App-ID, and Device-ID." This combination of User-ID, App-ID, and Device-

ID are Palo Alto Networks trademarks, which can be found at

https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/trademarks.

a. Please clarify whether bidders are required to propose a Palo Alto Networks-branded solution for this IFB.

Response: Bidder may provide an alternate solution to meet or exceed BID specifications.

b. If not, please confirm whether bidders may position products that are equivalent or better to the given

specifications, notwithstanding proprietary features, to encourage fair competition among competing brands and

bidders.

Response: Bidder may provide an alternate solution to meet or exceed BID specifications.

i. To that end, we further request that the agency clarify that alternative architecture, technologies, and

techniques that achieve equivalent or superior outcomes are allowed.

Response: Bidder may provide an alternate solution to meet or exceed BID specifications.

590 South Marine Corps Drive, ITC Building, Suite 230, Tamuning, Guam 96913  P. O. Box 7420, Tamuning, Guam 96931

10. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 45 of 47, "On-site installation services must include knowledge transfer and

training. Training shall be planned and coordinated with OTECH and may include but is not limited to best practice

solutions, implementing security protocols, and managing syslogs and backups."

a. Please clarify, is Training required to be conducted separate from knowledge transfer?

Response: Training and knowledge transfer may be conducted together.

i. If so, please define the minimum requirements for training to be considered compliant with this specification.

Response: Minimum training requirements shall include general networking knowledge and vendor specific

training to successfully configure, implement, manage, and troubleshoot the solution in an enterprise

environment. Refer to Amendment #1.

ii. Please clarify whether manufacturer-authorized training is required?

Response: Yes, Refer to Amendment #1.

iii. How many people are required to be trained?

Response: Minimum of 10 people. Refer to Amendment #1.

11. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 43 of 47, "Mobile Network Infrastructure: 5G Security, GTP Security; SCTP

Security." These protocols and associated security capabilities are typically specific to mobile carrier and

telecommunications core network environments, including L TE and 5G infrastructure. Their primary user cases involve

protection of subscriber data tunnels, mobile signaling systems, and service-based mobile core architectures. Based on

our understanding of the IFB, the intended deployment environment for this procurement appears to be a standard

enterprise/government network, rather than a mobile carrier or telecommunications core network.

a. Please confirm whether OTECH currently operates, or intends to operate, mobile carrier infrastructure (e.g. L

TE/5G core networks) that would necessitate GTP, SCTP, or 5G -specific security capabilities.

Response: OTECH is reviewing ways to protect private networks that connect GovGuam radios, drones, and

tablets.

i. If such infrastructure is not present, we request clarification on the operational requirement for these

telecom-specific protocols within the scope of this procurement. In the absence of a telecom-specific use case,

we respectfully request that these requirements be either stricken or reclassified as optional.

Response: No, OTECH is reviewing ways to protect private networks that connect GovGuam radios, drones,

and tablets.

12. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 45 of 47, "Solution must be implemented to meet the baseline controls of

the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53 Revision 5." Please clarify whether

the solution is required to be FIPS-validated?

Response: Solutions shall be FIPS-compliant, refer to Amendment #1.

13. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 46 of 47, "Global Protect Gateway, Provides mobility solutions and/or large-

scale VPN capabilities." Please clarify if this specification is requiring support for mobile devices such as Windows, Mac,

iOS, and Android devices?

Response: Yes.

590 South Marine Corps Drive, ITC Building, Suite 230, Tamuning, Guam 96913  P. O. Box 7420, Tamuning, Guam 96931

14. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 44 of 47, "Can achieve Zero Trust with a comprehensive platform that

includes foundational components of User-ID, App-ID, and Device-ID." In addition, Item 1.2 specifies on page 46 of 47,

"Global Protect Gateway, Provides mobility solutions and/or large-scale VPN capabilities." Please clarify whether the

entire proposed solution (Items 1.1 and 1.2) is intended to extend the Zero Trust model to remote devices connecting

through VPN?

Response: Yes.

a. Further, is the proposed solution required to verify the health and identity of the device before granting a VPN

connection?

Response: Yes.

15. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 43 of 47, "Leverages cloud-based ML processes to push zero-delay signatures

and instructions back to the firewall." Please clarify whether the proposed solution is required to push zero-delay

signatures and instructions for malware and applications?

Response: Yes.

16. Relative to Item 1.1, please clarify the minimum required throughput for TLS/SSL inspection and decryption.

Response: 4-5 Gbps.

17. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 45 of 47, "Solution must be implemented to meet the baseline controls of

the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53 Revision 5." Please clarify the

minimum log retention period required by the agency to satisfy applicable audit and accountability controls.

Response: Minimum seven (7) day log retention on local appliance; archived logs shall be configured to push to a

syslog server. Refer to Amendment #1.

18. Relative to Item 1.1, IFB specifies on page 43 of 47, "VLANs: 802.10 VLAN tags per device/per interface: 4,094/4,094;

Aggregate interfaces (802.3ad), LACP."

a. Please clarify the actual VLAN count currently in use in the agency's current environment.

Response: 100.

b. Given the answer to Question 18a, will the agency accept any number of VLANs higher than the current VLAN

count in use?

Response: Bidder shall ensure BID specifications are met.

19. Relative to Item 1.1 and 1.2, IFB specifies Primary and Secondary (HA) Firewall. Please clarify whether the agency

requires unified logging/centralized management for both primary & HA units?

Response: The High Availability (HA) solution shall connect as one cluster, ensuring that if one (1) device fails, and the

other takes over immediately without interruption of network traffic. Logging and management of the HA cluster is

typically performed on the primary or main unit; however, all changes are synchronized (copied) to the secondary

device.

20. IFB specifies on page 4 of 47, "Firm Fixed-Price, Multi-Term Contract" and "For a period of three (3) years with the

option to renew for an additional two (2) years, on a year to year basis, with no change in unit cost throughout the

duration of this contract."

(a) We respectfully request that the agency reconsider or clarify this fixed pricing requirement in light of the on-going

industry factors affecting technology pricing. The cybersecurity and technology industries continue to experience

significant pricing volatility related to DRAM, NAND/SSD, semiconductor, and other hardware components utilized

in enterprise firewall platforms. As hardware pricing fluctuates, associated manufacturer support and subscription

costs also fluctuate accordingly.

590 South Marine Corps Drive, ITC Building, Suite 230, Tamuning, Guam 96913  P. O. Box 7420, Tamuning, Guam 96931

We note that similar pricing challenges have already affected other government technology procurements,

including GSA-075-25 and GCC-FB-25-017, where pricing adjustments occurred even within substantially shorter

contract periods.

Under the current IFB terms, bidders may be forced to either absorb unpredictable future cost increases or

incorporate significant pricing contingencies into their proposals, either of which may reduce pricing

competitiveness and impair the agency's ability to obtain the most advantageous, cost-effective long-term value.

Response: Please refer to amendment #1, the option to renew for an additional two (2) years, on a year to year

basis, with no change in unit cost throughout the duration of this contract” has been removed.

21. We respectfully request for a pre-bid on-site visit to understand the scope of the installation and configuration.

Response: A site-visit has been scheduled, refer to the Notice to All Prospective Bidder(s) dated May 20, 2026.

22. Please confirm, will GSA will accept follow up questions should any of its responses require further clarification?

Response: Yes. Follow-up questions will be accepted until the specified deadline for submission of additional inquires

related to these responses. Questions and concerns received after this deadline may not be considered.

23. We respectfully request the deadline for submission be extended to two weeks from the date of GSA's distribution of

responses to bidder questions to allow for adequate time to prepare a bid response.

Response: Refer to amendment #1.

Please Note: Follow up/Clarification to the Questions and Concerns responses dated 05/20/2026 must be submitted to the

General Services Agency via email to bids@gsadoa.guam.gov no later than 5pm, Friday, May 22, 2026.

Andriana Quitugua

Acting Chief Procurement Officer

Please Print

ACKNOWLEDGMENT COPY

Received By: _______________________

Date:

_______________________

Company/Name: _______________________

Email To: bids@gsadoa.guam.gov

590 South Marine Corps Drive, ITC Building, Suite 230, Tamuning, Guam 96913  P. O. Box 7420, Tamuning, Guam 96931

Commodity Codes

• NAICS 541511Custom Computer Programming Services
• NAICS 541512Computer Systems Design Services
• NAICS 541519Other Computer Related Services

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