--- title: "Managed Cyber Security Operations Centre and Security Information & Event Management" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED" published: "2023-04-11" --- # Managed Cyber Security Operations Centre and Security Information & Event Management Buyer: NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0.json) ## Summary The National Grid Electricity System Operator LIMITED has initiated a tender process for the "Managed Cyber Security Operations Centre and Security Information & Event Management" services, falling under the IT services category. The submission deadline for this Request for Information (RFI) is 12:00 BST on May 5th, 2023. The tender covers the provision of an interim managed Cyber Security Operations Centre, a strategic Security Information and Events Management system, and support for transitioning to an in-house security operations centre. The procurement aims to support the separation of ESO from National Grid, with key milestones for operational readiness by December 2023. This tender presents opportunities for businesses providing cyber security solutions and services, including those experienced in managing security operations centres and delivering SIEM solutions. Companies with expertise in monitoring for cyber incidents, managing 24/7 security operations, and supporting transition planning would be well-suited to compete. As the tender seeks a partner to enable a swift and secure separation process, businesses capable of providing scalable and flexible cybersecurity solutions in line with industry standards are encouraged to participate. ## Notice This Non-Call for Completion - RFI is the exclusive property of National Grid ESO it may not be copied, transmitted or disclosed by any means without the expressed written consent of National Grid ESO. By accepting a copy hereof, the recipient agrees to be bound by these conditions and to use these documents solely for responding to National Grid's ESO Non-Call for Competition RFI. RFI CONTENT This is not a formal tender process and is not being undertaken in accordance with the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016. Please ensure responses to all questions and any supporting documentation is clearly referenced to the question they are answering. National Grid ESO will not be shortlisting suppliers based on their submissions and any future sourcing activities will be subject to a new event. The RFi seeks suppliers to provide answers to the points and questions detailed in section 3 of this document. Please provide your response to each question in a separate Word document clearly stating the question number that your response relates to. If providing any supporting information in separate documents as appropriate, state the question reference number in the file name using the following naming convention: document name - supplier reference - question number - date ### Lot Information Lot 1 Your company is invited to respond to this Request for Information ("RFI") for * the provision of an interim managed Cyber Security Operations Centre ("CSOC") * the provision of a strategic Security Information and Events Management system ("SIEM"), and * the provision of support to enable ESO to build and transition to an enduring in-house security operations centre. For context, to enable the separation of the Electricity System Operator ("ESO") away from National Grid plc ("National Grid"), ESO requires a standalone cyber security capability which includes aggregation of log & event date, and 24/7 monitoring for evidence of cyber incidents. Currently, National Grid host a group-level Security Operations Centre which monitors the estate for incidents and indicators of compromise. National Grid will continue to monitor ESO assets whilst they are being separated however, once assets are transitioned the responsibility for monitoring will transfer to ESO. ESO intend to operate an internal CSOC capability in the longer term, however, to enable the separation to proceed at-pace a partner is being sought to provide a tactical solution for 12-24 months. Similarly, National Grid hosts its own SIEM/SOAR, (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response), solution and will continue to ingest data from ESO applications whilst they are being separated. Once environments and applications are transitioned, responsibility for ingestion of log sources will shift to ESO and therefore a solution is required to enable this. It is important for continuing operations that ESO own any vendor relationships related to SIEM and SOAR products in addition to the data contained within the products. The purpose of this document is to provide a greater understanding of the scope of requirements, for us to understand your capabilities and your ideas, experience and recommendations in defining, selecting and delivering an integration solution-set and the partner best positioned to deliver the specified solution. Programme Objectives ESO is looking to select a partner to enable the successful separation of the cyber security monitoring function of the ESO away from National Grid at pace, by providing services as follows:- * Selection and delivery of a SIEM/SOAR product or solution appropriate for the multiple complex environments ESO operate. As is it ESOs vision to transition to an internal CSOC capability in the longer-term, it is important that ESO owns any vendor relationships. * A managed cyber security operations centre (CSOC) capability that includes 24/7 monitoring for evidence of cyber incidents, triage of events and escalation of incidents. CSOC will accommodate new environments and systems as they come online and so the solution will need to scale over time. * Support in building an in-house CSOC, including people, process, technology, and migration planning. To enable the separation to continue at-pace, it is required for a supplier is onboarded, SIEM/SOAR procurement has taken place and an interim CSOC solution are in place by December 2023. Current State ESOs separation from National Grid is marked by two key dates known as Day 1 (April 2024) and Day 2 (April 2026). To support and enable the separation programme, ESO require the selected partner to be onboarded and services noted operational by December 2023. Day 1 marks the date that the Future System Operator is under new ownership and operation under Transitional Service Agreements (TSA) for certain services. Day 2 marks the date the enduring desired operating model for an independent Future System Operator is operational, has new industry roles, and fully exited TSAs with National Grid. Achieving the services within this RFI will ready ESO for Day 2. Under the TSAs will be the current Incident Management processes and procedures that dovetail into the ESO Incident Management processes. Any supplier selected will need to adhere to and work with these current and future procedures. Current Challenges ESO is a new entity and at the beginning of the set up of its cyber security management and operational teams ESO and National Grid, via the TSAs, must work closely together to maintain security ESO Incident Management processes and procedures for new systems and assets, within their own foundation environment, are new and must align to any 3rd party supplier engagement Time period until CSOC and SIEM/SOAR is operational is limited, to be achieved no later than December 2023 At a high level, the partners services should provide tools and capabilities that exceed the incumbents, complementing the platforms noted, technology, people, and processes. This notice has been edited to remove sensitive information after publication. Additional information: RFI QUESTIONS 1 Please provide details of SIEM/SOAR products with which you are able to integrate and use to provide a managed CSOC capability. In your response, please include: * Whether ESO are able to own the vendor relationship with any products or solutions * Whether the products or solutions require Internet or Cloud connectivity to operate * Whether the product or solution is a preferred or recommended vendor * Any limitations of using a particular product or solution 2 Please summarise your experience in implementing and operating a managed Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC). In your response, please include: * Your experience in operating a managed CSOC on the customers premises * Your experience in operating a managed CSOC remotely from your own premises * Any industry certifications, attestations, or accreditations you hold related to your CSOC operations 3 Please summarise your experience in working with Critical National Infrastructure assets or other similar environments. In your response, please include: * Your approach to personnel security, including whether you employ staff subject to National Security Vetting * Whether your delivery would be from the UK or other country * Your use of offshore resources, assets, or storage and how this affects your service delivery Please do not include any confidential information in your response 4 Please summarise your methodology or approach when designing, implementing a managed Cyber Security Operations Centre solution. In your response, please include: * Your approach to designing and defining Standard Operating Procedures * Your approach to integrating with existing Cyber Incident Management functions * Your approach to onboarding assets 5 Please provide at least one case-study where you have implemented and operated a managed Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) for a client. In your response, please include: * Your role in the overall project delivery, i.e: whether you provided only the CSOC or were a wider delivery partner * Whether the service was delivered on customer premises or as a remotely delivered solution * Your experience in migrating the service, such as a phased transition or switch-over 6 Please provide high-level details of your pricing structure. In your response, please include: * If applicable, the metrics on which your pricing structure is based, i.e: per endpoint, per GB, per hour * Any minimum contract terms ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010378-2023 | | Notice type | Planning Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 11 Apr 2023 | | Submission deadline | 28 Apr 2023 | | Future notice date | 31 Dec 2023 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Planned | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | Central London | | Postcode | WC2N 5EH | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ### Codes - 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ## Release History - 11 Apr 2023 at 14:28 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010378-2023 ## Notice URLs - https://www.nationalgrideso.com/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03bdd0.json.