PwC x Fusion: building better and technology enabled resilience

These days, disruptions in operations are no longer rare incidents — they are part of everyday business. Even more so in our increasingly interconnected and digital world. From a container vessel getting stuck in the Suez Canal, disrupting international logistics and supply chains for weeks, or a software glitch grounding airlines worldwide, to cyber incidents shutting down public services. More than ever in human history we are connected globally. And there’s no telling how an incident in one place will affect our businesses. Or is there? 

In every sector, organisations depend on digital systems to deliver essential services. Payments, logistics, customer services, energy supply — all rely on complex technology infrastructures and third-party service providers. ‘Just look at all the things in life we use our smartphone for,’ says Seda Foppen, Partner Technology Risk & Regulation at PwC Netherlands. ‘Imagine living and working without it, or running a business without access to digital systems. That is why risk awareness and digital resilience are so urgent. They are all about ensuring continuity in a world that relies completely on technology.’

These risks are far from just theoretical. Bram van Tiel, Partner Cybersecurity, Resilience & Privacy at PwC Netherlands: ‘A recent outage forced the Dutch Public Prosecution Service to shut down all digital connections to external parties. Globally, a faulty CrowdStrike update paralysed airlines and financial markets. In Spain, blackouts showed how fragile infrastructure can be when technology fails. These are real-world examples of disruption. They show how a single failure can have cascading effects across sectors and even across borders.’

Although most executives are aware of the risks, turning awareness into structural resilience remains a challenge. ‘In many boardrooms, resilience doesn’t get enough airtime,’ observes Foppen. ‘Leaders feel uncomfortable, but they don’t always know the right questions to ask their teams. Supervisory boards, too, are aware of the risks but often lack transparency about how deeply dependent their organisations are on technology and third-party service providers.’

A key difficulty is the lack of overview and transparency over value chains across business functions. ‘Organisations often operate in silos,’ says van Tiel. ‘They don’t know exactly which processes depend on which systems, or how those systems rely on third parties. It’s only when disruption hits that you truly discover how connected your systems are. Without transparency, it is very hard to predict possible effects of any disturbance, or to decide what to recover first.’

To respond to the growing complexity, PwC Netherlands has entered into a strategic alliance with Fusion Risk Management. Together, they combine PwC’s expertise in governance, technology, regulation and resilience with Fusion’s advanced technology platform. The result: a powerful approach that helps organisations prepare, respond and emerge stronger from disruption.

‘Digital resilience means knowing how disruption will affect your organisation and being prepared to continue operations when it happens,’ says Van Tiel. ‘To achieve that, you need to map interdependencies and test scenarios. Combining our knowledge and insight with the power of Fusion, we can give clients actionable insights that were not possible before.’

New European regulations such as DORA and NIS2 underline the urgency. They require organisations amongst others to demonstrate that they can tolerate disruptions and recover critical services within defined impact tolerances. ‘Regulation provides the push, but legal and regulatory texts need to be translated into real action,’ explains Foppen. ‘PwC helps clients translate these obligations into practical governance structures, control measures and establish scenario testing powered by technology. We work with clients to prepare for “what if” situations, ensuring they have organisational and technology capabilities in place before disruption occurs.’

Technology is essential to make resilience manageable. Fusion’s platform integrates data from across the organisation — from process flows and incident registers to IT assets and vendor contracts — and visualises in great detail how everything is connected. ‘Without technology, it’s almost impossible to maintain transparency,’ says Foppen. ‘Your digital landscape changes every day. Fusion helps organisations link business processes to systems and third-party service providers, and simulate potential disruptions.’

Van Tiel adds: ‘The real strength of Fusion lies in its ability to simulate scenarios. You can test what happens if a factory stops, if a third-party fails, or if a critical application goes offline. That gives management a clear picture of the impact and the priorities in a crisis situation.’

The scenario simulation technology offered by Fusion is changing how organisations think about and manage resilience. ‘Our Scenario Simulation & Intelligence capability is truly unique in the market, allowing customers to execute data driven simulations with thousands of different permutations taken into account,’ says Joe Gennings, VP of Alliances at Fusion Risk Management. ‘This, coupled with our forthcoming Recovery Optimisation release, transforms how organisations identify, test and plan their recovery from a range of severe but plausible threats.’

The alliance between PwC and Fusion is unique in the Netherlands. PwC brings deep knowledge of regulation, compliance, governance and industry practices, while Fusion provides the platform that turns complex data into actionable insights. ‘PwC understands the organisation and its processes. Fusion provides the tools to map and simulate,’ says van Tiel. ‘Together we can help clients move from uncertainty to clarity, and from awareness to resilience.’ 

‘As organisations grapple with a multitude of challenges presented by DORA and other EU-wide regulations, their need for robust operational resilience programmes has never been greater,’ adds Rex Erby, Rest of World Alliance Lead at Fusion Risk Management. ‘We’re proud to expand our alliance with PwC into yet another key European territory and offer clients the unique power of the Fusion platform alongside PwC’s deep subject matter expertise and delivery capabilities to help them comply with regulatory requirements, unlock value for their business, and become more resilient.’

To show what the combined strengths of PwC and Fusion can achieve in practice, the two organisations are hosting a roundtable on resilience in October. The event is deliberately small-scale, with 15 to 20 participants, to encourage open dialogue. ‘We want a cross-sector mix,’ says Foppen, ‘where bankers can learn from manufacturers, energy companies from retailers. The challenges may look different, but the underlying issues of resilience are similar. That exchange is valuable.’

The focus will be practical. ‘We don’t want to spend 90% of the time lecturing,’ explains van Tiel. ‘It will be interactive, with participants sharing experiences and discussing scenarios, supported by insights from Fusion’s platform. It’s about learning from each other.’

At its core, digital resilience is about preparation, adaptability and confidence. ‘Organisations cannot predict every disruption, but they can test, prepare and build the ability to recover,’ says van Tiel. ‘You don’t know what will happen or when. But if you’re aware and prepared for multiple scenarios, you’ll always be able to continue business in the best possible way, whatever happens.’

Foppen concludes: ‘With the right governance, processes and technology, companies can face disruption with confidence. Resilience is not just about surviving a crisis — it is about being able to continue serving customers and growing even stronger.’

Curious to dive deeper into the challenges of operational and digital resilience? On Wednesday 29 October 2025, Seda Foppen, Bram van Tiel and Risk and Regulation Leader Anthony Kruizinga are hosting an exclusive Roundtable on Operational Resilience in a Changing World at our PwC Amsterdam office. Together with peers and our alliance partner Fusion Risk Management, we will explore lessons learned from client programmes, share technology-driven insights, and discuss strategies to strengthen resilience in practice.