Managed Detection & Response (MDR) - diensten voor de Radboud Universiteit

Question: What is the contract timeline?

Context: Contract start date, end date, total duration, and any key milestones or phases mentioned. Return null if not stated.

The contract timeline includes the following details:

• Contract Start Date: The agreement is set to commence on February 1, 2027.
• Total Duration and Extension Options:
• One document states that the agreement has an initial duration of four years, with the possibility for the client to extend it twice, each time for a period of two years. This document also mentions that the agreement ends after a seven-year period.
• Another document indicates that the Radboud University intends to enter into an agreement for four years, with the option for two one-year extensions thereafter.
• Key Milestones and Phases:
• Tendering Phase:
• Tender publication: October 4, 2026, at 11:21.
• Deadline for questions: October 16, 2026, at 23:59.
• Publication of Questions & Answers (NvI I): October 26, 2026.
• Deadline for questions after NvI I: November 4, 2026, at 17:00.
• Publication of Questions & Answers (NvI II): November 9, 2026.
• Deadline for submitting offers: November 20, 2026, at 23:59.
• Presentation Case G3 RU MDR: December 3, 2026.
• Day 2 Presentation Case G3 RU MDR: December 7, 2026.
• Intention to award, beginning a 20-day standstill period: December 16, 2026.
• Implementation Phase: This phase will last a maximum of four months, starting from the contract commencement, and will conclude with a demonstrably working solution.
• Service Delivery (MDR Services): This phase starts after implementation.
• Parallel Operation: After implementation, the service will run in parallel with the current service until at least October 2027.
• Exit Plan: Following the acceptance of the MDR service, the contractor must develop an exit plan for the client. This plan includes a transition period of at least three months, active knowledge transfer to a successor service provider, transfer of detection content and configurations, and a predefined cap for transition costs.

The core scope of work for this tender is the provision of Managed Detection & Response (MDR) services to Radboud Universiteit (RU). This service is a proactive and advanced security approach designed to identify, analyze, and respond to cyber threats, combining technologies like endpoint detection, network monitoring, and threat intelligence with security expert expertise. The goal is to protect against cyberattacks, enable quick incident response, and provide insights to strengthen overall cyber resilience.

The MDR service involves a co-sourcing model where the contractor delivers primary security monitoring and triage, while the RU-SOC (Security Operations Center) maintains oversight, performs analyses, and handles second-line response and mandate decisions.

Core Deliverables and Services:

• Implementation of the MDR solution: This includes SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response), and integration with TOPdesk.
• Connection of initial log sources.
• Delivery of EDR/XDR-agents and support during deployment.
• Training and knowledge transfer for platform usage, targeting 5 SOC employees.
• 24/7 monitoring, triage, and response to (potential) security incidents, including SOAR, threat intelligence, and reporting. This also covers platform management of SIEM, SOAR, and XDR.
• Threat hunting and processing of the SURF MISP-feed.
• EDR-agent provision, including licenses for all operating systems.
• Log volume processing, including a fixed daily threshold and billing for volume above this threshold, with a retention of 3 months.
• Technical and functional documentation that is current, complete, in Dutch or Cambridge English, and accessible.
• Data storage and backups must be within the EEA (European Economic Area), with no access from third countries without appropriate AVG (GDPR) safeguards.
• Continuous software updates within agreed service windows.
• Regular evaluations (twice yearly) between the client and contractor to discuss SLAs, reports, complaints, service improvements, and expected MDR developments.
• An Exit-plan to be established after acceptance of the MDR service.

Optional Services (on-call and additional modules):

• Custom use cases: Design, build, test, and implementation.
• Threat hunting on request, including reporting.
• SOC consultancy and project management at an hourly rate.
• Network Detection & Response (NDR): Delivery and installation of sensors, implementation and tuning, monitoring, and sensor management.
• Vulnerability management: Scanning (including scanners) per IP address or agent-based scanning per system, along with prioritization, mitigation advice, and reporting.
• P1 (Critical) incident response: Includes root cause analysis and a retainer for an unlimited number of critical incidents based on pre-agreed SLAs.