Objectives

The primary objective of this tender is to procure email security services for the Electoral Commission to ensure the protection of its email infrastructure against malicious threats such as malware, spam, phishing attacks, and data breaches. The services aim to support the Commission’s goal of maintaining a secure, stable, and efficient ICT environment that facilitates free, fair, and transparent elections. Additionally, the services should enable seamless support and management, including operational reporting, to uphold the integrity and confidentiality of electoral data.

Scope

The scope of the tender includes:

• Provision of email security services supporting approximately 1200 users, with scalability for up to 2000-3000 users during election periods.
• Support and maintenance for a period of 12 months, starting from 01 April 2026.
• Implementation of a secure email gateway that scans inbound and outbound messages, protecting against malware, spam, phishing, and data breaches.
• Operational and management reporting, including various security and activity reports.
• Ensuring smooth transition from the current service provider.
• Provision of support, including 24/7 availability, call logging, escalation procedures, and SLA adherence.
• Compliance with data protection and confidentiality requirements, including signing a Service Level Agreement (SLA).
• Provision of hardware (if applicable), pre-loaded with the latest operating systems and patches, and support for ongoing updates.

Technical Requirements

The technical specifications specify that the proposed email security solution must:

• Protect against malicious threats such as malware, spam, phishing, and data breaches for at least 1200 mailboxes, with the capacity to scale.
• Scan inbound and outbound emails with a maximum delay of 5 minutes.
• Support operational and management reporting, including reports on secure email gateway activity, URL protection, attachment protection, impersonation, and user activity.
• Ensure a smooth and rapid transition from the current provider.
• Be based on a standard, market-available product, not custom or cloned solutions.
• Include a comprehensive product data sheet and proof of local support in South Africa.
• Facilitate a three-way relationship between the Electoral Commission, the OEM, and the service provider.
• Support 24/7 service availability, call logging, escalation, and account management.
• Support integration with existing systems and meet specified performance and security standards.

Skills and Skills Requirements

The bidder must demonstrate:

• Experience in providing email security services, with a minimum of 5 years in the market, supported by references and customer testimonials.
• Proven capability to support at least 3 similar projects in South Africa, with details of customer names, contact persons, and service descriptions.
• Availability of local support resources, including technical support staff and support infrastructure.
• Ability to deliver and support a standard, market-ready product with ongoing support and maintenance.
• Capability to implement the solution within one month of contract award, including migration and setup.
• Knowledge of data protection, confidentiality, and compliance with relevant legislation such as POPIA.
• Ability to provide detailed SLA documentation, including escalation procedures, call logging, and resolution times.
• Technical expertise in email security, threat detection, and operational reporting.