Only one in four firms responds well to digital disruption

Telstra International supported an Economic Impact study and found that organisations across the US, UK and Germany are “materially underprepared” for large-scale digital disruption.

The research suggested failures are driven less by gaps in technology, but rather by weak governance, limited coordination and poor visibility beyond organisational boundaries. Notably, only 25% of organisations across all surveyed markets said their responses to digital disruption largely to go plan – with only 21% having a dedicated team responsible for delivering digital resilience initiatives.

“Our research shows organisations understand the risks they face, but many have yet to translate that awareness into sustained capability,” explained Charles Ross, head of policy and insights, Asia-Pacific at Economist Impact.

He added: “Digital resilience must be treated as a core business discipline with clear ownership and dedicated resources, not as a periodic IT initiative. That means integrating ecosystem partners into stress testing, shifting from episodic risk reviews to continuous preparedness and ensuring governance keeps pace as technologies such as AI scale.”

Widening gaps between intention and execution

Although organisations are reporting progress in modernising systems and strengthening cybersecurity policy, the research has found that digital resilience breaks down when disruption extends beyond enterprise suppliers, partners and critical infrastructure.

The study revealed that only one in five executives in the US (19%) and UK (20%) are confident in cross-sector collaboration with these partners during disruption events. Likewise, only 27% of organisations have digital resilience plans and strategies that are regularly reviewed by boards. Only 38% said those discussions lead to follow-up action.

What contrasts with this is executives reporting higher confidence in internal foundations like cybersecurity planning and regulatory frameworks. The study found Germany leads on policy confidence (70%), as opposed to the US (54%) and UK (51%).

These findings suggest there is a widening gap between internal preparedness and ecosystem-level digital resilience. While planning exists, the execution falls short as oversight remains weak, the study said.

“What stands out in this research is not a lack of intent, but a gap between ambition and execution. Many organisations believe they are prepared, yet disruption continues to expose weaknesses in governance, coordination and decision‑making, particularly beyond their own walls,” said Roary Stasko, CEO of Telstra International said.

“In a highly connected digital economy, digital resilience can’t be built in silos. It has to be owned at the top, tested across ecosystems and treated as a core business capability.”

Overcoming legacy infrastructure constraints

While organisations across the wider technology sector are modernising their systems, legacy infrastructure remains a significant barrier to operations. Relying on legacy infrastructure has been shown to hamper innovation and prevent companies from remaining competitive, particularly in the telecoms space.

The study revealed that around 60% of US and UK organisations and 54% in Germany revealed that legacy infrastructure still forms a significant part of their operations. This, the study said, constrains their efforts to design digital resilience into systems from the outset.

Legacy infrastructure progress also differs per sector, with 36% of financial services and IT and technology organisations report having modernised most or all of their core systems. This is compared with 12% in the public sector and 19% among industrial organisations, where legacy dependence is deeper and rigid investment models prevent progress, the study revealed.

Another challenge is energy, as AI adoption soars and places pressure on ageing infrastructure. Currently, just 14% of organisations integrate climate-related risks into digital resilience planning, the study explained, despite the direct impact of environmental events on power supply, data centres and recovery timelines.

Stasko added: “As digital disruption grows in frequency and complexity, strengthening resilience amid operational or cyber risks is becoming a differentiator for organisational stability and competitiveness.

“At Telstra International, we work closely with government, industry and key partners to stay ahead of emerging threats, with a global network designed with layered digital resilience, proactive monitoring and strong continuity planning to help keep businesses connected and prepared as conditions evolve.”

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