RPO vs RTO: What's the Difference & Why Are Both Important To Know?


Every company needs to have a data backup and disaster recovery plan in place in this data-first world. Disaster recovery refers to a program used to regain access to data, systems and IT services after an unintended outage. Backup is often a critical part of the recovery process.

In the event of a ransomware attack, restoring data backups would be a critical part of disaster recovery.

If you have yet to establish a disaster recovery strategy, you’re not alone. Research indicates that 75% of small businesses have no recovery plan in place. The reasons for this can vary. A lack of time, budget and/or expertise are often to blame. 

Many small businesses also have the mentality that an IT outage or cyber-attack won’t impact them. They think that they can fly under the radar and avoid being found by malicious actors. However, with over 1,000 data breaches in Connecticut during 2020, this belief is misguided. 

When a data breach or IT outage strikes, your disaster recovery plan will be make or break. As research shows, 96% of companies with a trusted backup and recovery plan were able to survive ransomware attacks. However, 93% of companies without disaster recovery who suffer a major data disaster go out of business within one year.

As well as being critical to business survival, disaster recovery has a range of other benefits. For example, a thorough recovery plan can reduce your cyber insurance premiums

A Recovery Plan Must be Imperative for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Putting a disaster recovery plan in place doesn’t need to be time consuming or expensive. However, you will need IT expertise. We can help you if you would like support. We offer disaster recovery as a service. 

As you create your recovery plan (or your managed IT provider works on one for you) you will see a couple of acronyms appear over and over: Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO). 

These represent two crucial metrics within the disaster recovery process. Deducing these metrics accurately is essential to swift disaster recovery.

The two appear similar but they have different parameters. Let’s take a look at each in more detail below. 

Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

RTO is measured in hours and minutes. This metric focuses on how swiftly an organization’s IT systems must be back up and running after an outage to preserve business continuity. 

Typically, this time period is no more than two hours. However, it can be much less. Digital-native companies that rely totally on applications to deliver their services will have a much shorter RTO than a brick and mortar store. 

While two hours is a good ballpark figure, it’s not always obtainable. A terrible storm or ransomware attack could knock systems down for days. Regardless, it’s a great idea to figure out your RTO so that you have something to aim for. An outsourced IT provider can include RTO in your service agreement.

Recovery Point Objective (RPO)

RPO is also measured in hours and minutes. While RTO focuses on business continuity, RPO is all about data. This measurement refers to the maximum time limit that can pass in the wake of a disruption before data loss negatively impacts the business. 

By data loss, we are referring to data that would have been generated should the business be running as usual and data that is stored in servers and files that you would usually use to inform decision making.

It can be challenging to know how much data loss is manageable for your organization. Your managed service provider can support you in figuring out your RPO. They should also help you with business continuity solutions like cloud-based backups. 

We offer a dedicated Backup and Disaster Recovery tool that automatically backs up your sensitive data to the cloud. We manage this solution for you as part of our managed IT services offering. With this solution in place, you can rest assured that you will always be able to access your data even if a disaster strikes. 

Prioritize RPO and RTO 

Having a disaster recovery plan that factors in RPO and RTO will help your business minimize downtime, improve business continuity and reduce the impact of an outage on your revenue. While RPO and RTO can be technical to figure out, this shouldn’t stop you! By working with a trusted IT provider with dedicated backup and disaster recovery services, you can establish a recovery plan in no time! 

Cut Down On Your Risk 

At Sound Computers, our knowledgeable consultants can find a disaster recovery solution that fits your organization’s demands and fits comfortably within your continuity budget.

For more information about Disaster Recovery as a Service or to get assistance protecting your valuable data and infrastructure, call us today at (860) 577-8060

March 22, 2022
Sound Computers Admin