DORA (the Digital Operational Resilience Act) sets a clear expectation for financial entities and critical ICT providers: prove you can manage digital resilience. Not only with technology, but with governance, testing, third-party arrangements, and incident response.
Step 1: Build a complete inventory
You need to know what you must protect and where dependencies exist. Without an inventory, you cannot prioritize or set realistic recovery targets.
Step 2: Risk assessment and testing
DORA is not only about policy—it is about evidence. Make risk tangible (scenarios) and test both technical and organizational capabilities.
Step 3: Organize crisis management and suppliers
Resilience becomes real when crisis roles, escalation, and communications are defined—and when suppliers participate in your cadence of testing and reporting.
Takeaway
DORA is about proving you can keep operating. Organizations that inventory, prioritize, test, and exercise turn resilience into a routine—not a one-off project.