In order to mitigate the subcontracting risks along the life cycle of contractual arrangements, it is necessary to set out the minimum content of the contractual arrangements between the financial entitiesas defined in Article 2, points (a) to (t) and the ICT third-party service providersmeans an undertaking providing ICT services; when using ICT subcontracting for the use of ICT servicesmeans digital and data services provided through ICT systems to one or more internal or external users on an ongoing basis, including hardware as a service and hardware services which includes the provision of technical support via software or firmware updates by the hardware provider, excluding traditional analogue telephone services;.