The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) has quickly become one of the most important pieces of EU legislation for the financial sector. As cyber threats rise and organisations increasingly depend on complex digital supply chains, DORA sets the baseline for what “good” looks like in operational resilience. But more than a compliance requirement, DORA is a roadmap for building stronger, safer, and more competitive businesses.
Here’s why conforming to DORA is not just important—but essential.
1. Cyber Risk Has Become a Business Risk
Cyber incidents are no longer isolated IT problems. They disrupt operations, damage customer trust, and create cascading failures across interconnected services. DORA recognises this by demanding robust ICT risk management, resilience planning, and continuous monitoring.
Complying with DORA forces organisations to:
- Identify digital vulnerabilities.
- Strengthen systems against cyber-attacks.
- Test business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
- Ensure leadership is accountable for digital resilience.
In a world where downtime equals financial loss, these safeguards are business-critical.
2. The Supply Chain Is Now a Point of Failure
Financial institutions heavily rely on third-party technology providers—cloud platforms, software vendors, managed service providers, and more. A single outage or breach at one of these suppliers can impact thousands of businesses.
DORA requires:
- Clear oversight of all ICT third-party providers.
- Detailed contractual obligations around resilience and incident reporting.
- Continuous supervision of critical vendors.
Organisations that comply gain end-to-end visibility of their digital ecosystem and reduce the risk of external failures disrupting service delivery.
3. Mandatory Reporting Builds Trust and Transparency
DORA standardises incident reporting across the EU. This means major ICT incidents must be documented, assessed, and communicated promptly to the relevant authorities.
Benefits include:
- Faster coordinated responses.
- Better understanding of emerging threats.
- Increased confidence from stakeholders and regulators.
For customers and partners, transparent reporting demonstrates control, maturity, and responsibility.
4. Resilience Testing Ensures Systems Work Under Pressure
One of DORA’s most impactful requirements is regular operational resilience testing. This can include:
- Penetration testing
- Scenario-based testing
- Disaster recovery simulations
- Threat-led penetration testing (TLPT) for critical entities
This moves organisations away from reactive security and toward proactive resilience, ensuring systems perform even during high-stress situations.
5. It’s Not Just Compliance—It’s Competitive Advantage
Conforming to DORA makes organisations more secure, more efficient, and more reliable. These qualities translate directly into:
- Stronger customer trust
- Better commercial relationships
- Lower risk of financial penalties
- Reduced likelihood of costly downtime
- Improved organisational reputation
Businesses that embrace DORA early signal to the market that they take security and resilience seriously—attributes increasingly demanded by clients and partners.
6. DORA Is Here to Stay
The regulation came into full effect on 17 January 2025, and compliance is now mandatory for financial institutions and their ICT service providers across the EU.
Failure to comply brings:
- Significant regulatory penalties
- Operational disruption
- Reputational damage
- Loss of customers due to trust concerns
Organisations that act early will avoid rushed remediation and build resilience into their long-term strategy.
Final Thoughts
DORA is more than a regulatory checkbox. It’s a framework that helps organisations thrive in a digital-first world. By adopting its principles—strong governance, robust ICT risk management, secure third-party relationships, and continuous resilience testing—businesses lay the foundation for sustainable, long-term stability.
In today’s threat landscape, operational resilience isn’t optional. It’s essential. DORA simply defines what good looks like—and the organisations that align with it will be the ones that weather disruption, earn customer trust, and lead the market.