Managing DORA Compliance with ServiceNow
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a regulatory framework to ensure the financial sector’s operational resilience within the European Union. The deadline for compliance is 17th of January 2025, and the deadline is approaching fast.
Financial Services Industry (FSI) businesses face significant challenges in adapting to the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) due to the stringent requirements for managing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) risks. These challenges include the need for comprehensive monitoring, automation capabilities, and robust ICT security management. By leveraging ServiceNow as an Enterprise Service Management (ESM) platform, FSI businesses can benefit from a centralized system for managing risks, automating compliance processes, and gaining real-time insights into compliance status. This support aligns with DORA’s mandates and helps organizations ensure proactive incident detection and response, minimize disruptions, and maintain continuity of critical functions.
In the following section, we dive into the strategic modules of ServiceNow that empower organizations to meet and exceed the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) requirements. Each module is designed to address specific aspects of ICT risk management and compliance, providing a robust framework for Financial Services Industry (FSI) businesses to navigate the complexities of digital resilience.
IT Operations Management (ITOM)
ITOM’s comprehensive monitoring and automation capabilities are instrumental in managing ICT risk, a core requirement of DORA. They ensure proactive incident detection and response, minimize disruptions, and maintain continuity of critical functions.
Integrated Risk Management (IRM)
ServiceNow’s IRM module provides a centralized system for managing risks, automating compliance processes, and providing real-time insights into compliance status, aligning with DORA’s stringent risk management mandates.
Security Operations (SecOps)
This module enhances an organization’s ability to identify, prioritize, and respond to security incidents and vulnerabilities, thereby supporting the DORA requirement for robust ICT security management.
Vendor Risk Management
ServiceNow’s Vendor Risk Management service helps assess and control the risks associated with ICT third-party service providers, a key aspect of DORA compliance.
Business Continuity Management (BMC)
ServiceNow’s BCM capabilities are designed to plan, exercise, and recover from disasters effectively, aligning with the integrated risk management program. The BCM application provides the capability to continue delivering products and services at an acceptable level following a disruptive incident, which is crucial for maintaining business operations and minimizing financial loss.
Audit Management
The Audit Management module facilitates auditing, ensuring that organizations can effectively manage and report on compliance with DORA’s regulatory requirements.
Ensure DORA compliance with ServiceNow’s strategic toolkit
ServiceNow’s ecosystem offers a strategic toolkit for organizations aiming to comply with DORA. By integrating modules like ITOM, GRC, SecOps, Vendor Risk Management, BCM and Audit Management, businesses can establish a resilient digital operational framework that not only meets but exceeds DORA’s expectations.
Implementing ServiceNow to comply with the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is indeed a journey that varies based on a company’s starting point. Whether ServiceNow is already in place, or the implementation is from scratch, the most critical initial step is to develop a long-term plan for the implementation with DORA compliance in focus. This plan should prioritize which DORA articles to monitor and track through the ServiceNow platform. It’s essential to establish a consensus on the sequence of implementation to ensure a smooth transition and effective compliance.
Building a Strategic Implementation Plan
The journey to DORA compliance through ServiceNow begins with a clear understanding of the current state of the company’s infrastructure and processes. A strategic implementation plan serves as a roadmap, guiding organizations through the complexities of adapting to DORA’s requirements.
This plan should:
- Assess the Current Status: Determine if ServiceNow is already implemented or if the process will start from scratch. An existing ServiceNow setup can accelerate the journey, while a new implementation will require foundational work such as setting up a Configuration Management Database (CMDB).
- Prioritize DORA Articles: Identify which articles of DORA are most relevant to the organization and prioritize them for monitoring and tracking. This prioritization will help focus efforts on the most critical areas of compliance.
- Develop a Strategic Implementation Roadmap: Create a detailed plan that outlines the steps to be taken long-term with DORA compliance in focus. This roadmap should include milestones, resource allocation, and a timeline for each phase of the implementation.
- Sequence the Implementation: Agree on the order in which ServiceNow modules and features will be rolled out. This sequence should align with the prioritized DORA articles and the organization’s capacity to manage change.
By starting with a well-structured plan, organizations can navigate the implementation process with clarity and purpose, ensuring that each step contributes to the goal of achieving DORA compliance.
In addition, organizations should not underestimate that adopting internal processes towards DORA compliance is not alone a technical transformation but will also impact and change your ways of working, organizational structure and process structure, why the need for organizational change management (OCM) should not be understated.
Remember, the implementation of ServiceNow is not just about meeting regulatory requirements; it’s about building a resilient and agile infrastructure that can adapt to the evolving landscape of digital operations. With a thoughtful approach and a long-term perspective, organizations can turn the challenge of DORA compliance into an opportunity for transformation and growth.
Why partner with Sofigate?
Sofigate is an Elite ServiceNow Partner with +15 years of experience as a ServiceNow partner, and with +250 certified ServiceNow consultants. We have supported companies with implementing ServiceNow to support managing the DORA regulations and have best practices available on how to approach the implementation and transformation.
If you are interested in learning more about our Best Practice on DORA with ServiceNow then please feel free to get in touch with us below or through our contact form.
The authors:
Sabrina Devett Nielsen
ServiceNow Consultant
sabrina.devett.nielsen@sofigate.com
+45 60 57 44 95
David Oppen Strand
Head of Sales Denmark, Norway and Southern Sweden
david.oppenstrand@sofigate.com
+45 28 78 37 64
Kasper Koll
CTO of Platforms – Denmark and Southern Sweden
kasper.koll@sofigate.com
+45 81 61 19 93
Sofigate is The Business Technology Transformation company with over 750 employees in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Hungary. Sofigate helps customers develop the interplay between business and technology: to design, build and implement transformations and business-adaptive technology solutions. The company utilizes the Business Technology Standard and the world’s leading technology platforms such as ServiceNow, Salesforce and SAP.
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