Temple ISD Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Temple Independent School District is issuing Request for Information (RFI) No. 004-27 for fully Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services, with responses due September 18, 2026. This is a market-research RFI that does not constitute a procurement commitment; responses may inform a subsequent competitive procurement. All vendor questions must be submitted exclusively through the Euna Solutions Bonfire online bid platform.

TISD operates 18 locations connected via fiber, supporting approximately 1,500 staff endpoints, 100 servers (physical and virtual), and 9,000 student Chromebooks. The district's current security infrastructure includes Cisco Secure Endpoint (EDR), Cisco Umbrella, Cisco ISE, Duo, Fortinet firewalls, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace. The district is open to replacing Cisco Secure Endpoint with alternative EDR/XDR solutions.

The scope requires 24x7x365 U.S.-based SOC services with continuous threat detection, investigation, response, and incident coordination. Authorized containment actions (endpoint isolation, account disablement) are expected when district personnel cannot be contacted, with response authority varying by incident severity. TISD anticipates 80 annual Incident Response retainer hours, requires 14 days of hot data retention with 60 days of archived retention, and maintains 2 direct internet egress points with 10Gbps circuits and 10GB fiber connections. TX-RAMP certification and alignment with NIST, Texas DIR, and K-12 cybersecurity frameworks are required. The district seeks proactive services including ransomware readiness assessments, attack surface monitoring, vulnerability management, Network Traffic Analysis, SOAR capabilities, and advanced forensic support, with KPIs tracking Mean Time to Detection, Mean Time to Response, events investigated, and events resolved. Executive cybersecurity briefings are expected bi-weekly or monthly. Tabletop exercises should be offered in two options: IT staff only and expanded participation including executive leadership, legal, communications, and campus administration.

TISD has not allocated a specific budget and is using this RFI to establish project budgeting. The district's current MDR agreement with Gradient Cyber expires March 2028. Pricing should reflect five-year firm-term fixed pricing with annual renewal pricing separately disclosed. Respondents may submit cost assumptions and rate cards with prepaid/committed hour-based IR retainer pricing (40, 80, or 100 hours). Award may be made through existing cooperative or state contract vehicles (Texas DIR-TSO, BuyBoard, TIPS, Choice Partners, Region ESC, Sourcewell, E&I) or under a district-specific competitive solicitation. Responses from manufacturers, authorized resellers, or joint submissions are acceptable.