4 Reasons why CSDM is important for NIS2 & DORA

The EU is stepping up its cybersecurity game by introducing the NIS2 directive and DORA regulation. These initiatives enhance protection across critical sectors.

NIS2 enhances cybersecurity across critical sectors such as energy, transportation, banking, and healthcare. While DORA or “Digital Operational Resilience Act” ensures operational resilience of digital services providers and the integrity of the financial sector. Together they mandate certain cybersecurity measures, incident reporting requirements, and cooperation mechanisms for relevant stakeholders. 

Both NIS2 and DORA are part of the broader efforts by the European Union to address cybersecurity challenges and strengthen the digital infrastructure of member states. That’s why, we felt it was necessary to share four reasons why CSDM (Common Service Data Model) is important for achieving compliance with NIS2/DORA: 

Ensuring Ownership and Accountability

Throughout the different phases of CSDM, elements like Business Applications, Services, and Service Offerings are defined. Identifying their owners is crucial. Knowing who is responsible—whether it’s business application owners, service owners, or portfolio managers—ensures organizational resilience and quick responses to vulnerabilities and security incidents.  
 
Incomplete views of the end-to-end service chain or existing shadow IT can hinder this process, so identifying owners is the first step towards improvement.

Providing Business Context

CSDM offers additional business context, which is critical for NIS2/DORA and risk management processes.  
 

Risk assessments should always be conducted within the context of processes or services. CSDM not only captures the criticality of applications but also the type of data they handle.  
 
Additionally, by leveraging CSDM, organizations can track the consumers of services and applications, providing crucial context for making key prioritization decisions under NIS2/DORA regulations.

Facilitating Vendor Management

A key component of CSDM is the Manage Technical Services Domain, where Technical Services and Service Offerings are defined. These technical services typically underpin or support applications, business processes, and business services. 
 
IT organizations often outsource parts of their IT landscape to vendors. Under NIS2/DORA, organizations are obligated to control their vendors.  
 
Setting up CSDM with a focus on Technical Services allows efficient and transparent vendor management. This ensures that vendors are also compliant and do not pose risks to the organization’s security posture.

Ensuring End-to-End Service Chains

To be fully in control and effectively manage risks and secure your IT/OT estate, it’s crucial to understand not just individual components but also how they are related. 
 
The main purpose of CSDM is to create an end-to-end view of your entire IT environment, including infrastructure, applications, and services. This holistic view is essential for comprehensive risk management and ensuring the security and resilience of your IT operations.

Source: ServiceNow

As NIS2 and DORA introduce stringent requirements for cybersecurity and operational resilience, the importance of a robust IT service management framework cannot be overstated.  

By adopting CSDM within ServiceNow, organizations can achieve enhanced visibility and control, streamlined risk management, improved incident response and resilience, and simplified compliance reporting. Embrace CSDM to not only meet regulatory requirements but also to strengthen your overall IT governance and resilience. 

Kickstart your NIS2/DORA journey with one of our predefined packages!