Failures of digital systems cause service outages and data breaches that have ­major negative effects both on the economy and on society, internationally. The number and scale of these issues continues to grow.

This book brings together data and thinking from more than 200 experts to provide both an understanding of the consequences of failures in digital systems and an approach to reducing these failures and their impacts.

Written in accessible language it aims to be a ‘go to’ guide for decision makers in the private, government and not-for-profit sectors. Beginning with the question ‘What is the impact of these failures on real people and the economy?’, it brings together ideas from management, financial services and the IT industry to create a framework and language for leaders in organizations to enable them to identify priorities, align objectives and take action.

The authors have wide and deep experience. Gill has had responsibility for software businesses and for strategy in the IT industry, and is an author and consultant on foresight. Ed has been a researcher and teacher at Stanford, Maastricht and Sussex Universities, consistently engaging with emerging issues spanning both IT and economics.


As the reliance on digital systems increases through the use of AI, smart infrastructure and robots, it becomes ever more important to plan for and manage the inevitability of outages and errors. This book provides both the motivation to take action and the methods to achieve IT service resilience.

"This very welcome book focuses on the role of digital systems in operational resilience. It builds on experience in the financial services and data services sectors to suggest methods and tools for reducing the occurrence and impact of failures of digital systems across the economy." — Paul Williams, President, EIS Council; Managing Director, Phoenix Resilience Limited (formerly Head of Division, Bank of England)

"Gill Ringland and Ed Steinmueller have provided a fresh look at digital service failures and their consequences. They outline immediate and practical steps all organizations should take to increase their resilience ahead of any more formal (government) guidance." — Christine Ashton, Chief Information Officer, UK Research and Innovation; Non-Exec Director, Royal Bank of Scotland International

"The threat of a catastrophic digital systems failure can be significantly mitigated if the approach outlined in this timely book – particularly in relation to education, awareness, training and data sharing – can be widely adopted." — Tom Clementi, Chief Executive Officer, Pool Re

Gill Ringland has published eleven books, covering IT and scenario planning. She was CEO of SAMI Consulting, focusing on foresight, and had corporate line management and strategy roles in the IT industry. Her books include Scenario Planning: Managing for the Future (Wiley, 1997); Beyond Crisis: Achieving Renewal in a Turbulent World, with Oliver Sparrow and Patricia Lustig (Wiley, 2010); and The Possibility Wheel: Making Better Choices in a Fractured World, with Patricia Lustig (Triarchy Press, 2024).

Ed Steinmueller is professor emeritus of information and communications technology policy, and of the economics of innovation, at SPRU (Science Policy Research Unit) in the University of Sussex Business School. He has published four books and more than eighty peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, mostly on the ICT industries as well as on science and technology policy and economic history. His books include Mobilizing the Information Society: Strategies for Growth and Opportunity, with R. E. Mansell (Oxford University Press, 2000), and Advanced Introduction to Platform Economics, with R. E. Mansell (Edward Elgar, 2020).