What is your backup recovery time objective (RTO)?

Setting a backup Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is crucial for ensuring that your organization can resume operations quickly after a disruption. The RTO defines the maximum acceptable amount of time to restore a system, application, or data after a failure.

### Determining an Appropriate RTO

The RTO can vary significantly depending on the criticality of the system or data involved. Here are the steps to determine and set an appropriate RTO:

1. **Business Impact Analysis (BIA)**:
   - Conduct a BIA to understand the impact of downtime on various business functions. Identify which systems and data are critical to operations.

2. **Prioritize Systems and Data**:
   - Classify systems and data based on their importance to business continuity. For example, customer-facing applications and critical databases might have more stringent RTOs than internal administrative systems.

3. **Set Realistic Objectives**:
   - Establish RTOs that are achievable given your current backup and recovery infrastructure. Balance the need for quick recovery with the resources and technology available.

### Example RTOs by System Type

1. **Critical Systems** (e.g., financial transactions, customer service platforms):
   - RTO: 1 to 4 hours
   - These systems need to be up and running quickly to minimize business disruption and financial loss.

2. **Important Systems** (e.g., email servers, internal communication tools):
   - RTO: 4 to 24 hours
   - Important for daily operations but can withstand a short period of downtime.

3. **Non-Critical Systems** (e.g., development environments, less critical databases):
   - RTO: 24 to 72 hours
   - These can tolerate longer downtimes without significantly impacting business operations.

### Implementing and Testing RTOs

1. **Backup Solutions**:
   - Use robust backup solutions that support rapid recovery. This might include cloud-based backups, disk-to-disk-to-cloud (D2D2C) configurations, and advanced replication technologies.

2. **Disaster Recovery Plans**:
   - Develop comprehensive disaster recovery plans that detail the steps to restore systems and data within the defined RTOs. Include contact information, recovery procedures, and roles and responsibilities.

3. **Regular Testing**:
   - Conduct regular disaster recovery tests to ensure that the RTOs can be met. These tests should simulate different types of failures and measure the time taken to restore operations.

4. **Monitoring and Continuous Improvement**:
   - Monitor recovery times during actual incidents and use the data to refine and improve the disaster recovery processes. Update RTOs as needed based on changes in business requirements and technological advancements.

### Tools and Technologies

- **Automated Backup Solutions**: Use automated solutions that streamline the backup process and reduce human error.
- **Snapshot Technologies**: Leverage snapshot technologies that enable quick data restoration.
- **Cloud-Based DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service)**: Consider using DRaaS providers that offer rapid recovery options for critical systems.

### Example Statement

**"Our organization's Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for critical customer-facing applications is 2 hours. This means that in the event of a disruption, we aim to restore these applications and resume normal operations within 2 hours to minimize impact on our customers and business operations. For important internal systems, the RTO is set at 12 hours, while non-critical systems have an RTO of 48 hours."**

In conclusion, determining and setting appropriate RTOs is vital for effective disaster recovery planning. By conducting thorough business impact analyses, prioritizing systems and data, and regularly testing recovery procedures, organizations can ensure they meet their recovery objectives and maintain business continuity.