The elephant in the room: why operational resilience is more than just compliance

In today’s fast-paced, interconnected world, resilience is no longer just a buzzword—it’s a necessity.

Whether in banking, finance, or military strategy, the ability to anticipate, adapt, and recover from disruptions separates industry leaders from those left scrambling. But too often, businesses approach resilience as a regulatory checkbox exercise rather than a strategic advantage.

Pace hosted an event to discuss the value of data in demonstrating operational resilience, and in the process, discovered the real elephant in the room.

Why operational resilience is more than just IT recovery

For years, banks and financial institutions believed that if their IT systems worked and disaster recovery plans were in place, they were resilient.

The financial sector has long focused on liquidity and credit risks, but today’s regulators are demanding a more holistic approach. Resilience is no longer just about having enough capital—it’s about a duty of care.

But the pandemic exposed a stark reality: resilience isn’t just about technology—it’s about the entire organisation. Regulations such as DORA stress that resilience must be embedded across departments—from risk management to third-party oversight.

The true challenge: data overload and compliance blind spots

The biggest challenge businesses face isn’t a lack of data—it’s too much data and too little insight. Many organisations collect vast amounts of information but lack the tools or expertise to analyse it effectively and turn it into actionable strategies.

• Regulatory overload – Compliance teams focus on meeting strict regulations, but often without a clear strategy for improving actual business resilience.
• Third-party risks – Many organisations rely on outsourced technology and services. What happens when a vendor’s failure disrupts your operations?
• Legal complexities – Most companies don’t know whether their contracts even account for modern risks like cybersecurity breaches, AI liability, or supply chain disruptions. Or even if they have a contract in place!

Lessons from military strategy: training for the unknown

Resilience isn’t just about reducing risk—it’s about building adaptability. A military unit doesn’t just train for known threats; they train for unknown, unpredictable scenarios. Business leaders should adopt the same mindset:

• Stress testing – Instead of passively following regulations, businesses should simulate real-world crises to identify weak points before a disruption occurs.
• Scenario planning – Organisations must prepare for unknown unknowns—from cyberattacks to geopolitical instability.
• Cross-department collaboration – Just like military teams must rely on multiple units to execute operations, businesses must break down silos between legal, compliance, IT, and operations teams. The analogy of the elephant and the blind man was discussed to highlight that different people can have different perspectives of the same thing.

From regulation to competitive advantage

While regulations provide a critical baseline, businesses must view operational resilience as a business enabler, not just a compliance burden. Companies that invest in stronger data analytics, agile decision-making, and proactive risk management will be more innovative and outperform their competitors in the long run.

Ultimately, operational resilience is about trust. Whether in banking, insurance, or other industries, customers expect that companies will deliver on their promises, no matter the circumstances. Those who get this right will not only survive disruptions—but thrive beyond them.

At Pace, we’ve partnered with Gieom, a global leader in operational resilience, risk management, and enterprise productivity solutions, for their DORA 360 solution.

The partnership combines Gieom’s end-to-end operational resilience management capabilities with Pace’s business transformation expertise and delivery track record. This enables organisations to proactively embed and future proof operational resilience across their businesses in an optimal way, leveraging smart automation and AI.

Get in touch to find out how we can support your organisation to become operationally resilient.