Runtime Assurance
for financial services and fintech.
We operate and evidence the cloud, observability and incident layer behind regulated financial platforms, so resilience, customer assurance and operational control are built into how the platform runs. We operate and evidence the runtime controls that support your customer, auditor and regulatory obligations.
The challenge in financial services & fintech
Cloud operations in regulated finance carry obligations that most MSPs are not built to meet. The technical bar is high; the evidential bar is higher.
Read the full picture
-
24×7 availability is a baseline, not a differentiator. Payment systems, banking apps, and trading infrastructure are expected to be up. The operational question is how fast you detect, respond, and recover when they are not, and what you can show regulators afterwards.
-
Incident evidence and RCAs must be regulator-ready. FCA/PRA operational-resilience rules and DORA require firms to demonstrate that they can stay within impact tolerances for important business services. That requires structured incident records, root cause analysis, and documented recovery timelines, not just monitoring alerts.
-
Your MSP is itself an ICT third party in scope. DORA's ICT third-party risk management requirements apply to providers like us. Firms need to know their MSP operates to auditable standards, holds the right certifications, and can produce the contractual and operational records that regulators expect to see.
-
Payment uptime and resilience testing add further pressure. PCI DSS controls, payment system availability windows, and resilience testing requirements layer on top of baseline cloud operations, demanding a provider who understands the regulatory context, not just the infrastructure.
Frameworks we help you meet and evidence
We do not provide legal or compliance advice. We provide the operational infrastructure, documentation, and audit trail that helps your compliance and legal teams do their work.
DORA
Digital Operational Resilience Act
Digital Operational Resilience Act
Critical Cloud operates as an ICT third-party provider under DORA. We maintain ISO 27001 certification, produce structured incident records and RCAs, and operate SLA frameworks aligned to DORA's ICT third-party risk management and operational resilience requirements.
FCA / PRA
Operational Resilience Rules
Operational Resilience Rules
FCA and PRA operational-resilience rules require firms to identify important business services, set impact tolerances, and demonstrate they can stay within them. Datadog gives you the continuous monitoring and incident evidence needed to support self-assessments and regulatory returns.
PCI DSS
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
Cloud infrastructure controls, logging, alerting, and access management form part of the PCI DSS control environment. We help you meet and evidence these requirements through Datadog monitoring, structured change records, and security posture improvement engineering.
SYSC 8 / Outsourcing
FCA Outsourcing & Third-Party Risk (SYSC 8)
FCA Outsourcing & Third-Party Risk (SYSC 8)
SYSC 8 requires firms to retain oversight and control of outsourced functions. Critical Support is designed for oversight: customers retain full Datadog access at all times, receive regular service reviews, and hold the contractual records needed for an outsourcing register.
Consumer Duty
FCA Consumer Duty
FCA Consumer Duty
Consumer Duty requires firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers, which depends on the availability and reliability of the services they use. Platform reliability engineering and 24×7 incident response are an operational foundation for meeting Consumer Duty obligations.
ISO 27001
Information Security Management
Information Security Management
Critical Cloud is ISO 27001 certified. The certification covers our information security management system including controls applied to customer environments under management. We are also Cyber Essentials Plus certified. Certificates available on request.
How Critical Cloud helps financial services & fintech firms
We map directly to the operational and evidential requirements of regulated financial services.
01 Critical Support 24×7 incident management with a 15-minute response commitment, plus monthly improvement engineering structured for regulatory use.
24×7 Managed Service
Our flagship managed service provides 24×7 incident management with a 15-minute response time for SEV-1 and SEV-2 incidents, combined with monthly improvement engineering across six pillars: reliability, security, cost, performance, automation, and governance. Every incident produces a timestamped record and RCA, structured for regulatory use.
Critical Support →02 Cloud Security & Compliance Engineering Security improvement engineering across access controls, threat detection, and cloud security posture aligned to ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and DORA.
Security Posture
Security improvement engineering across access controls, vulnerability management, threat detection, and cloud security posture. Aligned to ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus controls. Supports PCI DSS and DORA security requirements through continuous Datadog security monitoring and documented remediation actions.
Security services →03 UK Datadog Partner Full-depth Datadog configuration for audit trails, SLO tracking against impact tolerances, and regulator-ready incident timelines.
Datadog Expertise
As the world's first Powered by Datadog accredited MSP and a Datadog Advanced Partner in the UK, we configure Datadog to the depth that regulated financial services require: structured log management, audit trails, SLO tracking against impact tolerances, and incident management with full timeline export.
Datadog credentials →04 Technology & Partner Network Coordinated delivery alongside your existing technology vendors, AWS and Azure account teams, and specialist compliance tooling.
Partner Ecosystem
We work alongside your existing technology vendors, AWS and Azure account teams, and specialist compliance tooling. Our partner network means we can bring in the right expertise (whether that is cloud-native security, FinOps, or Datadog product specialists) without you needing multiple separate relationships.
Partners →Built for tech-led financial services firms
We work with challenger banks, payments providers, wealth and pensions platforms, and lending and mortgage-tech firms: typically tech-led businesses where the cloud platform is a product asset, not just infrastructure, and where operational and regulatory standards are non-negotiable.
Frequently asked questions
How does Critical Support help with DORA ICT third-party risk requirements?
Critical Support provides the contractual SLA documentation, incident records, RCA reports, and service review cadence that regulated firms need to demonstrate oversight of their ICT third-party providers under DORA. As your MSP, we are ourselves in scope as an ICT third-party, and we operate to the standards required: ISO 27001 certified, Cyber Essentials Plus certified, with audit-ready service records and structured incident reporting. We can provide the contractual and operational documentation your compliance team needs for your ICT third-party register.
Can you provide evidence for FCA/PRA operational-resilience assessments?
Yes. Datadog provides a timestamped, queryable record of incidents, SLO performance, and system behaviour across your important business services. We produce incident reports, RCAs, and service review packs that are structured to support FCA/PRA operational-resilience self-assessments, including evidence against impact tolerances. We do not provide legal or compliance advice; we provide the operational evidence your compliance team can use.
Do you hold ISO 27001 and what does that cover?
Critical Cloud is ISO 27001 certified. The certification covers our information security management system, including the controls we apply to customer environments under management. We are also Cyber Essentials Plus certified. Certificates are available on request. If your firm requires specific security questionnaire responses or supplier assurance documentation, speak to us.
How is Datadog used to support audit and compliance evidence?
Datadog's log management, audit trail, and incident management capabilities create a durable, queryable record of activity across your cloud estate. We structure dashboards and alerting policies to surface evidence relevant to your compliance frameworks: availability metrics and SLO data for impact tolerance reporting, security signals for access and change audit trails, and incident timelines for RCA and regulatory reporting. All customers retain direct, full-fidelity access to their own Datadog environment at all times.
Speak to us about your regulated environment.
Tell us about your platform, your regulator, and your operational obligations. We will show you how Critical Cloud would work for your firm.