Hattiesburg Clinic operates two high-availability (HA) pairs of next-generation firewall (NGFW) appliances one HA pair at the Support Services campus and one HA pair at the Orthopaedics campus, where the Clinic's secondary Internet circuit terminates

The Hattiesburg Clinic is seeking a full one-for-one refresh of its perimeter defense through solicitation 4618-20260930092701. The project requires the replacement of four end-of-life next-generation firewall (NGFW) appliances with two high-availability (HA) pairs, featuring redundant AC power supplies. One HA pair will be deployed at the Support Services campus and the other at the Orthopaedics campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The solution must support core security functions including IDS/IPS, web/URL content filtering, LAN-to-LAN IPSec VPN tunneling, and User-ID/Active Directory integration. The contract mandates a minimum three-year term for both premium 24x7 vendor support and advanced threat prevention and URL filtering subscriptions. A critical requirement is the completion of the full cutover for both HA pairs within 90 days of contract execution or equipment delivery, with failover testing conducted to validate vendor-published convergence targets. Implementation services are to be provided on a fixed-fee basis and include rule-base normalization and VPN tunnel migration. Proposals will be evaluated based on price, implementation timeline, support model, and demonstrated capability. Submission requirements include a technical narrative, itemized pricing, a detailed implementation plan, and at least one reference customer of comparable size. Additionally, bidders must provide a signed and notarized Affidavit of Non-Collusion and an MBE/WBE vendor status disclosure if applicable. The response deadline is October 22, 2026, with submissions handled via the Mississippi Agency Bid Bank.