Preparing for DORA: Automate Contract Compliance

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), effective from January 17, 2025, establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework to enhance the digital resilience of financial entities within the European Union. This legislation mandates that financial institutions and their ICT (Information and Communication Technology) service providers implement robust measures to withstand, respond to, and recover from various ICT-related disruptions and threats.

Did you know that under DORA, even third-party ICT providers like cloud services will face regulatory scrutiny? From 2025, financial entities must not only ensure their own resilience but also that of their entire vendor ecosystem, meeting strict compliance standards.

This shift places a significant burden on firms to proactively monitor, assess, and mitigate risks across their entire supply chain — making manual oversight nearly impossible and automation a necessity.

Key Provisions of DORA:

1. ICT Risk Management: Financial entities must establish a comprehensive framework to identify, assess, and mitigate ICT risks, ensuring alignment with overall risk management strategies.
2. Incident Reporting: Firms are required to detect, manage, and report ICT-related incidents promptly to relevant authorities, enabling coordinated responses and mitigation efforts.
3. Digital Operational Resilience Testing: Regular testing of ICT systems, including vulnerability assessments and threat-led penetration tests, is mandatory to ensure preparedness against disruptions.
4. Third-Party ICT Risk Management: DORA requires robust oversight of third-party ICT providers, ensuring they meet compliance standards to protect the integrity and resilience of the financial system.

Programmatic’s Role in DORA:

At Programmatic, we recognise that achieving DORA compliance isn’t just a regulatory box to tick — it’s an opportunity to transform your operations. Our platform takes static contracts and turns them into dynamic, self-executing workflows, automating critical processes like payments, compliance checks, and incident reporting.

1. Compliance and Monitoring

Focused on ensuring alignment with regulatory standards and maintaining up-to-date compliance statuses.

• Automated Compliance Tracking: Continuously monitor and update statuses on key contracts.
• Audit Logs: Maintain a secure, automated trail of contract-related activities.
• Notification Automation: Automate updates to stakeholders on compliance status or incidents.
• Renewal and Termination Alerts: Automate reminders to review contracts and avoid disruptions.

2. Risk Management

Centred on mitigating risks across contracts and third-party relationships.

• Risk Mitigation Clauses: Pre-approved clauses to reduce third-party risks in contracts.
• Incident Management Automation: Facilitate detection and reporting of ICT-related incidents to authorities.

3. Resilience and Continuity

Designed to ensure systems and operations remain robust against disruptions.

• Backup and Recovery Automation: Automate critical contract backups and recovery protocols.
• Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts: Continuously monitor contract workflows and system performance, providing instant alerts.

Book a free 30-minute session

We’ll identify workflow inefficiencies and show you how Programmatic can automate compliance and risk management for DORA readiness. Streamline operations. Protect your business. Lead with confidence.