Operational resilience has become a defining theme in digital risk management. As technology becomes ever more critical to core business operations, the ability to withstand and recover from disruption is now a regulatory and strategic priority.
In the financial services sector and beyond, regulatory frameworks are evolving to reflect this shift.
Among the most notable developments is the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which sets clear expectations for how organisations manage ICT risk across their ecosystems.
Understanding DORA
Source: c2risk.com
DORA aims to harmonise and elevate digital operational resilience standards across the EU’s financial sector. It applies to banks, insurers, payment providers, asset managers, and even ICT third-party service providers.
The framework introduces requirements in areas such as:
- ICT risk management and governance structures
- Testing of digital operational resilience
- Incident reporting and information sharing
- Third-party risk management and contract oversight
Organisations must demonstrate not only that they can respond to disruption, but that they’ve systematically built resilience into their digital operations from the ground up.
The New Risk Landscape
Digital transformation has delivered immense value, but it has also introduced new vulnerabilities.
Cloud dependencies, third-party platforms, and sophisticated cyber threats are reshaping how regulators and boards think about continuity and resilience.
Recent incidents — from ransomware attacks to cloud service outages — have highlighted how dependent many institutions are on digital infrastructure. Resilience is no longer just about backups and failovers; it’s about proactive risk identification and system-wide coordination.
Why It Matters Beyond Compliance
While DORA is regulation, its principles reflect broader market expectations.
Investors, customers, and partners increasingly view digital resilience as part of a company’s value and risk profile.
Benefits of a robust operational resilience strategy include:
- Faster recovery from technology disruptions
- Improved confidence among stakeholders
- Reduced reputational and regulatory risk
- Stronger supply chain and third-party controls
Organisations that approach resilience as a business enabler — not just a regulatory requirement — are better equipped to compete in a high-risk, high-change environment.
Practical Steps to Strengthen Resilience
Meeting DORA’s requirements and broader resilience goals requires coordinated action across the organisation. Key steps include:
- Conducting a digital risk maturity assessment
- Mapping critical processes, systems, and third-party dependencies
- Updating incident response and escalation protocols
- Building resilience testing into regular IT and operational reviews
This work cannot be done in silos. It requires buy-in from IT, operations, risk, legal, compliance, and executive leadership.
Third-Party Risk in the Spotlight
Source: venminder.com
One of DORA’s most significant components is its treatment of third-party risk.
As organisations rely more heavily on cloud providers, fintech platforms, and outsourced service models, regulators are demanding greater visibility and control.
Best practices include:
- Establishing clear accountability for vendor oversight
- Including resilience clauses in service level agreements (SLAs)
- Regularly reviewing concentration risk across vendors and geographies
- Running resilience simulations that include third-party dependencies
Managing these risks is not just about compliance — it’s essential to safeguarding customer trust and business continuity.
Embedding Resilience into Strategy
Digital resilience isn’t a one-off project — it’s an ongoing discipline. The most forward-thinking organisations are embedding resilience thinking into strategic planning, capital allocation, and innovation roadmaps.
This includes:
- Linking resilience goals to KPIs and executive scorecards
- Aligning resilience efforts with ESG and risk disclosures
- Ensuring board oversight and reporting on resilience initiatives
- Creating cross-functional resilience taskforces to break silos
This strategic integration signals to regulators and stakeholders that resilience is treated as a business-critical priority.
Looking Ahead
Source: grantthornton.co.uk
The pace of digital innovation shows no signs of slowing — and neither do the risks. In this climate, operational resilience is not just about surviving disruption, but thriving despite it.
Regulators are right to demand more, and organisations that respond proactively will be better prepared for whatever lies ahead.
For many firms, this means investing in preparing for operational resilience under emerging digital regulations to ensure that frameworks, systems, and leadership are aligned with today’s risk environment — and ready for tomorrow’s challenges.
