Preparing for DORA: why stronger digital employee experience leads to better operational resilience

Kicking off 2025, operational resilience and zero downtime are just two of the concerns on the minds of financial sector professionals and leaders. The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which applies from January 17th, is set to shake up the resilience strategies of all financial entities across the European Union (EU) and beyond. As the new operations framework takes effect, the fintech sector is entering a transformative era, where real-time IT visibility will be the cornerstone of digital resilience.

DORA aims to uphold the cyber resilience of banks, insurance companies, investment firms, and third-party technology providers. With the growing reliance on digital infrastructures, it requires financial entities to maintain operational continuity and protect the stability of financial ecosystems, even in the face of digital disruptions. This introduces unprecedented demands for preserving technological infrastructure and operational resilience, necessitating a fundamental reassessment of digital risk management strategies.

Under DORA, these fintech firms must develop sophisticated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) risk management frameworks that extend beyond conventional security measures and traditional IT support. These frameworks need to address the unique challenges of digital financial services, including payment processing, digital banking operations, and automated financial transactions.

Having complete visibility of digital infrastructure, encompassing customer applications, back-end systems, and payment gateways, gives fintech firms an advantage in developing ICT risk management frameworks and strengthening their IT resilience in general. Advanced real-time monitoring and incident response plans are essential to identify and address potential vulnerabilities before they disrupt critical financial services or customer transactions. By having a comprehensive view of the health and performance of the entire IT estate, fintech businesses can identify potential vulnerabilities and risk points before they escalate into significant challenges.

DEX as a resilience tool

As fintech organisations adapt to these stringent requirements, the role of Digital Employee Experience (DEX) emerges as a game-changer in operational resilience, offering significant advantages in meeting DORA’s demands and ensuring the reliability of digital financial services. At the heart of a robust DEX strategy is the ability to respond to incidents more efficiently.

This connection between DEX and operational resilience is clearly demonstrated by the experience of a major bank. By detecting and resolving technology issues before they affected key personnel, a bank with high IT service desk call rates significantly decreased call rates, increased operational efficiency, and saved approximately $300,000 per year.  

To illustrate further using a hypothetical scenario, consider a fintech firm facing a critical system outage during peak business hours. With visibility provided through a DEX tool, the IT team would have access to diagnostic tools and automated workflows, enabling them to identify and resolve the issue within minutes. Without such visibility, response times would be slower, potentially causing financial losses and regulatory penalties. This scenario underscores how DEX not only streamlines incident management but also strengthens compliance with DORA's operational continuity standards.

In fintech operations, DEX focuses on ensuring seamless technological functionality for both employees and end-users. By equipping IT staff with intuitive tools and systems, organisations can improve response times to critical disruptions and prevent incidents from escalating. When digital banking systems, payment platforms, and financial applications operate smoothly, employees can deliver frictionless services that inspire customer trust and confidence.

Strong incident management capabilities, enabled by advanced DEX strategies, are critical to meeting DORA's expectations. Lessons from industry-wide challenges, such as last year’s CrowdStrike outage, have demonstrated the need for robust response systems. Organisations that empower employees with effective tools and visibility across their digital infrastructures are better equipped to assess impacts quickly and implement targeted remediation, ensuring compliance and service continuity.

DORA represents more than a regulatory requirement—it is an opportunity to fundamentally transform IT operations. By embracing proactive digital resilience, organizations can enhance their operational efficiency, reduce technological risks, improve overall business continuity, and create more robust, adaptive digital environments.