Macomb County committees recommend Zscaler subscription, backup payment and security maintenance to full board

Macomb County committees voted unanimously to recommend three Internal Services Department technology items to the full Macomb County Board, including a one-year Zscaler zero‑trust subscription and two vendor maintenance contracts.

Jayco, representing Macomb County IT, told the committees that the county began shifting to a zero‑trust security model and ran a 2024 proof of value with Zscaler. "This strategic initiative aims to enhance Macomb County's resilience against evolving cyber threats," Jayco said, describing Zscaler as software that requires continuous verification and inspects access regardless of a device's location. The item was listed on the agenda as "People Driven Technology Zscaler Licensing" with an amount shown in agenda materials; Jayco said the one‑year subscription cost is about $383,073 and that IT had budgeted $523,000 but reduced the cost through architecture choices. The committee moved the item to the full board; Commissioners Lucido and Zinner made and seconded the motion. The committee vote was 11 to 0.

Committees also approved a final scheduled payment for the county's Isilon file server environment and PowerProtect backup system. Jayco said the payment is the fifth and last payment made over five years at 0% interest and that the amount is $258,748. The committee moved the budget amendment to the full board; the motion passed 11 to 0.

Separately, the committees recommended a Q1 2025 maintenance agreement for two security products, representing a combined cost of $125,350. Jayco described the first as an inbound email security service (identified in discussion as Abnormal) and the second as SecurityScorecard, which monitors third‑party risk for SaaS solutions. The $125,350 total was described as consisting of approximately $76,000 for the inbound email product and $49,350 for SecurityScorecard. When asked for an example of the email product's behavior, Megan, identified in the meeting as the county security administrator, said Abnormal "monitors inbound emails that may or may not carry malicious intent or attachments" and helps quarantine threats before they reach users' inboxes. The committee moved that maintenance agreement to the full board and voted 11 to 0.

All three items will next be considered by the full Macomb County Board at a later meeting.