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County OKs three‑year Microsoft enterprise agreement, cites cybersecurity upgrade
Summary
St. Francois County commissioners voted to renew a three‑year Microsoft enterprise licensing agreement at about $88,863.34 per year, with a potential state/local grant offset of $24,025.58 per year for two years to fund security add‑ons that officials said would improve detection and response.
Jessica Mondelez of the county IT department asked the commission to approve a three‑year renewal of the county’s Microsoft enterprise agreement, moving licensing to Microsoft E3 plus an E5 security add‑on to strengthen detection and response capabilities.
Mondelez told commissioners the renewal would cover all county systems at an annual cost of $88,863.34 and that the county had applied for a 2024 state and local cybersecurity grant that, if awarded, could offset $24,025.58 per year for the first two years. "This change adds much stronger security around those systems," Mondelez said, noting the county's reliance on Microsoft services for email, documents and collaboration.
Commissioners asked whether the cost was included in the county budget; Mondelez answered the grant would help but the county planned to sustain licensing costs even without the grant. Commissioner (speaker 5) moved to renew the agreement through SHI; the motion was seconded and approved with no recorded opposition.
The renewal was framed by staff as a risk‑mitigation step amid rising phishing, ransomware and account‑compromise threats against local governments. The IT presentation stressed the licensing change was “not simply an upgrade to newer office licenses” but included security improvements intended to better detect and respond to suspicious activity.
The commission did not receive or request alternative vendor proposals during the discussion. The vote authorizes county staff to proceed with the three‑year enterprise agreement through SHI and to pursue grant funding to offset part of the security costs.
