Operational Resilience in Finance:
A New Era of Compliance and Continuity
As financial institutions face rising regulatory pressure, evolving cyber threats, and increasing customer expectations, operational resilience is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a board-level priority.
With multiple compliance deadlines fast approaching, financial firms across the UK and Europe must take a proactive stance to avoid fines, reputational damage, and disrupted operations. But operational resilience is more than just ticking boxes, it’s about building an organisation that can adapt, recover, and thrive in the face of disruption.
Let’s explore what this means in practice and how your firm can stay ahead of the curve.
Countdown to Compliance: Regulatory Deadlines You Need to Know
Regulators across the UK and EU are turning up the heat on resilience standards:
31 March 2025
FCA / PRA / Bank of England Operational Resilience Reg (already in force)
17 October 2024
NIS2 Directive (already in force in EU countries. UK implementation expected in 2025)
17 January 2025
DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) – EU wide implementation
Whether your firm operates exclusively in the UK or across Europe, these regulations have significant implications for your IT infrastructure, business continuity planning, and vendor risk management. Staying compliant isn’t just about avoiding penalties, it’s about protecting your clients, your reputation, and your ability to do business.
Resilience Isn’t Just Cybersecurity
A common misconception? That operational resilience equals cybersecurity.
It’s about having robust systems, responsive processes, and a culture that prioritises continuity and compliance across the board.
Yes, protecting against cyber threats is crucial, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. True resilience encompasses your organisation’s ability to respond to, recover from, and adapt to disruption, whether it’s a cyberattack, natural disaster, system failure or supplier outage.
Why Operational Resilience Is a Business Imperative
(Not Just a Compliance Tick Box)
More than ever, regulators want resilience built into the day-to-day, not bolted on in emergencies. Financial organisations that embed resilience into their operations will not only stay compliant, but also build stronger, more sustainable businesses.
The risks of inaction are real:
Regulatory Penalties
The FCA and PRA can (and do) issue multi-million-pound fines to non-compliant firms.
Reputational Damage
Service outages and data breaches erode trust and drive customers elsewhere.
Restricted Operations
Regulators have the power to limit product offerings or suspend activities if resilience is not up to standard.
The Unsung Role of MSPs in Building Cyber & Operational Resilience
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) play a critical, behind-the-scenes role in helping financial institutions navigate the growing complexity of compliance and continuity – especially in light of regulations like DORA and NIS2. While internal IT teams focus on strategy and innovation, MSPs bring specialist knowledge, 24/7 support, and the ability to scale.
Here are six key ways MSPs support cyber and operational resilience:
24/7 Threat Monitoring & Response
MSPs provide round-the-clock monitoring of your IT environment, using advanced threat detection tools to identify and mitigate potential issues before they escalate. This proactive approach is key to avoiding outages and meeting regulatory expectations for real-time response.
Robust Data Backup & Disaster Recovery
MSPs offer secure, cloud-based data backup and disaster recovery (DRaaS) services – essential for minimising downtime and data loss. In the event of a breach, failure, or disaster, they ensure fast recovery so your operations continue with minimal disruption.
Patch Management & Vulnerability Remediation
Staying resilient means staying updated. MSPs take ownership of patch management – closing security gaps quickly and ensuring systems are compliant with the latest standards. This is a major requirement under DORA, NIS2, and broader cyber insurance frameworks.
Regulatory Compliance Support
Financial firms face ever-tightening regulatory demands. MSPs understand the specific IT compliance needs of regulations like DORA, FCA Operational Resilience, and GDPR. They help implement technical controls, support audit readiness, and ensure documentation is maintained.
Cybersecurity Training for Staff
Human error remains one of the biggest threats to resilience. MSPs can deliver targeted, role-based cybersecurity awareness training to your team—often a requirement of compliance frameworks and a strong line of defence against phishing, ransomware, and insider threats.
Scalable, Cost-Effective IT Infrastructure
MSPs provide flexible, cloud-first infrastructure solutions that grow with your business. Rather than investing heavily in on-premises technology, financial firms can scale services up or down as needed—improving resilience without the capital expenditure.
DORA: The Regulation That Could Reshape Financial IT
If you operate in, or do business with, any EU-based financial market, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) needs to be on your radar.
Taking effect from 17th January 2025, DORA is designed to ensure that all financial entities across the EU can withstand, respond to, and recover from ICT-related disruptions and threats.
Its five pillars are:
1. ICT Risk Management
Identify, assess, and reduce technology-related risks before they impact your business.
2. ICT Incident Reporting
Quickly report major IT disruptions with clear, structured information.
3. Resilience Testing
Regularly test your systems and recovery plans to ensure they’re fit for purpose.
4. Supplier Control
Monitor and manage risks from outsourced IT providers and services.
5. Information Sharing
Exchange cyber threat intelligence securely with industry peers.
DORA isn’t just another compliance headache, it’s an opportunity to build a stronger, smarter infrastructure. And even though it’s an EU regulation, many UK-based firms will still be impacted if they operate cross-border or serve EU customers.
Where to Go From Here
With so many moving parts, from regulation to recovery to resilience, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But the time to act is now.
Whether you’re preparing for FCA and PRA compliance, aligning with DORA, or simply shoring up your operational risk strategy, we can help guide the journey.
Assess your current resilience maturity
Identify technology and compliance gaps
Implement DRaaS, monitoring, and testing solutions
Partner with experts to stay on top of evolving regulations
Ready to Strengthen Your Resilience?
If you’re in the financial sector and want to understand your obligations or you’re looking to futureproof your operations with DRaaS, cyber resilience, or IT governance, we’re here to help.
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