When applying the policy, ICT intra-group service providersmeans an undertaking that is part of a financial group and that provides predominantly ICT services to financial entities within the same group or to financial entities belonging to the same institutional protection scheme, including to their parent undertakings, subsidiaries, branches or other entities that are under common ownership or control;, including those fully or collectively owned by financial entitiesas defined in Article 2, points (a) to (t) within the same institutional protection scheme, should be considered as ICT third-party services providersmeans an undertaking providing ICT services;. The risks posed by ICT intra-group service providersmeans an undertaking that is part of a financial group and that provides predominantly ICT services to financial entities within the same group or to financial entities belonging to the same institutional protection scheme, including to their parent undertakings, subsidiaries, branches or other entities that are under common ownership or control; may be different but the requirements applicable to them are the same under Regulation (EU) 2022/2554. In a similar way, the policy should apply to subcontractors that provide 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; supporting critical or important functionsmeans a function, the disruption of which would materially impair the financial performance of a financial entity, or the soundness or continuity of its services and activities, or the discontinued, defective or failed performance of that function would materially impair the continuing compliance of a financial entity with the conditions and obligations of its authorisation, or with its other obligations under applicable financial services law; or material parts thereof to ICT third-party service providersmeans an undertaking providing ICT services;, where a chain of ICT third-party service providersmeans an undertaking providing ICT services; exists.