Arc hybrid mesh firewall services – compulsory briefing, csd, tax & local content requirements, 36-Month contract

{"name":"Ms Fisokuhle","email":"[email protected]","phone":null,"department":"Any tender documentation-related enquiries arising from this request must be forwarded to both","address":"upply Chain Management"}

Submission is electronic only, via the PURCO SA website (https://purcosa.co.za). No physical, email or fax submissions will be accepted. Only final submissions are evaluated; draft submissions are rejected. Late submissions are not accepted. The bid document must be purchased at a non-refundable fee of R 1,150.00 (VAT included) on the PURCO SA website, available from 21 August 2026. Bidders must log in with the username and password of the person who purchased the document, go to 'My purchased tenders' and click 'Submit bid'. The Online Tender Submissions Guide at https://purcosa.co.za/online-tender-submissions-guide provides details on preparing and uploading files. Bidders should submit early to allow time to resubmit if issues arise. The completed bid document must be submitted on official company letterhead with detailed costing. All SBD forms must be completed and signed. The master bid document must be completed, initialled and signed in full. No pages may be removed from the original tender document. Proposals must remain valid for 180 days after submission. The bid is subject to the General Conditions of Contract as prescribed by National Treasury. Misrepresentation of facts will result in disqualification and cancellation of the contract. Bidders must not be in the service of the state, nor have directors or members who are. Proof of authority to sign (e.g. company resolution) must be submitted. Returnable forms include SBD 1 (Invitation to Bid), SBD 2 (Tax Clearance Certificate Requirements), SBD 3.3 (Pricing Schedule – Firm Prices), SBD 4 (Bidder's Disclosure), SBD 5 (Declaration for Local Production and Content), SBD 6.1 (Preference Points Claim), SBD 7 (Contract Form), SBD 8 (Declaration of Bidder's Past Supply Chain Management Practices), SBD 9 (Certificate of Independent Bid Determination), and the Excel Pricing Schedule (Annexure 1). Failure to submit SBD 3.3 with the pricing schedule leads to disqualification. All SBD forms must be completed and signed.

11. Evaluation process ................................................................................................. 13
12. Evaluation process

This bid will be evaluated in Four-phases. Bids evaluation process will be conducted, and the

bidder must qualify at each stage to be eligible to proceed to the next stage of the evaluation as

 Phase 3: Functionality Criteria (including Presentation and Site Visit)

 Phase 4: Price and Specific Goals

4. Bidder must be ISO/IEC 270033-4 certified and provide valid proof.

11.3 Phase 3: evaluation criteria

The proposal will be evaluated in terms of 80/20 evaluation systems in line with the Preferential

Criteria Minimum Points Weight

required service and must (3) contactable Reference years = 5 points

5 years = 4 pointsthree (3) Reference Letters for

your clients, should contain at 5 years = 3 points

minimum the following points

 Contact Person 5 years = 2 points

enable evaluation of their qualifications/certification: submitted = 1 point

submitted = 2 points

The 80/20 principle will apply in terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act .

Table 1: Specific goals for the tender and points claimed are indicated per the table below.

(Note to organs of state: Where either the 90/10 or 80/20 preference point system is applicable,

corresponding points must also be indicated as such.)

Note to Bidders: The Bidder must indicate how they claim points for each preference point system.)

Number of points claimed

Percentage (80/20 system) (To be Specific Goals Points (20)

Total points 20

The ARC is a Schedule 3A public entity established under the Agricultural Research Act (Act No. ). It operates across multiple campuses in South Africa and supports agricultural innovation, food

security, and sustainable development.

The ARC requires an Managed and Hosted Hybrid Mesh Firewall cybersecurity capability to address

evolving cyber threats across its network environments. The ARC ICT environment is operating on a hybrid

method (cloud and also on premise).

5. Objective

To appoint a service provider(s) to deliver:

 Provide next-generation firewall protection on ARC hybrid environment (cloud, on-premise) across all

campuses.

 Provide 24/7 monitoring, detecting, alerting, incident response support, and monthly security

reporting.

 Ensure compliance with applicable ICT governance, cybersecurity, data protection, and audit

requirements.

 Provide professional managed security services with defined service levels and accountability.

The scope of work is provision of the managed firewall (physical/virtual) services which includes but not

limited to the deployment, configuration, security monitoring, management, maintenance, proactive threat

detection and blocking, firmware and patch management, updating and optimization to protect ARC

10 Initial..........

network, systems applications and data against cyber security threats whilst ensuring compliance with

security policies configuration and regulatory requirements. It will include the following key deliverables:

 Deliver 24/7 monitoring and incident response

 Provide monthly reporting and SLA tracking

 Ensure integration with ARC systems, but not limited to the following (Entra ID, SIEM)

 Provide training, documentation, and knowledge transfer.

7. Additional requirements

Managed Firewall Requirements:

 Minimum five (5) years of experience delivering managed Firewall services.

 The Firewall security professionals must have at least a minimum of five (5) years experience.

Support and Maintenance (SLA) Requirements:

 The service provide shall enter into a Service Level Agreement after deployment with the following

key requirements to be defined and agreed upon:

 Service availability

 24/7/365 Monitoring with a defined response time for security incidents.

 Critical incident response

 High-severity incident resolution

 Monthly security service performance reports and review meetings

 Planned maintenance

 Unplanned downtime

 Reports dashboard access

 Annual SLA review to ensure alignment with business requirements.

Skills And Experience Requirements

 The bidder must demonstrate the following:

 Experience implementing and managing enterprise firewall solutions.

 Experience with hybrid, cloud, branch, and remote-user security architectures.

 Certified engineers for the proposed technology.

 24/7 firewall security operations capability.

 Experience with Microsoft 365 platforms.

 Experience in incident response and security reporting.

 Experience supporting public sector or large enterprise environments.

The National Industrial Participation (NIP) Programme, which is applicable to all

government procurement contracts that have an imported content, became effective on

the 1 September 1996. The NIP policy and guidelines were fully endorsed by Cabinet on

30 April 1997. In terms of the Cabinet decision, all state and parastatal purchased /

lease contracts (for goods, works and services) entered into after this date, are subject to

the NIP requirements. NIP is obligatory and therefore must be complied with. The

Industrial Participation Secretariat (IPS) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is

charged with the responsibility of administering the programme.

1. Pillars of the programme

1.1 The NIP obligation is benchmarked on the imported content of the contract. Any

contract having an imported content equal to or exceeding US$ 10 million or other

currency equivalent to US$ 10 million will have a NIP obligation. This threshold of

US$ million can be reached as follows:

(a) Any single contract with imported content exceeding US$ 10 million.

or

(b) Multiple contracts for the same goods, works or services each with imported

content exceeding US$ 3 million are awarded to one seller over a 2-year

period which in total exceeds US$ 10 million.

or

(c) A contract with a renewable option clause, where should the option be

exercised the total value of the imported content will exceed US$ 10 million.

or

28 Initial..........

(d) Multiple suppliers of the same goods, works or services under the same

contract, where the value of the imported content of each allocation is equal

to or exceeds US$ 3 million worth of goods, works or services to the same

government institution, which in total over a two (2) year period exceeds

US$ 10 million.

1.2 The NIP obligation to suppliers in respect of sub-paragraphs 1.1 (a) to 1.1 (c) above

will amount to 30% of the imported content whilst suppliers in respect of paragraph

1.1 (d) shall incur 30% of the total NIP obligation on a pro-rata basis.

1.3 To satisfy the NIP obligation, the DTI would negotiate and conclude agreements

such as investments, joint ventures, sub-contracting, licensee production, export

promotion, sourcing arrangements and research and development (R&D) with

partners or suppliers.

1.4 A period of seven years has been identified as the time frame within which to

discharge the obligation.

2. Requirements of the department of trade and industry

2.1 In order to ensure effective implementation of the programme, successful bidders

(contractors) are required to, immediately after the award of a contract that is in

excess of R 10 million (ten million Rands), submit details of such a contract to the

DTI for reporting purposes.

2.2 The purpose for reporting details of contracts in excess of the amount of R 10

million (ten million Rands) is to cater for multiple contract for the same goods, works

or services; renewal contracts and multiple suppliers for the same goods, works

and services under the same contract as provided for in paragraphs 1.1 (b) to 1.1

(d) above.

3. Bid submission and contract reporting requirements of

Bidders and successful bidders (contractors)

3.1 Bidders are required to sign and submit this Standard Bidding Document (SBD 5)

together with the bid on the closing date and time.

3.2 In order to accommodate multiple contracts for the same goods, works or services;

renewal contracts and multiple suppliers for the same goods, works or services

under the same contract as indicated in sub-paragraphs 1.1 (b) to 1.1 (d) above

and to enable the DTI in determining the NIP obligation, successful bidders

(contractors) are required, immediately after being officially notified about any

successful bid with a value in excess of R 10 million (ten million Rands), to contact

and furnish the DTI with the following information:

29 Initial..........

 Bid / contract number

 Description of the goods, works or services

 Date on which the contract was accepted

 Name, address and contact details of the government institution

 Value of the contract

 Imported content of the contract, if possible.

4. Process to satisfy the nip obligation

4.1 Once the successful bidder (contractor) has made contact with and furnished the

DTI with the information required, the following steps will be followed:

a. The contractor and the DTI will determine the NIP obligation;

b. The contractor and the DTI will sign the NIP obligation agreement;

c. The contractor will submit a performance guarantee to the DTI;

d. The contractor will submit a business concept for consideration and

approval by the DTI;

e. Upon approval of the business concept by the DTI, the contractor will submit

detailed business plans outlining the business concepts;

f. The contractor will implement the business plans; and

g. The contractor will submit bi-annual progress reports on approved plans to

the DTI.

4.2 The NIP obligation agreement is between the DTI and the successful bidder

(contractor) and, therefore, does not involve the purchasing institution.

30 Initial..........

be in one of the Garner Firewall position

quadrant as of July 2025

• Not on the Gartner

Quadrant = 1 point

• Visionaries on the

Gartner Quadrant = 2

points

• Niche on the Gartner

Quadrant = 3 points

• Challenger on the

Gartner Quadrant = 4

points

• Leaders on the

Gartner Quadrant = 5

points

4. Proposed Project Plan 10

Provide a project Clear structured plan 10 points

• One Point will be

implementation plan with clear as outlined on the first allocated to a bidder

Entra ID etc.), Technical

• The presentationsolution design, Managed

addresses at leastservice operations, Project

two presentationimplementation approach and

keypoints of firewallthe value-added services.

solution - 2 Points

• The presentation

addresses at least

three presentation

keypoints of firewall

solution - 3 Points

• The presentation

addresses at least

four presentation

keypoints of firewall

solution - 4 Points

• The presentation

addresses at least

five presentation

keypoints of firewall

solution - 5 Points

6. Site Visit 10

ARC will visit the Firewall

• 1 point = Service

Provide CVs and certification CVs of 3–5 Firewall/Network

• No Curriculum Vitae /

of key staff that will be Security Engineers Irrelevant experience

allocated to this project to professionals with the relevant and No Qualifications

enable evaluation of their qualifications/certification: submitted = 1 point

qualifications and

 Entry Level - Security

• Two CVs with 1 to 2experiences.

Administrator e.g. FCP, years relevant

PCNSA, CCSA, CCSA or experience and Entry

CCNA etc level Qualification

submitted = 2 points

 Senior Level -

Professional / Expert e.g

• Three CVs with 3 to 5

FCSS, PCNSE, CCSE, years relevant

CCNP etc. Experience and

 To submit your tender bid, log in to the https://purcosa.co.za/ website using the username and

password of the person who purchased the tender document.

 Go to https://purcosa.co.za/my-tenders to view your purchased tenders. Click on the 'Submit bid'

link to submit your bid documents.

 You can also reach this page via the 'My purchased tenders' link on your Supplier Hub or in the

dropdown menu under your username.

 For detailed information on how to prepare and upload your tender files, view the Online Tender

Submissions Guide at https://purcosa.co.za/online-tender-submissions-guide The Guide includes

information about tender security and integrity.

 We strongly recommend that you:

o Open and review the tender submission page before the deadline day so that you fully

understand what is required.

o Submit your tender files early to avoid last-minute problems and to allow yourself the

opportunity to resubmit if you experience any issues. This is particularly important if your tender

files are large and you are on a slow connection.

 Neither late submissions nor physical delivery of documents shall be accepted.

 Minimum five (5) years of experience delivering managed Firewall services.

 The Firewall security professionals must have at least a minimum of five (5) years experience.

Support and Maintenance (SLA) Requirements:

 The service provide shall enter into a Service Level Agreement after deployment with the following

key requirements to be defined and agreed upon:

 Service availability

 24/7/365 Monitoring with a defined response time for security incidents.

 Critical incident response

 High-severity incident resolution

 Monthly security service performance reports and review meetings

 Planned maintenance

 Unplanned downtime

 Reports dashboard access

 Annual SLA review to ensure alignment with business requirements.

 The bidder must demonstrate the following:

 Experience implementing and managing enterprise firewall solutions.

 Experience with hybrid, cloud, branch, and remote-user security architectures.

 Certified engineers for the proposed technology.

 24/7 firewall security operations capability.

 Experience with Microsoft 365 platforms.

 Experience in incident response and security reporting.

 Experience supporting public sector or large enterprise environments.

8. Technical requirements

valid letter as proof of OEM accreditation.

2. The bidder must have a minimum of three (3) reference letters from clients where similar services

have been rendered within the seven (7) years.

3. Bidders must submit the minimum of three (3) CVs indicating the relevant experience of the above

mentioned scope of work and valid certification of security engineers for the firewall solution.

4. Bidder must be ISO/IEC 270033-4 certified and provide valid proof.

Requirements

1. Company Experience 30

(Reference Letters)

The bidder must demonstrate The service provider must

• (Five) 5 completed

that they can render the provide minimum of the three project within (Five) 5

required service and must (3) contactable Reference years = 5 points

have completed projects Letters.

• (Four) 4 completedwithin five (5) years. The

projects within (Five)bidder must provide at least

5 years = 4 pointsthree (3) Reference Letters for

Firewall solution work done.

• (Three) 3 completed

The references, signed by projects within (Five)

your clients, should contain at 5 years = 3 points

minimum the following points

on the company letterhead:

• (Two) 2 completed

projects within (Five)

 Contact Person 5 years = 2 points

 Telephone Number and

E-Mail Address

• (One) 1 completed

 Duration of the service project within (Five) 5

rendered: Start and the years = 1 point

clear.

 Description of the service

on the letter head.

 Value of the Project/s.

NB: Reference letter that

misses any of the above will

not be accepted.

(ARC reserves the right to

verify references)

2. Teams Experience and 20

Qualifications

Provide CVs and certification CVs of 3–5 Firewall/Network

• No Curriculum Vitae /

of key staff that will be Security Engineers Irrelevant experience

allocated to this project to professionals with the relevant and No Qualifications

enable evaluation of their qualifications/certification: submitted = 1 point

qualifications and

 Entry Level - Security

• Two CVs with 1 to 2experiences.

service provider/s fail to meet the requirements of the bid.

2.21 Site inspection

 Application control and URL filtering

 DNS security

 VPN (IPsec/SSL) with MFA

 Zero Trust and segmentation capabilities

 SSL/TLS inspection

 SIEM integration

 Anti-Malware Protection

 DireARCry: AD/Entra ID integration

 SIEM: Syslog/API integration

 Certificate integration: internal PKI for TLS inspection if required.

Bidders to complete the Excel Pricing Schedule (Annexure 1) and must be submitted with the

completed SBD 3.3 under the Pricing Section on the Tender Box online system.

Failure to submit the SBD 3.3 together with the above Pricing schedule will lead to disqualification.

12.1 Prices terms

Tenderers shall indicate the basis on which the services will be charged. In this regard the following

information shall be provided:

 Where a Tenderer lacks in-house expertise and may have to outsource certain services, the detail

and basis of charges of any such service that may be required must be outlined.

 The tenderer shall reflect service discounts that they will offer throughout the contract duration.

 Tenderers submissions must reflect the detailed breakdown of the tender price as per the costing

structure.

 Prices must include VAT, if it is applicable and all other costs related to the execution of the

required services.

 The tenderer agrees not to change the price with VAT or any other Tax subsequent to submitting

the tender. This includes subsequent VAT registration.

 All prices quoted are to be in SA Rand and inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT).

 No change in the prices submitted shall be considered after receipt of response to the Tender

submission within the validity period of the tender.

 Bidders shall ensure that the bid price is for the duration of the project, including escalations.

18 Initial..........

Sbd 1

Part a

Invitation to bid

You are hereby invited to bid for the requirements of the (agricultural research

Council)

Closing closing

BID NUMBER: ARC/09/08/2026 DATE: 21 September 2026 TIME: 11:00

The procurement of a suitably qualified service provider for the provision

Description of managed and hosted hybrid mesh firewall services for a period of thirty-

Six (36) months.

Bidding procedure enquiries may be directed technical enquiries may be

To: directed to:

Contact contact

PERSON Fisokuhle Dlamini PERSON Ms Elelwani Muhanelwa

Telephone telephone

Number 011 545 0940 number 012 310 2509

E-mail

E-MAIL ADDRESS [email protected] ADDRESS [email protected]

Supplier information

Name of bidder

Postal address

Street address

Telephone

Number code number

Cellphone

Number

Facsimile

Number code number

E-mail address

VAT

Registration

Number

Supplier tax compliance central

Compliance system pin: supplier

Or

Status database

No: MAAA

B-bbee status tick applicable box] b-bbee status [tick applicable

Level level sworn box]

Verification affidavit

CERTIFICATE Yes No

Yes

No

19 Initial..........

[A B-BBEE STATUS LEVEL VERIFICATION CERTIFICATE/ SWORN AFFIDAVIT (FOR EMES & QSEs)

Must be submitted in order to qualify for preference points for b-bbee]

Are you the are you a

Accredited foreign based

REPRESENTATIVE SUPPLIER FOR Yes No

In south africa the goods

FOR THE GOODS Yes No /SERVICES [IF YES, ANSWER

/Services /works the questionnaire

/Works [if yes enclose proof] offered? Below]

Offered?

Questionnaire to bidding foreign suppliers

Is the entity a resident of the republic of south africa (RSA)?

Yes NO

Does the entity have a branch in the RSA?

Yes NO

Does the entity have a permanent establishment in the RSA?

Yes NO

Does the entity have any source of income in the RSA?

Yes NO

Is the entity liable in the RSA for any form of taxation?

Yes NO

If the answer is “NO” to all of the above, then IT is not a requirement to register

For a tax compliance status system pin code from the south african revenue

Service (SARS) and if not register as per 2.3 Below.

20 Initial..........

Part b

Terms and conditions for bidding

1. Bid submission:

1.1. BIDS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY ON https://purcosa.co.za/ .

Late bids will not be accepted for consideration.

1.2. All bids must be submitted on the official forms provided–(not

To be re-typed) or in the manner prescribed in the bid

Document.

1.3. This bid is subject to the preferential procurement policy

Framework act, 2000 and the preferential procurement

Regulations, 2017, the general conditions of contract (gcc)

And, if applicable, any other special conditions of contract.

1.4. The successful bidder will be required to fill in and sign a

Written contract form (sbd7).

2. Tax compliance requirements

2.1 Bidders must ensure compliance with their tax obligations.

2.2 Bidders are required to submit their unique personal

Identification number (pin) issued by SARS to enable the organ

Of state to verify the taxpayer’s profile and tax status.

2.3 Application for tax compliance status (tcs) pin may be made via

E-filing through the SARS website www.SARS.GOV.ZA.

2.4 Bidders may also submit a printed tcs certificate together

With the bid.

2.5 In bids where consortia / joint ventures / sub-contractors are

Involved, each party must submit a separate tcs certificate /

Pin / csd number.

2.6 Where NO tcs pin is available but the bidder is registered on

The central supplier database (csd), a csd number must be

Provided.

2.7 NO bids will be considered from persons in the service of the

State, companies with directors who are persons in the

Service of the state, or close corporations with members

Persons in the service of the state.”

Signature of bidder: ...................................................

Capacity under which this bid is signed:................................................

(Proof of authority must be submitted e.g. Company Resolution)

Date: ...................................................

Nb: failure to provide any of the above particulars may render

The bid invalid.

21 Initial..........

Any enquiries regarding the technical questions and bidding

Procedure may be respectively directed to:

Contact Person: Ms Elelwani Muhanelwa

Tel: 012 310 2509

E-mail address: [email protected]

Contact Person: Fisokuhle Dlamini

Tel: 011 545 0965

E-mail address: [email protected]

All technical enquiries must be forwarded in writing to the above-mentioned, who will act

as communicator between the Bidder and ARC to ensure that all Bidders receive the same

information.

22 Initial..........

Sbd 2

Tax clearance certificate requirements

It is a condition of bid that the taxes of the successful bidder must be in order, or

that satisfactory arrangements have been made with South African Revenue Service

(SARS) to meet the bidder’s tax obligations.

1. In order to meet this requirement, bidders are required to complete in full the

attached form TCC 001 “Application for a Tax Clearance Certificate” and submit it

to any SARS branch office nationally. The Tax Clearance Certificate Requirements

are also applicable to foreign bidders/individuals who wish to submit bids.

2. SARS will then furnish the bidder with a Tax Clearance Certificate that will be valid

for a period of 1 (one) year from the date of approval.

3. The original Tax Clearance Certificate must be submitted together with the bid.

Failure to submit the original and valid Tax Clearance Certificate will result in the

invalidation of the bid. Certified copies of the Tax Clearance Certificate will not be

acceptable.

4. In bids where Consortia / Joint Ventures / Sub-contractors are involved, each party

must submit a separate Tax Clearance Certificate.

5. Copies of the TCC 001 “Application for a Tax Clearance Certificate” form are

available from any SARS branch office nationally or on the website

www.sars.gov.za

6. Applications for the Tax Clearance Certificates may also be made via eFiling. In

order to use this provision, taxpayers will need to register with SARS as eFilers

through the website www.sars.gov.za.

23 Initial..........

Sbd 3.3

Pricing schedule – firm prices

(Purchases)

Note: form sbd 3.3 Must be completed separately and be submitted

With the completed pricing schedule.

24 Initial..........

Sbd 4

Bidder’s disclosure

1. Purpose of the form

Any person (natural or juristic) may make an offer or offers in terms of this invitation

to bid. In line with the principles of transparency, accountability, impartiality, and

ethics as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and further

expressed in various pieces of legislation, it is required for the bidder to make this

declaration in respect of the details required hereunder.

Where a person/s are listed in the Register for Tender Defaulters and / or the List

of Restricted Suppliers, that person will automatically be disqualified from the bid

process.

2. Bidder’s declaration

2.1 Is the bidder, or any of its directors / trustees / shareholders / members / partners

or any person having a controlling interest1 in the enterprise, employed by the

state? YES/NO

2.1.1 If so, furnish particulars of the names, individual identity numbers, and, if

applicable, state employee numbers of sole proprietor/ directors / trustees /

shareholders / members/ partners or any person having a controlling interest in

the enterprise, in table below.

Full Name Identity Number Name of State institution

1 the power, by one person or a group of persons holding the majority of the equity of an enterprise,

alternatively, the person/s having the deciding vote or power to influence or to direct the course and

decisions of the enterprise.

25 Initial..........

2.2 Do you, or any person connected with the bidder, have a relationship with any

person who is employed by the procuring institution? YES/NO

2.2.1 If so, furnish particulars:

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

2.3 Does the bidder or any of its directors / trustees / shareholders / members /

partners or any person having a controlling interest in the enterprise have any

interest in any other related enterprise whether or not they are bidding for this

contract? YES/NO

2.3.1 If so, furnish particulars:

........................................................................................

........................................................................................

required to ensure that the completed document with all attachments is submitted on or before the closing

date of the tender. Bid offer to be submitted on the official company letterhead, and detailed costing must

be stipulated. All pricing shall be in South African Rand (ZAR). No price adjustments will be allowed after

the closure of the tender.

2.3 Compliance with general conditions of contract

No alteration, variation or amendment of the Contract (of which this Tender represents the offer) shall be

permitted unless otherwise agreed to in writing. Should the prospective provider, in the case of noncompliance, wish to make any amendments to the conditions stipulated by the ARC in this Tender, which

shall form the offer element of a Contract and if it is accepted by the ARC, then such proposed

amendments shall be clearly stipulated by the prospective provider and where possible stating the increase

or decrease in the cost involved by such proposals. The ARC reserves the right to reject such

submissions.

Total points 20

12. Pricing schedule

Bidders to complete the Excel Pricing Schedule (Annexure 1) and must be submitted with the

completed SBD 3.3 under the Pricing Section on the Tender Box online system.

Failure to submit the SBD 3.3 together with the above Pricing schedule will lead to disqualification.

12.1 Prices terms

Sbd 3.3

Pricing schedule – firm prices

(Purchases)

Note: form sbd 3.3 Must be completed separately and be submitted

MANAGED AND HOSTED HYBRID MESH FIREWALL The successful bidder will provide the following minimum solution capabilities: Key Functional Requirements  Layer 3 –7 firewalling  IPS/IDS and threat prevention 11 Initial..........  Application control and URL filtering  DNS security  VPN (IPsec/SSL) with MFA  Zero Trust and segmentation capabilities  SSL/TLS inspection  SIEM integration  Anti-Malware Protection Performance & Capacity Requirement Minimum Internet Throughput 36 Gbps WAN Throughput 10 Gbps VPN Users 2 000 IPS Throughput 5.7 Gbps Concurrent Sessions 8 Million New Connections/sec 300,000 Interfaces & Connectivity  Minimum ports: [Specify e.g., 8x1GbE + 2x10GbE]  Support for VLANs (802.1Q), LACP, and link aggregation  IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack support (where needed)  Routing support: static + OSPF/BGP (as required) Platform Support  Physical appliances (data centre/campuses)  Virtual appliances: VMware/Hyper V (specify)  Central management platform: cloud-managed or on-prem managed (specify preference) Security Hardening & Governance  RBAC with granular roles (view, policy, admin, auditor)  MFA for admin access (mandatory) remove the mandatory  Audit trails for configuration changes (who/what/when)  Secure admin access protocols (HTTPS/SSH), disable insecure ciphers  Backup/restore and configuration versioning. Interoperability / Integrations  DireARCry: AD/Entra ID integration  SIEM: Syslog/API integration  Certificate integration: internal PKI for TLS inspection if required.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES Key Deliverables The successful bidder(s) must provide:  The current-state assessment and due diligence report 12 Initial..........  Detailed solution design/ architecture documentation  Project Implementation and configuration plan (project charter)  Migration and cut-over plan  Security policies and baselines  SOPs and runbooks  Training and skills transfer  Monthly SLA reports  Monthly security incident reports  Quarterly security posture review report  Final project closure report  Hosting in a secure data centre  Centralised management and unified logging  High availability and failover configuration  Policy configuration and lifecycle management

CONTRACT DURATION The contract will be valid for 36 months from the date of award.

EVALUATION PROCESS This bid will be evaluated in Four-phases. Bids evaluation process will be conducted, and the bidder must qualify at each stage to be eligible to proceed to the next stage of the evaluation as follows:  Phase 1: Administrative Compliance.  Phase 2: Mandatory Requirements.  Phase 3: Functionality Criteria (including Presentation and Site Visit)  Phase 4: Price and Specific Goals 11.1 PHASE 1: ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

Valid current Tax PIN number from SARS.

Current Central Supplier Database (CSD report) showing a tax compliant status for the duration of the tendering process.

Complete and sign all the Standard Bidding Document (SBD forms)

The master bid document should be completed, initialled and signed in full.

Valid BBBEE certificate / sworn affidavit. 11.2 PHASE 2: MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

The bidder must be an authorised partner/reseller of the proposed firewall solution and provide a valid letter as proof of OEM accreditation.

The bidder must have a minimum of three (3) reference letters from clients where similar services have been rendered within the seven (7) years.

Bidders must submit the minimum of three (3) CVs indicating the relevant experience of the above mentioned scope of work and valid certification of security engineers for the firewall solution.

Bidder must be ISO/IEC 270033-4 certified and provide valid proof.

The bidder must attend the physical compulsory briefing session. N.B Failure to meet all the above requirements will disqualify your company. 11.3 PHASE 3: EVALUATION CRITERIA The proposal will be evaluated in terms of 80/20 evaluation systems in line with the Preferential Procurement Regulations Act. 13 Initial.......... 1 - Poor, 2 - Average, 3 - Good, 4 - Very Good and 5 - Excellent Criteria Minimum Points Weight

Company Experience 30 (Reference Letters) The bidder must demonstrate The service provider must

• (Five) 5 completed that they can render the provide minimum of the three project within (Five) 5 required service and must (3) contactable Reference years = 5 points have completed projects Letters.

(Four) 4 completedwithin five (5) years. The projects within (Five)bidder must provide at least 5 years = 4 pointsthree (3) Reference Letters for Firewall solution work done.

• (Three) 3 completed The references, signed by projects within (Five) your clients, should contain at 5 years = 3 points minimum the following points on the company letterhead:
• (Two) 2 completed projects within (Five)  Contact Person 5 years = 2 points  Telephone Number and E-Mail Address
• (One) 1 completed  Duration of the service project within (Five) 5 rendered: Start and the years = 1 point End dates should be clear.  Description of the service on the letter head.  Value of the Project/s. NB: Reference letter that misses any of the above will not be accepted. (ARC reserves the right to verify references)

Teams Experience and 20 submitted (Atleast 1 CV at Senior Level) = 3 points

Four CVs with 6 to 8 14 Initial.......... years relevant Experience and submitted (Atleast 2 CV at Senior Level) = 4 points

Five CVs with 9 or More years relevant Experience and submitted (Atleast 3 CV at Senior Level) = 5 points

Solution Capability 20 Proposed Firewall Solution The Firewall solution should Gartner Quadrant be in one of the Garner Firewall position quadrant as of July 2025

Not on the Gartner Quadrant = 1 point

Visionaries on the Gartner Quadrant = 2 points

Niche on the Gartner Quadrant = 3 points

Challenger on the Gartner Quadrant = 4 points

Leaders on the Gartner Quadrant = 5 points

Proposed Project Plan 10 Provide a project Clear structured plan 10 points

• One Point will be implementation plan with clear as outlined on the first allocated to a bidder Milestones, timelines, risks, column. that did not submit the mitigations, solution design project plan. and value-added services.

Two Points will be allocated to a bidder that submitted project plan with no timelines.

Three Points will be allocated to a bidder that submitted a project plan that include the timelines and the milestones.

Four Points will be allocated to a bidder that submitted a project plan that includes timelines, 15 Initial.......... milestones, resource allocation and risk mitigations strategies.

Five Points will be allocated to a bidder that submitted a project plan that includes timelines, milestones, resource allocations, risk management, mitigation strategies and value-added services.

B-BBEE Minimum Level: 1

Points Allocation: 80 points

B-BBEE Details: JV/ consortium partners.

In a case where a tenderer is intending to sub-contract portion of work, such tenderer awarded a contract

may only enter into sub-contracting arrangements with the approval of the department In relation to a

designated sector, a contractor will not be allowed to subcontract in such a manner that the local production

and content of the overall value of the contract is reduced to below the stipulated minimum threshold.

The contractor is not allowed to sub-contract more than 25% of the contract value after award to another

enterprise that does not have equal or higher B-BBEE status level, unless the intended sub-contractor is an

EME that has the capability and ability to execute the sub-contract.

2.9 Information

Information that the Bidder considers proprietary, if any, should be clearly marked “proprietary” next to the

relevant part of the text, and it will be treated as such accordingly.

2.10 Interlineations

A proposal shall contain no interlineations, erasures, or overwriting except, as necessary to correct errors

made by the Bidder, in which case such corrections shall be initiated by the person or persons signing the

proposal.

2.11 Amplification of submissions

The ARC may, after the opening of submissions, call on the prospective Bidder to amplify in writing any

matter which is not clear in the prospective Bidder’s submission, and such amplification shall form part of

the original submission. In the event of the prospective Bidder failing to supply such information, the

submission will be liable to rejection.

2.12 Cost of proposal

Bidders shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of their proposals; the ARC will

in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the

HDI Requirement: 51%

and any other documents that the bidder wishes to supply to substantiate or clarify specific aspects in the

proposal.

2.7 Documents comprising the proposal

proposals for the provision of Managed and Hosted Hybrid Mesh Firewall Services for a period of

thirty-six (36) months.

4. Background

The ARC is a Schedule 3A public entity established under the Agricultural Research Act (Act No. ). It operates across multiple campuses in South Africa and supports agricultural innovation, food

security, and sustainable development.

I CERTIFY THAT THE INFORMATION FURNISHED IN PARAGRAPHS 1, 2 and

4.1 Once the successful bidder (contractor) has made contact with and furnished the

mitigations, solution design project plan.

and value-added services.

• Two Points will be

allocated to a bidder

that submitted project

plan with no timelines.

• Three Points will be

allocated to a bidder

that submitted a

project plan that

include the timelines

and the milestones.

• Four Points will be

allocated to a bidder

that submitted a

project plan that

includes timelines,

milestones, resource

allocation and risk

mitigations strategies.

• Five Points will be

allocated to a bidder

that submitted a

project plan that

includes timelines,

milestones, resource

allocations, risk

management,

mitigation strategies

and value-added

services.

5. Presentation 10

Presentation of the full Solution and Implementation

• There is no

applicable, to both PURCO SA and the Member. PURCO SA shall thereafter invoice and collect the service

fee from the supplier based on the total invoice value, which is payable to PURCO SA within 30 days of the

date of the statement. Failure to pay the service fee will be in breach of this agreement and may result in

the termination of this agreement. The supplier will be liable for interest on all overdue accounts exceeding

30 days at a rate of 2% per month.

2.1.2 Monthly sales report

listings. In addition, bidders must be in good legal standing, with no current or pending legal actions or

disputes involving PURCO SA or any of its Members. Furthermore, in the event of any dispute or differing

interpretation between the Bid Document, the Letter of Award, and the Lease Agreement, the Bid

2.4 Terms of engagement

 The successful bidder shall not take more than three (3) months from date of Bid award unless

otherwise indicated and agreed between the successful Bidder and the ARC.

 The Service Provider shall be available for consultation with the ARC representative.

 The Service Provider shall manage as confidential all data, information and insights gained in execution

of work for the ARC.

 ARC retains the right to negotiate with the successful Bidder for partial execution of the proposal.

 ARC retains the right to enter into non-exclusive agreements with Service Providers that do not restrict

procurement of goods and services from other Service Providers.

 ARC retains the right to require the Service Provider to obtain permission in writing from the ARC prior to

the replacement of individuals proposed for execution of this Bid.

 Service Providers to accept professional liability for services rendered, including those rendered under

sub-contract to the service provider.

2.5 Bid documents

In exceptional circumstances, the ARC may solicit the Bidder’s consent to an extension of the period of

validity. The request and the responses thereto shall be made in writing.

2.14 Arc liability

a. The contractor and the DTI will determine the NIP obligation;

b. The contractor and the DTI will sign the NIP obligation agreement;

c. The contractor will submit a performance guarantee to the DTI;

d. The contractor will submit a business concept for consideration and

approval by the DTI;

e. Upon approval of the business concept by the DTI, the contractor will submit

detailed business plans outlining the business concepts;

f. The contractor will implement the business plans; and

g. The contractor will submit bi-annual progress reports on approved plans to

the DTI.

4.2 The NIP obligation agreement is between the DTI and the successful bidder

(contractor) and, therefore, does not involve the purchasing institution.