By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Barton County IT Director Dereck Hollingshead has some busy days ahead as the county will soon move its operations back into the courthouse. Tuesday, however, was more of the routine business as he sought approval from the Barton County Commission to move forward on new antivirus software for the county's 280 computers for $19,201.73.
The county last renewed the software in 2021. With a three-year contract expiring and recommendations from a new insurance provider to change software, Hollingshead sought bids for Crowdstrike Endpoint Protection. CIS Security offered the low bid, but Hollingshead said it would not be a practical purchase.
"CIS Security is actually a 501(c)(3) non-profit that's funded by the Department of Homeland Security," he said. "They're slightly cheaper by $721, however, they've got some stipulations that make it a little difficult for our office to operate. We're limited on what Crowdstrike Licensing they can offer us."
The commission approved the bid from SHI. Hollingshead said that could save his staff from having to uninstall and re-install the software later, and it will make seeking bids easier in the future.