When the Unthinkable Happens: Lessons from M&S, Spain and Portugal

By Paul Alexander, CEO of Beyond: Putting Data To Work

The news lately is not short of stories! Breaker after breaker keeps rolling in. But, two to have caught my attention are the M&S cyber attack and the Spanish-Portuguese power outage.

Frankly, the ongoing cyberattack at Marks & Spencer is a stark reminder that when the unthinkable happens, it’s not just technology that gets tested — it’s your entire business resilience.

Now into its second week, the breach has forced M&S to suspend click and collect services, halt online orders, cancel outstanding deliveries, block remote staff from parts of its internal network, and even revert to pen-and-paper operations in some stores.

Even now, customers are reporting confusion and disappointment after online orders were suddenly cancelled.

The cost has been enormous: more than £700 million wiped off the company’s stock market value, and a direct hit on fashion sales during a critical trading period.

But M&S is far from alone. Across in Europe, recent cyber and infrastructure incidents — including the rumoured coordinated cyberattacks that shut down sections of the Spanish and Portuguese power grids — show how fragile our interconnected systems really are.

And the costs, both financial and reputational, are only accelerating.

In every case, what makes the difference between temporary disruption and long-term damage is whether an organisation has a true, operational data strategy — not just a data collection habit.

Beyond Collecting Data: Building Resilience into the System

Many businesses treat their data assets like an archive: something to analyse later, or to power marketing efforts. Few, however, are set up to put their data to work immediately when crises strike.

At Beyond: Putting Data To Work, we’ve long argued for system thinking. Data strategy can of course be transformational but crucially it must also be proactive and operational — built into the very architecture of your business — not sitting idle in warehouses until quarterly review time.

A true data strategy should:

• Map critical systems and dependencies so you know exactly what to prioritise in a crisis.

• Enable real-time visibility across your customer, supply chain, and operational landscapes.

• Power contingency planning with live data that can reroute orders, reallocate resources, and maintain communication during system failures.

• Protect customer trust by ensuring transparency, fast refunds, and clear alternatives when services are disrupted.

Without that strategic infrastructure, even the most beloved brands — with the strongest customer loyalty — can find themselves struggling to maintain basic operations.

Resilience Is Now a Competitive Advantage

The truth is, cyberattacks are no longer a question of "if" — they are a question of "when." And with uncertainty and tensions between the US and Russia, the risk is increasingly exponentially.

Likewise, unknown unknowns — from cyber breaches to infrastructure failures — are no longer rare black swans. They are becoming a normal part of doing business in a hyperconnected world.

What matters most is how well-prepared you are to adapt in real time.

The companies that emerge stronger from crises will be the ones that have already embedded intelligence and responsiveness into their operations — where data isn’t just an asset, but an active agent in managing risk, optimising decision-making, and protecting customers.

M&S is working hard to recover, and its brand strength will undoubtedly help. But the situation should serve as a warning to the wider business community:

A surface-level data strategy is no longer enough. Real resilience demands always-on data thinking.

Those who invest in that today will be the ones still standing — and thriving — tomorrow.