Recovery Time Objectives

Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the maximum amount of time a business can afford to be without critical systems or data after a disruption, such as a cyberattack or natural disaster. It helps organizations plan how quickly they need to restore operations to minimize impact. For example, if a company’s RTO for its email system is 4 hours, they aim to have email services up and running within that timeframe after an outage. RTO guides disaster recovery strategies, ensuring that essential functions are prioritized and restored promptly to maintain business continuity.