[author: Lauren Burnside]
Essential Guidelines for Ensuring Your Organization is Ready for January 2025.
We are more than halfway through the year and the urgency to achieve DORA compliance by the fast-approaching January deadline is becoming increasingly critical. While a few months remain before full implementation is required (January 17, 2025), aiming to stay ahead of regulatory requirements will ensure a seamless transition into the new year with new guidelines to follow.
By starting now (and with the right tools), organizations can have a worry-free transition period. Let’s dive into the key steps your organization should be taking now to ensure compliance.
1. Understanding DORA and Its Implications
If this sounds like your organization, now is the time to start familiarizing yourself with the new regulation beyond the 5 W’s. Understanding frequent questions and concerns of the upcoming changes will provide your organization with crucial insights, helping you navigate the complexities of DORA compliance more effectively.
The first and most important step towards compliance is ensuring you have an in-depth understanding of DORA and its implications.
Start with the basics:
Who? The financial sector and critical vendors for financial institutions
What? Regulations encompassing protection, detection, containment, recovery, and repair capabilities measures specifically targeted at ICT-related incidents
When? Financial entities are expected to comply with DORA by January 17, 2025
Where? Organizations in, or operating within, the European Union
Why? To ensure organizations and their critical vendors have the requisite controls in place to ensure their resilience
If this sounds like your organization, now is the time to start familiarizing yourself with the new regulation beyond the 5 W’s. Understanding frequent questions and concerns of the upcoming changes will provide your organization with crucial insights, helping you navigate the complexities of DORA compliance more effectively.
2. Conducting a Gap Analysis of Current Systems and Processes
For the first time in history, organizations will only have one month’s notice to be fully compliant with DORA following its final release in December. Luckily, teams can start proactively mapping RTS drafts now, leaving the last 30 days for any needed updates or adjustments. With this, organizations are encouraged to use the latest RTS available to understand where they stack up.
Conducting a gap analysis of current systems and processes can help organizations identify deficiencies and areas for improvement, ensuring they are well-prepared to meet DORA compliance requirements. This proactive approach enables organizations to address potential issues early on, reducing the risk of non-compliance and enhancing overall operational resilience.
3. Identifying and Implementing Necessary Software Solutions
As the regulatory landscape evolves, staying updated on amendments and additional guidelines is essential — and the use of software can aid the process.
Automation technology offers a valuable opportunity to streamline your compliance efforts with a centralized and customizable platform for managing DORA and other relevant standards (provided you choose the right platform). Overly complex and cumbersome systems won’t be agile enough to keep pace with DORA’s shifting updates.
4. Training Staff on New Procedures and Compliance Requirements
Training staff on new procedures and compliance requirements ensures that employees understand their roles and responsibilities under the new regulations. With this preparation, it reduces the likelihood of errors or non-compliance due to misunderstanding. Additionally, proper training fosters a culture of compliance within the organization, encouraging proactive adherence to DORA guidelines and promoting overall operational resilience. This proactive approach can ultimately mitigate risks and enhance organizational readiness for any regulatory audits and assessments.
It is equally important to ensure that third-party partners are trained on the new procedures and compliance requirements to maintain consistency and alignment across all aspects of operations affected by DORA regulations.
5. Monitoring and Auditing Compliance Efforts
By beginning to provide ongoing oversight and evaluation of your organization’s adherence to regulatory requirements now, you will be able to adapt as needed for ongoing compliance. This continuous assessment allows for the early detection and correction of compliance issues, ensuring that any gaps are promptly addressed.
Additionally, automated audit trails create a documented trail of compliance activities, which can be invaluable during regulatory inspections and audits, demonstrating the organization’s commitment to maintaining DORA standards. By starting monitoring and audit efforts now, your organization will be equipped to align with the five key compliance regulations of DORA.
Ensuring a Seamless Transition to DORA Compliance
As the countdown to DORA compliance continues, taking proactive steps now will ensure your organization is fully prepared for the January 2025 deadline. A deeper understanding of the regulations, thorough gap analyses, right software solutions, and overall vigilance in monitoring and auditing practices, can help you achieve a seamless transition and maintain robust operational resilience in the face of evolving regulatory demands.
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