The financial sector has always been built on trust. Customers trust that their money is safe, transactions are seamless, and systems will not fail when they need them most. In today’s digital-first world, that trust is increasingly tested not only by traditional risks but also by cyberattacks, system outages, and technology failures.
That is where DORA (the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act) comes in. It is more than a piece of regulation; it is a turning point in how financial institutions approach technology risk.
What Is DORA?
DORA is a European Union regulation that came into force in January 2023, with full application set for January 2025. It requires banks, insurers, investment firms, and even third-party technology providers to demonstrate digital operational resilience. In other words, the ability to withstand, respond to, and recover from IT-related disruptions.
In plain terms, it ensures that financial institutions and their partners are prepared for the unexpected.
Why Does It Matter?
Unlike previous regulations that focused only on cybersecurity or outsourcing, DORA is holistic. It touches every part of a bank’s IT and operational fabric:
- ICT Risk Management: Banks must identify, assess, and mitigate risks across all systems.
- Incident Reporting: Major incidents must be reported swiftly, with clear classifications and response protocols.
- Resilience Testing: Regular penetration tests, scenario analyses, and threat-led simulations are mandatory.
- Third-Party Risk: Technology partners, from cloud providers to fintech vendors, are directly under the spotlight.
- Information Sharing: Industry-wide collaboration on threat intelligence is encouraged.
- The aim is simple: prevent technology failures from becoming financial crises.
What This Means for Banks in Practice
For many banks, especially those running on legacy core systems, compliance with DORA is not just about box-ticking. It requires deep modernization of technology, processes, and vendor oversight. Key steps include:
- Mapping dependencies: Knowing exactly which systems and vendors are mission-critical.
- Building redundancy: Ensuring failover options are in place for high-risk systems.
- Modernizing core banking: Legacy systems prone to downtime must evolve into modular, resilient platforms.
- Testing culture: Making resilience testing a continuous practice, not an annual drill.
Implications for Africa and the GCC
Although DORA is a European regulation, its influence extends beyond Europe. Many African and GCC banks work with European institutions or rely on global technology vendors that fall under DORA’s scope. This means compliance will indirectly affect how these banks manage IT resilience, vendor risk, and incident reporting. While not the primary target of the regulation, financial institutions in these regions should still prepare for the ripple effects.
How CARITech Helps
At CARITech, we see DORA not as a burden but as an opportunity. For banks across Africa and the GCC that aspire to compete on a global level, aligning with DORA standards builds trust, resilience, and long-term advantage.
Our modular modernization frameworks—from data management (DATUM) to cloud migration and third-party oversight—supports banks in becoming DORA-ready without disruption. We help institutions not only comply but also transform compliance into a competitive strength.
The Bigger Picture
Regulations like DORA are a reminder that technology risk is now business risk. For banks, resilience is not optional; it is a core part of growth, innovation, and customer confidence.
The question is no longer “Do we comply?” but rather “Are we resilient enough to thrive in a digital world?”
At CARITech, we believe the answer starts with modernization.
